This past year, Obama referenced that same “child born far from home,” but added a more personal twist: “It’s a story that’s dear to Michelle and me as Christians.”
Three days later, at a Christmas benefit concert, the president again talked about how the story
of Christmas “guides my Christian faith.”
What changed? For one, three separate 2010 polls found that one in four Americans think the president is a Muslim, 43 percent don’t know what faith he follows, and four in 10 Protestant pastors don’t consider Obama a Christian.
Stephen Mansfield, author of “The Faith of Barack Obama,” said the polls “had to be a wake-up call to the White House.”
Though Obama has spoken of his faith numerous times, saying he prays daily and talking at Easter about how “as Christians, we believe that redemption can be delivered by faith in Jesus Christ,” his most recent language is even more open, more personal.
“I think he’s just bringing more of himself to the game, so to speak,” said Mansfield. “It’s not as though he’s changed religions or something. He’s just being open about it.”
The White House, which declined to comment on the president’s current language, has called him a man of “strong Christian faith” in the past.
