Samantha Foster

February 22, 2012

Faculty Profile Story

President’s Theology Questioned

 A Republican candidate publically questioned President Barack Obama’s theology in a Sunday night speech in Georgia.

Rick Santorum, campaigning to be the Republican presidential candidate for the up coming election, made controversial statements in his speech given in Georgia. Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, questioned Obama’s theology calling it “phony theology.” He also drew links between Obama and Adolf Hitler without identifying either by name but by making remarks about World War II.

Santorum faces criticism from Mitt Romney’s advisers for his controversial statements made Sunday night. When questioned about what Santorum meant, he said he was referring to other matters.  He said he was not criticizing the president’s Christian faith but was instead referring to Obama’s energy agenda. Santorum stated that he has used the World War II metaphor a hundred times in his career.

Dr. Sarah Moses, Assistant Professor in the Department of Religion at the University of Mississippi, believes we as a nation have crossed the line where political candidates are being questioned about their religious views in a way that is totally unrelated to their qualifications for the job.

“In general, the validity of Obama’s Christian faith has been questioned since the last presidential campaign,” said Moses. “In some ways what Rick Santorum has said is a continuation of that same attack line.”

Moses has been a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Ole Miss since fall 2008. She received her Ph.D. from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

“Given America’s strong tradition of religious freedom and the independence of the state and the church, it should make no difference what particular faith a president belongs to. What matters are the policy positions that affect the country,” said Moses. “While a president’s faith may influence his policy views, our society should be focusing on the policies, not the faith that may be behind them. Likewise, we should not assume that a particular faith automatically means a president will have certain opinions.”

Santorum’s remarks in his speech Sunday were the latest in a series of controversial statements made by the presidential candidate that shocked many. Again yesterday, he has repeated that he was not criticizing Obama’s Christianity but referring to other matters.