Timothy McVeigh - Political Views and Religious Beliefs

Political Views and Religious Beliefs

McVeigh was a registered Republican when he lived in Buffalo, New York in the 1980s, and had a membership in the National Rifle Association while in the military, but voted for Libertarian Party candidate, Harry Browne, in the 1996 presidential elections. McVeigh was raised Roman Catholic. During his childhood, he and his father attended Mass regularly. McVeigh was confirmed at the Good Shepherd Church in Pendleton, New York, in 1985. In a 1996 interview, McVeigh professed belief in "a God", although he said he had "sort of lost touch with" Catholicism and "I never really picked it up, however I do maintain core beliefs." In the 2001 book American Terrorist, McVeigh stated that he did not believe in Hell and that science is his religion. In June 2001, a day before the execution, McVeigh wrote a letter to the Buffalo News identifying as agnostic. Before his execution, McVeigh took the Catholic sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

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