Jesus is an historical figure for me, ...

I am not inside Obama's head so I can't presume to know his real beliefs, and I have a deep desire to believe our leaders aren't naive enough to believe in a deity with manipulative control over our universe. Having said that, his phrasing here sounds like someone who is introspective and is speaking about it in a way that sounds like religion but is really just playing the game to keep the haters at bay.

I would like to believe that many of our politicians are that way. We know Karl Rove is...

I can't condemn Obama for giving lip service to the religious right. Look at the heat he took even with all his pandering. People still believed he was a Muslim, a Satanist, a Black Supremecist... If he'd been more secular in his speech, he'd have been torn apart.

I once dated a girl who was deeply religious. After we'd dated for a few weeks she found out I was an atheist and her first comment was hilarious. She yelped, "But you're so nice!"

The image of non-believers is so ugly in this nation that it is a necessary evil to placate the fundies.

What is so interesting is that he is so open about his rather pragmatic view of religion, at least in this interview.

I think the majority of politicians would never consider letting down their guard like this.

True.

I hope his boldness toward religion, race and class continues into his presidency. It'd be great to have a serious discussion about these things in America for a "change."

Bob Cesca had a great piece on the challenge of engaging in mature dialogue with the radical right today at HuffPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/what-doesnt-kill-the-farb143398.html

Here's a link to the entire interview.

Here are some nice excerpts that point Obama toward a secular-oriented (with considerations for more religions than just Christianity) leadership even though Obamam is religious himself:

So, my mother, who I think had as much influence on my values as anybody, was not someone who wore her religion on her sleeve. We'd go to church for Easter. She wasn't a church lady.

As I said, we moved to Indonesia. She remarried an Indonesian who wasn't particularly, he wasn't a practicing Muslim. I went to a Catholic school in a Muslim country. So I was studying the Bible and catechisms by day, and at night you'd hear the prayer call. ... Alongside my own deep personal faith, I am a follower, as well, of our civic religion. I am a big believer in the separation of church and state. I am a big believer in our constitutional structure. I mean, I'm a law professor at the University of Chicago teaching constitutional law. I am a great admirer of our founding charter, and its resolve to prevent theocracies from forming, and its resolve to prevent disruptive strains of fundamentalism from taking root ion this country.

As I said before, in my own public policy, I'm very suspicious of religious certainty expressing itself in politics.

Now, that's different form a belief that values have to inform our public policy. I think it's perfectly consistent to say that I want my government to be operating for all faiths and all peoples, including atheists and agnostics, while also insisting that there are values that inform my politics that are appropriate to talk about. ... FALSANI: Do you think it's wrong for people to want to know about a civic leader's spirituality?

OBAMA: I don't' think it's wrong. I think that political leaders are subject to all sorts of vetting by the public, and this can be a component of that.

I think that I am disturbed by, let me put it this way: I think there is an enormous danger on the part of public figures to rationalize or justify their actions by claiming God's mandate.

I think there is this tendency that I don't think is healthy for public figures to wear religion on their sleeve as a means to insulate themselves from criticism, or dialogue with people who disagree with them.

I can only agree that Obama's attention to religious constituents was sad because that seems to be necessary these days to be elected to the office of US Pres. Without their support, Obama probably wouldn't have been elected. Change is soooo slow. If Obama can keep religion out of policy, maybe we can work back toward a more secular direction in this country.

I don't see why some people are so unsettled about the fact that Obama claims to be religious. It seems to me completely disconnected from metaphysical speculation, and more grounded in self-reflection and service to community:

Yeah, although I don't, I retain from my childhood and my experiences growing up a suspicion of dogma. And I'm not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I've got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others.

I'm a big believer in tolerance. I think that religion at it's best comes with a big dose of doubt. I'm suspicious of too much certainty in the pursuit of understanding just because I think people are limited in their understanding....there's an enormous amount of damage done around the world in the name of religion and certainty.

Likewise, his reflections on church and state (his perpetual caveat on this issue):

Alongside my own deep personal faith, I am a follower, as well, of our civic religion. I am a big believer in the separation of church and state...I am a great admirer of our founding charter, and its resolve to prevent theocracies from forming, and its resolve to prevent disruptive strains of fundamentalism from taking root ion this country.

And he claims any religious language he uses as a political figure can be 'translated' into secular terms:

Now, that's different form a belief that values have to inform our public policy. I think it's perfectly consistent to say that I want my government to be operating for all faiths and all peoples, including atheists and agnostics, while also insisting that there are values tha tinform my politics that are appropriate to talk about...A standard line in my stump speech during this campaign is that my politics are informed by a belief that we're all connected...Ican give religious expression to that. I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper, we are all children of God. Or I can express it in secular terms. But the basic premise remains the same.