Religious Test: Does Sarah Palin's Religion Pose a Risk?

I've been wondering if I should take the advice of several other bloggers, and stop focusing on Sarah Palin on my blog. I'm told that saying anything against her will be viewed as an attack by her disciples, and actually embolden their allegiance to her.

This is a most puzzling development in politics. Usually, no matter who a candidate is, he or she is subjected to a high level of scrutiny, and must endure many slings and arrows on their journey through a campaign. Hillary Clinton endured--as I see it--no more or less than any other candidate, but her followers magnified any negative statement, and re-framed it. They honestly believe that she endured an unprecedented onslaught of sexism run amok. Any negative remark made them more fervent in their defense of Clinton, and now that she's lost her bid, many of those followers are almost pathologically bitter about it. Clinton is almost deified in this realm, and her opponent--Barack Obama--is vilified to ridiculous extremes.

This is the same situation we are witnessing with Sarah Palin, though I'm not convinced there are as many Clinton supporters in this group as others have stated. Any negative attack on Palin brings outrage, and cries of sexism. Any gaffe is excused or ignored. Some gaffes are even turned around and touted as positives. And the one area that is the most dicey to touch is her religion.

Religion is Palin's calling card. It's the root of her conservative philosophy, and frankly the only explainable reason for her popularity (excepting her alleged "hotness"). So, when you go after Palin's rather odd religious history, her followers transpose the attack to all religion, particularly Christianity. This is most odd when you consider the constant stream of attacks on Obama's religious past. He most certainly didn't--and doesn't--get a pass does he? And they attack him for being a "crazy Christian" and a "radical Muslim."

As an agnostic-bordering-on-atheist, I get a wiggins whenever religion rears its head in politics. I flat-out don't like it, and don't think it reflects well on our country. It certainly isn't what the founding fathers tried to lay out. You'd think all of these right-wing "strict constructionists" would get that.

The following is a piece on Sarah Palin's religion, written by a much more eloquent non-believer than I. If you made it this far, it is well worth a few more minutes of your time.

[Excerpt]

When Atheists Attack: A noted provocateur rips Sarah Palin—and defends elitism. By Sam Harris

Let me confess that I was genuinely unnerved by Sarah Palin's performance at the Republican convention. Given her audience and the needs of the moment, I believe Governor Palin's speech was the most effective political communication I have ever witnessed. Here, finally, was a performer who—being maternal, wounded, righteous and sexy—could stride past the frontal cortex of every American and plant a three-inch heel directly on that limbic circuit that ceaselessly intones "God and country." If anyone could make Christian theocracy smell like apple pie, Sarah Palin could. . .

Read more at: Newsweek