USA: 'The pastor of a Baptist church in North Carolina who used his pulpit to urge the faithful to support President George Bush has resigned after nine members of his congregation accused him of throwing them out over their political beliefs. The controversy over Chan Chandler, the church's 33-year-old preacher who once described John Kerry as a "non-Christian" who "kills babies", has ignited a national debate over the growing politicisation of America's religious institutions - itself a symptom of the ever more poisonous divide between Republicans and Democrats. The Rev Chandler's resignation on Tuesday evening came as a surprise to his supporters in the tiny town of East Waynesville, because he had previously sought to deny that he had tried to throw out anyone. However, an audio tape of one of his sermons has him clearly telling his congregation that anyone who planned to vote for Senator Kerry, the Democratic presidential candidate, needed to "repent or resign".' (Independent)