Faith leaders react to Kamala Harris' comments about her prayer life: 'What do you do with your faith?'

Faith leaders from multiple denominations shared their reactions on Monday to Vice President Kamala Harris' recent public remarks about her prayer life and her campaign's broader effort to focus on faith and religion during the final days leading up to the election.

Last week, Harris told CNN's Anderson Cooper during a town hall appearance that she prays "every day" and "sometimes twice a day." 

While some of the faith leaders commended Harris for her public testimony about her faith, all of them indicated that – at the end of the day – it is actions that really matter the most, not words.

"I think it's a good thing when public officials do share the fact that they are people of faith and that they pray," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, who serves as associate dean and director of Global Social Action at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "I think those kinds of expressions are important – they're positive." 

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However, Cooper added that "the most important thing" is what one does with one's faith. "How does it display what kind of person you are? How do you interact with others?"

Cooper's take was echoed by a former Catholic priest and Fox News religion contributor Jonathan Morris, who insisted "we need candidates who are willing to express not only in words, but in actions," that they are faith-centered, God-fearing people. 

Morris said he wished that Harris would have been asked a follow-up question about the details of her daily prayer life. "I would have loved to have heard Anderson Cooper respond in this way: "What does your daily, and sometimes twice daily, prayer look like, sound like, or feel like? What does it mean to you?"

Morris noted that he would never make a judgment on someone's internal faith and prayer life, but he said that in Harris' case, she is choosing to be public about it, and that opens her up to follow-up questions. 

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The Faith & Freedom Coalition, a nonprofit that represents evangelical Christians, also echoed the argument that actions speak louder than words when it comes to faith. However, the group argued that Harris' actions as a public official have been antagonistic to people of faith.

"In an eleventh-hour attempt to appeal to America's largest voting bloc, Vice President Harris is suddenly visiting churches and pretending she's had nothing to do with the Biden-Harris administration's posture of antagonism toward people of faith for the past four years," said Timothy Head, the coalition's executive director. "Harris has refused to defend religious freedom or take seriously the concerns of church-going Americans while pandering to pro-abortion radicals, making this last-minute effort both insincere and destined to fail. If ever there were an illustration of 'too little, too late,' this is it."

Harris, the daughter of a Hindu mother from India and an Anglican father from Jamaica, was influenced by a Christian woman throughout her upbringing, according to The Washington Post. 

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"I grew up in the Black church," Harris said in a recent interview. During the interview, Harris discussed her relationship with her pastor, Rev. Amos Brown, noting that she called him immediately after she learned about becoming the Democratic nominee for president.

Earlier this month, the Harris campaign launched a "Souls to the Polls" initiative, led by the campaign’s National Advisory Board of Black Faith Leaders. One of those advisory board members, Bishop Leah Daughtry, told CNN that faith leaders have been canvasing the country to make a case for Harris. 

Harris has also been campaigning at numerous churches as of late, where she frequently quotes Scripture verses, and on Monday, Harris received an endorsement from more than 1,000 faith leaders across the country.

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Meanwhile, this week, a Catholic advocacy organization, CatholicVote, released an ad calling on Harris to denounce a controversial drag group whose members have mocked nuns and other Christian symbols in their performances. In the ad, Harris can be seen in a picture with members of the group, which CatholicVote claims "intentionally mock[s] and degrade[s] Christians."