Bush, Obama, and Christianity

President Bush worked hard in 2000 and 2004 to gain the confidence and vote of conservative Christians. He spoke about Jesus changing his heart and he sounded sincere. He apparently converted to an evangelical style of Christianity when he was in his 30's or early 40's.

Senator Obama also tells a story of how he came to Jesus in his mid 20's. It almost seems like both Bush and Obama realized that getting "right" with God was necessary, or a very important ingredient for their future political success.

Obama's Christian testimony, however, does not follow the usual evangelical cliches. Obama's transition from agnostic, quasi-unitarian (his mother was anthropologically appreciative of the variety of religions), or not-really-caring-that-much-about-religion to a thoughtful or questioning Christian seems more like an attempt to solidify his community ties. He stresses the social justice aspects of the Christian faith.

Obama seems more interested in practicing Christianity through good works than in theorizing about it. It remains to be seen if conservative Christians will be sufficiently impressed with Obama's style of doing Christianity enough for them to vote for him.