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Obama Speaks of His Personal Christian Faith At National Prayer Breakfast

By Howard M. Friedman

President Obama today spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, focusing on his personal Christian beliefs. (Full text of remarks.)  Last August, a national poll indicated that many Americans mistakenly believe that Obama is Muslim. (See prior posting.)  Here are some excerpts from the president's speech (which contained lighter, more humorous moments as well):

This may come as a surprise, for as some of you know, I did not come from a particularly religious family. My father, who I barely knew - I only met once for a month in my entire life - was said to be a non-believer throughout his life.

My mother, whose parents were Baptist and Methodist, grew up with a certain skepticism about organized religion, and she usually only took me to church on Easter and Christmas - sometimes. And yet my mother was also one of the most spiritual people that I ever knew....

And it?s because of her that I came to understand the equal worth of all men and all women, and the imperatives of an ethical life and the necessity to act on your beliefs.... [M]y earliest inspirations for a life of service ended up being the faith leaders of the civil rights movement.

There was, of course, Martin Luther King and the Baptist leaders.... But there were also Catholic leaders like Father Theodore Heshburg, and Jewish leaders like Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Muslim leaders and Hindu leaders. Their call to fix what was broken in our world, a call rooted in faith, is what led me just a few years out of college to sign up as a community organizer for a group of churches on the Southside of Chicago. And it was through that experience working with pastors and laypeople trying to heal the wounds of hurting neighborhoods that I came to know Jesus Christ for myself and embrace Him as my lord and savior....

When I wake in the morning, I wait on the Lord, and I ask Him to give me the strength to do right by our country and its people. And when I go to bed at night I wait on the Lord, and I ask Him to forgive me my sins, and look after my family and the American people, and make me an instrument of His will.

The Washington Post reported Obama's remarks as well as those of astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of the wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Kelly spoke briefly at the Prayer Breakfast and offered the closing prayer.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on February 03, 2011 (boomark / email).