A new role for religion in 2008?

The two religion “experts” quoted in this story – Huckabee, Obama victories in Iowa spotlight religion in 2008 campaign – are just parroting the obvious: Huckabee’s rise is the product of the conservative evangelical grassroots, and Obama skillfully uses the language of civil religion – peppered with nods to Christianity – to disarm skeptical conservative evangelicals and gain the support of liberal and moderate evangelicals.  There’s nothing terribly remarkable about either, and neither is indicative of any change in the relationship of religion to politics.

Since 1994, Democrats have always made a big deal of their “Christian credentials” and Republicans have always made coded appeals to the public’s religious biases.  If there is any difference between now and then, it’s that Huckabee is far more open about his support for conservative evangelicals (far more than Dubya) and Obama sounds sincere when he uses the language of civil religion and “faith” (or in other words, he isn’t incompetent).