If you would like a simple and obvious example of how National Public Radio can produce transparently servile Biden campaign publicity, look no further than the September 17 Morning Edition. Political correspondent Asma Khalid put together a four-minute story touting Biden's religious faith that featured exactly the Biden surrogates who appear in other stories touting Biden's faith. -- Senator Chris Coons (D-Delaware) -- John McCarthy, Biden's religious-outreach coordinator -- Sister Carol Keehan -- Sister Simone Campbell Khalid failed to interview any Catholic who would criticize Biden. The only audio opposing Biden was 20 words from an ad by the group Catholic Vote.  That, and a sentence where Khalid said President Trump "painted" the Democrats as against religious freedom. Painted? Biden says he'll make enactment of the "Equality Act" during his first 100 days a top legislative priority, which would curtail religious freedom on behalf of the LGBT lobby. Khalid never explained how Biden's stance on abortion has moved even further to the left in recent years. He now supports making his fellow "devout Catholics" pay for abortions with taxpayer money. He's been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the nation's leading abortion conglomerate. But NPR touts him with a rosary in his pocket:   DAVID GREENE, anchor: Joe Biden is known to carry a rosary in his pocket and to go to Mass every Sunday. If elected, he would be only the second Catholic president in American history. NPR's Asma Khalid reports on how his faith is central to how he sees the world and how it affects his politics.  ASMA KHALID: When you listen to Joe Biden, you'll notice how he peppers his speeches with references to God. Here he is earlier this week speaking to the Poor People's Campaign. JOE BIDEN: All of you remind me of how Scripture describes the calling born out of the wilderness - a calling to serve, not to be served, a calling toward justice, healing, hope, not hate. ASMA KHALID: It wasn't a one-off comment. This is how Biden talks. JOE BIDEN: I believe we'll be guided by the words of Pope John Paul II, words drawn from the Scriptures. Faith sees best in the dark, and Lord knows these days are dark days. And may God bless you. And may God protect our troops. CHRIS COONS: It's part of who Joe is. ASMA KHALID: Delaware Sen. Chris Coons has known Biden for decades. CHRIS COONS: Joe is someone for whom the ways in which he sees issues around racial justice, around the treatment of refugees and immigrants. All of that is connected to a view of other people, who he sees as neighbor, who he sees as being made in the image of God. ASMA KHALID: Coons says Biden's political positions go back to his upbringing. CHRIS COONS: A deeply rooted sense of fairness that he learned from his parents and from the nuns and priests who educated and helped raise him. So - and I think one of the mistakes Democrats have made over decades is to be very private about the values that move them into public life. ASMA KHALID: With Biden, allies say, it's obvious what drives him. Sister Carol Keehan is the former CEO of the Catholic Health Association. CAROL KEEHAN: When Joe Biden talks about faith, he talks very much about things like the Gospel of Matthew. That what you've done to the least of my brother and you've done to me. You know, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice. ASMA KHALID: Friends and staffers say Biden focuses on faith rather than religious doctrine. He prays with voters rather than proselytizes. And yet for some religious conservatives, all of that pales in comparison to the single issue of abortion. Earlier this week, a Catholic voter group released this ad. UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Joe Biden would force American Catholics to pay for abortions, sacrificing his Catholic values to kneel before the leftist mob. ASMA KHALID: President Trump and his supporters have made religion into a cultural issue, painting Democrats as the party against religious freedom. Last month, President Trump accused Biden of being, quote, "against God." For its part, the Biden campaign has been expanding its faith outreach. UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #2: Thank you for joining this Biden-Harris campaign Catholics For Biden national kickoff call. ASMA KHALID: One speaker, Sister Simone Campbell, said Catholics need to be multi-issue voters if they're really following Pope Francis's teachings. SISTER SIMONE CAMPBELL: Care for the unborn is critically important. Equally sacred is the care for the born, the marginalized, the poor, the immigrants, the Earth. ASMA KHALID: Biden's campaign seems to think the personal is political. John McCarthy is national deputy political director. JOHN McCARTHY: It's about the vice president being who he truly is, which is a Catholic and a deeply devout person of faith. And why I think that that ultimately has electoral implications is because, at this moment, this election is obviously about a moral contrast. ASMA KHALID: McCarthy says campaigns are obviously an extension of who the candidate is, and, because faith is such a core part of Biden's identity, it's become a core part of the campaign. But it's also a tightrope for religious Democrats to walk. Polling from the Pew Research Center shows the share of people who identify with no religion has jumped in recent years. They now make up almost 40% of Democratic voters. Asma Khalid, NPR News.