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I personally do not care about his religion, his ethnicity, or even his taste in music, television, or movies. I care about what he does, or fails to do as president. This is where he has fallen short, and that's all that matters to me.
Most of the early Presidents were Deists, not Christians, or at the very least certainly didn't adhere to conventional Christianity as we understand it; Monroe and (especially) Jefferson may have been atheists, though we may never know for sure since "coming out of the closet" wasn't much of a thing back then. The personal matters one didn't blather about in public were wider in scope back then and encompassed questions of religion, which in my view is one custom that merits resurrection.
Indeed, what's less well-known is that many Presidents even long after the Founders' time weren't adherents of conventional Christianity; John Quincy Adams was a Unitarian, though his belief was "dark and dubious" in old age, John Tyler was an Episcopalian but rather non-denominational in his theology, Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce never affiliated with a church. Abraham Lincoln's views on religion are contested by historians but all agree that they were not conventional; personally I believe he had deistic views and was not a Christian. His friends said he had no faith in the Christian sense of the word, and as his biographer and intimate friend noted: "Never in all that time did he let fall from his lips or his pen an expression which remotely implied the slightest faith in Jesus as the son of God and the Savior of men."
Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant were apparently believers but were unchurched, and Rutherford B. Hayes was a non-denominational Christian. After their generation the out-there religious affiliations taper off, but William Howard Taft, who affiliated with the Unitarian Church, saw fit to reject an offer to be President of Yale (then affiliated with the Congregationalists) because he did not believe in the divinity of Christ, though he steadfastly refuted that he was an atheist. All the Presidents since have been adherents of conventional Christianity, though there have been some that weren't what one could call religious. It's only really in the 20th century that conventional Christian affiliation became dominant and a de facto prerequisite to be elected President.
As for Obama, he was raised in a free-thinking non-religious household but as an adult he found his faith in certain forms of Christianity (which is where the infamous Rev. Jeremiah Wright comes in the picture). I'm sure he's a believer in Christianity, but I don't think he's ever been that religious. I'm sure Donald Trump is also Christian and truly believes in it, but at the same time doesn't take it very seriously; that's reasonably common among those with similar personality traits.
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Originally Posted by bryan85
No doubt he is a muslim- an odd liberal one at that!
Actually there are plenty of not-so-observant Muslims with liberal political views around, so that doesn't prove much*; there's just very little to suggest that Obama's among their numbers.
*Aside from putting the skids to the "Muslim subversive" conspiracy theory; liberal and unobservant Muslims have no interest whatsoever in imposing Sharia or some such.
I personally think a lot of politicians are atheist/agnostic, but pretend to be a part of a certain religion just to drum up votes.
Atheist was at the bottom of the list of who people wouldn't vote for. Given these sorts of numbers, I bet it's standard practice of any politician running for office to proclaim themselves part of any religion
Trump is obviously an atheist thats out of the question. Bernie Sanders as well. Regarding Obama, very very likely an atheist. Hillary? Less likely than Obama, but I'd say 90% chance she is.
I don't understand how any of you can question someones faith. He said he is a Christian so leave it at that. He has a black christian wife and mother in law. Most older black folk are very religious and do not accept or acknowledge atheism. They will just pray for you from a distance. An atheist would not attend a southern church service and lead the church with Amazing Grace. You cannot get any blacker or christian than that. You all need to get over yourselves and worry about you and your God.
This reminds me of when white folk tried to label the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King as a communist.
This reminds me of when white folk tried to label the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King as a communist.
Some even called Five Star General, Supreme Allied Commander and POTUS Dwight Eisenhower a Commie. Some folks are just plain silly.
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