Faith Snapshot:
Last Updated: 02/07/2009Issues of faith and religion come to the forefront quite often during elections and presidential campaigns. In preparation for the primary elections, I sent each candidate a brief questionnaire about their faith and provided a "faith snapshot" of each of the 2008 presidential candidates. This project was updated as I received responses and found additional faith-related statements from the candidates.
Go Back to Complete List of 2008 Presidential Candidates.
Barack Obama's Political Profile:
On the Issues: Compare
Party: Democratic
Age: 47
Education:
Columbia University, B.A.
Harvard Law School, J.D.
Current Position: President of the United States
Experience: Attorney, Illinois State Senator
Declared Candidacy: Feb. 2007
Vice Presidential Pick: Joe Biden
Web site: BarackObama.com
Barack Obama's Faith Snapshot:
Religion/Church: Former member of the United Church of Christ.*
Barack Obama was not raised in a religious household. Like his mother, he said he "grew up with a healthy skepticism of organized religion." His father was born Muslim but became an atheist as an adult. His mother's family members were "non-practicing" Baptists and Methodists. It was after college that he encountered a "spiritual dilemma." He realized something was missing in his life and he felt drawn to be in church.
Obama said he had begun to sense God beckoning him to submit to his will and dedicate himself to discovering truth. So one day he walked down the aisle at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago and affirmed his Christian faith. Remaining a member of the church for 20 years, Trinity, Obama said, is where he found Jesus Christ, where he and Michelle were married, and where his children were baptized.
While Obama campaigned for the presidency, the pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., made headlines for what many considered highly offensive and controversial remarks while preaching. Distancing himself from his pastor, Obama publicly denounced Wright's comments as "divisive" and "racially charged."
*In May of 2008, Obama announced at a news conference his formal resignation from membership at Trinity, saying that he and his family would finalize their decision to find another church after January of 2009, "when we know what our lives are going to be like." He also said, "My faith is not contingent on the particular church that I belong to."
During a "Call to Renewal" Keynote Address in June 2006, he refers to himself as a progressive Christian.
Barack Obama's Expressions of Faith:
Barack Obama said that his faith "plays every role" in his life. "It's what keeps me grounded. It's what keeps my eyes set on the greatest of heights." In the "Call to Renewal" Keynote Address he also said, "Faith doesn't mean that you don't have doubts. You need to come to church in the first place precisely because you are first of this world, not apart from it. You need to embrace Christ precisely because you have sins to wash away - because you are human and need an ally in this difficult journey."
Barack Obama & the Bible:
Obama writes in his book, The Audacity of Hope, "I am not willing to have the state deny American citizens a civil union that confers equivalent rights on such basic matters as hospital visitation or health insurance coverage simply because the people they love are of the same sex—nor am I willing to accept a reading of the Bible that considers an obscure line in Romans to be more defining of Christianity than the Sermon on the Mount.”
More About Barack Obama's Faith:
• Where Will the Obamas Attend Church in Washington?
• Background & Religious Bio of Barack Obama
• A Candidate, His Minister and the Search for Faith
• Barack Obama's Rating from GodVoter.org
• National Clergy Council Looks at Obama's Faith
• Deborah White's US Liberal Politics Blog: Barack Obama on Faith, Politics and Democracy
More Faith Snapshots:
Democrats
Hillary Clinton - United Methodist
John Edwards - United Methodist
Bill Richardson - Roman Catholic
Mike Gravel - Unitarian Universalist
Dennis Kucinich - Roman Catholic
Republicans
Rudy Giuliani - Roman Catholic
Mike Huckabee - Southern Baptist
Mitt Romney - Mormon
Fred Thompson - Church of Christ
John McCain - Christian
Duncan Hunter - Southern Baptist
Ron Paul - Baptist
