The story

They all believe in God

By Angie Drobnic Holan
Published on Thursday, June 14th, 2007 at 05:41 p.m.


Summary: In a discussion of creationism during a debate, Mike Huckabee proclaimed his belief in God and said "plenty" of other presidential candidates didn't. Not true.

During a June 5 debate of the Republican candidates, Mike Huckabee was asked to explain his position on evolution and creationism. Huckabee had said previously that he did not believe in evolution.

Huckabee’s answer included the following:

“I believe there is a God. I believe there's a God who was active in the creation process. Now, how did He do it and when did He do it and how long did He take, I don't honestly know. And I don't think knowing that would make me a better or a worse president.

"But I'll tell you what I can tell this country: If they want a president who doesn't believe in God, there's probably plenty of choices. But if I'm selected as president of this country, they'll have one who believes in those words that God did create.”

Are there other candidates who do not believe in God? No. All candidates have declared religious affiliations that include a belief in God.

John Edwards said during a CNN candidates’ forum that he has “a deep and abiding love for my Lord, Jesus Christ,” while Hillary Clinton said prayer helped her weather her husband’s infidelity. Barack Obama is a prominent member of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ.

Among Republicans, Mitt Romney, a Mormon, said during the Republican debate, “I believe in God, believe in the Bible, believe Jesus Christ is my savior.” John McCain’s campaign created a commercial where McCain speaks into the camera about his faith in God.

Rudy Giuliani has often described his Catholic upbringing, and is a believer, though how often he attends services is unclear. Giuliani’s campaign refused to answer Associated Press questions about how often candidates attended church services, saying, “The mayor's personal relationship with God is private and between him and God.”

For the record, here are the religious affiliations of the presidential candidates:

Joe Biden, Roman Catholic

Hillary Clinton, Methodist

John Edwards, Methodist

Barack Obama, United Church of Christ

Bill Richardson, Roman Catholic

Mike Gravel, Unitarian

Dennis Kucinich, Roman Catholic

Christopher Dodd, Roman Catholic

Rudolph Giuliani, Roman Catholic

John McCain, Episcopalian

Mitt Romney, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)

Tommy Thompson, Roman Catholic

Ron Paul, Baptist

Tom Tancredo, Presbyterian

Mike Huckabee, Southern Baptist

Sam Brownback, Roman Catholic

Duncan Hunter, Baptist

Jim Gilmore, Methodist

Fred Thompson, Church of Christ

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