Issues of faith and religion come to the forefront quite often during elections and presidential campaigns. In preparation for the primary elections, I thought it would be helpful to provide a "faith snapshot" of each of the 2008 presidential candidates. I have sent each candidate a brief questionnaire about their faith. This project will be continually updated as I receive responses and find additional faith-related statements from the candidates. Please check back often!
Go Back to Complete List of 2008 Presidential Candidates.
On the Issues: Compare
Party: Republican
Age: 52
Education:
Ouachita Baptist University, B.A.
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.A.
Current Position: Candidate
Experience: Baptist Minister, Businessman, Governor of Arkansas
Declared Candidacy: Jan. 2007
Web site: Mike Huckabee for President
Religion/Church: Southern Baptist
Mike Huckabee was raised in the Southern Baptist faith. Since his teenage years he felt a call to evangelical work. He earned a scholarship to Ouachita Baptist University where he received his bachelor's degree in religion in less than three years, and then went on to obtain a master's degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. It was during college that he began preaching on weekends. He went on to serve as a pastor for the next 12 years, first at Immanuel Baptist Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and then at Beech Street First Baptist in Texarkana, Arkansas.
In a campaign ad, he calls himself a Christian leader. "Faith doesn't just influence me; it really defines me." And at the California Republican debate, Huckabee said, "I tell people up front, 'My faith does affect my decision process.' It explains me. No apology for that. My faith says, 'Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you...'"
Huckabee said at the CNN/YouTube Debate that the Bible is "the Word of revelation to us from God Himself ... you either believe it or you don't believe it." He went on to say, "There are parts of it I don't fully comprehend and understand, but I'm not supposed to. Because the Bible is the revelation of an infinite God, and no finite person is ever gonna fully understand it. If they do, their God is too small."
• Background & Religious Bio of Mike Huckabee
• ‘This Is Who Mike Huckabee Is’.
• Mike Huckabee's Rating from GodVoter.org
Democrats
Hillary Clinton - United Methodist
Barack Obama - United Church of Christ
John Edwards - United Methodist
Bill Richardson - Roman Catholic
Mike Gravel - Unitarian Universalist
Dennis Kucinich - Roman Catholic
Republicans
Rudy Giuliani - Roman Catholic
Mitt Romney - Mormon
Fred Thompson - Church of Christ
John McCain - Christian
Duncan Hunter - Southern Baptist
Ron Paul - Baptist
