Appearing together on the campaign trail for the first time in the general election, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama briefly stood side by side at a forum to address topics rarely discussed on the 2008 campaign trail – faith and values.

Pastor Rick Warren, leader of the large Saddleback Church in southern California, spent an hour with each candidate, asking identical questions dealing with religion and social issues. The candidates also were questioned about their own morals and personal values.

They were asked to describe what they believe to be the United States’ greatest moral failure: McCain said he believes Americans have not provided enough service for their country and the world and Obama said he believes the United States has not done enough to fight poverty. (A transcript of the forum is available on the CNN Web site.)

To those surprised to see U.S. presidential candidates participating in a political forum at a church, Warren explained “we believe in the separation of church and state, but we do not believe in the separation of faith and politics, because faith is just a world view, and everybody has some kind of world view, and it’s important to know what they are.”

For more on Christian voters, see “What do Evangelicals Want in 2008?” You can also join a discussion about the role of religion in American life in the blog “Talking Faith: Religious Diversity.”