The Compassion Forum

This past Sunday, the two democratic contenders for the presidential nomination shared the importance of their faith at Faith in Public Life’s Compassion Forum. This forum took place at Messiah College, a Christian college in Pennsylvania.

Regardless of where you stand in the presidential race, it is an interesting trend to see the Democratic candidates’ engagement with religion.

Obama said that to him, “religion is a bulwark, a foundation when other things aren’t going well. That’s true in my own life, through trials and tribulations. …” He later added: “I am a devout Christian … I started my work working with churches in the shadow of steel plants that had closed on the south side of Chicago …”

Clinton stated: “I don’t think that I could have made my life’s journey without being anchored in God’s grace and without having that, you know, sense of forgiveness and unconditional love.” She later continued: “And I am not going to point to one or another matter. I mean, some of my struggles and challenges have been extremely public. And I have talked about how I have been both guided and supported through those, trying to find my own way through, because, for me, my faith has given me the confidence to make decisions that were right for me, whether anybody else agreed with me or not.”

You can read more about the forum and the candidates’ comments here.