Obama says Right wing has hijacked religion

By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated: 1:14am BST 25/06/2007

Barack Obama, the Illinois senator aiming to become America's first black president, has accused evangelical Christian leaders of "hijacking faith" and politicising religious beliefs in an effort to divide the country.

Illinois senator Barack Obama: Obama says Right wing has hijacked religion
Conservative Christian writers have linked Barack Obama to what they call the 'unbiblical' teachings

In a daring speech before a packed church convention, he said the powerful religious Right had exploited its stance on abortion, same-sex marriage and creationism to attack the Democrat Party.

"Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and faith started being used to drive us apart," he told the national meeting of the United Church of Christ, the liberal church of which he is a member.

"Faith got hijacked partly because the so-called leaders of the Christian Right are all too eager to exploit what divides us.

"At every opportunity they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage, school prayer and intelligent design."
advertisement
click here

"There was even a time when the Christian Coalition determined that its number one legislative priority was tax cuts for the rich. I don't know what Bible they're reading, but it doesn't [match] my version."

The speech was aimed largely at winning evangelical voters. Mr Obama, 45, is trying to put forward the Bible's teachings on social justice and tolerance as a basis for more liberal social policies on issues such as poverty, Aids and universal health care.

However, the strength of his language risks alienating a constituency that was a crucial factor in twice electing George W Bush.

Conservative Christian writers have linked Mr Obama to what they call the "unbiblical" teachings of his church, which has 1.2 million members and was the first to ordain a gay preacher, in the 1970s.

Mr Obama and Hillary Clinton, his rival for the Democrat nomination, are among the most religiously devout of any major candidate from either party.

The leading Republicans all fall foul of the religious Right in one way or another. Rudy Giuliani is pro-abortion and is on his third marriage. John McCain has in the past been openly antagonistic to them, while Mitt Romney is a member of the Mormon church, which many evangelicals view as heretical.

Mr Obama'a speech was marked by the sort of boldness that propelled him from being an obscure senator with just two years' experience to become Mrs Clinton's main challenger for the 2008 nomination.

However, his fresh approach had been noticeably lacking in recent weeks. As a result, after rapid early progress, Mr Obama has slipped back in the polls among Democrats and now trails the former first lady by nine or 10 points.

"He came into the race with such a big bang but there is a learning curve on the campaign trail," said Dan Shea, a professor of political science at Allegheny College, Pennsylvania.

"He has to show momentum. The trick is to be part of the buzz at the right time".