Obama was dogged throughout the campaign with alternate charges that he was a secret Muslim or an adherent of a radical black-nationalist Christian faction. But today he spoke candidly about being reared in a household without a traditional religious practice.
"I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who was sceptical of organised religion, even as she was the kindest, most spiritual person I've ever known," he said.
"She was the one who taught me as a child to love, and to understand, and to do unto others as I would want done."
Obama seemed to take pains to distinguish his effort from Bush's, noting that secular groups would also be covered under the office. "The goal of this office will not be to favour one religious group over another – or even religious groups over secular groups," he said.
"It will simply be to work on behalf of those organisations that want to work on behalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.
