THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama, in a rare discussion about his religious beliefs, has described himself as a "Christian by choice" who arrived at his faith in adulthood because "the precepts of Jesus Christ" helped him envision the kind of life he wanted to lead.Mr Obama talked about his beliefs when he was asked, "Why are you a Christian." The question was posed by a woman at a backyard conversation, part of a series of meetings Mr Obama is holding to talk informally with Americans.
Some conservatives and political opponents have questioned Mr Obama's Christian faith and a Pew Research Center poll in August found that 18 per cent of Americans wrongly believe that the president is Muslim - up from 11 per cent who said so in March 2009. Just 34 per cent said they thought Obama is Christian.
"I'm a Christian by choice," Mr Obama said. "My family didn't - frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church.
"So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead - being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me," he continued. >>> | Wednesday, September 29, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama says he is 'Christian by choice' in rare comments on religion: President Barack Obama has spoken of how he is a "Christian by choice" who found faith while an adult because "the precepts of Jesus Christ" offered a basis for the life he wanted to lead. >>> Toby Harnden, Washington | Wednesday, September 29, 2010
