Los Angeles Times Examines Role Of Religion During Palin's Political Career

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 01 Oct 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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The Los Angeles Times on Sunday examined the role that religious beliefs and background have played in the political career of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee. According to the Times, Palin has "harnessed the political muscle" of conservatives and antiabortion groups, but she has had to "trod carefully" between religious beliefs and public policy, especially when discussing issues such as abortion rights. Palin opposes abortion rights in all cases except to save a pregnant woman's life. Often Palin has turned to her church leaders for guidance but has not acted solely on religious beliefs to advance public policies, the Times reports.

Palin's aides say that during her time as mayor of Wasilla and now as Alaska's governor, she has been cautious not to force her beliefs on her constituents. Earlier this year, Palin expressed support for two antiabortion bills in the Alaska Legislature -- one measure to require parental consent for minors seeking abortions and another to require a ban on so-called "partial-birth" abortions. Both measures were stalled by Democrats in the state Legislature, and state Senate President Lyda Green (R) called on Palin to convene a special session on abortion. Palin instead called for a session to advance a natural gas pipeline project.

Bill McAllister, chief spokesperson for the governor's office under Palin, said, "She understands that she's the governor and not preacher-in-chief. Religion informs her decisions, but she is not out to impose her views on Alaska." Some critics of Palin said she is not open about her beliefs when she believes they will be politically detrimental, according to the Times. "She's got a fine-tuned sense of how far to push" John Stein, the former mayor of Wasilla who lost to Palin in the 1996 mayoral race, said. According to Stein, Palin has grown more outspoken about her beliefs stemming from her Pentecostal background, which recently has been criticized by many bloggers. Palin now attends services at "traditional fundamentalist" Christian churches in Wasilla and Juneau, the Times reports (Braun, Los Angeles Times, 9/28).

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