....This is the sort of thing that makes part of me wish we were back in the good ol' days, when nobody would have dreamed of asking a candidate about their religious beliefs. Of course, those good ol' days were gone before I was born.

One of the reasons that nobody would have dreamed of asking is that a certain commonality of candidates could be assumed. White men, relatively well off or at least middle class (the self-made man appearing every now and again), and a certain shared commonality of background. A certain genteel but unstated religion and belief could be assumed, even if it might not in fact exist. (So, really, in most ways, I'm perfectly happy not to be living in those good ol' days, thanks.)

[...] Unfortunately, the influence of religion, and the pandering produced thereby, has gotten more and more noticeable with each passing election. And of course, right now, we've got conflicting needs. Religion per se has become such a divisive topic that a discreet silence would seem only prudent. At the same time, evangelical religions -- predicated on the very idea that religious beliefs are not private and must be publicly claimed and proclaimed -- have become so numerous that to ignore them is almost to ensure defeat. A certain religiosity for candidates is not only preferred; it is demanded...

[...] It will be fascinating to see if Giuliani can get away with a principled nondiscussion of his religious beliefs. I suspect he can't -- I have a feeling that, especially with the entry of the high-profile and oddly charismatic Fred Thompson into things, refusing to discuss religion is going to get him sidelined but good. There is also the grim reality that the response, "This is entirely personal and is none of the public's business," is no longer a valid response for a political candidate on most issues. When candidates refuse to discuss something, people feel, rightly or wrongly, that they have something to hide, and the news media gleefully starts digging. It may be that there's something to hide -- although in the case of religion, unless it's something terribly outre, there really shouldn't be -- or merely that it's something personal that you want to keep for yourself; nonetheless, the perception that candidates for public office should keep almost nothing of themselves for themselves persists, and trying to do so in an area as fraught as religion, these days, can only lead to problems....