IN BRIEF

Presidential campaign poll

Religious Politicking Unpopular

Though thousands of evangelicals flocked to Washington for the recent Values Voter Summit, more than two-thirds of Americans think presidential candidates should not use their religious beliefs to sway voters, a new poll shows.

The poll, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research for the Interfaith Alliance in October, asked 1,000 adults to agree or disagree with the following statement: "Presidential candidates should not use their religion or faith to influence voters to support them." Sixty-eight percent said they agreed.

Even regular churchgoers think presidential hopefuls should not use their faith as a campaign tool: Almost 60 percent of survey respondents who regularly attend religious services agreed with the statement.

The poll also showed that about 58 percent of Americans think religious leaders should have little influence on voters' decisions, and 78 percent believe it is important that the next president nominate Supreme Court justices who will maintain the separation of church and state.

The poll of 1,000 adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

-- Religious News Service

Catholic Sainthood

2nd Miracle for Father Damien

A Roman Catholic priest who ministered to lepers banished to the island of Molokai in the 19th century is closer to sainthood.

A Vatican medical commission determined that the healing of a Honolulu woman with lung cancer a decade ago can be attributed to the intercession of Belgian priest Damien DeVeuster.