"Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is no stranger to the pulpit—or politics. The former Fox News Channel host announced Tuesday his bid for the GOP nomination for the White House. Here are five facts about this Southern Baptist's perspectives on faith.
1. Before he was a politician, he was a pastor.
Huckabee was a pastor who preached for 12 years in Arkansas pulpits before he became a governor
and, later, a 2008 candidate for president.
2. He led Baptists statewide, not just in the pew.While he was pastor of Beech Street First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Ark., from 1986 to 1992, Huckabee, now 59, was the youngest president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, a job that helped prompt him to think about switching from pastoring to politics. Pastor David Uth, the leader of First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla., told RNS that in that post, Huckabee worked to calm differences between moderate and conservative Baptists in his home state.
3. He is a favorite of evangelicals and he claims them, too."There are a lot of people running for president," he told the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Values Voter Presidential Debate, whose 2007 participants gave him a 63 percent win in its straw poll. "Many of them will come to you. I come from you."
4. He is a fierce defender of traditional marriage — and Chick-fil-A.When Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy sparked controversy in 2012 by saying he was "guilty as charged" for supporting traditional marriage, Huckabee spearheaded a "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" for the restaurant known for its waffle fries and Christian roots.
5. As a political leader, he says he respects people of all faiths and no faith."It was never my desire to use my position to push a particular religious doctrine through the official channels of government. Spiritual convictions should certainly be reflected in one's worldview, approaches to problems, and perspective," he wrote in his 2008 book, "Do the Right Thing." CN
1. Before he was a politician, he was a pastor.
Huckabee was a pastor who preached for 12 years in Arkansas pulpits before he became a governor
2. He led Baptists statewide, not just in the pew.While he was pastor of Beech Street First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Ark., from 1986 to 1992, Huckabee, now 59, was the youngest president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, a job that helped prompt him to think about switching from pastoring to politics. Pastor David Uth, the leader of First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla., told RNS that in that post, Huckabee worked to calm differences between moderate and conservative Baptists in his home state.
3. He is a favorite of evangelicals and he claims them, too."There are a lot of people running for president," he told the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Values Voter Presidential Debate, whose 2007 participants gave him a 63 percent win in its straw poll. "Many of them will come to you. I come from you."
4. He is a fierce defender of traditional marriage — and Chick-fil-A.When Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy sparked controversy in 2012 by saying he was "guilty as charged" for supporting traditional marriage, Huckabee spearheaded a "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" for the restaurant known for its waffle fries and Christian roots.
5. As a political leader, he says he respects people of all faiths and no faith."It was never my desire to use my position to push a particular religious doctrine through the official channels of government. Spiritual convictions should certainly be reflected in one's worldview, approaches to problems, and perspective," he wrote in his 2008 book, "Do the Right Thing." CN
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