Will religion become a weapon against Haley, Sheheen?

Religion could emerge as a wedge issue in this year's race for governor after Republican state Sen. Jake Knotts' reference to GOP front-runner Nikki Haley as a "raghead" and voter confusion about Haley's religious conversion to Christianity from Sikhism.

It won't be Haley's first tussle over religion.

During Haley's 2004 matchup against state Rep. Larry Koon, the 30-year House veteran mailed a letter to voters pointing out Haley's Indian maiden name, Nimrata Nikki Randhawa. An e-mail campaign falsely claimed she was a Buddhist.

Democratic front-runner Vincent Sheheen might be in for a dose of it, too.

Sheheen might be the only Catholic in S.C. history to win his party's nomination in a gubernatorial race. (Jim Byrnes, governor from 1951 to 1955, was raised a Catholic but became an Episcopalian as an adult.)

It would not be the first time religion has been used as a tool in the rough-and-tumble world of S.C. politics:

State Rep. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, and Inez Tenenbaum, who would go on to be S.C. superintendent of education, were targets of a 1988 flier that referred to the two as "anti-Christian Jewish Democrats." (Tenenbaum, currently the head of the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, is a Methodist; her husband is Jewish.)

In the 1978 4th District congressional race, Democrats charged that an anti-Semitic third-party candidate was enlisted by supporters of Republican Carroll Campbell to help defeat Democrat Max Heller, the Jewish mayor of Greenville. Campbell won but was hounded by the accusations.

In Byrnes' 1924 U.S. Senate race, his opponent, Coleman Blease, distributed fliers alluding to Byrnes' time as a Catholic altar boy, though Byrnes had become an Episcopalian. Further hurt by Ku Klux Klan opposition, Byrnes lost the election, the only one he ever would lose.

In the days after the GOP primary, Haley has taken some heat in some media accounts and Christian blogs that say she has changed her tune on her religious beliefs.

After Haley's defeat of Koon in 2004, Haley told The (Columbia) State newspaper that she attended both Methodist and Sikh services.

Haley's campaign has said in recent weeks that, since her 1997 conversion to Christianity, she consistently has attended a Methodist church and occasionally attended Sikh services at her parents' request. Haley and one of her brothers converted to Christianity as adults; her parents and two other siblings are Sikhs.

She and her husband, Michael, attend Mount Horeb United Methodist Church in Lexington.

Still, some voters were confused by Haley's campaign website, thinking she might be both Sikh and Methodist and were unclear which "Almighty God" Haley was referencing on the site. (Sikhs, like Christians, believe in one omnipotent God, but not the same God.)

Haley's campaign changed her website two months ago to read, "My faith in Christ has a profound impact on my daily life and I look to Him for guidance with every decision I make. ... Being a Christian is not about words, but about living for Christ every day."

Haley and her opponent in Tuesday's GOP runoff for governor, U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, have aired television ads that include references to their Christianity.

Barrett, a nondenominational Christian who was raised a Southern Baptist, said Tuesday that Haley could best answer questions about her faith and voters will decide what they think.

"Faith is very personal for everybody ... but whether it's Nikki or Vincent, I'll let them talk for themselves."

Democrat Sheheen said Friday that he has been spared attacks based on his faith. His family attends a Catholic church in Kershaw County, where his great-grandfather was a founding member in the late 1800s.

Sheheen said his one brief encounter with voter angst over his faith came during his 2004 state Senate race when he stopped by a sporting-goods store in rural Kershaw County to buy a shotgun. Sheheen said the store owner pulled him aside and said a group of people recently had been in and expressed concern about Sheheen's Catholicism, doubting his Christian credentials.

"Unquestionably, people care about the character of their elected officials and they care about their core beliefs," Sheheen said. But, he added, voters seemingly are becoming more tolerant of differing religious views.

Many question whether either candidate's religion will play a major role in the election.

Oran Smith, president of the Palmetto Family Council, a self-described Christian group that has endorsed candidates in the past, said he has received a few calls about Haley's religious beliefs, but not many.

"She's been pretty direct about her conversion," Smith said. The only way the issue will gain traction is if voters decide Haley's conversion was politically driven, he said.

Religion and politics

South Carolina's governor's race has veered from sexual allegations to, more recently, questions of religion as some have questioned the faith of GOP front-runner Nikki Haley, who was raised a Sikh and converted to Christianity. The issue might not go away in the fall, either. Democratic nominee Vincent Sheheen might be the first Catholic to win a major party's nomination in South Carolina.

What is Sikhism? Sikhism was founded in 16th-century India in opposition to idolatry and a caste system. Its followers, called Sikhs, believe in reincarnation, gender equality and one God, but not the Christian God. No idols or animals are worshipped. Ideally, followers are vegetarians and do not use alcohol or tobacco. In South Carolina, Sikhs have one gurdwara, or temple, built in 1995 in Newberry County. "Sikhism is very ecumenical and very positive and wants to bring about harmonious relationships with other religions and other people," said Seshagiri Rao, a retired University of South Carolina adjunct professor and expert on Sikhism. "Sikhs strive to be close to God."

What is Catholicism? A type of Christianity that differs from Protestant denominations, such as Baptist and Methodists, in its traditions, communion and other practices, including a Rome-based pope. Catholics believe in one God and a code of living based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus, whom Catholics believe is the son of God and savior. Catholics do not believe in reincarnation. Eternal life, according to Catholics, exists in heaven or hell. Catholics make up only a small part of the S.C. population -- about 3 percent -- and, historically, have been discriminated against for their beliefs.

This story was originally published June 16, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Will religion become a weapon against Haley, Sheheen?."