Kevin Rudd heads a new wave of politicians in this country who are invoking the language of the church, writes Mark Davis.

AUSTRALIAN politicians, unlike their American counterparts, have traditionally been reluctant to bring God into politics.

But a study shows federal MPs are invoking Christian beliefs with increasing frequency to justify policies and articulate their values and visions for the nation.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was the politician who most cited his Christianity in public speeches, followed by the former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello and Treasurer Wayne Swan.

Melbourne University politics researcher Anna Crabb analysed 2422 speeches by 60 prominent federal politicians  the leaders and senior frontbenchers of the three main parties  between 2000 and 2006. She tallied the number of these speeches that included the words Christ, church, faith, pray, Jesus, Bible and God and found the use of religious language by politicians had increased.