In a speech delivered to the Obama Foundation’s Democracy Forum, former president Barrack Hussein Obama stressed the benefits of religious tolerance. He used the success of the mega-church movement as an example of how to promote pluralism and transcend division. The 44th President stressed that tolerance is only successful when it extends to actions and cannot be limited to words.
Obama has had a strained relationship with American Churchgoers. In 2008, while on his first presidential campaign, he said that small-town Americans ” … get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” Understandably, many commentators expressed their anger with Obama’s opinion of Christians.
At the time, Hilary Clinton, who was running against the Illinois Senator in the Democratic Primary, had this to say; “I was taken aback by the demeaning remarks Senator Obama made about people in small-town America. His remarks are elitist and out of touch.” Politicians and pundits across the political spectrum made similar comments on Obama’s statement.
However, in this speech, he took a more restrained tone. The former President defined pluralism as the ability to” live alongside individuals and groups who are different than us.” He said this is vital in a world where a Christian church and Muslim mosque may share the same block. Obama admitted that this is a difficult goal to achieve.
The 44th President had glowing praise for megachurches. In his speech, he expressed “They don’t start off peppering you with questions about whether you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior…They invite you in, introduce you around, give you something to eat, tell you all about the activities and groups you can be a part of.” Obama believes that this ‘Big Tent’ tactic is vital to success in politics.
Obama also stressed the importance of political tolerance. He acknowledged that the 2024 election was contentious and that he was disappointed with the victory of Donald Trump. However, Obama reiterated his belief in America ” The U.S. Constitution is a rulebook for practicing pluralism…And with that freedom, we can voice our beliefs and try to persuade others and form coalitions, compete for support, and elect representatives.”
The Former President acknowledged that practicing pluralism is difficult. Despite the political and religious divides in our nation, he reiterated that “Each of us has to show a level of forbearance towards those who don’t look or think or pray like us, that’s at the heart of democracy. ” Obama said this is the virtue that keeps people from ripping down political signs or offending their neighbors with different beliefs.
In his closing remarks, Obama restated his position on pluralism and extended his analysis to other nations. He specifically mentioned the failed coup in South Korea and religious violence in Kenya. The closing line of his speech was “…No matter what country we’re talking about, the same basic question remains: Can the idea of pluralism work in the current moment? And, for that matter, is the concept even worth saving? I believe the answer is yes.”