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Actually, Kerry and Bush are extremely different in their religious language, their connection to religious ritual, and their relationships with Jesus, says a profile of Kerry on Beliefnet. "John Kerry was never a Prodigal Son" like Bush, writes Deborah Caldwell. "His faith life illustrates not only the stylistic and theological differences between Catholicism and evangelical Protestantism, but also the differences between American Catholicism of an earlier generation and that which has grown in the last few decades." The full spiritual biography is worth a read.

Weblog hasn't seen reaction from the Christian pundits yet, but Concerned Women for America has an audio clip of spokeswoman Janice Crouse saying Kerry was "obviously very defensive about the fact that Bush is an evangelical Christian, and [he seems] to want to say, 'my faith is as good as your faith, so there.'"

The Globe has an article on the last words of the convention, the benediction of Kerry's pastor, John Ardis. As it turns out, he did make a vague reference to abortion, asking God to "guide every citizen of our United States to cherish all life." His reference to gay rights was more direct: "Give us the courage to embrace each person as our neighbor, regardless of gender, race, or ethnic origin, regardless of sexual orientation, religious tradition, or age."

Other coverage of the Democratic National Convention:

• Frank touts 'gay agenda' | Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank told a cheering Democratic National Convention last night that same-sex "marriage" is a primary goal of the homosexual wing of the Democratic Party (The Washington Times)
• Pro-choice Catholics in Democratic delegation feel the heat | Some Catholic members of the Minnesota delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Boston, say bishops' report has put pressure on them to choose between their faith and their politics (Minnesota Public Radio)
• Democrats make room for a display of religion | This week's Democratic convention featured invocations and benedictions from a Greek Orthodox archbishop, a Muslim imam, a rabbi, black preachers, a progressive Catholic priest and a few female pastors as well (The Washington Times)
• Aborted language | Does the Democratic platform read pro-lifers out of the party? (World)
• Hearts of stone | Millions of Americans accept that life begins at conception and still support legalized abortion (Gene Edward Veith, World)
• Democrats are people of faith, too | The ballroom at the Sheraton Boston Hotel on Wednesday was filled with representatives from the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths, including Evangelicals and Baptists, who said it was okay to mix politics and religion in an effort to fulfill long-standing goals of eradicating poverty and taking care of the most needy Americans (Fox News)

Abortion:

• Governor approves abortion website | Some say he broke a promise not to change the state law (Anchorage Daily News)
• Group opposes campaign limits | Right to Life fights ad constraints set by McCain-Feingold (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
• Abortion group sues over campaign finance (Associated Press)

Alabama morning-after pill:

• Alabama nurses quit over morning-after pill | Some nurses in Alabama's public health clinics have quit their jobs rather than administer the emergency contraception known as the morning-after pill. The nurses say they consider the drug to be the equivalent of abortion, and that goes against their beliefs (All Things Considered, NPR)

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July (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48