Ecumenical "Christian Principles in an Election Year"
Offer Criteria for Judging Candidates
The National Council of Churches USA has released 10 principles for evaluating candidates that it hopes all Christians -- from liberals to conservatives -- will study and apply in this election year.

These "Christian Principles in an Election Year" apply well-established ecumenical principles to both domestic and foreign policy issues, and address issues of war, poverty, immigration, education, health care, racial justice, distress in U.S. inner cities and rural communities, the environment and the criminal justice system. They urge domestic policies that build "communities shaped by peace and cooperation" and a foreign policy "based on cooperation and global justice."

The NCC's Justice and Advocacy Commission developed the principles, which then were affirmed by the NCC's Executive Committee. "The principles are not intended to be partisan, but rather to lift up common principles that have been affirmed ecumenically and that can provide guidance in this election season."