From Conservapedia

This article examines the evidence concerning the former U.S. President Barack Obama's religion.

Evidence in favor of Obama being a Muslim

Opinion polls taken in 2010 and 2012 showed that one in five Americans conclude that Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim.[1][2] The following is a partial list of examples suggesting that Obama is a Muslim:

Then-Senator Obama wearing traditional African garb, a gift from his hosts while visiting Kenya[3] Obama was disappointed that even in his parental homeland, the native Kenyans seemed to extend "white privilege" to tourists and visitors. , a gift from his hosts while visiting KenyaObama was disappointed that even in his parental homeland, the native Kenyans seemed to extend "white privilege" to tourists and visitors.

Obama's middle name (Hussein) references Husayn , who was the grandson of Muhammad. [21] [22] Only after Obama became politically ambitious did he declare himself to be a Christian, yet he never replaced his Muslim name "Hussein" with a Christian one as some do when they undergo a religious conversion. For example, when the Italian journalist Magdi Allam recently converted to Christianity, he took a new name: "Cristiano". [23] When Saul became a Christian, he changed his name to "Paul"; when the famous boxer Cassius Clay converted to Islam, he took the Muslim name of Muhammad Ali. "It is common for those converting to a new religion to change their name on conversion" [24] or adopt a Christian name at baptism. [25] Obama also used his middle name when sworn in as President. However, even if he were actually a Muslim, he would not necessarily have to change his name according to Muslim tradition. [26]

, who was the grandson of Muhammad. Only after Obama became politically ambitious did he declare himself to be a Christian, yet he never replaced his Muslim name "Hussein" with a Christian one as some do when they undergo a religious conversion. For example, when the Italian journalist Magdi Allam recently converted to Christianity, he took a new name: "Cristiano". When Saul became a Christian, he changed his name to "Paul"; when the famous boxer Cassius Clay converted to Islam, he took the Muslim name of Muhammad Ali. "It is common for those converting to a new religion to change their name on conversion" or adopt a Christian name at baptism. Obama also used his middle name when sworn in as President. However, even if he were actually a Muslim, he would necessarily have to change his name according to Muslim tradition. Obama's unusual selection of Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator most sympathetic to Muslim positions in the Middle East, to be Secretary of Defense despite intense objections by both political parties. Iranian State Press approves of the choice. [27]

Obama seems to emotionally hold a Muslim view about Israel, in contrast with Americans who have been educated as Obama has. Obama never visited Israel during his first term as president despite repeated criticisms of his failure to do so, he oddly waited many days before even mentioning the rocket attacks on Israel in late 2012, and he appears very uncomfortable even discussing issues related to Israel on television.

Obama stated that the Autobiography of Malcolm X , which was co-written by Alex Haley, inspired him in his youth. [28]

, which was co-written by Alex Haley, inspired him in his youth. It was reported in 2008 that in 1996 then-state Senator Obama hired several staffers belonging to the Nation of Islam. [29]

Obama raised nearly $1 million and campaigned for a Kenyan presidential candidate who had a written agreement with Muslim leaders promising to convert Kenya to an Islamic state that bans Christianity. [30]

Obama's claims of conversion to Christianity arose after he became politically ambitious, lacking a date of conversion or baptism. [31]

Obama required that a religiously affiliated college take the extraordinary action of concealing with wood the monogram "IHS", which represents the name of Jesus, during a speech by Obama there.

In 2007, while Obama was a candidate, the White House military office assigned him the Secret Service code name "Renegade". [32] "Renegade" conventionally describes someone who goes against normal conventions of behavior, but its first usage was to describe someone who has turned from their religion. It is a word derived from the Spanish renegado , which originally meant "Christian turned Muslim." [33]

"Renegade" conventionally describes someone who goes against normal conventions of behavior, but its first usage was to describe someone who has turned from their religion. It is a word derived from the Spanish , which originally meant "Christian turned Muslim." In the book Obama,"Renegade" his friends say that "he actually really wasn't much of a churchgoer." [34]

his friends say that "he actually really wasn't much of a churchgoer." On the 2008 campaign trail, Obama was reading "The Post-American World" by Fareed Zakaria, [35] which was a general discussion of US foreign policy that was on the non-fiction best-seller lists for weeks. [36] Although Zakaria had Muslim ancestors, he is a non-Muslim educated at Yale with a Ph.D. from Harvard.

which was a general discussion of US foreign policy that was on the non-fiction best-seller lists for weeks. Although Zakaria had Muslim ancestors, he is a non-Muslim educated at Yale with a Ph.D. from Harvard. Contrary to Christianity, the Islamic doctrine of taqiyya allows adherents to deny they are Muslim if it would be dangerous not to.

Obama was thoroughly exposed to Christianity as an adult in Chicago prior to attending law school, yet no one at law school saw him display any interest in converting. Obama unabashedly explained how he became "churched" in a 2007 speech: "It's around that time [while working as an organizer for the Developing Communities Project (DCP) of the Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC) in Chicago] that some pastors I was working with came around and asked if I was a member of a church. 'If you're organizing churches,' they said, 'it might be helpful if you went to a church once in a while.' And I thought, 'I guess that makes sense.'"[37]

"I really endorse and support the policies that he has adopted,"



as reported by the

Washington Post.[38] Obama had Gaddafi murdered by jihadists[39] after Gaddafi betrayed Islam and forged an alliance with the infidel West.[40] Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said of President Barack Obamaas reported by theObama had Gaddafi murdered by jihadistsafter Gaddafi betrayed Islam and forged an alliance with the infidel West.

Obama tries to downplay his Islamic background by claiming that his Kenyan Muslim birth father was a "confirmed atheist" before Obama was born, but in fact less than 1% of Kenyans are atheists, agnostics, or non-religious.[61] He also described his Indonesian step-father Lolo Soetoro as following "a brand of Islam that could make room for the remnants of more ancient animist and Hindu faiths.".[62] For most of his childhood, Obama was lived with his maternal grandparents who were Methodists. There is apparently no evidence of any Christian activities or local church participation by Obama while he was a student at Harvard Law School from 1988 to 1991. Finally, Obama abruptly left his United Church of Christ congregation in Chicago in 2008, when it became politically controversial, without first finding another church to join. On April 7, 2009, Obama toured a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.[63]

Obama's Claims to be a Christian

Main article: Counterexamples to Obama being a Muslim

Evergreen Chapel at Camp David

While campaigning for president in 2008, the rumor led Obama to publicly state that he was Christian in an interview he gave to Christianity Today magazine.[64] Obama asserted, "I am a Christian and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful. I didn't 'fall out in church' as they say, but there was a very strong awakening in me of the importance of these issues in my life. I didn't want to walk alone on this journey. Accepting Jesus Christ in my life has been a powerful guide for my conduct and my values and my ideals.



There is one thing that I want to mention that I think is important. Part of what we've been seeing during the course of this campaign is some scurrilous e-mails that have been sent out, denying my faith, talking about me being a Muslim, suggesting that I got sworn in at the U.S. Senate with a Qu'ran in my hand or that I don't pledge allegiance to the flag. I think it's really important for your readers to know that I have been a member of the same church for almost 20 years, and I have never practiced Islam. I am respectful of religion, but it's not my own. One of the things that's very important in this day and age is that we don't use religion as a political tool and certainly that we don't lie about religion as a way to score political points. I just thought it was important to get that in there to dispel rumors that have been over the Internet. We've done so repeatedly, but obviously, it's a political tactic of somebody to try to provide this misinformation."[64]

Obama is a welcomed member of the United Church of Christ. In 2007, the UCC magazine quoted him as saying:

You come to church in the first place precisely because you are of this world, not apart from it, Obama wrote. You need to embrace Christ precisely because you have sins to wash away because you are human and need an ally in this difficult journey. It was because of these newfound understandings that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity UCC on 95th Street in the Southside of Chicago one day and affirm my Christian faith.[65]

Obama also discussed his religious views each year in a speech at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.[66][67]

The Obama family has attended several Protestant churches since moving to Washington, D.C., in 2009, including Shiloh Baptist Church and St. John's Episcopal Church. The Obamas also worship at Evergreen Chapel at Camp David.[68][69][70][71]

Donald Trump, who later was elected U.S. President, investigated both the rumor that Obama was born outside the United States and that he was a Muslim. He concluded that the rumors were started by Obama's 2008 primary opponents and that they were false.[72]

There are direct refutations of the claims made above by those seeking to spread the "Obama is a Muslim" rumor.

Public eating of pork and drinking of alcohol and smoking

Very few Muslims eat pork and drink alcohol as the Koran does not permit it.

Many Muslims drink beer, but there is a misconception that the Koran forbids it. In fact, only some alcoholic drinks are prohibited in Islam. (Koran 2:173; 2:219; 5:90-91; 6:118-119,121). The Koran forbids the eating of pork (Koran 2:173).

Barack Obama has been seen eating Spam,[73] which is most popular in Hawaii where Obama grew up,[74] and which Muslims are not allowed to eat.[75][76]

Pictures of Obama drinking alcohol can be found HERE and HERE.

The first Muslim fatwas discouraging the use of tobacco dates from 1602,[77] and Muslim leaders continue to discourage smoking for health reasons. Observant Muslims do not smoke, although smoking is increasing among young people in predominantly Muslim countries. Obama has smoked for most of his life, although he has tried to quit since becoming President.

Donations to Charity

Zakat, one of the five pillars of Islam,[78] requires all Muslims to give at least 2.5% of their income to charity or other good causes. The publicly released Obama tax returns show that he and Mrs. Obama give an average of less than 1% of their income to charity.

Homosexuality

People spread the rumor that candidate Obama was a Muslim to create a fear that he would advance a Muslim agenda as President. The fact that he went on to advocate same-sex marriage and homosexuals in the military shows that the fear was unfounded.

As in the Bible, the Koran has anti-homosexuality passages (Koran 7:80-81; 26:165) and so does the Hadith. Among Islamic scholars, there is a consensus that homosexuality is unnatural and sinful. There are Islamic countries that have anti-homosexuality laws, as do some states in the United States. So, President Obama's actions as President undercut the claim that he is a Muslim.

Praying five times a day

Devout Muslims pray five times a day facing Mecca.[78] No Secret Service agents have reported that he prayed toward Mecca while in the White House or under their protection.

Obama and the month of Ramadan

Every year during the month of Ramadan devout Muslims fast from dawn until sundown and during this time they abstaining from food, drink, and sexual relations.[78] No former Secret Service agents have reported that Obama observes Ramadan.

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Devote Muslims travel to Mecca on a religious pilgrimage.[78] Only Muslims are allowed access to the holy sites in Mecca. Despite all of the power and access of the Presidency, Obama never attempted to travel to Mecca.

Obama, Muslims and dogs

Muslims commonly (though not all Muslims) have a very low opinion of dogs and consider them impure due to their interpretation of the Koran. For example, the International Business Times reported in 2014: "Owning a dog in Iran could result in 74 lashes under a new law passed by the Iranian government." [79] Obama's family owns a dog.

Other point-by-point rebuttals

Oval Office Address following San Bernadino attack

The first section of this article states, "from the Oval Office, on Dec. 6, 2015 Obama devoted much of his 14-minute presentation to promoting Islam to the American people." The purpose of the Oval Office address was to discuss an attack in San Bernadino that killed 14 Americans. Obama condemned the attack and explained what the government was doing to prevent future attacks. He called for preventing terrorists on the no-fly list from buying guns and for an assault weapons ban. He asked for legislation for "stronger screening for those who come to America without a visa so that we can take a hard look at whether they’ve traveled to warzones." He did have a paragraph (which was very similar to President Trump's speech in May 2017) that said:

Here’s what else we cannot do. We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam. That, too, is what groups like ISIL want. ISIL does not speak for Islam. They are thugs and killers, part of a cult of death, and they account for a tiny fraction of more than a billion Muslims around the world -- including millions of patriotic Muslim Americans who reject their hateful ideology. Moreover, the vast majority of terrorist victims around the world are Muslim. If we’re to succeed in defeating terrorism we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies, rather than push them away through suspicion and hate.[80]

So, the claim is false and does not show President Obama to be a Muslim.

Sec. of Defense Chuck Hagel and invading Syria

The first section of this article argues that because President Obama appointed Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, Obama must be a Muslim. Hagel was confirmed by a 58–41 Senate vote. Two possible reasons why Hagel was nominated are that as a Republican, he would be easier to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate and that he was a veteran who later was active in Congress on defense issues.

The first section of this article argues that Obama must be a Muslim because "Obama supports a military invasion of Syria." In fact, the Obama administration negotiated a deal where Syria put their chemical weapons under Russian control, avoiding any need for an invasion.[81] Obama did not want to invade Syria and worked to avoid it.

If Obama were a Muslim pushing a pro-Muslim agenda in the mid-east, there should be clear differences with the policies of his Christian successor, Donald Trump. However, it appears that their approach to the mid-east is similar. Both want to work with mid-east countries to eliminate the terrorist movements there and to bring stability to the region.

Liberal Christianity and liberalism

The first section of this article states without support, "Obama's background and outlook are Muslim, and fewer than 1% of Muslims convert to Christianity." In fact, during Obama's formative years, he was raised by his maternal grandparents, who were Methodist. He was never a Muslim, the percentage of Muslims who convert to Christianity is not relevant. Obama was raised with a liberal and Christian outlook, not a Muslim one.

For 20 years, Obama attended the United Church of Christ which taught liberation theology. His daughter was baptized in this church. Barack Obama left the congregation in Chicago and rarely attended any church while in D.C., out of concerns that security precautions would inconvenience the other worshipers. When the Obama family spent their weekends at Camp David in Maryland, they worshiped at the Evergreen Chapel.

Obama took the backup oath of office without a Bible

For the planned 2009 public ceremonial swearing-in Obama used a Bible. However, the Chief Justice misstated the oath and dropped by the White House to administer it a second time just to remove any questions. In 2013, "President Obama is putting a symbolic twist on a time-honored tradition, taking the oath of office for his second term with his hand placed not on a single Bible, but two -- one owned by Martin Luther King Jr. and one by Abraham Lincoln. "[82] Contrary to fake news rumors, he did not use a Koran.

Absence at Scalia's and Nancy Reagan's funerals

The first section of this article claims that Obama did not attend the funeral services for Scalia and Nancy Reagan because as a Muslim, he does not like to enter churches. The first section did not say that President Obama was invited to attend the Scalia or Nancy Reagan funerals. President Obama did pay tribute to the legacy of Nancy Reagan in his weekly television address of March 12, 2016.[83] Barack and Michelle Obama also issued an official statement of condolences.[84] Mrs. Obama attended the funeral which was held under a tent at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California and not in a church.[85] Regarding Scalia, President Obama issued a proclamation that flags should be flown at half-staff.[86] President Obama also issued a statement[87] and attended a memorial service held at the Supreme Court, with Vice President Biden attending the official funeral the next day.[88]

Obama's absence at the funerals of Antonin Scalia and Nancy Reagan might be explained by his busy schedule or by his desire not to disrupt the funerals with the added security that the Secret Service brings to any Presidential event. Also, to preserve the continuity of government, the President, Vice President, and the cabinet avoids attending the same public events to reduce creating terrorism targets. In any case, the kind words he said upon their passing is not evidence of President Obama being a Muslim.

To the extent that the first section of this article claims that President Obama was reluctant to enter churches, there are numerous counter-examples. While in Chicago, he was a member of Trinity United Church of Christ for 20 years. As a community organizer, many of his meetings were held in churches. While President, he attended services at Shiloh Baptist Church and St. John's Episcopal Church.

Attended other funerals

On August 28, 2009, Obama gave a eulogy at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston for Senator Edward Kennedy who was Catholic.[89]

On September 30, 2016, Obama traveled to Israel and attended the funeral of former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres who was Jewish.[90]

On December 10, 2013, President Obama traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa to speak at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela.[91]

On June 6, 2015, President Obama delivered the eulogy at the pulpit of the St. Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, Delaware for Beau Biden.[92]

Obama attended the funeral of Senator Daniel Inouye who was a United Methodist (Some United Methodists practice theological liberalism while others are religious conservatives).[93] While the Scalia and Reagan funerals may not be a counter-example to the Muslim rumor, the Peres, Biden and Inouye funeral are.

When a racist shot up the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and killed eight people, President Obama traveled to Charleston to deliver the eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney who was among those killed.[94]

President Obama traveled to Joplin, Missouri, to speak at a memorial service for those who died in a storm.[95]

Views on Israel

The first section of this article makes the vague subjective claim that "Obama seems to emotionally hold a Muslim view about Israel." All of President Obama's public foreign policy statements were carefully vetted and delivered without emotion. President Obama visited Israel on March 20, 2013 and September 30, 2016.

Obama's ring

The first section of this article claims Obama's "ring has Islamic inscriptions." The statement is sourced to World Net Daily, which did not actually examine the ring, but rather blurry enlargements of photos of the ring. It suggests that the pattern on the outside of the ring is in the form of Arabic symbols, rather than claiming there is an engraved message on the inside of the band. Snopes featured a clear, closeup of the ring and showed that the design is a series of loops and not Arabic symbols.[96]

Muslim call to prayer

The first section of this article claims, "Obama said the Muslim call to prayer is 'one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset,' and recited 'with a first-class Arabic accent' the opening lines: Allah is Supreme! ... I witness that there is no god but Allah ...." citing a WND web posting that in turn referenced an Obama interview with New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof in 2007.[97] Kristof wrote a column in 2008 making reference to it in terms of "Mr. Obama has spoken respectfully of Islam" but denied being a Muslim himself.[98] Just because a person praises the sound of a religious practice does not mean that the person has accepted the content as his own personal religious belief. By analogy, a person can also recite a television advertising jingle from memory without wanting to ever buy the product.

Protecting freedom of religion

At times, the first section of this article had taken a quotation out of context from President Obama's September 25, 2012 address to the United Nations General Assembly. In the weeks prior to that speech, ISIL propagandists had released a video to create the impression that the United States was anti-Muslim. The video that was falsely attributed to the US government, drew widespread protests in the Arab world. Obama's address drew upon that tension to discuss the importance of the right of free exercise of religion worldwide. The end of the speech turned to the future with a series of statements each with "The future must not belong to..." which advocated religious tolerance.[7]

Accepting Islams' role in the modern world

The first section of this article argues that Obama must be a Muslim because he once wrote, "Islam can be compatible with the modern world." There are pluralistic modern societies where Muslims live side-by-side with Christians. Indeed, given America's founding values have included religious freedom, modern American society is a successful example. Obama did not write Islam is always compatible with the modern world. Only radical Islamic terrorists believe that Islam cannot be compatible with the modern world because that world embodies Western Judeo-Christian values.

Did not attend church as a President-elect

The first section of this article quotes Politico as saying Obama did not attend church since the 2008 election. That article was correct, but it was published on November 23, 2008, just three weeks after the election. A second article is footnoted that states the Obamas did not attend church on Christmas 2008. Both articles explain that the Obamas did not want to disrupt local services with a large security detail and procedures. Because the Obamas later began to attend services at the Evergreen Chapel of Camp David, this does not prove that Obama is a Muslim.

Female genital mutilation

Some Muslims practice female genital mutilation, and the practice was widespread in Indonesia when Obama lived there. However, the Obama Administration took many actions against the practice, signing a 2013 law tightening the prohibition against FGM, and supported the United Nations' efforts against FGM. There is nothing to suggest that the Obama family practiced FGM.

Possible closet atheist/agnostic

There are several reasons to doubt that Obama is an atheist. Very few Africans or African Americans are atheists, for example, and even fewer still who were raised in multi-cultural Hawaii and Indonesia as was Obama. He has displayed none of the common characteristics of atheists, such as evolution syndrome, a "wannabe" desire to be accepted intellectually, belief in an Old Earth, obesity, or a lack of ambition. His favorite science fiction movies show no propensity towards atheism.[99]

[100] Charles Krauthammer said Barack Obama is arrogant narcissist who essentially worships himself.

Liberal Christianity and religious syncretism and universalism

Obama is a liberal. Liberals often practice religious syncretism and are often universalists (or near universalists) who believe that there are many religious roads to heaven and few if any people go to Hell.

Obama isn't especially religious

Barack Obama isn't particularly religious. As noted above, he was the first president to host an atheist organization at the White House.

Obama is a narcissist who essentially often worships himself.[100] His first campaign was rightly criticized for making Obama into some messiah-like figure. [Citation Needed] Atheists are known for being very arrogant (see: Atheism and arrogance). Obama is known for being arrogant (see: Barack Obama and liberal elitism). On the other hand, the traits of arrogance and narcissism are not exclusive to atheists.

Furthermore, Obama's lack of religiosity/devoutness is not surprising as this is frequently a characteristic of people who attend liberal Christianity type churches like Obama has done. Liberal churches are bleeding members profusely due to people's lack of commitment to the Christian faith. [Citation Needed]

To compound matters, Obama's mother, Ann Durham, was a secular humanist which is a type of atheist.

Purported worldviews of parents and grandparents

Obama's birth father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr, was an ex-Muslim who became an Anglican at the young age of six years old.[101] He later became an atheist. Barack Obama declared in a Time magazine article entitled "My spiritual journey": "My father was almost entirely absent from my childhood, having been divorced from my mother when I was 2 years old; in any event, although my father had been raised a Muslim, by the time he met my mother he was a confirmed atheist, thinking religion to be so much superstition."

Kenya is the home country of Barack Hussein Obama Sr., but Obama Sr. had virtually no influence on the raising of his son. Obama's mother remarried, and ultimately, Obama was raised by his maternal grandparents. In Barack Obama's memoir, Dreams From My Father, he describes his great-grandparents as "stern Methodist parents who did not believe in drinking, playing cards, or dancing.". Obama's stepfather was an atheist.

According to both Obama's father's sister and Obama, Obama's father became a Christian when he was six years old. Obama's father attended an Anglican missionary school according to Obama's father's sister, when he became a Christian.[102]

Since colonial times and to this day, schools run by Christian missionaries in Africa have had a reputation of having the best schools in various areas of Africa and some Muslim parents send their children to these school in order to receive a better education.[103][104] There have been Muslim children who attend these schools who have become Christians.[103] As far as evidence that Obama Sr. received a strong education as a youth, Obama Sr. is a Harvard University graduate, and Harvard had a highly competitive admissions process.

As far as Kenya, a 2015 study estimates some 70,000 Christian believers from a Muslim background in the country, most of them belonging to some form of Protestantism.[105]

In a Al Jazeera interview the prominent Muslim cleric Ahmad Al Qataani indicated the number of Muslims in Africa diminished greatly in the last century and that 6 million African Muslims were converting to Christianity every year.[106]

The Muslim cleric Ahmad Al Qataani specifically declared:

“ Islam used to represent, as you previously mentioned, Africa's main religion and there were 30 African languages that used to be written in Arabic script. The number of Muslims in Africa has diminished to 316 million, half of whom are Arabs in North Africa. So in the section of Africa that we are talking about, the non-Arab section, the number of Muslims does not exceed 150 million people. When we realize that the entire population of Africa is one billion people, we see that the number of Muslims has diminished greatly from what it was at the beginning of the last century. On the other hand, the number of Catholics has increased from one million in 1902 to 329 million 882 thousand (329,882,000). Let us round off that number to 330 million in the year 2000. As to how that happened, well there are now 1.5 million churches whose congregations account for 46 million people. In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity. These numbers are very large indeed [106] ”

John L. Allen, Jr., editor of the Catholic news website Crux, wrote:

“ Africa is the zone of Christianity’s greatest growth. It is already the world’s most populous Christian continent, with slightly more Christians today than there are in North America, and the numbers are burgeoning. The Pew Forum projects that by 2050, sub-Saharan Africa will have 1.1 billion Christians, almost twice as much as its nearest rival for adherents, Islam.[107] ”

Many people, but certainly not all, follow the steps of their parents when it comes to their religious faith or their lack thereof. Admittedly though the retention rate for people raised on the atheist household is low in the United States (around 30%) so Obama's parents' atheism is not as big of a factor as many people might suppose (see: Atheism and its retention rate in individuals).

Atheist organizations

Liberal Christians and atheists sometimes work together on various public policy issues (see: Atheism and liberal Christianity alliances).

There is significant conflict between atheism and Islam and Islamic governments imprison/censure atheists and Islamic zealots kill atheists (see: Atheism vs. Islam). Muslims generally have a very low opinion of atheism. The Obama administration is the first administration to meet with an atheist group. It met with the Secular Coalition for America which is a coalition which represents the American Atheists, the American Humanist Association, and the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers.[108]

Summary of argument that Obama is a closet atheist/agnostic

Given that Obama isn't particularly religious, his parents' irreligion and the toxicity of being an atheist in terms of electability to a political office in the United States (see: Views on atheists), there have been accusations that Obama is a closet atheist/closet agnostic.[109][110]

Reaction of others

Many people believe that politics is the motive behind the attacks on President Obama's religious beliefs. By questioning Obama's stated Christian beliefs, a political opponent can call him an untrustworthy liar without being direct. Polling data suggests that if Obama's primary opponents could convince the public that he was a Muslim, it would hurt his electability. In a 2007 Gallup poll, 94 percent of Americans said they would vote for a black candidate for president and 88 percent for a woman. However, only 34 percent of respondents in a 2006 Los Angeles Times poll said they could vote for a Muslim for president.[98]

A survey in March 2008 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that ten percent of American voters believed that then-Senator Barack Obama was Muslim. 16% of conservative Republicans, 16% of white evangelical Protestants and 19% of rural Americans believed Obama, who at the time was a Presidential candidate, was Muslim.[111] In a later survey, in July 2008, the number had risen to 12% of American voters who thought Obama was a Muslim. Interestingly, 37% of those who thought he was Muslim intended to vote for him.[112]

According to September 2015 survey data, 39% say he is Protestant, 29% say he is Muslim, 11% of people say Obama's not religious, 4% say he is Catholic, and 14% that they just don't know. Among college-educated people, 63% say he is Protestant.[113] And of course, in the United States, where many people are religious (especially African Americans who are very commonly Obama supporters), Obama supporters are more likely to say he is religious.

So, it is not surprising that investigators hired by Donald Trump found that the rumors originated with President Obama's primary opponents.[72]

See also

References



