THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama, the Illinois senator aiming to become America's first black president, has accused evangelical Christian leaders of "hijacking faith" and politicising religious beliefs in an effort to divide the country.
In a daring speech before a packed church convention, he said the powerful religious Right had exploited its stance on abortion, same-sex marriage and creationism to attack the Democrat Party.
"Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and faith started being used to drive us apart," he told the national meeting of the United Church of Christ, the liberal church of which he is a member.
"Faith got hijacked partly because the so-called leaders of the Christian Right are all too eager to exploit what divides us.
"At every opportunity they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage, school prayer and intelligent design." Obama says Right wing has hijacked religion (more) By Alex Spillius
Mark Alexander
