Test of faith: win or lose, Virginia gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine is proving that Democrats can neutralize the religion issue with a sincere expression of faith.

• Author: Murray, Mark

When people say that Democrats have a "religion" problem, they're thinking of the time when Howard Dean told reporters that his favorite book in the New Testament was Job. Or The Washington Post interview in which Al Gore summoned his evangelical verve and told Sally Quinn that he tries to make decisions by asking himself, "What would Jesus do?" Or, more recently, C-SPAN footage of Democratic politicians cramming Bible verses into their speeches seemingly at random in an attempt to win back values voters. The overall effect seems stilted and--worst of all--insincere.

It's no wonder, then, that despite concerted efforts by Democrats since last year's election--developing religious outreach, hiring faith advisors, and training candidates on how to "talk the talk"--Americans still aren't buying it. Only 29 percent of voters think the Democratic Party is religion friendly, according to an August 2005 poll by the Pew Research Center. It hasn't helped that religious conservatives have used events like Justice Sunday to charge that there is a war "against people of faith," and that a handful of conservative bishops have openly questioned whether Democratic Catholics are "real" Catholics. The end result? Everyone "knows" that Republicans are religious and that Democrats are not.

Take the 2004 election. George W. Bush was viewed as the candidate who inspired religious voters. John Kerry? He was seen as someone who wouldn't talk about religion except in African-American churches. That really wasn't the truth: Kerry talked about his faith in his acceptance speech, he discussed Catholic influences on his politics during the debates, and he attended mass nearly each week. But many voters and journalists just didn't buy that he was truly religious. (Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton are the two obvious exceptions to this rule; it's perhaps not a coincidence that they're also the only two successful Democratic presidential candidates in the past 40 years)

It's no wonder Democrats are frustrated. Some might look at the poll numbers and revert to form--give up, go back to ignoring religion, and thus confirm the rap against them. But before they do, they might want to take a look at the campaign of Tim Kaine, Democratic lieutenant governor and now gubernatorial candidate in Virginia.

Kaine is a Catholic who weaves his faith into nearly every speech, debate, and even some commercials. He's not without his critics, and it's not yet clear whether the decision will pay off for him. As of mid-September, he was neck and neck in the polls with Republican opponent Jerry Kilgore. But Kaine has already accomplished something few other Democrats can claim: No one questions his sincerity.

He's done it by talking about his Catholicism early and often, taking away the charge that it's a purely political gambit Unlike many Democrats who try to sound like Bill Clinton but come off as Jerry Falwell crossed with an android, Kaine...