[CS Monitor]Why doesn’t Obama wear his religion on his sleeve?

what gets lost is that he has to "defend" not being muslim, as if its something evil

 

I've always felt that actual policy choices, court nominations, and decisions... not so much public stances on various topics and issues, including religion, count more than what they say. Carter and Clinton were very up front about their religious beliefs, but felt that it was a personal issue between them and their "God," and not something to throw around in the public arena. Sure, there was some of that from the two during elections, but I think their religious beliefs were/are sincere and heartfelt. Then you had Presidents like Nixon, a Quaker, who had little if anything to say about religion, at any time, and when he did, he came across as phony and awkward as hell. FDR never struck me as a particularly religious person, but he often said what the public expected him to say about the subject, and said it very well.

So you have a mixed bag. I'll say this... never, and I mean never in several decades of watching politics, while having a deep and lifelong interest in history, have I ever seen a President assaulted for his religious beliefs, real and imaginary, as this President has by the opposing party. It is the moral equivalent of the National Socialists under the direction of Hitler and his henchmen during their rise to power in pre-war Germany and their assault on those of the Jewish faith for political gain. As an American, it makes me literally sick to my stomach that we have come to this pass. They should be ashamed. All of them. The Republican strategists have cynically been playing this for all it's worth. The "tea party" clowns (excepting our own thumbs), come close to being equally culpable, but I don't blame them nearly as much, as I think they are being led by the nose by the GOP, with the RNC strategists playing them like a fiddle, pulling the most extreme "tea party" members to ever more radical/amazingly stupid statements from that "soon to be absorbed by the Republican Party and remembered as a political flutter before disappearing" group, and GOP tools during this election cycle.

 

Serious question.

Are all religions 'good' to you?

Do they all deserve the same amount of consideration and respect, regardless of their actual merit?

 

never thought about it, don't care as long as it doesn't actively infringe on another person's rights

 

It seems to me that I have to hear about his religious convictions all the time. But, his religion seems to be of a pretty liberal variety, so it wouldn't surprise me that people who care most about his sincerity (conservative Christians) don't recognize his convictions as the Christianity they ascribe to.

The allegations of being Muslim I chalk up to a cogntive dissonance. Some people may be sincerely ignorant, but others just don't want to give him the credit.

 

Honestly, if you read what Obama says about his faith, in Dreams from My Father, you'd understand quickly why he doesn't wear his faith on his sleeve. He has a rather interesting view of Jesus that seems more Unitarian than mainstream Christian. You might even call him a "Jeffersonian Christian". He definitely doesn't have the kind of faith that lends itself to public discussion. And if he did pronounce it more publicly, it would raise more questions than it answers.

Honestly though, it would be easy to kill these rumors. He could just make a big show of going to church. It doesn't really matter which church, just some church. It's the politically correct thing to do.

 

But it would be insincere. Should he really jump through hoops and betray his personal convictions when: 1. It doesn't affect policy one iota and B.) The conservative Christians wouldn't buy it anyway?

 

1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

-Matthew 6


...of course some people don't care about the red letters.


edit: I like this story: http://story.israelherald.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/f81a4d9d561822ee/id/386656/cs/1/

 

I don't think it would betray his personal convictions. He does pray and does go to church. It wouldn't be that big of a deal to let people see it. His backyard basketball games and tee times are national news. Why can't his church attendance be, too?

finalsbound,

I'm not saying it's right. It is the politically correct thing to do, though.

 

I can kinda see where Obama might be conceited enough in his beliefs to NOT want to showcase to every question about his character. Some of my family thinks I might be gay (yup). I'm not gonna go on Facebook and start posting all kinds of pics and comments to respond to the "critics", f**k those people for even thinking something stupid like that The President has a different set of terms he works under, but me I'd probably post iffy content to provocate that MORE out of spite.

Years after the fact, what did Al Gore and Tipper's convention kiss really mean?