One of the themes at the annual “Christian Scholars Conference” at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, is “faith and politics in the current political climate” — subjects that readers of this blog will know we often touch on.

The conference, which kicked off on Thursday and ends on Saturday, features an impressive academic line-up. A link to the abstracts can be found here.

Keri Thompson of the University of Texas has what looks like an intriguing presentation on “Progressive Christianity in Election 2008: The Rhetorical Strategies of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.”

The abstract says “The Democratic Party’s strategic insertion of religious rhetoric ought to shed light on new trends in progressive Christianity and its future role in American politics.”

Saturday morning’s line-up will feature the faith advisor for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, Shaun Casey, in a one-on-one discussion with Stephen V. Monsma, author of “Healing for a Broken World: Christian Perspectives on Public Policy.” They will discuss how their faith has led them to opposite ends of the political spectrum.

It is all great grist for the big U.S. religious mill.