“Changing Hearts and Minds”
In the Aug. 7, 2008, edition of Time magazine, Obama wrote a brief essay, “Changing Hearts and Minds,” which sets out his personal faith story.
Category: Faith leaders
Religion and the Presidency
What is clear is that presidents have nearly always been Protestants, with a few exceptions. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has a resource page on “Religion and the Presidency” that shows the religious affiliation of all 44 presidents. “Nearly half the nation’s presidents have been affiliated with the Episcopal or Presbyterian churches,” Pew […]
“Gene Robinson, Rick Warren and The Inaugural Prayer Thicket”
Lost in the uproar is the fact that all of the Inauguration Day clergy are Protestants. As Steven Waldman notes, there was often more religious diversity before 1990. And some have taken note of the lack of a rabbi, or imam, or Catholic priest as a headliner.
“Gay Bishop Is Asked to Say Prayer at Inaugural Event”
Then Obama invited the openly gay New Hampshire bishop, V. Gene Robinson, to lead the invocation at another inaugural event, and more outrage ensued.
“Was the Bush Faith-Based Initiative a Failure?”
Read a Jan. 26, 2010, essay on the Web site of Christianity Today in which Stanley Carlson-Thies reflects on George W. Bush’s faith-based initiatives.
“Obama’s Choice of Pastor Creates Furor”
Obama’s choice of Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback megachurch to give the invocation sparked an uproar. Liberals felt betrayed that Obama would pick an outspoken conservative evangelical and opponent of gay marriage and abortion rights for such a prime spot, and some of Warren’s allies on the religious right thought his appearance would give Obama […]
“Obama’s Choice of Pastor Creates Furor”
Obama’s choice of Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback megachurch to give the invocation sparked an uproar. Liberals felt betrayed that Obama would pick an outspoken conservative evangelical and opponent of gay marriage and abortion rights for such a prime spot, and some of Warren’s allies on the religious right thought his appearance would give Obama […]
“Does anyone remember the faith-based initiative?”
Read a post from Jan. 8, 2010, by sociologist Mark Chaves at the Faith & Leadership site of Duke Divinity School. Chaves summarizes his research, based on the National Congregations Study, showing that federal faith-based initiatives have had little or no impact on houses or worship and religious social service organizations, or on the delivery of social […]
“Religious leaders worry that Obama’s faith council is for show”
Read a Feb. 3, 2010, Washington Post story timed for the first anniversary of Obama’s announcement that he was revamping the faith-based office. The story details concerns among faith leaders.