Former Senator and Ambassador John Danforth offered more harsh words for his party's use of religious rehtoric for political gain. Danforth is an ordained Episcopal priest.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/176/story_17656_1.html
Some choice quotes:
I've been away from [the Senate] for more than 10 years, and I see politics from a distance. And I'm appalled by what I see. Right there in the midst of all the partisanship, in the midst of all the nastiness, right there with their wedge issues and litmus tests and extreme rhetoric, right there as the most divisive force in American life, are my fellow Christians.
One of the biggest issues of our time is the role of religion in creating divisiveness to the point of bloodshed.
If they believe that the purpose of religion is to hold us together, then the second step is to then think of what we're doing now that works in the other direction, and what we can do to create a sense of greater inclusiveness and tolerance.
[The idea that religion should be a divisive force in America] can't stand the light of day, because the more widely people think about it and talk about it, the more it creates a negative reaction.