The Concord Monitor reports on the Obama campaign’s faith outreach effort in New Hampshire, a state not exactly known for its churchgoing fervor:
Although Obama rarely refers to religion in his stump speeches, he has actively courted religious voters. In New Hampshire, his campaign met with more than 100 religious leaders, participated in at least 20 faith community events, and held nearly 20 house parties led by members of the faith community, according to his campaign. It also ran 10 “faith forums” with about 180 participants, where voters discussed how faith should influence public life.
Chuck Hotchkiss, a professor at Southern New Hampshire University, is a UCC church member who helped organize the faith forums. He said those events included a diverse group of clergy and laypeople – Jews, Catholics, Unitarians and mainline Protestants. “Rather than focus on gay marriage or abortion, it was more about social justice issues. Everyone deserves a decent place to live. Everyone ought to have access to decent health care. Those are values that cut across just about every religious tradition,” Hotchkiss said.
God-o-Meter is impressed with the stats on Obama’s faith outreach events and contacts. This is more than just window dressing. GOM wonders if the Clinton campaign’s faith outreach effort is as robust, particularly in a comparatively secular state.
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