Barack Obama on Faith
“And that night…I said a prayer of my own. It’s a prayer I think I share with a lot of
Americans…A hope that we can live with one another in a way that reconciles the
beliefs of each with the good of all.”
-Call to Renewal Keynote Address, June 28, 2006
Personal Faith
Obama has been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ, a Protestant Church in Chicago,
for over twenty years. He, his wife Michelle and his daughters are active in the Trinity faith com-
munity.
Moral Leadership
Obama’s faith shapes his values, as it does for millions of Americans. As he said in a recent
speech on faith and politics:
…[O]ur values should express themselves not just through our churches or synagogues, temples or
mosques; they should express themselves through our government. Because whether it’s poverty or
racism, the uninsured or the unemployed, war or peace, the challenges we face today are not simply
technical problems in search of the perfect ten-point plan. They are moral problems, rooted in both
societal indifference and individual callousness - in the imperfections of man. And so long as we’re
not doing everything in our personal and collective power to solve them, we
know the conscience of our nation cannot rest.
Record of Engaging People of Faith
Obama has a record of engaging people of faith on all aspects of his public service. His first job
out of college was bringing churches together to help address the poorest Chicago neighbor-
hoods’ pressing problems. After Hurricane Katrina, Obama united relief organizations and
churches to discuss rebuilding the Gulf Coast. Obama also passed legislation that saved tithing
from bankruptcy courts.
Bold Statements on Faith and Politics
In June of 2006, Obama delivered what a Washington Post columnist called perhaps the most
important speech on religion and politics in 40 years. Speaking before an evangelical audience,
Senator Obama candidly discussed his own Christian faith and the need for a deeper, more
substantive conversation about the role of faith in American life. In December of 2006, Obama
joined Pastor Rick Warren to discuss moral leadership and Global AIDS. And in June of 2007,
Obama challenged Americans to come together around a ‘Politics of Conscience’ to move our
nation forward.
