Hey, Weren't Republicans Supposed to be the Religious Ones?

Just asking...

If one were to ask certain observers of American politics, they would probably be told that the American Republican party was at the forefront of mixing religion in politics.

Much has been made about George W Bush's religiosity. "Concerned parties" everywhere objected to Mike Huckabee and his belief in creationism. Some have even insisted that the combination of Christianity and conservative politics has put the United States on the road to fascism.

So if this is the case, and Republicans are so religious, and this is such a bad thing, why is it that the Republicans' presumptive presidential nominee barely mentioning religion at all, and the remaining nominees for the Democrat nomination battling it out on the topic of religion?

In fact Clinton and Obama made a direct appeal to religious voters at a weekend debate at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's Messiah College.

Meanwhile, John McCain has remained remarkably quiet about his religious beliefs (for the record, he's an Episcopalian-turned-Baptist), to the extent that the Evangelical community -- another target of "concerned parties" and traditionally a reliable source of support for Republicans -- is largely split over whether or not they'll support him.

Right now if religion is much of an issue for anyone in the 2008 Presidential campaign, it's the Democrats. Yet there seems to be remarkably little criticism of this particular religious turn, and the worst criticism seems to be directed at Clinton and Obama by one another.

One has to wonder where the "interested parties" are on this particular matter. But then again, one is hardly surprised, either.