PROVIDENCE, R.I. (RNS) – In one of the country’s least religious states, the race for a seat in the Rhode Island General Assembly has become a battle between two outspoken Christian women who’ve carved out sharply different moral stances on hot-button issues.

Both the born-again Baptist incumbent and the Catholic theologian challenging her say they feel called to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for a seat representing the north side of Providence in the state’s House of Representatives.

But Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, a Jamaican immigrant and high school teacher who has served one term in the state House of Representatives, and Providence College Professor Holly Taylor Coolman are drawing inspiration from their respective religious traditions and offering voters a stark choice in political platforms before the Sept. 12 primary election.

“I do believe that Jesus was a progressive Democrat,” said Ranglin-Vassell, 58, who said her father, a church planter in Jamaica, welcomed the poor, gays and other ostracized members of society into their home when she was a child if they needed help.