Interfaith Alliance Asks Candidates to Sign ‘Pledge of Civility’ on Religion

The Interfaith Alliance, a group of mainstream Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish religious leaders monitoring the role of religion in public life, has asked candidates for national office--including President Clinton, his Republican challenger Bob Dole and Reform Party candidate Ross Perot--to sign a “pledge of civility.”

“We ask candidates to repudiate the use of religion as a weapon to demonize those whose religious or political beliefs differ from theirs,” said the Rev. Albert Pennybacker, president of the alliance.

“We urge every candidate and every citizen to be vigilant in challenging anyone . . . claiming their candidate is in some way religiously superior, or somehow sanctioned by God,” he said.

The civility pledge was mailed to about 1,000 candidates for federal and state offices. It affirms the role that religion plays in the democratic process and asks candidates to repudiate “any campaign tactics and . . . refuse any campaign contributions from organizations or individuals who practice or advocate exclusion or intolerance.”

Terry Anderson, the former reporter held hostage by Islamic fundamentalists, said the alliance will “educate voters as to who responded to our call for civility [and] monitor, encourage and admonish [candidates] to keep this pledge alive and real.”