U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, a Republican locked in a heated battle for re-election in a district that includes Fairfield, cancelled an interview scheduled for Monday night at Fairfield after the Connecticut Post ran a front page story last Friday that he felt was sensational.
Shays was to take part in a series called “Politics Meets Faith” sponsored and organized by the Center for Faith and Public Life, but cancelled because of the way the Post story depicted his religious views.
The event was to be a forum at the Quick Center that would have been open to selected students and faculty members, but closed to the media and the general public.
“I felt it would be inappropriate for me to participate in a program discussing faith and politics given the Connecticut Post article on Friday,” Shays said in a statement.
The article, written by Peter Urban, reported that Shays no longer closely practices Christian Science, a religion that emphasizes prayer as a means to cure illness.
Fr. Rick Ryscavage, director of the Center for Faith and Public Life, said Shays became uneasy about discussing his religious views in public soon after attention had been called to his change in religious views.
“He was deeply offended by the Post article which sensationalized a very personal issue,” Ryscavage said.
“He mentioned his faith in an interview with reporters in Washington but he felt that the Post took his remarks and turned them into a kind of exposé that was painful for his family to read.”
Shays is in a tough battle for re-election with former Westport First Selectwoman Diane Farrell, a Democrat who opposes the war in Iraq, which Shays has supported. The race is thought by analysts to be a virtual toss-up, so every statement made by either candidate is highly scrutinized.
Ryscavage indicated that Shays did not want to risk his changing religious views becoming a campaign issue, something he felt could happen in the aftermath of the article.
The article, which ran under the headline, “Shays says faith has changed” read in part: “In a shocking relevation, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4, told reporters Thursday that his faith has been shaken and he is no longer a practicing Christian Scientist.”
Shays was scheduled to be the first of several politicians to be interviewed for the program, which focuses on politicians with religious backgrounds that are uncommon or especially intriguing in public life.
Ryscavage said Sen.Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut has agreed to take part in the program, and that Ryscavage hopes to set a date for some time before the Nov. 7 congressional elections. Calls have also been made to the offices of several nationally prominent politicians who have varying religious backgrounds.
The list of those contacted includes Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, and both candidates in the hotly contested Pennsylvania senate race: Republican Sen. Rick Santorum and Democratic state Treasurer Bob Casey.
Kaine, Santorum and Casey are all practicing Catholics, Clinton and Frist are Protestants, and Lieberman is an Orthodox Jew.
Ryscavage said the series will be filmed by the media center, and that the University hopes to sell the entire series to a major network when it has been completed.
Ryscavage said there is a good possibility that Shays will take part in the program at some point after election day.
“He hoped that we might be able to reschedule the program at another time,” Ryscavage said. “He was looking forward to the conversation with Fairfield students.”
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