Most of the Muslims we see around here are Americans who have converted to it, or are at LSU. In a bigger city, like Houston, they are largely employed in scientific fields. I don’t believe McCain or Obama is promising any way to change any of that. Neither of them is or has ever been Muslim.
McCain’s position on religion in the Presidential race:
I think the number one issue people should make [in the] selection of the President of the United States is, ‘Will this person carry on in the Judeo Christian principled tradition that has made this nation the greatest experiment in the history of mankind?’”
It doesn’t seem like a Muslim candidate would do very well, according to that standard. I admire the Islam. There’s a lot of good principles in it. I think one of the great tragedies of the 21st century is that these forces of evil have perverted what’s basically an honorable religion. But, no, I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles.... personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith. But that doesn’t mean that I’m sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president. I don’t say that we would rule out under any circumstances someone of a different faith. I just would--I just feel that that’s an important part of our qualifications to lead....
I believe that the Mormon religion is a religion that I don’t share, but I respect. More importantly, I’ve known so many people of the Mormon faith who have been so magnificent. I think that Governor Romney’s religion should not, absolutely not, be a disqualifying factor when people consider his candidacy for President of the United States, absolutely not.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/220/story_22001_1.html#extndVer
From the same site, on Obama’s religion:
Obama came to the United Church of Christ after college. He’d taken a job as a community organizer for a group of Chicago churches and focused on tackling joblessness. Working with pastors and laypeople, Obama has written, “forced me to confront a dilemma that my mother never fully resolved in her own life: the fact that I had no community or shared traditions in which to ground my most deeply held beliefs. The Christians with whom I worked recognized themselves in me; they saw that I knew their Book and shared their values and sang their songs. But they sensed that a part of me remained removed…”
Drawn by the activist African-American church tradition, the longtime religious skeptic was “finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized.”…
Obama has received substantial support in the primaries from the Christian community, though largely among black churchgoers who are likely motivated more by race than religion. Polls suggest that Hillary Clinton has an edge among white churchgoers, but it’s unclear if the false Muslim rumors are at all responsible.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/230/story_23053_2.html#3
