Dean explains that his previous reticence in speaking of his Christian faith is because he holds to "the Northeast tradition," of privacy. "People in the Northeast don't talk about their religion. It's a very personal private matter, and that's the tradition I was brought up in." He has also explained that his new-found need to talk about religion is due to his discovery of the exotic territory known as the South. "Im still learning a lot about faith in the South and how important it is," he said. Next thing you know, Dr. Dean will be talking about Kudzu and chomping chewing tobacco at the NASCAR track. Southerners are not likely to appreciate Dean's patronizing approach to both their region and religion.

The liberal journal The American Prospect went do far as to declare Dean "essentially, a northern evangelist." The magazine noted that Dean's campaign seems to create a "quasi-religious fervor." This is, the Prospect admitted, rather odd. "He almost never mentions God in his stump speeches and he rarely goes to church himself. Nevertheless, his rhetoric--like his campaign structure--is deeply grounded in the social practices of a branch of radical Protestantism whose tenets still wield power in the structures of Vermont's government." The magazine went on to suggest that Dean is following in the pathway established by the Pilgrims who "created a society based partly on the anti-authoritarian religious principles of Congregationalism, their religion (and, since the early 80's, Dean's)."

On the other hand, to mention the Pilgrims and Governor Dean in one sentence is to point to more dissimilarity than anything else. The Pilgrims were driven by deep Christian conviction and they sought above all things to establish a society that would live out the comprehensive truth of Christianity--what we would now call a Christian worldview. By contrast, Howard Dean reveals himself to be a secularist at heart, regardless of denominational affiliation. He may identify with something like the "Social Gospel" popular among Protestant liberals of the early twentieth century, but his positions on homosexuality, abortion, and a host of other issues places him far outside the worldview of Americans who believe that faith should influence public policy.

Dean's secularism has offended some liberal Christians as well. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners magazine, criticized Dean and his fellow Democratic candidates in an op-ed column published in The New York Times. With the exception of Senator Joseph Lieberman, Wallis noted that the Democratic candidates "seem uncomfortable with the subject of religion." Wallis made his concerns about Governor Dean abundantly clear: "Howard Dean, the leading challenger to President Bush, illustrates the Democrats' problem. Dr. Dean recently said he left his church in Vermont over dispute about a bike path, and explained that his faith does not inform his politics. He has also said the presidential race should stay away from the issues of 'guns, God and gays' and focus on jobs, healthcare and foreign policy." As Wallis knows, this will not wash with the American electorate. Indeed, Wallis argues that Howard Dean's approach will allow conservative Christians to define the terms of the debate.