Hope..maybe...

The following quote is from The Friendly Atheist, after bringing up Obama's difficulty in explaining his stance on a six-day creation of the universe and everything in it, in his immediate attempt to express his leanings towards theistic evolution afterwards, and in his little faux pas regarding people in small towns being bitter and turning to guns and religion due to that:

"Imagine if he really did feel that way? Doesn’t he speak the truth? When
people get upset or depressed, they do turn to God. Not all people, but a hell
of a lot of them.
At so many of the churches I visited, people talked about how God “saved” them only when they were at their lowest points. I even wrote in my book: “was being down, or lonely, or desperate a prerequisite to finding God?”
There’s nothing “elitist” in his remarks. It’s just that the atheist side of him accidentally spoke up.
In several months time, Obama may still speak about faith and use religious rhetoric, but I’m hopeful that when he becomes president, he won’t play into the hands of the Religious Right. He will uphold the Separation of Church and State. He won’t have to answer any of these idiotic questions about evolution and Creation in a way that downplays his own intelligence."

Considering the fact that Obama was raised in relatively atheistic household, was exposed to a variety of different religions from a young age by his mother, and that the church he attends seemingly tends to focus more on racial matters than religious ones, I can kind of see how Obama could have an inner atheist lurking inside of him.

Of course, that is not to suggest that he is faking his religious tendencies. It is not to say that he does not have spirituality, which I do not doubt. But, it is to say that his particular flavor of Christianity is slightly less potent than those of his conservative counterparts. I can imagine that he will have profoundly more respect for the merits of a secular government, for religious tolerance, and for the virtue that is not taking your favored holy text too literally.

It is a bit bold to pronounce Obama an atheist, but it is clear that he is most likely a liberal Christian, and not just a Christian who happens to be a liberal. And, hopefully, if Obama happens to get his way into the White House, to the chagrin of every self-proclaimed racist in the various nether regions of our nation, perhaps his policies will foster more tolerance...though, of course, I am not holding my breath.