Faith Has Role in Politics, Obama Tells Church

New York Times:

HARTFORD, June 23 — Addressing the 50th anniversary convention of his own denomination, the United Church of Christ, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois said Saturday that the religious right had “hijacked” faith and divided the country by exploiting issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and school prayer.

But Mr. Obama said that religion has a rightful role to play in American politics, and he praised people of faith who he said are now using their influence to try to unite Americans against problems like poverty, AIDS, the health care crisis and the violence in Darfur.

“My faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray all I want, but I won’t be fulfilling God’s will unless I go out and do the Lord’s work..."

The United Church of Christ prides itself on its inclusiveness of racial minorities, gay men and lesbians and people with disabilities, and its focus on social injustice. In 1972, it became the first mainline Protestant denomination to ordain an openly gay minister, and two years ago it passed a resolution in support of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. ...

Mr. Obama used his 45-minute speech to recall the church’s and many others’ proud history of involvement in the American Revolution and the abolition and civil rights movements.

“But somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together,” Mr. Obama said. “Faith started being used to drive us apart. Faith got hijacked.”