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White House Press Secretary: President Is a Committed Mainstream Christian

By Howard M. Friedman

The Christian Science Monitor reported last week that Fox News commentator Glenn Beck is accusing President Obama of not being a true Christian, but instead of believing in Marxist-based "Liberation Theology". The issue was raised by reporters at yesterday's White House press briefing (full text) in this exchange with press secretary Robert Gibbs:

Q    Robert, for the last four days, Glenn Beck has criticized the President for believing in liberation theology, which he calls a Marxist form of Christianity.  I?ve got two questions.  One, does the President, to your knowledge, even know what liberation theology is?

MR. GIBBS:  I don?t know the answer to that.  I will say this, Bill, a crude paraphrasing of an old quote, and that is people are entitled to their own opinion, as ill-informed as it may be, but they?re not entitled to their own facts.  The President is a committed mainstream Christian.  I don?t -- I have no evidence that would guide me as to what Glenn Beck would have any genuine knowledge as to what the President does or does not believe.

Q    When is he going back to church?

Q    So this Marxist form of Christianity --

MR. GIBBS:  Again, I can only imagine where Mr. Beck conjured that from.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on September 03, 2010 (boomark / email).