Torog
10-26-2004, 10:03 AM
Kerry's Religious References (Bos. Globe web exclusive)
The Boston Globe (online) ^ | 10/26/04 | Jeff Jacoby
I HAVE BEEN following John Kerry's career for 22 years, ever since his 1982 run for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. I have encountered him in small private gatherings and in large public settings. I have spoken about him often with people who know him well. I have read innumerable accounts of his non-political passions and pastimes. And if at any point during all those years you had asked me whether I thought Kerry was a religious man, I would have answered without hesitation: ''No, not at all.''
I would have had plenty of company, too. A Time magazine poll in June found that only 7 percent of voters would describe Kerry as a man of strong religious faith. But over the past few months - ever since that poll came out, come to think of it - a whole new Kerry has emerged.
The senator who had never shown much public interest in religion suddenly can't seem to stop talking about it. Biblical quotations now lace his speeches. He makes a point of referring to himself as a former altar boy. He frequently attends church - particularly churches in battleground states. He (or his staff) has let it be known that on the campaign trail he wears a crucifix and carries a rosary, a prayer book, and a St. Christopher medal.
(snip) Part of his message was about the sustaining power of faith, but most of the religious references were connected to a vigorous denunciation of the Bush administration. As The New York Times reported it yesterday, ''Kerry said that Christians believed in caring for the sick, housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, and stopping violence but that the administration was not heeding those teachings
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/10/26/kerrys_religious_references/
The Boston Globe (online) ^ | 10/26/04 | Jeff Jacoby
I HAVE BEEN following John Kerry's career for 22 years, ever since his 1982 run for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. I have encountered him in small private gatherings and in large public settings. I have spoken about him often with people who know him well. I have read innumerable accounts of his non-political passions and pastimes. And if at any point during all those years you had asked me whether I thought Kerry was a religious man, I would have answered without hesitation: ''No, not at all.''
I would have had plenty of company, too. A Time magazine poll in June found that only 7 percent of voters would describe Kerry as a man of strong religious faith. But over the past few months - ever since that poll came out, come to think of it - a whole new Kerry has emerged.
The senator who had never shown much public interest in religion suddenly can't seem to stop talking about it. Biblical quotations now lace his speeches. He makes a point of referring to himself as a former altar boy. He frequently attends church - particularly churches in battleground states. He (or his staff) has let it be known that on the campaign trail he wears a crucifix and carries a rosary, a prayer book, and a St. Christopher medal.
(snip) Part of his message was about the sustaining power of faith, but most of the religious references were connected to a vigorous denunciation of the Bush administration. As The New York Times reported it yesterday, ''Kerry said that Christians believed in caring for the sick, housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, and stopping violence but that the administration was not heeding those teachings
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/10/26/kerrys_religious_references/