Most other news is on hold as the election moves into overload. Faith is still in the spotlight though, even if only for the headline writers to make fun of.

1. The week began with the Sunday Age’s Will atheism spell trouble for Gillard?. The story finished with a quote from Gary Morgan, of Roy Morgan Research, saying the PM’s atheism hasn’t been an issue in opinion polls. Interestingly, I think Christians are troubled as much, if not more, by her defacto status. It’s not the first time there’s been an agnostic or even atheist in the Lodge but is this the first time we’ve had a PM who is in a de-facto relationship?

2. Dirty politics didn’t take long to surface, with one ALP candidate linking Tony Abbott’s religious views to suicide. Julia Gillard distanced herself from such views, and the statement was later withdrawn. Let’s hope this doesn’t set the tone for the campaign.

3. Anglicare tried to move the focus back to real issues with two statements - one on the strugglers in society and the other on mental health.

4. While other issues took the spotlight, the government’s preference deal with the greens probably deserved more attention than it got. The Greens denied the deal involved compromise on the internet filter issue and both sides were quick to say policy was not be traded, even though preferences were. This is the area where Christians need to hold the major parties accountable. Will Julia Gillard stand by the policy on gay marriage if she’s re-elected? If the Greens had balance of power what would they do? The Australian muses on that here.

5. Just to round out the top five on a political note - there was an interesting feature piece in the Chicago Tribune about Obama’s chaplain Joshua DuBois, or more correctly, the ‘Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.’ Times have changed from the era when men like Billy Graham and Peter Marshall walked the corridors of power.

So the news is overwhelmingly election minded - keep checking sydneyanglicans.net for the latest breaking news and Karin Sowada’s election blog.