Summary: In the twenty-first century, religious dialogue and communication strategies remain an understated yet influential factor in shaping national political elections in Australia and the United States. In the lead up to the 2004 federal election, the Australian Liberal and US Republican coalition leaders, John Howard and George Bush developed a religious agenda and political strategy to engage centre-right religious voters. This involved the government working closely with religious groups like the Evangelicals and Exclusive Brethren. From 2004 to 2007/08, the Australian Labor party and US Democrats countered the influence of the religious right in national elections, by developing a centre-left communication strategy to engage religious voters, and to win public office. This paper identifies the socio-cultural factors that led the Labor party and Democrats to view religious communication as an important political factor in the lead up to the 2007/8 national election; and the dialogue and communication strategies used to engage religious voters. These include the increased lobbying role of religious groups in the public square, the mobilization of the religious vote, and various speeches and forums targeted at specific religious groups. I conclude by summarizing the importance of religious communication in political elections and what this reveals for the representation of religious interests in Australia and the United States – two post-modern secular democracies.
