"Each of Obama's inaugural pastors is no stranger to controversy"-Mark Tooley, Executive Director UMAction
Contact: Jeff Walton, The Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell, jwalton@TheIRD.org
WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 /Christian Newswire/ -- President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural committee says that the inaugural festivities will celebrate America's "diversity of faith." The roster of religious leaders reveals a variety of backgrounds, but unlike previous inaugural clergy, such as the Rev. Billy Graham, all four are noteworthy for their controversial comments and actions.
Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren, an opponent of same-sex "marriage," is scheduled to deliver the invocation at Obama’s inauguration. Openly homosexual Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who advised Obama during the campaign, will deliver the invocation on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial two days before the swearing-in ceremony.
Less has been reported on the other two clergy members participating in inaugural events, including United Methodist Rev. Joseph Lowery, and Rev. Sharon Watkins, leader of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination.
IRD Director of UMAction Mark Tooley commented,
"Seemingly from disparate corners of American religious life, each of Obama's inaugural pastors is no stranger to controversy.
"Rev. Joseph Lowery is often cited rightly as a revered civil rights leader. But over the last 35 years he has been more notable for his inflammatory rhetoric and embrace of conspiracy and radical causes, such as supporting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua or locking arms with Yasir Arafat.
"Lowery's denunciations of the Bush Administration during the Coretta Scott King funeral, in President Bush's presence, were among the preacher's latest controversies.
"While Rev. Watkins is less well known, her embrace of the Religious Left has been consistent. As an officer of the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches, and Jim Wallis' Sojourners, Watkins has signed on to polemical political pronouncements denouncing the Iraq War and urging a larger welfare state."
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