Americans Increasingly Unsure of President’s Faith

A new national survey by the Pew Research Center reveals a substantial and growing number of Americans (18 %) say that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while only 34% believe he is a Christian, a proportion that has declined 14% in a little over a year. Nearly half of Americans polled say they are unclear as to what our President’s religion is.

People lack clarity because they lack evidence. The President has refrained from public worship as a general rule. His public relations team has insisted that he prays daily and attends corporate worship services on occasion; but references to God, and even more so references to Christ, are all but missing from his everyday vernacular.

Americans do not know what to believe because of confusing and even contradictory statements made by Obama.  This week, Glenn Beck circulated to his subscribers a link to an article from 2004 when then State Senator Barack Obama visited with Chicago Sun Times columnist Cathleen Falsani over coffee in Chicago for the sole purpose of discussing his spirituality. The conversation lasted for more than an hour and its transcript is, as of this writing, posted online in full.

When asked what he believed, Obama said “I am a Christian. So, I have a deep faith. I draw from the Christian faith.” But what does he believe? Many draw information or ideology from the Christian faith.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:15-16) Obama did not say whether or not he did.

Jesus went on to say, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) But Obama went on to say: “So, I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people. That there are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived.”

Jesus didn’t say there were many paths to the same place, but rather just one: “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Obama claims to be rooted in the Christian tradition, yet he says he believes there are many paths to the same place. One of the foundational principles of Christianity is the belief in Christ as Savior, the one and only way for man to be reconciled to God in this life and the life everlasting. But Obama apparently doesn’t believe a Savior is necessary, for he finds it “hard to believe that (his) God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell.”

Obama also communicated he believes in a nameless “higher power”, with a set of common values that connect us as people and “move us forward”.  But this type of universal spirit of which we are all said to be a part reeks of New Age philosophy, not Christianity. This belief system promotes the human ability to tap into a “common mind” in order to transform our world. New Age thinking is merely a new set of clothes for a century old philosophy that believes in a living world rather than a living God.

Obama’s words do not reflect an understanding of the Christian tradition, religion or faith. Moreover, he never says he believes in Jesus Christ as the God-man who came to save him from his sin. Instead he said that for him, he saw Jesus as a “historical figure”, “a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith,” and a “wonderful teacher.” But he did not call Jesus his personal Savior, Lord or friend.

When asked about prayer, Obama said: “I think I have an ongoing conversation with God…constantly asking myself questions about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it.” Who is he conversing with?

When asked about sin, Obama defined it as: “Being out of alignment with my values.” Whose values?

When asked when he feels the most aligned spiritually, Obama replied: “It's when I'm being true to myself.” True to whom?

When asked about his public confession of faith, he replied: “I think it was just a moment to certify or publicly affirm a growing faith in me.” Faith in whom?

Some may believe our President’s personal belief systems are unrelated to his leadership of our nation. But the privatizing of people’s faith over the past century is partly to blame for the state of our country and our world. As Christians have kept their beliefs to themselves, the truth of Christ has not been passed faithfully to subsequent generations, resulting in motivations that are less about glorifying God and more about glorifying self.  

What we believe about the world drives our responses to it. As of August 2010, an increasing number of people say they are not sure what beliefs drive our current President’s decisions and actions. Many don’t care. But some care a great deal. I am one of them.

Question: If polled, what would people say drove your responses to the world? What would they say you believe?
 

Be First to Comment

  1. To assume every Christian, regardless of their station in life, should interpret the tenets of faith in some sort of generic mold is unrealistic.

    August 23, 2010
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  2. Peter, The root word of Chrisian is Christ. That is not interpretation. It’s simply definition. A lack of understanding of the basic tenets of our faith is exactly the reason we have these statistics: -1 in 10 self-proclaimed “born again” adults hold a biblical worldview -1 in 200 self-proclaimed “born again” youth hold a biblical worldview (Barna) God does not want His gospel message watered down. Without the truth of Christ there is no good news and we are all still dead in our sins.

    August 23, 2010
    Reply
  3. JoeSlaughter said:

    It is always difficult for politicians to assert a clear confession of faith in Christ because they try to embrace “all” so that the next election can be won.

    August 23, 2010
    Reply
  4. LoverDreamer, the President has never specifically said he denies Jesus. He has specifically denied, however, that he is a Muslim.

    August 23, 2010
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  5. Peter, I believe LoverDreamer was referring to the President’s comments that there are many paths to the same place – although he did not specify what place that was. Assuming he meant heaven, the implication of this statement is that he denies the biblical assertion that Jesus is the only way there. This is the concept of pluralism. I’d like to restate for the record that I am not at all claiming to know what Obama believes. I am certainly not suggesting he is a Muslim, when he has clearly denied this and claimed to be a Christian. I am simply in the group who is unsure. As a Bible-believing Christian, I find his statements confusing and contradictory. But I find the same among many Americans today who claim to be Christians. This is the point of my post, to raise the conversation of biblical Christianity as opposed to the secularized versions of Christianity that permeate our society today. My prayer for our President is that he does indeed have a saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you all for joining me in this important conversation.

    August 23, 2010
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