AS
AN
AFRICAN-American
reared
in
the
black
church,
I,
like
so
many
of
my
same-gender-loving
brothers
and
sisters,
am
not
holding
my
breath
for
presidential
candidate
and
U.S.
Sen.
Barack
Obama
to
come
around
on
the
issue
of
marriage
equality
for
same-sex
couples.
Why?
Because
he
stands
in
solidarity
with
African-American
ministers
on
the
issue,
using
religion-based
bigotry
as
his
weapon
of
defense.
Although
religion
came
to
Obama
late
in
life,
and
he
was
reared
in
a
non-religious
household,
his
religious
convictions
were
formed
during
his
20s
in
the
black
church
while
a
community
organizer
working
with
local
churches
on
the
South
Side
of
Chicago.
As
a
central,
powerful
and
revered
institution
within
the
African-American
community,
the
black
church
captivated
Obama’s
attention.
He
says
he
came
to
understand
“the
power
of
the
African-American
religious
tradition
to
spur
social
change.”
Just
how
much
Obama
covets
the
power
of
the
black
church
for
his
own
political
aggrandizement
has
raised
questions
in
the
minds
of
many.
For
example,
MSNBC
talk-show
host
Tucker
Carlson
suggests
Obama’s
faith
is
“suddenly
conspicuous,”
suggesting
that
Obama
has
only
recently
begun
addressing
his
religious
background
as
part
of
“a
very
calculated
plan
on
the
part
of
the
Democratic
Party
to
win
“religious
voters”
in
the
2008
presidential
race.
IF
OBAMA
IS
indeed
using
religion
to
win
votes,
he
unfortunately
placed
himself
in
a
difficult
quagmire
—
not
only
with
LGBTQ
voters,
but
also
with
religious
liberals.
He
worships
in
a
conservative
black
church
within
a
liberal
denomination.
In
July
2005,
the
UCC
General
Synod
overwhelmingly
passed
a
Resolution
of
Marriage
Equality.
But
in
August
2005,
Obama’s
pastor
and
inspiration
for
the
title
of
his
recent
memoir
“The
Audacity
of
Hope,”
Rev.
Jeremiah
Wright
of
Trinity
United
Church
of
Christ
in
Chicago,
spoke
against
the
Synod’s
position.
“While
our
denomination
grappled
with
how
to
address
that
human
problem,
the
denomination
also,
at
that
Synod,
voted
to
ordain
a
homosexual.
Guess
which
item
made
the
newspapers?
Maybe
I
missed
something!”
And
in
his
closing
tirades
on
gay
issues,
Wright
stated:
“Are
44
million
Americans
with
no
health
care
insurance
less
important
than
‘gay
marriage’?
Why
aren’t
black
Christians
in
an
uproar
about
that?
Maybe
I
am
missing
something!”
It
was
disheartening
for
many
of
us
to
learn
that
Pastor
Wright
broke
ranks
with
his
liberal
denomination
to
stand
in
solidarity
with
a
more
conservative
black
church
position.
So
it
is
also
not
surprising
that
in
March,
when
Obama
appeared
on
CNN’s
“Situation
Room”
with
Wolf
Blitzer,
he
stood
where
his
pastor
does
on
the
issue.
“Well,
I
think
that
marriage
has
a
religious
connotation
in
this
society,
in
our
culture,
that
makes
it
very
difficult
to
disentangle
from
the
civil
aspects
of
marriage,”
Obama
said.
“And
as
a
consequence,
it
would
be
extraordinarily
difficult
and
a
distraction
to
try
to
build
a
consensus
around
marriage
for
gays
and
lesbians.
What
we
can
do
is
form
civil
unions
that
provide
all
the
civil
rights
that
marriage
entails
to
same-sex
couples.”
Controversy
stirred
during
Holy
Week
when
art
student
David
Cordero
at
the
Art
Institute
of
Chicago
created
for
his
senior
project
a
paper
maché
sculpture
of
Obama
as
Jesus
that
went
on
display
at
a
downtown
gallery.
For
some
passersby,
Obama’s
image,
standing
under
a
blue
neon
halo
and
wearing
a
robe,
inspired
hope.
And
for
these
Americans,
Obama
is
a
secular
messiah.
BUT
IS
OBAMA
our
present-day
Jesus?
For
other
passersby,
just
mentioning
Obama
and
Jesus
in
the
same
breath
is
not
only
blasphemous,
but
also
an
offense
to
their
civil
rights.
And
so,
too,
many
argue
it
would
be
an
offense
for
Jesus.
Why?
Because
Jesus
stood
with
all
those
relegated
to
society’s
margins.
And
what
would
Jesus
do
on
the
issue
of
gay
marriage?
The
same
that
he
would
do
on
the
issue
of
interracial
marriage:
support
it.
The
debate
concerning
interracial
marriages
between
African
Americans
and
white
Americans
ended
in
1967
when
the
U.S.
Supreme
Court
declared
anti-miscegenation
laws
unconstitutional
in
the
case
of
Loving
v.
Virginia.
Ironically,
that
decision
allowed
Obama’s
parents
to
legally
marry.
Obama
should,
therefore,
understand
our
issues
on
marriage
equality.
But
instead,
he
has
opted,
like
so
many
religious
conservatives,
to
use
religion
to
justify
his
discrimination.
And
that’s
an
abomination.
