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.
Few Democrats have seemed more comfortable talking about God than Barack Obama has. And yet few, if any, have had more problems with God at the ballot box—from rumours that he is a Muslim to doubts among Catholic and Jewish voters to repeated “pastor eruptions”. The good news for Mr Obama in all of this is that he is up against a Republican candidate in John McCain who has plenty of God problems of his own.
This has been an interesting year for the faith-and-politics conversation, as Democrats are getting more comfortable talking about faith and Republicans no longer seem to be beholden to a particular faith agenda. But what’s interesting about that, notes the Washington Post, is that while faith is still important to the candidates, clergy have become liabilities.
Christian Century describes the work of the Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolitan Community Church and a former Pentecostal minister, who worked over four decades to establish legal and religious rights for gays and lesbians before the California Supreme Court decided to give the “right to marry” to same-sex couples.
It is true that Jesus was not a political activist; he joined no party and issued no Contract With the Roman Empire. But it is a stretch to interpret his personal challenge to the rich young ruler as a biblical foundation for libertarianism.
Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Britain, formally unveiled plans in New York City on Friday for an ambitious new charity that he hopes will enlist religion as a force for economic development and conflict resolution, rather than violence and strife.
People who follow no religion compose about fourteen percent of the American population. Their numbers more than doubled–from 14 million to almost 30 million between 1990 and 2001. Together with those who profess a faith other than Christianity, they compose practically twenty percent of the American population
Politicians in both Iran and the United States have been divisive, disrespectful, and inflammatory in their condemnations of each other, in effect increasing the likelihood of a military confrontation. As one who has travelled twice to Iran and found friendship and shared values with Iranian clerics, I think it’s time for religious leaders in both countries to take the initiative to find ways to seek peaceful solutions to the complex problems that have plagued US-Iranian relations for years.
This spring a certain Christian layperson has been criticized for not exiting his local church when he disagreed with something his pastor preached. With tongue firming in his cheek, Martin Marty offers some useful tips on when you should leave your church.
A conservative, pro-choice Roman Catholic professor of law, Douglas Kmiec, says he was recently refused Communion because he supports Barack Obama for president.