President Bush at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. (CNS/Reuters)

The last post dealt with the faith of Tony Blair. This one deals with the faith of another political leader with whom Blair was linked closely while he was serving as Britain’s prime minister — President George W. Bush.

Bush touched on his own religious beliefs in a pair of appearances last week. The fact that Bush felt comfortable in doing so while still in office reinforces a point that Blair made on the BBC over the weekend: It’s much more acceptable for American leaders to refer to their faith in the public square.

Bush, who is a United Methodist, explained that he is not a scriptural literalist in a Dec. 8 interview with “Nightline’s” Cynthia McFadden, Associated Press reported. Bush also said that he did not believe that evolution is incompatible with a belief that God created the universe.

Said Bush, “I think you can have both. I think evolution can — you’re getting me way out of my lane here. I’m just a simple president. But it’s, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty [being], and I don’t think it’s incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution.”

Bush said he does not dwell on whether he was chosen by God to serve as president. And, he said, the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was not a religious one.

“I did it based upon the need to protect the American people from harm,” the president said.

“You can’t look at the decision to go into Iraq apart from, you know, what happened on Sept. 11. It was not a religious decision,” he said. “I don’t view this as a war of religion. I view this as a war of good, decent people of all faiths against people who murder innocent people to achieve a political objective.”

In the “Nightline” interview, Bush also discussed how finding religion helped him address his drinking problem. He spoke on the topic of religion and addiction again during a Dec. 12 White House meeting with people working in the field of substance abuse.

CNN reported that Bush praised the effectiveness of the programs represented at the meeting. Most of them had a faith-based component.

“I’m a faith-based guy,” Bush said. “Sometimes, to help change a person’s behavior, you have to change their heart. Government’s not really good at that.”

At the White House meeting, Bush spoke about the benefits of prayer.

“One of the most striking aspects of being president is the power of prayer in my life. I feel it,” Bush said. “Some days are happy. Some days are not so happy. But every day is joyous.”

— Tom McFeely