Evangelist Franklin Graham has apologized to President Obama for questioning his Christian faith during a cable television news interview.

"I regret any comments I have ever made which may have cast any doubt on the personal faith of our president, Mr. Obama," Graham said in a statement.

Graham, the son of Billy Graham, also said: "I apologize to him and to any I have offended for not better articulating my reason for not supporting him in this election -- for his faith has nothing to do with my consideration of him as a candidate."

Religion News Service, which broke the story, noted that "more than a dozen members of a religious subgroup of the NAACP had accused Graham of 'bearing false witness' and fomenting racial discord."

"We can disagree about what it means to be a Christian engaged in politics, but Christians should not bear false witness," the NAACP statement said. "We are also concerned that Rev. Graham's comments can be used to encourage racism."

Religion News Service also reported: