Obama's Religion Problem

Our liberal friends have their knickers in a twist right now about the shocking finding that about 20 percent of Americans think that President Obama is a Muslim. Just to be on the safe side, they are blaming Rush Limbaugh for this.

The awful Rush, you see, started calling the president "Imam Obama" last week.

Earth to liberals: One of Rush Limbaugh's big secrets is hidden in the phrase "fun, frolic, and a serious discussion of the issues." The Rush Limbaugh Program features humor and wit--even extending to irony and sarcasm--as much as it features political analysis.

And I would suggest that calling the president "Imam Obama" is an instance of irony. Very advanced and sophisticated, irony. At least that's what liberals used to say. That was before their ox got gored.

It's not that surprising that 20 percent of Americans think Obama is Muslim. His father is Muslim. He spent a good part of his youth in Indonesia, a Muslim country. His middle name is Hussein. So what! Liberals put out confusing and unhelpful memes about conservatives all the time.

But Obama's problem is not really about Islam. Obama's problem is his political approach to religion in general. And that is what came through so loud and clear on the president's iftar speech.

When it comes to religion, Obama is a liberal. He is liberal in the way that he pronounces on the 9/11 mosque. He is liberal on the way that he condones the ugly black racism of Reverend Wright. He is liberal in the way that he talked about "my faith tradition" during the campaign. And of course he is liberal in the way that he has no regard for the religious beliefs of health care workers that may not want to be involved in abortion procedures or "death panel" decisions.

I don't know whether Obama is a Christian. I doubt if he is a Muslim. I do know that he is a liberal. If you are looking for his "belief system" then the answer is "liberal."

Liberalism is what we now call a "secular religion." It has all the hallmarks of a religion except a belief in God. It's a faith community. It has its articles of belief. It divides the world into us and them. It is militant, actively seeking converts, particularly in the government education system. It is intolerant towards non-believers.

This wouldn't be exceptionable, except for one thing. Liberalism wants to combine its secular faith, its church of liberalism, with the government. It wants its belief system to become a kind of state religion, but without God. This puts liberals into an interesting position. They are always quoting Thomas Jefferson and his call for a wall between church and state.

But they refuse to admit that their beliefs constitute a religion and that there amounts, in the United States, an establishment of liberal religion, officially supported and imposed by the government in a host of ways. Here's one. In the welfare state the government does a lot of things, like education, health care, and welfare, that used to be done by churches.

Obama's problem with religion is that, in a nation that's 40 percent conservatives, 35 percent moderate, and 20 percent liberal, he's forcing a minority world view on the majority.

That is not a situation that is likely to end happily.