Ethics Daily Skype Interview

Ethics Daily posted a Skype video interview with me about the role religion is playing the Republican presidential campaign. I spoke with Cliff Vaughn, managing editor and media producer for Ethics Daily, about confessional politics and religious trends in last week's votes on Super Tuesday. You can watch the interview below. With Alabama and Mississippi voting tomorrow--along with Hawaii--we can expect to see more focus on religion in the campaign. Due to the impact of confessional politics, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's Mormon faith is expected to hurt him--especially with evangelicals--in tomorrow's Southern contests. Not surprisingly, the Republican presidential hopefuls increased their religious appeals as they sought votes on Super Tuesday--and are continuing such efforts as they look for political redemption tomorrow. Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, who has been bringing together former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's 2008 coalition of white evangelicals and blue-collar workers--even went on stage during the worship service of a Baptist megachurch in Tennessee the Sunday before Super Tuesday as he looked for political salvation. Santorum easily won Tennessee two days later thanks to the overwhelming support of the huge evangelical turnout. Santorum also made sectarian arguments as he claimed that the concept of equality comes only "from the Judeo-Christian ethic" and not from other religions or cultures. Meanwhile, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich sought out voters by increasing his anti-Islam rhetoric. Gingrich also campaigned at churches in Georgia. Along with Mormonism, Islam is a common target of confessional politics). Clearly, Vaughn and I only scratched the surface of this topic, but I hope you find the interview interesting and informative.

Brian Kaylor: Skype Interivew from EthicsDaily on Vimeo.