Obama's Use of Religion

The relation between religion and politics has been a topic of concern and controversy over the last decade, especially regarding the presidential use of religion to further political goals. As Jonathan Turley explores in his op-ed, both President Bush and President Obama use religion to further their political agenda in different. George Bush used religion during his administration in the traditional Christian Right methods – to garner the votes of the Christian Americans and to promote the ideals and beliefs of Christianity. President Obama, on the other hand, uses religion much more purposefully in a more utilitarian way- trying to use religion’s popularity to help the greatest amount of Americans. However, this use of religion is not surprising given the history of the United States. As Mark Noll explores in his novel, God and Race in American Politics, “…it has been the general interweaving of race with religion…that have pervaded the nation’s political history.” Throughout history, major political movements have been influenced by religion. Examples of such movements range from the Civil War in the late 1860s to the Christian Right Movement in the latter part of the twentieth century. Not surprisingly, our government leaders utilize religion to such an extreme extent. President Bush created the “Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives” in order to further the goals of the conservative republicans. President Obama, contrary to popular belief, will utilize religion because of the wide-reaching population that the church reaches. Because the United States exists as an extremely pious nation, it’s incredibly logical for Barack to use religion as a medium through which to initiate change to an entire population of Americans.