NEW YORK, Sept 1 (AFP) - While God and gospel feature high on the Republican party's convention agenda, the most vocal apostles of US evangelical activism are keeping firmly out of the spotlight.
Each session of the four-day meeting is opened with a religious invocation, its speech schedules are punctuated with a heady mix of gospel, Christian and country music and they are ended with a prayer.
There has even been a row over whether the party deliberately chose a podium marked with a subliminal cross made from lighter-coloured wood for its Madison Square Garden venue. Officials have denied the claim.
But the religious stalwarts mobilised to appeal to the party's core at previous party conventions, such as television preachers Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, are notably absent from the speakers' podium.
They have been replaced by a string of socially moderate politicians like movie star-turned-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senator John McCain and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
"The image the party wants to present to the public is one of moderation, so they have kept evangelicals and as well as the anti-gay, anti-choice and pro-gun elements of their base, well off the prime time screen," said Professor Marty Kaplan of the University of Southern California.
Reports quoted Robertson, founder of the conservative Christian Coalition and a former presidential candidate, as saying the party was deliberately trying to keep him away. His office did not respond to requests for comment.
But while the vanguard of the organised religious right did not take to the convention stage, there was no shortage of conservative Christians among the 4,800 delegates and thousands of guests here.
"The party is aggressively working its evangelical base in meetings closed to the press, in e-mails and other means which they hope will not seep out into the general public," communications expert Kaplan said.
On Tuesday, the Bush campaign organised an invitation-only "Family, Faith and Freedom" rally attended by hundreds of faithful who have been holding their own private prayer meetings away from the convention centre.
And the religious theme permeating the official proceedings is intended to reassure Christians that Bush and the party are pursuing their interests even if they aren't showing it on stage.
"They are using the symbols and trappings of conservative religion like singing Amazing Grace and God Bless America to signify to their religious right allies that they haven't forgotten them," said Scott Thumma, an expert on evangelical religion at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.
Evangelical Christians insisted that they did not feel marginalised by the lack of attention threatened by the parade of speakers who support issues such as abortion and gay rights which they abhor.
Falwell, who has been on the convention floor since its start Monday, said he supported the party's decision to reach out for independent and undecided voters who were not seduced by its right wing.
"Dr Falwell and the social conservatives here are already decided and committed and are firmly in the president's camp," Ron Goodwin, of Falwell's ministry, told AFP.
"He and other leaders like him in evangelical circles fully support the idea of putting speakers on the stand that speak to undecided and moderate voters rather than to the committed. We are pragmatic."
Other Christian groups and conservative delegates, including the Christian Coalition from which Roberts resigned in 2001, agreed, saying they were confident that their cause was safe with Bush in power.
"The speakers at the convention might be moderate, but the party platform has changed little since 2001 and is very strong on Christian family values," said Christian Coalition's Michele Ammons.
She said her group did not feel any need for evangelical Christians to be represented heavily on stage because between 40 and 45 percent of the delegates were members or supporters of the Christian coalition.
"There is no need for us to drive home our point here," said Traditional Values Coalition chairman, the Reverend Lou Sheldon.
"Our priority is to get George W. Bush re-elected because he is our best representative, one who is leading America's Christian revival."