Those on the left, or merely those who aren’t evangelical Christians, are struggling to make sense of the religious life of Sarah Palin. To many, she seems a frightening harbinger of a fundamentalist takeover. Conservatives, meanwhile, will seize on the scrutiny — including liberal overreactions — as evidence that the left and the mainstream media are anti-Christian.
The Palin candidacy does pose real church-state questions, as well as many opportunities for hysterical overreaction. As a service to my panicky friends on the left and my Sarah-smitten friends on the right (who may not understand why she frightens some), here’s a guide to what is and isn’t scary, or at least questionable about Palin’s mixing of faith and politics: