This week Senator Barack Obama met with a wide-range of U.S. religious leaders. The senator’s office promised not to release the names of those in attendance – though some have chosen to talk with the press about their participation – so that everyone there felt free to express views outside of the media spotlight. The meeting was also arranged in a way that made clear that participation did not imply endorsement. Senator Obama simply wanted to meet with religious leaders in an informal gathering. I was glad to learn from sources both inside and outside the campaign that many of those participating in the meeting came from progressive Christian communities concerned with issues such as the war, climate change, equality for all and global poverty. President Bush, during the last seven+ years, has refused to meet with religious leaders that have spoken out against his policies. Senator Obama, on the other hand, gathered religious leaders together of various theological perspectives. Not all of those leaders agreed with him on every issue. Senator Obama, for example, believes that women ought to be able to make their own health care decisions (a position shared by most mainline Christians and opposed by many evangelicals). It was a show of leadership on Senator Obama’s part that he was willing to meet with such a diverse group. There is increasing common ground among US religious groups on issues such as the environment. We would benefit from a president that sees religion not as a tool to divide people but as a shared language that can help reconcile old wounds.  During the course of this campaign Senator Obama has meet with religious leaders of various backgrounds and has the support of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Unitarians and Hindus (among others).   

Related Link: People of Faith for Barack Obama