Sen. Barack Obama is leaving Trinity United Church of Christ, his longtime religious home in Chicago and a place that has triggered repeated controversies during his presidential bid.
"This is not a decision that I come to lightly, and frankly it's one that I made with some sadness," Obama told reporters in Aberdeen, S.D. "Trinity was where I found Jesus Christ, where we were married, where our children were baptized. We have many friends among the 8,000 congregants."
Obama said he felt he had no choice but to leave the church.
"It's clear that now that I am a candidate for president, every time something is said in the church by anyone associated with Trinity, including guest pastors, the remarks will be imputed to me, even if they totally conflict with my long-held views, statements and principles," he said.
In a statement released this evening, the church said: "Trinity United Church of Christ was informed today that Senator Barack Obama and his family will no longer be members of our church. Though we are saddened by the news, we understand that it is a personal decision. We will continue to lift them in prayer and wish them the best as former members of our Trinity community."
The Latest controversy involving the South Side church erupted this past week when an Internet video emerged from an appearance there last weekend by the Rev. Michael Pfleger.
Pfleger, who has had numerous run-ins with Chicago's Roman Catholic archdiocese for his political activism, mocked Sen. Hillary Clinton from the pulpit during a guest appearance at the church. The priest also suggested the former first lady is a white elitist who felt entitled to the Democratic nomination.
Obama has not attended the church since it first entered the national spotlight in mid-March, following the appearance of Internet videos featuring Obama's longtime pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr.
Dwight Hopkins, a theology professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, who joined Trinity 12 years ago, expressed shock and regret about the senator's decision.
"I thought he would stay because of the good works of the church," Hopkins said, noting Obama's frequent affirmations about the Trinity community. "He had a baptism and marriage connection. I guess the Pfleger thing took it over the top. Maybe Sen. Obama thought the church should not have provided that platform."
Hopkins predicted the congregation would initially react to the news with confusion and anger. But he pointed out that Oprah Winfrey's departure did not have lasting impact on members and predicted that Obama's resignation would not either.
"They didn't come there because of Obama," Hopkins said. "They came there because of the House that Wright that built. And it's still standing."
Wright officially retires Sunday.
After initially responding with a speech on race, Obama in late April was forced to denounce remarks made by Wright after his longtime pastor made a fiery appearance at the National Press Club, where he reaffirmed his view that the U.S. government may have initiated the AIDS epidemic to wipe out minorities, and praised Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
In his only public appearance of the day Friday, Obama made no mention of Pfleger during a speech in Great Falls, Mont. As the story broke Thursday, his campaign issued a statement expressing disappointment in the priest's "divisive, backward-looking rhetoric."
The Illinois Democrat's roots at Trinity had helped transform him from a transplant into a member of the community, politically and personally.
Obama has carried that credential with him as he made his way up the political ranks. He would sometimes greet black churches by bringing greetings from his pastor, calling him by name.
But the relationship with Wright began to fall apart more than a year ago, as Obama was preparing to launch his White House campaign. Wright had been asked to give a public invocation, but then Obama asked him simply to pray with him privately beforehand.
It wasn't until news stations began to air snippets of some of his most controversial sermons in March that the relationship truly began to unravel. In one, Wright said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were the "chickens coming home to roost" on the U.S. for its foreign policy.
In another, he uttered the now-infamous words "God damn America." Obama publicly disagreed with the sentiments in a carefully crafted speech about race, in which he said he could no more disown Wright than one could disown a family member.
Comments:
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What message is he trying to send? Obama can leave the church but his ideals and teachings and raving sermons stay in his head and heart...Sorry...Not impressed...20 years too late...He will never be President...Wright will be his legacy...People will always think he is a muslim no matter what church he goes to.
Posted by: kaye c. | May 31, 2008 6:14 PM | Permalink | 
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Obama should never have joined that church since he really is not a Christian. Most Christians have faced the question, "If you were on trial for being a Christian, what evidence would your accusors have to use against you?" In Obama's case there never was a scintilla of evidence to support the charge that he is a real Christian. His membership in his church was simply a smoke-screen to fool the American public. The jig is now up. America must now face the question of whether it is ready to elect the first non-Christian to the Presidency of the United States. The answer to that question will be a resounding, landslide NOOOO!!
Posted by: Daniel | May 31, 2008 6:23 PM
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Too little too late. I wonder if his wife is leaving too.
Posted by: Tanya | May 31, 2008 6:26 PM
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