2. He Often Gives Mixed Messages When it Comes to Faith

CNN, in fact, said Sanders contradicted himself during one of its town halls when the Vermont senator declared, "It's a guiding principle in my life, absolutely. You know, everyone practices religion in a different way. To me, I would not be here tonight, I would not be running for president of the United States if I did not have very strong religious and spiritual feelings."

Also during that campaign, Sanders responded to his faith during a TV interview with ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel in which the host asked the candidate if he believed in God.

"Well, you know, I am who I am," Sanders said, referencing the Old Testament exchange between God and Moses at the site of the burning bush. "And what I believe in, what my spirituality is about, is that we're all in this together—that I think it's not a good thing to believe, as human beings, that we can turn our backs on the suffering of other people."

"And this is not Judaism," Sanders added. "This is what Pope Francis is talking about: That we cannot worship just billionaires and the making of more and more money. Life is more than that."

CNN source Susan Jacoby, a secular historian, assessed his response to Kimmel, saying, “It was the answer of someone who is a secular humanist but doesn't call himself that."

Just this September, a member of Sanders’ staff elaborated on the 2020 hopeful’s beliefs in an article in the Washington Examiner.

"He believes that, as a human being, the pain that one person feels, if we have children who are hungry in America, if we have elderly people who can’t afford their prescription drugs, you know what, that impacts you, that impacts him," the spokesperson said. "That’s his very strong spiritual feeling, and that influences his approach to public policy."

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Win McNamee/Staff