WASHINGTON — President Obama called his Christian faith “a sustaining force” in his life in an unusual speech Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he acknowledged persistent questions about his religion and offered perhaps his most detailed comments about his spiritual beliefs and practices.
Obama, who has faced a persistent number of Americans who mistakenly believe he is a Muslim as well as questions about why he only occasionally attends church, described how he “came to know Jesus Christ for myself and embrace him as my Lord and savior.” He acknowledged questions about his faith.
“My Christian faith, then, has been a sustaining force for me over these last few years, all the more so when Michelle and I hear our faith questioned from time to time,” he said to a crowd of about 4,000 at the Washington Hilton hotel. “We are reminded that ultimately what matters is not what other people say about us but whether we’re being true to our conscience and true to our God. ‘Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you, as well.’ “
The National Prayer Breakfast is a decades-old Washington event attended by members of Congress who are in prayer groups, faith activists and professionals from across the spectrum. Presidents have been addressing the largely evangelical group each year since 1953.
As a candidate and a senator, Obama spoke frequently of his Christianity, but since becoming president his lack of public worship-service attendance has drawn some attention.
Some high-profile religious conservatives have raised the question, while some religious progressives have criticized Obama for not framing his policy priorities through a religious lens. The president’s supporters have noted that President George W. Bush did not attend church regularly while in office either.
Many Americans have bristled at the idea that America’s leader needs to have a religious faith, or a faith of a particular kind. They question why the president and Congress would gather at such a high-profile religious event. Obama made clear Thursday he’s not in that camp.
Obama spoke about his prayers: “As I travel across the country, folks often ask me, what is it that I pray for? And like most of you, my prayers sometimes are general. ‘Lord, give me the strength to meet the challenges of my office.’ Sometimes they’re specific. ‘Lord, give me patience as I watch Malia go to her first dance, where there will be boys.’ “
Turning more serious, he listed ministers he prays with such as Joel Hunter, the pastor of a megachurch in Florida. Obama had been largely private about his beliefs and religious practices, following controversies during the campaign about his Chicago minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
Obama distanced himself from his father, a Muslim, saying he “only met him once for a month in my entire life.” His mother, while skeptical of organized religion, “was one of the most spiritual people I ever knew,” he said, characterizing this spirituality as one about not a personal relationship with God, or ideas about salvation or the Bible, but rather basic ethics.
