The Down Under Bible Belt

stretches from coast to coast, if two items from the current, utterly boring, election campaign are any indication.

Dumped Liberal candidate David Barker doesn't know why he has been disendorsed despite making controversial anti-Muslim comments.

The disgraced candidate used his Facebook site to accuse Labor of moving the nation closer to a Muslim country and attacked his ALP opponent in Chifley, Sydney, Ed Husic, over his religion.

Mr Barker described Mr Abbott, the Liberal leader, as ''God's mouthpiece'' and said on Facebook that God was ''on the side of the Liberal right''.

Today Mr Barker stood by his statements, telling the ABC there should not be a Muslim in parliament and questioning whether the country was ready for an atheist prime minister.

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Liberal MP Don Randall has defied Opposition Leader Tony Abbott by raising Prime Minister Julia Gillard's atheism. Mr Randall, from Western Australia, said people from a range of Christian religions had told his office "they don't like the fact that we have a godless Prime Minister". They were "very concerned with the stance of the Prime Minister, basically being anti-God", he said.

Mr Randall says Australia was built on Christian values, which provide the basis for being a better leader.

"We expect out leaders to convey and portray good Christian values," he said.