Religion less of a factor in New Hampshire vote

By Scott Malone and Caren Bohan

DOVER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful John McCain brought his pitch to a New Hampshire church basement on Saturday, but religion was hardly on his agenda.

The Arizona Senator's sole mention of the topic was in an aside to a woman's question on immigration, when he assured her that while he opposed illegal immigration, he believed that, "We are all God's children, we are all created in God's image."

Unlike the two other early-voting states of Iowa and South Carolina, in New Hampshire religion -- particularly the evangelical Christianity reflected in thousand-seat megachurches sprouting up in other parts of the country -- is not a major element in how voters select candidates in the state's January 8 nominating primary.

"It's really not a factor," said Diane Ramus, a 50-year-old physician from Lee, New Hampshire, who turned out to see McCain speak in the basement of a Greek Orthodox church.

"I think it's a personal thing for the candidates," said Ramus. "Religion can be a very important personal decision, to provide strength to someone, and I see that as a positive. But I don't see it as a necessary personal belief in a candidate."

MIXED RELIGIOUS MAKEUP

While Baptist minister and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is leading his Republican rivals in Iowa and South Carolina, the former Arkansas governor is trailing in New Hampshire. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, and McCain, an Episcopalian, are fighting for the lead in New Hampshire, where Huckabee is a distant fourth.

"Religious rhetoric actually doesn't go down that well here," said Linda Fowler, a professor of government at Dartmouth College. "New Hampshire is conservative fiscally, but it is moderate to liberal socially. It's a libertarian state."