Free Republic

More-moderate religious perspectives "do not have voice" within the media, says U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), and it's something he's working to change. "I think it is unfortunate any time the media does not accurately portray the true beliefs of the American people," Obama, a member of Trinity UCC in Chicago, told United Church News. "There are millions of religious Americans who are offended when their faith is used as a tool to attack and divide, and who see a positive role for the church in solving both social and moral problems.

Democrat Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, has made headlines recently by talking about religion and politics. In the process, he has alienated Democrats and Republicans alike: Democrats were offended when he said “not every mention of God in the public square is a breach to the wall of separation,” and conservative Republicans were outraged when he kept referring to religious conservatives as “those people” and described them as “heavy-handed.” Democrats were just as uneasy as Republicans when he argued that his political party ought to make a place in public discourse for religious rhetoric and a place in...

[excerpted] ...."Not every mention of God in public is a breach to the wall of separation. Context matters," the Illinois Democrat said in remarks prepared for delivery to a conference of Call to Renewal, a faith-based movement to overcome poverty. "It is doubtful that children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance feel oppressed or brainwashed as a consequence of muttering the phrase `under God,"' he said. "Having voluntary student prayer groups using school property to meet should not be a threat, any more than its use by the High School Republicans should threaten Democrats." ..... Obama said millions of Christians, Muslims...

Sen. Barack Obama chastised fellow Democrats on Wednesday for failing to "acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people," and said the party must compete for the support of evangelicals and other churchgoing Americans. "Not every mention of God in public is a breach to the wall of separation. Context matters," the Illinois Democrat said in remarks to a conference of Call to Renewal, a faith-based movement to overcome poverty. "It is doubtful that children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance feel oppressed or brainwashed as a consequence of muttering the phrase `under God,'" he said. "Having...