Joe Biden and Religion

It's interesting that the Catholic faith of Barack Obama's newly minted running mate, Joe Biden, is considered somewhat of a liability. I'm not quite sure what the objections to the Catholic church in politics are anymore; back when Kennedy was running, people feared that a Catholic president would be a puppet of the Pope, but since it seems that evangelical presidents are puppets of conservative evangelical leaders anyways (GWB, cough cough), I don't understand how that charge could be uniquely Catholic in nature.

Well, I suppose that being a Mormon was ultimately what torpedoed Mitt Romeny's campain, since I think people feared that the Mormon church would have undue influence if he became president. So there's that.

Joe Biden's approach to religion seems to be my kind of thing:

"The six-term Democratic senator from Delaware also has offered to shove his rosary down the throat of the next Republican who tells him he isn't religious."

Sounds like something straight out of my book— except, y'know, it'd be an Anglican rosary instead of a Catholic one. I own two Anglican rosaries, so I'm sure I could spare one for such a noble purpose. :P I do sympathize with his annoyance, though, even if he phrases it in a slightly un-Christian way. I hate how everyone assumes that if you're not a member of some megachurch parish that meets in a warehouse and speaks in tongues and hates gay people, you're not a religious person.

Really, we shouldn't worry too much about the influence of Biden's religion, considering that, for the first time, the majority of the American public wants religion to stay out of politics. It might not be that big a deal. As long as he keeps it personal, he should be fine in the polls. But I'm going to be interested to see how this plays out in the media— and how people end up treating his professed Catholicism.