Palin's Religion Energizing GOP Faithful

Sept. 9, 2008 — -- Gov. Sarah Palin is a devout Christian who has invoked "God's will" in her fight for a gas pipeline, but she has so far avoided imposing her evangelical views on public policy issues like abortion and teaching creationism in schools.

It is clear that her deep religious faith permeates both her personal and public life. She even preaches at times in her home church, the Wasilla Bible Church, a low-key congregation that sits on folding chairs in a large new church down a dirt road at the edge of town.

In Palin's sermons, she sees the hand of God guiding or endorsing public policy matters that range from the war in Iraq to economic development.

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right ... that our leaders, our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God," Palin says in one video that has surfaced on the Internet.

The governor's major issue has been her battle to win public approval to build a pipeline that would carry natural gas to the lower 48 states. For Palin, it was a project that was blessed by more than just economists.

"I think God's will has to be done in unifying people in companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that," she preached in church. "I can do my job, but really, all of that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart isn't right with God."

Palin's former pastor, the Rev. Tim McGraw, told CNN that Palin believes in a God who is in control.

"Since her view of the world includes a God that loves us and can be accessed by us, it would be logical for her to frame her world with that possibility in it," McGraw says.

Palin was raised in a Pentecostal church and was baptized as a teenager. Besides being a star athlete in high school and later a beauty pageant contestant, she also led her high school chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Her religious views have shaped her beliefs on such hot button issues as abortion, gay marriage and evolution. She is opposed to gay marriage and believes creationism should be taught in school.