Bachmanns quit church they hadn't been to in two years

By Mike Mullen Fri., Jul. 15 2011 at 2:26 PM

Categories: Michele Bachmann

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Michele McGaughey

The Bachmanns will be missed... if anyone notices.

Michele and Marcus Bachmann have left their church after 10 years of membership. But even before she officially filed to quit the church, the Bachmanns hadn't been there in two years.

The Bachmanns were granted their release from membership to Salem Lutheran Church on June 21, church leaders told CNN. The Bachmanns' withdrawal came just six days before she officially announced she was running for president.

Bachmann mentioned the church on her campaign website as she ran for congress, but Salem Lutheran doesn't appear anywhere on MicheleBachmann.com, her official presidential campaign site. Surely, the Bachmanns' presence will be missed, if anyone actually notices they left.

Leaving the church in writing is a dramatic step. But for someone who professes her faith so publicly and so often, it's even more curious that a communications director for the denomination told CNN that the Bachmanns "had not been attending that congregation in over two years."

Bachmann and Associates, Marcus Bachmann's clinic where gay people can go to straighten themselves out, is still listed on Salem Lutheran Church's website under "Confidential Counseling."

As she does with so many other things, Michele's dodging the issue of her church. When a reporter asked Bachmann about her pastor on Thursday, Bachmann asked "Which one?" A campaign staffer pulled Bachmann away before she had the chance to not answer any more questions.

Joel Hochmuth, director of communications for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which oversees Salem Lutheran, said the Bachmanns had not requested to transfer membership to another church.

Salem Lutheran pastor Marcus Birkholz said he'd been asked not to talk about the Bachmanns, but Hochmuth said the timing of their flight from the church wasn't related to the campaign.

"My understanding of the situation was the timing of the request for release was far more coincidental than strategic," Hochmuth said.

Maybe Michele doesn't need to go to church. After all, she said God told her to run for president. She shouldn't waste time with a church and a pastor when she's already got a direct line to the Lord.

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