A year ago, churches in the DC Metro Area were all atwitter about where the First Family might be attending church. Since that time, President Obama has only attended church a handful of times in the DC area, but The Washington Post’s Anne E. Kornblut claims that the president’s spirituality runs deep, and has profound effects:
Obama’s spirituality is largely private, but it’s influential, advisers say
From The Washington Post’s “On Faith” Section
Every morning, sometimes as early as 5:30 a.m., a short religious passage comes across President Obama’s BlackBerry, sent by one of his aides.
At other moments, Obama prays privately, his advisers said. And when he takes his family to Camp David on the weekends, a Navy chaplain ministers to them, with the daughters attending a form of Sunday school there.
More than a year into his presidency, Obama has not chosen a church in Washington, and has attended services just four times. No single figure has assumed the role of spiritual adviser — publicly, at least — or filled the vacancy created when Obama disavowed his former Chicago pastor, Jeremiah Wright.
When Obama appears at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday morning — a regular presidential ritual — it will mark the rare occasion when he puts religion in the foreground. In that appearance, he will discuss “the need for civility in the public square, and how Americans can work together in a spirit of goodwill,” a senior administration official said.
Yet close advisers to the president said the role of faith, while subtle, has been noticeable in and around the Obama White House.