Kerry Keeps His Faith in Reserve

Kerry has said he believes life begins at conception but opposes federal restriction on a woman's right to have an abortion. He recently said he disagrees with Catholic doctrine that homosexual activity is a sin.

Aides describe Kerry as a religious man -- a former altar boy who was reared by a devoutly Catholic mother and is married to a similarly devout Catholic woman, Teresa Heinz Kerry. The two often attend Sunday Mass and receive Communion.

On the road, Kerry carries a rosary, a prayer book and a medal with the image of St. Christopher, patron saint of travelers, which he wore during the Vietnam War, according to a longtime associate who demanded anonymity to discuss an issue the candidate did not want to discuss. Kerry prays, sometimes with friends, including in 1999 when he helped former Vietnam crewmate Del Sandusky through hard times, the associate said.

Kerry "openly shares his values and his beliefs with Americans, but he does so always remembering that religion is personal, not a political prop," Kerry spokesman David Wade said.

In his Indianapolis speech to members of the AME Church, Kerry talked about his belief that faith mandates personal responsibility and that politicians honor God by helping others through government policies such as providing health care coverage and lower education costs. "I am running for president because it's time to turn the words into deeds and faith into action," Kerry said. "Scriptures tells us there is a time to break down and a time to build up. This is our time to break down divisions and build up unity."

Bush, one of the most overtly religious presidents of modern time, has made his faith a central theme of his reelection campaign. The president speaks often in spiritual terms drawn from the New Testament and spends considerable time and money wooing white evangelical Christians in the South and Midwest.

A study by Democratic pollsters Stan Greenberg and Matt Hogan shows the Bush strategy is working with key demographic groups. In a memo this week, the two said Bush is gaining support among white devout evangelicals, blue-collar women older than 50 and white Catholics who attend church every week. Kerry, they said, is offsetting the Bush surge by picking up similar support from non-practicing evangelicals, some of whom are turned off by Bush's emphasis on faith.

"There is no question Americans are very religious people -- faith in God matters in the life of most Americans," Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) said. "It factors into the way some people reach a judgment of who a candidate is."

Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards, who was baptized a Southern Baptist at 16 but later joined the Methodist Church, feels more comfortable talking about faith and is likely to raise the issue more frequently than Kerry, campaign aides said. In an interview late last year, Edwards said, "If you are person of faith, I think it adds weight to that issue of whether you are a good person."

Kerry may be slowly coming to the view that religion must play a larger role in his campaign outside of black churches, some advisers said. "Now you have got to the point in the campaign where . . . it's important to reveal motivations," Devine said, adding that religion is a "natural motivation" for Kerry.

Kerry has connected his faith to his military service, which he suggested reflects a desire to please God. "Several months ago, President Clinton quoted the Prophet Isaiah in support of my candidacy: 'Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying Whom shall I send. And who will go for us. And I said, 'Here I am. Send me.' President Clinton paid me the compliment of telling that audience whenever there was a call to service in war or in peace, I have always answered that call," Kerry said in the Indianapolis speech.

Some advisers want the nominee want to do more of this, and have suggested he dedicate a speech to the role of faith in dictating his values, perhaps at an evangelical school or seminary. But Stephanie Cutter, Kerry's communications director, said there are no plans for the candidate to deliver such a speech.

Researcher Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report.