Obama policy of being inclusive in an interfaith way seems to help blunt any voices of opposition.

[masuki bance]

Prayer is on rise at presidential events
Obama policy of being inclusive in an interfaith way seems to help blunt any voices of opposition.


WASHINGTON -- Prayer has become more common at presidential appearances under the Obama administration, including at nonreligious events such as stimulus rallies. The White House is acting in a deliberately inclusive, interfaith way that seems to limit opposition.

Church-state experts say the policy, which President Barack Obama also followed while campaigning, does not appear to be illegal because the White House tells people who lead the prayers to be nonsectarian. But some raised concerns about prayers being scripted or reviewed.

People who helped plan public events for former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton say they did not routinely organize prayers before nonreligious events. Historians note that there is no clear record of prayers before presidential appearances, but they could not remember prayers being said as routinely as they are now.

The policy, first reported in U.S. News & World Report, appears to continue a new White House approach to religion: invite piety and spirituality at every opportunity, but with a new emphasis on interfaith participants and atheists.

"To me it's entirely a new frontier of religious politics," said University of Washington communications professor David Domke, who has written about presidential rhetoric and religion. "Prayer will be different than what we've experienced since Reagan, with a much more substantial interfaith element."

White House officials said Obama's prayer policy is not a dramatic departure from previous presidents' habits or from his days as a candidate.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090313/LIFESTYLE04/903130313/1041

Awesome, stay true to what you believe in Obama!

[Clio the Leo]

1. Great, now, if he would JUST get his butt back to church!

(sorry, this is my only complaint and I have to do it at least, but not more than, once a week, preferably at 1am on Sunday morning after I've just finished my Sunday School lesson :) )

Ok ..... back to cheerleader mode now! YAY OBAMA!!!!! :woohoo: :patriot: :yourock: :patriot: :woohoo:

[masuki bance]

2. Without a Pastor of His Own, Obama Turns to Five

President Obama has been without a pastor or a home church ever since he cut his ties to the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. in the heat of the presidential campaign. But he has quietly cultivated a handful of evangelical pastors for private prayer sessions on the telephone and for discussions on the role of religion in politics.

All are men, two of them white and three black — including the Rev. Otis Moss Jr., a graying lion of the civil rights movement. Two, the entrepreneurial dynamos Bishop T. D. Jakes and the Rev. Kirbyjon H. Caldwell, also served as occasional spiritual advisers to President George W. Bush. Another, the Rev. Jim Wallis, leans left on some issues, like military intervention and poverty programs, but opposes abortion....






...The Obama administration has reached out to hundreds of religious leaders across the country to mobilize support and to seek advice on policy. These five pastors, however, have been brought into a more intimate inner circle. Their names were gleaned from interviews with people who know the president and religious leaders who work in Washington. Their role could change if Mr. Obama joins a church in Washington, but that could take some time because of the logistical challenges in finding a church that can accommodate the kind of crowd the Obamas would attract.

The White House refused to comment for this article....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/us/politics/15pastor.html?_r=2&hp

[Clio the Leo]

3. Yeah, I love the guy.....

but that doesn't quite cut it. The Bible requires regular church attendance. (Hebrews 10:25) He's a Christian and he's a smart and learned man, I suspect he knows that. From a security stand-point, other Presidents in the recent past have attended worship service on a fairly regular basis, so that knocks that argument.

I CAN see how drawing a large crowd, esp. in the DC area, might be a problem unique to his family and I conceed that's an issue. I am glad that we have been blessed with a President so popular that the main argument keeping him out of church is "he'd draw too big of a crowd."

But Barack Obama is a extraordinary man capable of extraordinary things .... and I expect extraordinary behaviour from him. There is virtually nothing he cant do that he WANTS to do. And I think it's important to lead by example.

Like I said, it's the ONLY thing you'll prob. ever hear me complain about. And since I've already gone over my "one complain a week" limit, I'll shut up now. :)

[Merlot]

4. Nice to hear that weird guy who spoke at the inauguration was not on the list

Personally I don't care if Obama attends church or not. I'd actually prefer he didn't. He's the president and attending a regular church puts his family and the church at some risk.

I prefer not to hear about a politicians religion.