Georgetown professor assesses how well candidates 'thump the Bible'

Published: 2008-02-15

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Presidential politics might seem like an unusual topic for an associate professor of Jewish civilization at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service to tackle. But the Jesuit-run university's Jacques Berlinerblau sees his latest book, "Thumpin' It: The Use and Abuse of the Bible in Today's Presidential Politics," as a natural follow-up to his 2005 work, "The Secular Bible: Why Nonbelievers Must Take Religion Seriously." "Thumpin' It" was published by Westminster John Knox Press in January. A move from the New York area to the U.S. political capital of Washington led Berlinerblau to a heightened interest in politics and he began analyzing the presidential candidates in terms of how well they were responding to the religious sensibilities of their fellow citizens. So far, the candidates who are getting the highest marks from Berlinerblau for using -- but not overusing -- the Bible in their campaigns are Democratic Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York. They are following in the footsteps of two people dubbed "masters of the craft" by the Georgetown professor -- President George W. Bush and his predecessor, former President Bill Clinton.

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