Melanie Morgan

 Well, nobody should be surprised. I posted this story right here in February of '07. Maybe Hillary's oppo research folks snagged it from my website and held it for just the right 'kitchen sink' moment.

Obama Worships at Afrocentric Church

By Catherine Moy

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., worships in an “unashamedly Black” church with covenants and a “vision” that include a “disavowal of the pursuit of “middleclassness” and a pledge of allegiance to “all black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System.”

The Trinity United Church of Christ of Chicago has a “congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA,” according to its Web site.

“We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian... Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain "true to our native land," the mother continent, the cradle of civilization,” the Trinity United Church of Christ Web site says.

The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. became pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ on March 1, 1972, and brought Obama into his brand of Christianity. Rev. Wright has written many books and studied Theology at several universities. He leads a church with more than 80 ministries that range from music to outreach to the poor.

While much has been made of Obama’s early education in Islam and his Muslim roots, his Christian conversion into a church that is self-described as Afrocentric has faced little public scrutiny. Some black pastors and evangelical leaders have condemned Obama, who hopes to win the Democrat nomination for the 2008 presidential race.

Following Obama’s announcement to enter the presidential race, the Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, said Obama’s Christianity is “woefully deficient.”

The Rev. Schenck’s comments in full:

"Barack Obama began his presidential campaign today with the words, 'All honor and glory to God.'

"While all Christians should welcome the public acknowledgment of God by a serious presidential contender, such a bold pronouncement and infusion of Christian faith into his campaign will require much of Mr. Obama.

"Jesus Christ said by what measure we judge others, we will be judged. By injecting his faith so directly into his campaign, Mr. Obama has invited an examination and debate focused on his faith. Sadly, we will find Mr. Obama's Christianity woefully deficient.”

The Web site for the Trinity United Church of Christ offers for sale books with titles such as “The Black Christ,” “Bad Boys of the Bible,” “African Power,” and “Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery: Consequences for blacks and whites of picturing God as a Caucasian.” The church also sells Obama’s best-selling books, as well as other more mainstream titles.

The liberal teachings of Obama’s church may turn away black evangelicals, a large voting bloc for Democrats running for national office. Sen. Obama has called for reaching out to evangelicals and understands the necessity for him to gain their votes.

The Rev. Schenck warned in a Dec. 8, 2006, article, Barack Obama: Sheep or Goat, that Obama’s brand of Christianity would turn away evangelicals.

“Obama’s progressivism, however, leads him to conclusions that are morally untenable, if not reprehensible, to Evangelicals and other traditionalist Christians,” Schenck wrote. 

Schenck warned evangelical Christians to watch out for Obama’s arrival in their churches and to look at his church’s Afrocentric beliefs with a skeptic’s eye.

“Obama will also likely need to explain why his mentor, Pastor Wright, unapologetically uses language that insults millions of Americans, many of whom are Evangelicals. In one interview, Wright called those of us who voted for George Bush “stupid,” ‘ Schenck wrote.

Catherine Moy is a Bay Area journalist that has been recognized by many prestigious national, regional and local journalism institutions for her work. The Pulitzer nominee has been recognized for her investigative reporting, opinion columns, business writing, and coverage of breaking news, among other issues. She lives in Solano County with her husband, daughter and many animals.