The Liberal Democrats' new leader has already marked himself out as a bit of a radical with his blunt declaration yesterday that he doesn't believe in God, writes Louise Radnofsky.
Asked the question in a rapid-fire interview on Radio Five Live, Nick Clegg offered a quick "no". Later he elaborated, saying he was "not an active believer, but the last thing I would do when talking or thinking about religion is approach it with a closed heart or a closed mind". He added that his wife, Miriam, was a Catholic and their children were being brought up in the religion.
Even in a country, such as Britain, that is famously low-key about religious belief, Clegg's admission is rare for a politician. And he is preparing to challenge Gordon Brown, the son of a Scottish church minister.
Alastair Campbell memorably batted away questions about his boss Tony Blair's Christianity with a succinct, "We don't do God." Blair later said he too felt wary about discussing religion. "You talk about [religion] in our system and, frankly, people do think you're a nutter," he said.
So, is Clegg being boldly honest in the tradition of his nineteenth century liberal forebears? Or is his admission quite unremarkable - after all, this isn't the United States?
