2006.09.15: September 15, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Fiji: Politics: Congress: Religion: Connecticut Post: Chris Shays told reporters that his faith has been shaken and he is no longer a practicing Christian Scientist

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Fiji: Special Report: Former Congressman Chris Shays: RPCV Congressman Chris Shays: Newest Stories: 2006.06.16: June 16, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Fiji: Politics: Congress: US News & World Report: 15 things you didn't know about Christopher Shays : 2006.09.15: September 15, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Fiji: Politics: Congress: Religion: Connecticut Post: Chris Shays told reporters that his faith has been shaken and he is no longer a practicing Christian Scientist

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Chris Shays told reporters that his faith has been shaken and he is no longer a practicing Christian Scientist

Chris Shays told reporters that his faith has been shaken and he is no longer a practicing Christian Scientist

Shays declined to detail his soul searching, leaving questions unanswered about what exactly prompted him to stop practicing Christian Science as he had before. He hinted at the medical issue. "Christian Science relies on prayer for healing instead of medicine," he said. "It requires a lot. I'm telling you I have questions about my own faith." In a rambling and emotion-filled response, Shays said that he is not the same person he was back when he served in the Peace Corps in Fiji to fulfill his national service from 1968 to 1970. Shays acknowledged his crisis of faith in response to a question about his status as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and his current position as one of the most ardent supporters of the Iraq war. His view on war shifted after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990. Initially, he felt that as a conscientious objector he could not support war. Republican colleagues told him that if he couldn't faithfully represent his constituents then he should resign. "I sorted it out," he said.

Chris Shays told reporters that his faith has been shaken and he is no longer a practicing Christian Scientist

Shays says his faith changed

No longer follows Christian Scientist views on healing

PETER URBAN purban@ctpost.com

WASHINGTON — In a shocking revelation, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4, told reporters Thursday that his faith has been shaken and he is no longer a practicing Christian Scientist.

"I have questions about my own faith," Shays said at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, where his view on the war in Iraq was the dominant topic.

Shays declined to detail his soul searching, leaving questions unanswered about what exactly prompted him to stop practicing Christian Science as he had before. He hinted at the medical issue.

"Christian Science relies on prayer for healing instead of medicine," he said. "It requires a lot. I'm telling you I have questions about my own faith."

Then, too, Shays spoke about good and evil in the world.

"I believe we are imperiled by Islamic terrorists. Believing that, what do we do about it?" Shays asked. "I've changed my views about the need to confront evil."

Although circumspect, Shays clearly has been shaken by the weight of war and his involvement in it.

"I realize I have sent men and women to war," he said. "I attended two funerals last week."

Although his faith is shaken, Shays said he still considers himself a religious person. "I still pray," he said.

Mary Baker Eddy founded the Christian Science church in 1879 after recovering from illness using prayer. The basic ideas of the church are: God is supreme love; each individual, as a child of God, is spiritual; and that God's infinite goodness, realized in prayer and action, heals.

Shays acknowledged his crisis of faith in response to a question about his status as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and his current position as one of the most ardent supporters of the Iraq war.

Shays is locked in a heated re-election battle with Democrat Diane Farrell of Westport, who opposes the war. She has not made an issue of his conscientious objector status during Vietnam, but the question has come up at public forums in the district.

In a rambling and emotion-filled response, Shays said that he is not the same person he was back when he served in the Peace Corps in Fiji to fulfill his national service from 1968 to 1970.

Shays grew up in a Christian Science household in Fairfield County.

Shays, his wife and daughter are graduates of Principia College in St. Louis, a private institution for Christian Scientists. Shays said his faith as a Christian Scientist influenced his decision to be a conscientious objector, although the church does not prohibit military service.

In 1970, the Christian Science board of directors issued a statement saying that it was not a pacifist church in the same sense as Quakers and Mennonites, but that it was deeply committed to the "establishment of peace on Earth and to unceasing search for pacific methods of settling national differences."

They noted that Eddy wrote that "war is in itself evil, barbarous, devilish," but in related passages noted that war may sometimes be the lesser of two evils and that armaments may be necessary for the prevention of war and the preservation of peace.

Shays said that as he has matured and experienced life, his views have shifted.

He changed his early views against capital punishment after taking a keen interest in the rape and murder of Sandy Hoyt, a Stamford girl, in 1979. "I started to learn a lot about what it was like to be a victim," he said.

His view on war shifted after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990. Initially, he felt that as a conscientious objector he could not support war. Republican colleagues told him that if he couldn't faithfully represent his constituents then he should resign.

"I sorted it out," he said.

Shays said that Desert Storm was "the right thing to do" then because Saddam could not be left in control of two-thirds of the world's oil supply.

The terrorist attacks orchestrated by al-Qaida on Sept. 11, 2001, had a profound impact on Shays, who counts 81 dead from his 4th District.

As chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, Shays said he has held hearings on terrorism and knew the World Trade Center was a target.

"I live with the thought that I could not get anyone in the press to pay attention to that issue. What was my responsibility?" he said. "I am struggling with my own faith."

Shays said he believes strongly that the Iraq war is a noble mission and that winning it is "the only way we are going to turn around this world."

Pressed about his religious status, Shays said: "Am I fulfilling my faith the way I used to? No. I'm not a practicing Christian Scientist. I'm not living my faith the way I used to."

Gary Rose, a professor of politics at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, said that Shays' announcement would likely have little impact on the 4th District election this fall. "I don't think it is that powerful of a force here in Connecticut," he said. "It is a very tolerant state."

Rose, however, said that it was odd to hear a Republican questioning his faith.

"In a broader sense, it underscores the maverick nature of Congressman Shays. He is just so hard to ever pin down on anything."





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Story Source: Connecticut Post

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