%1

McCurry says president's faith outreach needed now as much as ever: An opportunity to mobilize across the theological spectrum

Religious Democrats were “hibernating” until the 2008 election season, when the party’s candidates—including Barack Obama—made religion central to their campaigns, according to former White House press secretary Mike McCurry.

And now President Obama must continue his outreach to people of faith if he is to end the Iraq War, reduce the number of abortions and halt climate change, among other difficult issues, said McCurry, President Clinton’s chief spokesperson from 1995 to 1998.

Historic inaugural events feature religious mixture: An ecumenical tone

The inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States was solemnized over four days in January in Washington with prayers by a diverse group of clergy and admonitions from the new White House resident. The mixture of clergy reflected Obama’s intention to cross religious lines.

Early in his January 20 inaugural address, Obama alluded to the apostle Paul’s words to the church at Corinth in a call to more civil discourse and more prudent decision making.

Briefly noted

The religious makeup of the new 111th Congress roughly matches the overall American religious landscape, with overrepresentation among Jews and Mormons, according to a new analysis by the nonpartisan Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Just over half (55 percent) of House and Senate members who took office January 6 are Protestants, compared to 51 percent of the U.S. population. The second-largest group, Catholics, make up 30 percent of lawmakers, compared to 24 percent of all Americans.

Critics: Man ‘living like Jesus’ should not have voted for Obama: Ed Dobson, formerly of Moral Majority

When minister Ed Dobson set out to live like Jesus for a year, he didn’t plan on stirring up controversy. Then again, Jesus stirred up plenty.

This architect of the religious right is in hot water with some conservatives over his statement that living like Jesus during 2008 influenced him to vote for Barack Obama—his first presidential vote ever for a Democrat.

In the early 1980s, Dobson helped found the now-defunct Moral Majority, and as an aide to the late Jerry Falwell he edited the Fundamentalist Journal.