“Religion is often a motivator for many candidates, which is entirely appropriate,” he said. “It is often what drives someone to be involved and to run for public office. However, religion is now being used as a strategy to win over voters, and that does great harm to both religion and politics.”
Rev. Gaddy also was invited to address the First Friday Breakfast Club (FFBC) in Des Moines. FFBC – the largest breakfast club in Iowa – is an educational, nonprofit organization for gay men and invites them to gather on the first Friday of every month to provide mutual support, to be educated on community affairs and to further educate community leaders with more positive images of the LGBT community.
Rev. Gaddy and I were also featured guests on Iowa Public Radio’s The Exchange, discussing the intermingling of religion and politics in Iowa and across the nation…and the appropriate ways in which faith can inform our politics.
While with me in Iowa, Rev. Gaddy also sat down with a few local journalists and discussed the misuse of religion this campaign season. His views were featured in a Cedar Rapids Gazette editorial and a Cedar Rapids Gazette opinion column as well as in an editorial in the Des Moines Register.
We had a very busy – but extremely successful – few days on the campaign trail…and I know that Rev. Gaddy’s message has made an impact here in Iowa.