The faith of Obama: a secular messiah

15 December 2008

The President-elect did not receive, or need, the electoral support of the US Evangelical movement, writes James Forsyth. His religious beliefs defy categorisation

This Christmas is the last occasion when Barack Obama will have time to reflect and think at his own pace for the next four, and probably eight, years. It offers him a brief gap between the crazed schedule of the campaign — last year he was campaigning on Boxing Day — and the pressures of the presidency. As Obama relaxes in his native Hawaii, he will be preparing for a job that will make the challenges of the campaign insignificant in comparison. After he takes the Oath of Office he will find himself in the unique position of being both the most powerful man on earth and at the mercy of events. Problems anywhere in the world will have a tendency to become his problem very quickly.

Obama will be sworn in with his hand on the Bible. He will end his Oath of Office by adding the words ‘so help me God’. But Obama’s relationship with his faith is, like so much about him, complex. This time last year there was an assumption that, if nominated, he could make a breakthrough with Evangelical voters, a group that had favoured Bush by a 57-point margin in 2004. After all, Obama had written in deeply personal terms about his own religious awakening. His speeches were infused with biblical language, and his personal and family life was unimpeachable in contrast to both his primary and general election opponent.

But the revelation that Jeremiah Wright — the man who had revived his faith, presided over his marriage and baptised his children — was a racialist prone to ranting about the evils of the US government made it far more difficult for Obama to talk about his religious beliefs. If he did so, he would open himself up to questions about his relationship with Wright: a subject that Obama could not allow to become a major issue.

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Douglas

December 17th, 2008 9:38am Report this comment

You seem to have already penciled in an Obama re-election. Perhaps you should, as we say in the U.S.,"hold your horses".

alan

December 18th, 2008 11:06am Report this comment

Faith is a personal thing. Obama's relationship with God has nothing to do with us. If you like his style, follow him. If you don't, don't.

Kevin

December 19th, 2008 8:16pm Report this comment

How does one go about demonstrating that Obama is "America’s most intellectual president since Woodrow Wilson"?

I'll give you one thing, though. Obama certainly is a miracle worker. I never hoped for change until he got elected.

Bill Rees

December 20th, 2008 5:50pm Report this comment

"His religious beliefs defy categorisation."
The word "religious" is surely superfluous in this sentence.
The only thing that he seems to believe in is that he is his brother's keeper, and that everyone is his brother.
That is a rather frightening prospect.

Chad

December 22nd, 2008 9:20am Report this comment

To hear the media describe the President-elect you might think his relationship to God is that of "only begotten son". That he didn't ascend back to Heaven on a ray of light in Denver or Berlin seems to baffle many columnists.

Ice Ko

December 29th, 2008 10:11pm Report this comment

Most intellectual president since Woodrow Wilson? That's like saying Sammy McIlroy or Martin O'Neill are the most naturally skilled northern Irish midfielders since George Best. You're still talking apples and oranges. Obama is no intellectual. He's a glib, shallow, sloganeering and highly formulaic political preacher man. It'll be interesting to see events deconstruct him.

Observer

January 17th, 2009 10:43pm Report this comment

Who has decided Obama is America's most intellectual president since Wilson? Wilson was a scholar, certainly, but Obama is not. Obama never published anything during his time as a college lecturer. He hasn't even been a president yet, so how can we possibly know what kind of president he is?

James Forsyth should not confuse having a Hollywood-class team of speech writers with being an intellect.

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