Cal Thomas

This political season is featuring an unusual amount of “God talk” among the presidential candidates. As usual, Republicans seem to have cornered the market on religious rhetoric. Sen. Ted Cruz is a Baptist who can speak like a revivalist preacher. Sen. Marco Rubio is a Roman Catholic who at times speaks with the fervor of an evangelical Protestant. Even Donald Trump has gotten into the act, sometimes waving a Bible with his name and his childhood address (no, he didn’t write it, though he sometimes acts as if he might have done it better had God asked him to).

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton says her Methodist faith helped shape her political worldview. Bernie Sanders, who was born Jewish, but isn't involved in organized religion says, “My spirituality is that we are all in this together and that when children go hungry, when veterans sleep out on the street, it impacts me. That’s my very strong spiritual feeling.” He says his views on inequality are close to those of Pope Francis.

The focus on God is not surprising given that nearly two-thirds of GOP voters in both the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses and South Carolina's upcoming Feb. 20 primary say they are evangelical. At the Republican debate Saturday night in Manchester, N.H., a less evangelical state, God was a less frequent presence than usual. But he was definitely there — mentioned by John Kasich, Chris Christie, Ben Carson and even moderator David Muir, who quoted Trump as saying he'd be the "greatest jobs president God ever created."

Let’s see if we can consult a “higher authority” on the subject.

Jesus told Pontius Pilate that while he is a king, “my kingdom is not of this world.” He also told Pilate he would have no authority if God had not given it to him.

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Elsewhere, Paul writes, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established."

Again, when asked whether it is right to pay taxes, Jesus responded, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”

When Republicans lose an election, they respond that God must have gone on holiday, or that some evil force stronger than he must have taken over the country.

Abraham Lincoln put it better than most when he said, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”

There are people who claim to be religious and think being on God’s side means favoring abortion on demand and same-sex marriage. There are those who claim equal devotion to God who believe the opposite. Both can’t be right because those views are contradictory. The greater question is how does one who is not a Christian — just to pick the dominant faith in America — convince those who do not accept the authority of Scripture in such matters? The answer is they can’t, and so it becomes a political power game, one more demographic to be added to the mix of constituency groups to pander to.

In the directory published by Congressional Quarterly and Roll Call, each member of Congress has a small profile. Virtually all of them list a religion. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, are listed as Mormons, but they take different positions on political and especially social issues. It is the same with Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., both Catholics, who completely disagree on abortion and same-sex marriage.

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Politicians' religious beliefs tell us little to nothing about their ability to be a president or member of Congress. While I share the traditional beliefs of evangelical Christians, go to church on Sundays, and pray and read the Bible every day, these beliefs and practices do not recommend me for a long list of jobs — from auto mechanic to NBA basketball player — and they certainly do not recommend me for president.

Too many conservative Christians have spent more time lobbing personal attacks against President Obama than praying for him and asking God why he is in office and what this says about us. Criticizing his policies is fair game, but it is clearly unbiblical to attack him and his family personally. In fact, the president models family better than Trump, the presidential candidate with whom many evangelicals are enamored.

It would appear that after many years of lifting high a banner of “morality,” too many evangelicals are settling for Trump and a “kingdom of this world.”

That’s called “idolatry,” and it is a false god as incapable of responding to our national and personal needs as those wood and stone gods worshiped by the ancients.

Presidential candidates should cut the God talk and tell us why they are qualified to be president and how they can fix the many things that need repair — from the national debt to a weak foreign policy. Let the preachers fulfill their role on the moral questions and the politicians theirs. Both will be better off for it, as will the country.

Cal Thomas is a syndicated columnist and member of the USA TODAY Board of Contributors.

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