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<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> </FONT><FONT face=Arial><A
href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/15/michele-bachmann-officially-leaves-her-church/">http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/15/michele-bachmann-officially-leaves-her-church/</A></FONT>
<H1 class=cnnBlogContentTitle><A
title="Permanent Link:Michele Bachmann officially leaves her church"
href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/15/michele-bachmann-officially-leaves-her-church/"
rel=bookmark><FONT color=#004276 size=5 face=Arial>Michele Bachmann officially
leaves her church</FONT></A></H1>
<DIV class=cnnBlogContentPost>
<P class=cnn_first><FONT face=Arial>By <STRONG>Eric Marrapodi</STRONG>, CNN
Belief Blog Co-Editor</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial><STRONG>Washington (CNN) - </STRONG>Republican presidential
candidate Michele Bachmann has long been a darling of conservative evangelicals,
but shortly before announcing her White House bid, she officially quit a church
she’d belonged to for years.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Bachmann, a Minnesota congresswoman, and her husband,
Marcus, withdrew their membership from Salem Lutheran Church in Stillwater,
Minnesota, last month, according to church officials.</FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The Bachmanns had been members of the church for more
than 10 years, according to Joel Hochmuth, director of communications for the
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the broader denominational body of which
Bachmann’s former church is a member.<SPAN
class=590115818-15072011>..</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=590115818-15072011></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=590115818-15072011>The Wisconsin Evangelical
Lutheran Synod has come under criticism from some Catholics for its views on the
papacy, an institution that the denomination calls the Antichrist.</DIV>
<DIV>
<P>"We identify the Antichrist as the Papacy," the denomination's website says.
"This is an historical judgment based on Scripture."</P>
<P>The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights issued a statement
Thursday about Bachmann's denomination, saying it's "regrettable that there are
still strains of anti-Catholicism in some Protestant circles."</P>
<P>"But we find no evidence of any bigotry on the part of Rep. Michele
Bachmann," the statement continued. "Indeed, she has condemned anti-Catholicism.
Just as President Barack Obama is not responsible for the views of Rev. Jeremiah
Wright, Rep. Bachmann must be judged on the basis of her own
record."</P></SPAN></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>