Obama, Clinton to Tackle Faith, Moral Issues

Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will engage Sunday in discussions about faith, morality, and social justice at an unprecedented bipartisan presidential candidate forum that will reach both conservative and liberal Christians.

The Compassion Forum, organized and sponsored by Faith in Public Life, will not be a debate, but rather a conversation with the candidates about how their faith and moral convictions influence their positions on issues such as domestic and international poverty, global AIDS, climate change, abortion, genocide in Darfur, and human rights and torture. It will be hosted by Messiah College, a Christian college near Harrisburg, Pa.

“This is an occasion to talk about the substance and not the sensationalism of religion and politics,” said moderator Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek, author of American Gospel, and respected scholar on faith and American politics.

Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was also invited but thus far has declined to participate.

The Compassion Forum, held just nine days before the Pennsylvania primary, will offer candidates an unprecedented opportunity to reach religious voters; the forum will be broadcasted on the Church Communication Network (CCN) to more than 100,000 people of faith in at least 1,000 churches across the country on April 20 – the Sunday evening before the Pennsylvania primary.

“Issues of faith, compassion and the common good are important throughout Pennsylvania,” said Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.). “We have a moral obligation to provide a stable foundation for our next generation, but it also makes perfect economic sense. This year's candidates will be well served discussing these issues in Pennsylvania at the Compassion Forum.”

CNN will also air live the Compassion forum and CNN Election Center anchor Campbell Brown will join Meacham to moderate the forum.

The event boasts the support of diverse religious leaders and Republicans and Democrats alike, including former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and U.S. Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, respectively.

“The Compassion Forum will give the candidates a chance to talk straight to voters about what they’ll do as president to fulfill God’s command that we be our brothers’ keepers,” said Huckabee, a former presidential contender. “I’m proud that the faith community is taking the lead in asking the candidates to confront the most pressing moral challenges of our times.”

Nationally prominent members of The Compassion Forum Board include Dr. Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention; Dr. William J. Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention; Paul Corts, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities; Dr. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed; the Rev. Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals; Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA; Rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; Dr. Syeed Sayeed, secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America; David Neff, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today; the Rev. Jim Wallis, editor-in-chief of Sojourners; the Rev. Dr. Tyrone S. Pitts, general secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention; the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; the Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World; and Sammy Mah, president and CEO of World Relief.

“The Compassion Forum is a shining example of the faith community’s commitment to justice and compassion for all of God’s children. It’s imperative that the presidential candidates give the compassion issues the attention they deserve,” said Page.

Organizational co-sponsors of the Forum are The ONE Campaign, an effort to rally Americans to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty, and Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice.