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Edwards: Religious faith should not divide voters
By VICKI SMITH
WEIRTON, W.Va. (AP) -- John Edwards says voters should know that religion is important to him and to presidential candidate John Kerry but the issue shouldn't be used to divide people in the election.
"My faith is very important to me, and the same is true of John Kerry," the Democratic vice presidential candidate and son of a deacon said in a brief interview with The Associated Press after a campaign stop in West Virginia.
"The two of us talk about our faith -- with each other," he said Wednesday. "Our faith is important to us and it's always been important to us, and people should know that."
Edwards, a Methodist, said most Americans want a good leader -- a man who is a good husband and a good father -- "and if they're a person of faith, that helps."
"I don't think that faith should be used to divide us," he said.
As both parties battle for votes, their candidates are making multiple stops in West Virginia, a Bible Belt state with five electoral votes.
President Bush, who has visited West Virginia nine times since April, has found staunch support among conservative Christians. At rallies across the state, dozens have cited his faith in God as the main reason for their support -- more important than jobs, the economy and the war in Iraq.
The Democrats have protested the Republicans' recent distribution of campaign literature in West Virginia and Arkansas that contends liberals want to ban the Bible.
The literature claims that "the liberal agenda includes removing 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance." It also shows a Bible with the word "BANNED" across it.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., this week called the brochure "trash" and accused the Bush campaign of trying to hijack the issue of faith.
"God does not favor the particular position of any politician or political party," Byrd said.
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Interesting, no? Will your religious leanings influence your vote?