There seems to be something genuinely open-minded about Obama, in that he has moved away from parental certainties to something personally chosen, perhaps a little thoughtful, but not stridently advertised. For us in the UK there is something similar about Gordon Brown in comparison with the more rhetorical Blair. I don't know how Edwards fits this bill. Mrs. Clinton seems so excruciatingly careful and calculated in everything she says that her soul seems rather a closed book.

Ok, someone please explain to me why a candidates religion should matter when concerned with running the country?

Maybe if we didn't focus on religion, we can bypass the mistake the country made when they re-elected Bush.

Religion shouldn't be a part of it. The Person should. Faith is nothing more than a play to get votes. And unfortunately, there are plenty of ignorant Americans who will only vote for the person who seems to have the strongest faith.

No wonder the rest of the world thinks we are a joke. Look at what we've done in the last 6 years.

For the first time in an unbroken record of casting votes in a presidential election, I am seriously considering boycotting this one.
My reason has more to do with faith, or lack thereof, than it does with politics. After years of kidding myself and paying lip service to a deity, I found several years ago that I could no longer accept God, the idea of God, the fantasy of God. I realized fully that I simply did not and do not Believe. And believe me, it came as a great relief, a grand unburdening of mind and soul. It seemed that my path became clearer—no longer feeling the need to weigh doubt and uncertainty before the face of the history and mythology that accompanies Belief, religion, spiritual practice and all the other related voodoo.
I now live happier and less troubled, having adopted a new credo: "Believe in nothing, and Anything is possible." The idea being that any Belief that one chooses to accept allows only the limit of possibilities as defined by the framework of that belief. Belief thus becomes a room with the door locked and the curtains drawn.
Which brings me back to politics. I find it increasingly difficult to trust the judgement and intellect of anyone who professes his or her acceptance of a deity, especially as represented by the mainstream religions. I can't erase the image that whoever the candidate for office may be, he/she walks around with an image of a 70 year old blue-eyed white man, about six feet, six inches tall, with a long white beard and white hair, in his or her brain—and this includes Barack Obama. Not to mention the possibility that some of them merely profess to believe in order to curry favor with the misguided masses. I fear the lack of intellectual rigor almost as much as I fear the hypocrisy.

Professor Berlinerblau - I don't know why your question is even relevant - "“With which current presidential aspirant would you most like to sit down and discuss issues pertaining to faith—Church/State issues, Gnostic Gospels, Schleiermacher, anything?”

I am not looking for a president with whom I can discuss deep religious/philosophical questions, so your question seems irrelevant to me in terms of who to choose for president. I am looking for a president who has character, brains(can think deeply about complex issues), education, guts, and has travelled outside the US, in other words, everything that the current occupant of the White House lacks. The fact that Obama is not fixated on one religion as the One True Way, is a plus for me. The constant pandering of candidates to various religious groups says nothing about their character, and everything about their willingness to debase themselves and the American people by appealing to tribal instincts, which is what most religion is about. My group as opposed to the other group. This tribal instinct is the very antithesis of genuine religion.

Obama is the best candidate for president I've seen in my lifetime. I'm an athiest, but have no problem at all with how Obama talks about his faith. He seems to employ the wisdom of Christ's teachings without using the bible as a literal guide. i.e. he believes in evolution, the golden rule, the sermon on the mount, not stoning cheating women, disrespectful children, or homosexuals.

I think professors are more impressed with Obama as an intellectual/philosopher than a believer. A philosopher would be more interesting to discuss spiritual messages with, and he also brings to the table knowledge of other religions beyond simply their comparison to Christianity. He brings life experience where other candidates bring only Washington experience, and that is a very positive step forward in the global environment we live in. This experience can stop wars before they happen and negotiate trust with nations that do not trust ours for a variety of reasons. He was brought up with the freedom to choose between religions, and he chose Methodist. Why? I can see why the theological discussion would be quite interesting, and I would pick him to discuss religion with as well.

I don't think a presidential candidate's race should matter anymore. And I wish Christians who consider themselves conservatives could realize that liberals can be Christians also. In fact in thier social doctrine they are closer to Jesus than most so-called conservaties. Jesus was against killing, hating, and name calling, and for forgiveness and grace. I know there are many conservatives who believe the same way. Does that make them liberal?

Obama seems to have a natural and genuine comfort for faith in God. You can tell that faith in God is apart of his life rather than a talking point or something that he runs to when he falls into trouble. He is a candidate that I admire because he seems like he really wants to change the system. I just hope we all support him so that we can turn the page.

The academy consists largely of people with advanced degrees, some of which are actually useful to society. Professors have lifetime jobs and historically are quite sympathetic to collectivist notions. Most are members of teachers unions that support the Democratic party handomely with teacher dues at election time. Over 90% of teachers vote Democrat. Despite the vaunted education and intelligence of professors they think in sheep-like fashion. When Obama falters professors will go on to support the next Democrat in line.

Obama is obviously intelligent. He has the ability to listen to and respect opposing opinions. His leadership qualities are also evident because he doesn't divide people but pull everybody in. This is not an act of politicans but a natural quality of his. It is very easy to undertand why he attracts voters with brains because you can see he is reasonable, open-minded, not ideology-driven but try to make sense to you in a sincere fashion.

Obama would never capture the 20% of fundamentalist Christians who need to be told what they believe and never question their faith. (Even Mother Theresa had doubts!) But, he does have the intellectual curiosity that even some conservatives admire. It is so refreshing to hear a man who can think and speak in his own words! I just wish there were more opportunity to do that, rather than what passes for "debates."

From what I've seen, Obama doesn't spend a whole lot of time dividing the world into "us" and "them" in religious terms. But he does like to point out the pious opportunists running for office. Also, his views don't seem to be products of the same cookie cutter that the other candidates present as their spiritual selves.

All of those qualities appeal to me, and so, yes, I'd rather discuss matters of faith with him.

The reason why a conversation with Barack is attractive is that it would be an actual conversation : a give-and-take exchange of views with a person who is capable of hearing, weighing and responding to other people's thoughts. Most politicians simply recite memorized lines, like wind-up toys. You can't have a conversation with someone like that.

I have listened carefully to Barack's interviews on TV and read his essays online, and this is a man who actually thinks, reflects and discusses issues. He has his own beliefs but he does not merely repeat them in a dogmatic and mechanical way. I find that very refreshing! (And yes, I have an advanced degree in theology as well.)

Barack Obama is my candidate...BUT I do have problems with him and religion. The only redeeming factor is he is also a believer in the Constitution and smart enought to know if he becomes President he is president of the entire country not just those who believe as he does. I am very happy that he was at least smart enought to know the concept of marriage is one fraught with problems for the 21st century. Hopefully the politicians will come to their senses and realize the true way out of this situation is to for the government to license only "partnerships" for consenting adults (regardless of sex) and take the word "marriage" out of every legal document. Then believers would be free to marry in any church any way they prefer. To the goverment their union would be a legal partnership everyone EQUAL. Come on..Barack...make it happen.