The Maude Sharpe Powell Professor of Religious Studies spoke with CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin about aspects of the 2012 presidential race.
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Jeffrey C. Pugh, the Maude Sharpe Powell Professor of Religious Studies at Elon University, spoke live on CNN for an Aug. 13 interview with news anchor Brooke Baldwin on the implications of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney selecting Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to be his vice-presidential running mate in the 2012 elections.
The Republican ticket makes U.S. history in that, for the first time, a major political party does not have a Protestant on the top of its ticket. Romney is Mormon; Paul is Catholic.
As part of the interview, which aired from 3:30-3:35 p.m., Pugh noted that both vice presidential candidates are of the Catholic faith, and each presents very different ideologies. He also discussed how both Mormons and Catholics used to be castigated by many members of the same party Romney and Paul now represent, which indicates how ideology trumps theology in 21st century American politics.
Pugh joined the faculty in 1986 after earning his master of divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and another master’s and doctorate from Drew University Graduate School in Madison, N.J. His graduate research focused on systematic and historical theology, and he continued that work after arriving at Elon. Pugh’s research has produced four books that seek approaches to religious studies that have both historical and contemporary relevance.