Hawaii political discourse has been teetering on the brink of a slippery slope in recent weeks, one that is disturbing to everyone who embraces the islands’ history as an inclusive rather than divisive society. Candidates and political leaders must speak out against it, with greater vehemence than they’ve shown so far.

The current election campaign season is not the first with an overlay of religious issues — the 1998 constitutional amendment proposal concerning same-sex marriage comes to mind — but religion itself appears as a wedge issue more overtly than in the past.

The flash point occurred late in August when Jonah Kaauwai, who heads the Hawaii Republican Party, issued a missive to the Christian community identifying GOP front-runner James "Duke" Aiona as the candidate who "will win because the Church has been behind him." His two leading rivals, Democrats Neil Abercrombie and Mufi Hannemann, were dismissed as "advancing unrighteousness."

And in the past week a group called Island Values placed radio ads peeling off Abercrombie as the lone "unacceptable" candidate who "declares no religious affiliation."

The former congressman has said he was confirmed as an Episcopalian, but that’s beside the point. Making religious affiliation a dominant consideration in sizing up the candidates can draw battle lines that nobody should want to see here.

Religious and spiritual beliefs are personal convictions that form part of the foundation from which elected leaders make their decisions. But viewing candidates through this lens yields an incomplete picture, one that’s unrefined by their record in office or other important credentials.

Worse, it can quickly degenerate into an us-versus-them kind of sniping. Conservative leader and former lawmaker Dennis Arakaki, who voiced the Island Values ad, underscored that, in the debate over civil unions legislation, "we learned the importance of electing people with our traditional Christian values."

What values does Arakaki mean? Does he mean opposition to legalized abortion, same-sex marriage and gambling, for instance? Probably.

Would Island Values favor electing people of other faiths, such as a Muslim, or nonbelievers who shared its position on these issues? Can one have "Christian" values without believing in Christ? Probably not.

It is possible to be true to one’s personal beliefs without allowing religious agendas to trump everything. Gov. John A. Burns, a committed Catholic, did so when he allowed the abortion legalization bill to become law without his signature.

He had decided that an elected governor "must never let his private political and religious convictions unduly influence his judgment as governor of all the people."

Everyone has seen in the abhorrent anti-Muslim fervor, currently manifest in the plans by a Florida Christian church to burn Qurans on the anniversary of 9/11 this week, what can happen when sectarian rancor is allowed to reign.

Hawaii has always, rightfully, set itself apart from such hate — and this is not the time to weaken in that resolve.