According to the survey, close to one-in-five Americans (18%) now believe Obama is a Muslim. This number is up from 11% in early 2009. While Obama publicly professes to be a Christian, only about one-third of adults (34%) presently think he is. That figure is down dramatically from 48% in 2009. A large number (43%) say they are unsure of Obama's religion.
• You can see the full results of the survey here: Religion, Politics and the President.
I'm curious to know what you say. Please take the poll or leave a comment below. I'd also be interested to know how you learned about Obama's religion and what factors have influenced your perception of the president's faith.
It's obvious that Obama's faith is a topic of great curiosity for many Americans. The nation's interest was captured during the height of Obama's presidential campaign in May 2008 when, amid controversy, he resigned his 20-year membership at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Trinity's pastor at the time, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., made headlines for expressing from the pulpit what many considered highly offensive criticisms of white American society.
Since that time, Obama has spoken openly about being a Christian. I reported in March 2010, that even though the president had decided not to select a church in Washington, he and his family had made Evergreen Chapel at Camp David their private place of worship. Around that same time, in an exclusive interview with Today's Matt Lauer, Obama talked in depth about his faith, explaining that he maintains a "prayer circle of pastors from across the country."
The White House responded to this week's Pew Forum poll with the following statement to ABC News: " ... In spite of the president's strong Christian beliefs and the work of the administration not only to articulate those beliefs but to engage Christian leaders, there has been an effort by some to regularly malign and distort his faith."
White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton also said, "... the president is obviously - he's Christian. He prays every day. He communicates with his religious adviser every single day. There's a group of pastors that he takes counsel from on a regular basis. His faith is very important to him but it's not something that's a topic of conversation every single day."
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I think the idea that Obama is a Muslim is a nasty and covert way of demonizing Obama as a person of color. I frankly wouldn’t care if he was a Hindu or a Taoist as long as he does his job and is a decent human being, something he clearly is. I’m proud to have voted for him in 2008 and I plan to do so in 2012.
There is a saying that is rooted in scripture that says, “show me your friends and I’ll show you who you are”. The scripture says, “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Cor. 15:33). No one knows what is in the heart or spirit of another except God himself. I don’t know if Obama is a Christian or a Muslim. It seems to me, however, that he is more interested in the Muslim world than the Judeo-Christian tradition of the USA. Too, his public policies on topics addressed in Scripture, such as abortion, is contrary to true Christian doctrine.
And why would we care? I vote for people who I think will represent all people, not any specific group..It makes me more concerned to see someone like Bush in office. He claimed god spoke to him and wore his “christianity” on his sleave.
People can say they are any religion they want to be, but their actions are always louder than their words…By the way I found a website that give you prizes for your opinions and 4 play games here is the topic about this:
http://opinion.ezwingame.com/topics/do-americans-entitled-to-question-the-religion-of-obama