Ask the Question: Why We Must Demand Religious Clarity from Our Presidential Candidates

For most of American history, the conventional wisdom was that religion was too private a matter to ask a political candidate about. But in a political landscape in which we will see Muslims, atheists, Mormons, Buddhists, and Christians of all stripes running for high office, we cannot afford to avoid religious questions. It's within American voters' rights to know what their candidates believe about God and religion, because those beliefs shape policy and thus action. In both small and significant ways, a candidate's religious views (or lack thereof) define political leadership. And the time for skirting the question or giving vague answers is over.