“...we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.” – Barack Obama, President of the United States
Hello, I’m Charlotte Bellis, and you’re watching Newsy.com.
We’re tracking different perspectives on President Barack Obama’s views on religion.
U.S. President Barack Obama visited Turkey Monday in hopes of improving relationships with the predominately Muslim country.
The Daily Star in Lebanon responds to Obama’s statements with an article titled, “Obama’s Speech: good but not enough”.
The article reports Obama’s speech made an impact, but lacked key points regarding religion.
“...He should instead have spoken of the rights that individuals and countries expect to enjoy in a world governed by law and mutual commitments to sovereign rights...They want to hear from the leader of the world's strongest nation that he respects a rule of law applied equally, fairly and consistently to all countries, regardless of their religion.” (Daily Star)
TIME talked to a director in Istanbul, who believes Obama’s honesty approach disarmed the crowd.
"He called for change but began with himself, pointing out the shortcomings of the U.S. in terms of dealing with its racial history... After years of the U.S. taking a superior approach to the rest of the world, he put himself on the same level as anyone else, and that really worked." (TIME)
While Obama talks about religion overseas, back home few know where he stands on the topic.
CNN’s Larry King talks to a pastor about some surprising new stats on the President’s religion.
“Recent polls show that 12% of Americans still believe Obama is a Muslim. And 35% said they don’t know his religion. But to most of them it don’t matter. Should it matter?” “Well it matters to me. I could speak for myself. It matters that he loves the Lord and I think it’s important that he has convictions from his faith so to me it matters when I’m making my personal decisions.” (CNN)
As Easter Sunday approaches, FoxNews stresses that Obama has yet to attend church services on any of the Sundays he’s been in office, and compares him to his predecessor.
“By this point in former President George W. Bush’s tenure, the president had spent several Sunday mornings attending services at St. John’s Episcopal Church...” (FOX News)
Newsweek looks at the amount of people in the U.S. that identify as Christian, noting the number fell 10% since 1990.
“This is not to say that the Christian God is dead, but that he is less of a force in American politics and culture than at any other time in recent memory.” (Newsweek)
Do you believe the United States is simply a nation of citizens like Obama suggested? Will religion in America return as a priority for the people?
