Obama's Religion

By John T. Harding
August 2010



   Right-wing rantings often cite the Bill of Rights as a basis for their challenges and demands that the rest of the country fall in line with their views. But the claim that President Obama may be unfit for office because of his heritage is both shameful and un-American, especially when applied to spiritual beliefs.
   The First Amendment guarantees Freedom of Religion, as it should. But often forgotten or ignored by the ranters is that the main body of the Constitution guarantees freedom from religion. Article VI, paragraph three of the Constitution specifically states that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust."  Therefore, to demand that the President prove that he is a Christian, or to at least prove that he is not a Muslim, is unconstitutional.
   To mix politics and religion is always dangerous, and often covers an insidious attempt to force the beliefs of a few on the rights of the many. The Founders knew of this danger, based on the reality that English law at the time prohibited anyone not a member of the Anglican church from holding office, or even from attending Oxford or Cambridge universities, which were the primary source of doctors and lawyers in the country. No Catholics need apply, and as for being Jewish, forget about it. (Benjamin Disraeli, the 19th Century political giant, was born in a Jewish family, but converted.)
   Rev. Franklin Graham's claim that Obama was born a Muslim because his father was a Muslim ignores the fact that the father disavowed Islam before Barack was born. The claim is spurious, because it makes religion a matter of genetics, not choice. Moreover, young Barack was raised by his mother and grandparents, and did not even meet his father until he was nearly a teenager.