The faith of Barack Obama
A president with a feel for the spiritual who was hated by the pious
The paradox of Obama's religious life
Religion and public policy
Erasmus
Jan 15th 2017
BY ERASMUS
AMERICA is saying goodbye to a president whose spiritual life presents an extraordinary paradox. Barack Obama was loathed, almost literally demonised by many God-fearing people, who felt that his policies over reproductive rights, same-sex marriage and stem-cell research were something much worse than mistaken. A remarkable number of his compatriots persisted in believing that he was a crypto-Muslim. But more than any recent president, he was able to speak of his own spiritual development as a Christian with conviction and passion.
He appeared comfortable not merely with the theist generalities required by the country's civil religion but with some of the tough specifics of Christian theology. As is pointed out in a forthcoming book of essays* about world leaders and faith, George W. Bush did not mention the words "Jesus", "Christ" or "Saviour" once during the eight National Prayer Breakfasts at which he presided. Compare that with the credal language of President Obama at the Easter Prayer Breakfast of 2013, when he described Jesus of Nazareth as "our Saviour, who suffered and died [and] was resurrected, both fully God and also a man."
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