paul(1)

Background

Hometown
Green Tree, Pa.

Age
74

Religion
Baptist

Education
Duke University School of Medicine, M.D., 1961
Gettysburg College, B.A., 1957

Candidate Website
www.ronpaul2008.com

Candidacy Status
Formally declared candidacy March 12, 2007
Formally withdrew candidacy June 12, 2008

Political Experience
U.S. Representative from Texas, 1976-1977, 1979-1985, 1997-present

Professional Experience
Founder and honorary chairman, Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 1979-present
Obstetrician and gynecologist, private practice, 1968-1996
Flight surgeon, U.S. Air National Guard, 1965-1968
Flight surgeon and captain, U.S. Air Force, 1963-1965

Family Information
Spouse: Carol Wells Paul
Children: Ronald Paul Jr., Lori Pyeatt, Randall “Rand” Paul, Robert Paul and Joy Paul-LeBlanc

Religious Biography

In His Own Words

“I have never been one who is comfortable talking about my faith in the political arena. In fact, the pandering that typically occurs in the election season I find to be distasteful. But for those who have asked, I freely confess that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior, and that I seek His guidance in all that I do.”
(The Covenant News, July 2007)

The profile you are viewing is from the 2008 presidential race. To see profiles from the 2012 presidential race, please go to Religion & Politics 2012.

Ron Paul was raised on a dairy farm outside of Pittsburgh. His parents were “pretty devout” Lutherans, according to campaign spokesman Jesse Benton, and as a child, Paul regularly attended St. John’s Lutheran Church in Carnegie, Pa. One of five sons, Paul briefly considered becoming a Lutheran minister like two of his brothers but chose to pursue medicine instead. In 1957, during his senior year at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa., Paul married Carol Wells at her neighborhood Episcopal church.

All five of the couple’s children were baptized as Episcopalians, but Paul told a reporter at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he and his wife “became less comfortable with the Episcopal Church as time went on.” They now attend services “several times each year” at the First Baptist Church of Lake Jackson, Texas, according to a pastor at the church, where Paul’s eldest daughter and her family are members.

According to Benton, Paul feels the “greatest affinity right now” with the Baptist denomination and identifies himself as a Baptist, though he is not a formal member of a local church. In the past, Paul has identified himself simply as “Protestant” but is now saying “as a matter of clarification” that he is a Baptist, according to Benton.

If elected president, Paul would be the fifth Baptist to hold the office.

On The Issues

Abortion Paul