President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama (R) look on at inauguration ceremonies swearing in Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

(Reuters) - Former U.S. President Barack Obama is heartened by the political activism he sees across the country and disagrees with discrimination against people based on their religion, a spokesman said on Monday.

Kevin Lewis, a spokesman for Obama, said the former president who left office 10 days ago “fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion.”

“Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake,” Lewis said. He said Obama was “heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country.”