Another Opinion on Religion In the US Presidential Campaign

Today's Asia Times reprints an interesting piece by University of Colorado professor Ira Chernus on the changing use of religion in the U.S. presidential campaign. He says:

[I]n the better years of the previous century, candidates used religion mostly as an adjunct to the real meat of the political process, a tool to whip up support for policies. How times have changed. Think of it, perhaps, as a way to measure the powerful sense of unsettledness that has taken a firm hold on American society. Candidates increasingly keep their talk about religion separate from specific campaign issues. They promote faith as something important and valuable in and of itself in the election process. They invariably avow the deep roots of their religious faith and link it not with issues, but with certitude itself. Sometimes it seems that Democrats do this with even more grim regularity than Republicans....

So, when it comes to religion and politics, here's the most critical question: Should we turn the political arena into a stage to dramatize our quest for moral certainty?