Colin McEnroe Show: Should Religion Be Politicized?

Sooner or later in every American political cycle, religion rears its head. The debate over Barack Obama's former pastor Jeremiah Wright is still fresh in our minds. In the presidency of George W. Bush, there were many questions about the degree to which his faith shaped his policies and his rhetoric.

In the coming election, the longest and loudest conversation is likely to be about Mitt Romney as a Mormon. And not just a rank and file Mormon. A former bishop. For most candidates of most faiths, a deep involvement in one's faith would be a positive. But Mormonism occupies such a tricky place in American religious life that there's almost no way to gauge what kind of factor it will be. Most people don't know enough or think enough about Mormonism to know what they think of it.

Today, two experts on the intersection of religion and politics join me in our studios to talk about Mitt, Mormonism, the legacy of Jerry Falwell and the latest storm over birth control.