<I mean, folks like Martin Luther King, Central American Roman Catholic priests, Congregational parishes who take in Southeast Asian refugee families, Quakers, all of 'em.

Good point...my brush was probably too broad again. Once more I have to distinguish between the hard core left--unfortunately in the drivers seat in this country--and your average small-town liberal.

Still, one has to remember that many leftists use the church as a convenient cover to keep their popularity up with the average citizens they deal with. Liberation theologists who support Marxism in Central America would fall into this category. If any of them are sincere Christians, then they are just plain dumb, since the organized church is one of the first things up against the wall when Marxists take over. Someone like Jesse Jackson would also fall into this phony preacher category, along with a large number of other "reverends," including a good number of TV preachers.

A considerable number of politicians in Washington also keep up churchgoing primarily to keep the voters happy. An atheist stands no real chance of getting elected in this country. The Left is fine with this hypocrisy, which is why no one was bothered when Clinton ran out of an Easter service to get his cone honed by someone other than his wife.

But when they actually act like they have a religion, like Ashcroft, suddenly everybody gets their panties in a bunch.

Martin Luther King, on the other hand, would seem to have been sincere, as would most of the local parish preachers and Quakers you mention, so your exceptions are duly noted.