It was a difficult decision for Barack Obama to leave his church. As the St. Petersburg Times reports, leaving a church or changing faiths can be difficult for anyone:
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee spoke of the anguish of leaving his church family, where the Rev. Jeremiah Wright had given incendiary and racially charged sermons.
Peg and Bob Green of St. Petersburg are empathetic, even though they’re Republicans.
“We’re not Obama supporters, but in this instance, I feel for him and his family,” said Peg Green, who left First Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg three years ago for St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
“I know it’s a decision that’s not as easy as some may think.”
Others agree. Leaving a congregation or changing religious affiliation can be anguishing, say some who have done so.
Even so, a recent study suggests more Americans are swapping churches and religious affiliations. The current religious marketplace is characterized by constant movement, with every major religious group simultaneously gaining and losing adherents, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Rabbi Stephen Moch of Tarpon Springs’ Congregation B’nai Emmunah has seen a number of departures during his three decades as a leader of Reform Jewish congregations. Unhappy members struggle with conflicting forces, he said.
One is loyalty to a congregation. The other is the disenchantment that eventually causes them to leave, be it unhappiness with the spiritual or lay leadership, Moch said.
Obama belonged to Trinity for about 20 years. Wright married him and his wife, Michelle, and baptized his daughters.
Green says it’s particularly heart-wrenching to leave one’s church if, like the Obamas, children are involved.
Read it all here.