[Philo-Junius]

Kennedy was PART of the secularisation of the office, with his widely-lauded (and episcopally endorsed) protestation that he would never let something as trivial as his religion affect his decisions as President.

[TradicalRC]

True enough. I do think that anyone with a strong religious faith who is running ought to de-emphasize his denomination and stress a commonly shared Judeo-Christian ethos. Some protestants may actually believe that a Catholic candidate wants to make everyone pray the rosary. Despite the vehement sectarianism that occurs here on FR, we all believe in traditional faith-values and virtues. I have less of a problem with Prots calling me a Mariolater or a tool of the Whore of Babylon than with the Kumbaya Christians. That ardent faith is laudable in the service of Christ.

I do, however, wish that the debates were more respectful and geared toward understanding, rather than this gotcha game(largely involving historical revisionism or selectivity). We ought to simply respect the faith traditions of each other while recognizing that the atheists, humanists, secularists, theological and religious progressives, and liberals are more united than divided and that they are the enemy. And yes, I consider their influence just as destructive as the muslims.