Obama Crossing Church/State Line: Kills Campaign

The controversy over Barack Obama's "Embrace the Change" Gospel concerts featuring "ex-gay" gospel singer Donnie McClurkin keeps growing, and it looks like Obama's embrace of the anti-gay black churches in the South may speed the end of his presidential campaign. Obama has been trying to repair his support among LGBT voters by adding a WHITE gay minister, who only spoke briefly, and by giving an extensive interview with The Advocate. However, the negative reactions from the gay community seems to have emboldened McClurkin and the concert attendees who cheered him as he lashed out at his critics. "They accuse me of being anti-gay and a bigot," McClurkin said. "We don't believe in discrimination. We don't believe in hatred, and if you do you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's the whole premise of God. That's the whole premise of Christ is love, love, love. But there is a side of Christ that deals in judgment, and all sin is against God." He reiterated his claim that "God delivered me from homosexuality," and claimed that he had been villified. He said he opposes discrimination against gays and he is not a bigot. He was cheered by the African-American concert attendees, 70 percent of whom believe that homosexuality is wrong and immoral.

If McClurkin had just made the claim that his faith in God helped him to change his sexual identity/preference I think gays should have accepted that and let it be. He has a right to his religious beliefs. BUT, McClurkin has gone further in his past statements and writings. He has refered to homosexality as a "curse." And here are some other quotes (from Truth Wins Out:

Homosexuality has really ravished our children. It started in my generation. I was touched by it and I struggled with it and all that for years and there was nobody to deal with it. I started dealing with it in my sermons and even when we do our concerts.” (An interview with www.FamilyChristian.com)

“Everybody is going to the same hell. The religious hypocrite will go to the same hell as the murderer and homosexual. My job is to say that sin is wrong and kill the sin, not the sinner.” (The Voice, 16 July 2001)

Commenting on New York City’s Harvey Milk School, which caters to gay students, he said, “The gloves are off. And if there’s going to be a war, there’s going to be a war. But it will be a war with a purpose.” (CBN, 700 Club Sept. 23, 2003)

And now, it looks like he may be another repressed homo after all. At least one person has come forward with a convincing story of havng a sexual relationship with McClurkin from 2001-2004!

My problem with McClurkin is NOT that he believes God "cured" him of his homosexual desires, but that he has attacked gay people. I respect the right of religious fanatics who think homosexuality is an abomination to make their own choices about their sexuality and their sexual identity. He should not be attacked for his religious beliefs, as irrational as they are. He and other "ex-gay" evangelicals cross the line when they attack gays and lesbians.

Despite Obama's good record on LGBT issues and his public statements of support for LGBT equality, he has exposed a major fault line between LGBT people and homophobic anti-gay black churches. By embracing McClurkin and the anti-gay black churches in South Carolina and across the South, Barack Obama has embraced homophobia for political gain. He has lost a lot of LGBT support just at the time he needs more support to defeat Hillary Clinton. The Obama campaign has killed their chances by pandering to anti-gay bigots.

When Obama, and other Democrats, violate the separation of church and state and embrace religious fundamentalism they should pay the political price of losing the support of liberals and progressives. Obama has attacked progressive secularists for ignoring "people of faith." But the Donnie McClurkin disaster demonstrates why politics and religion should not mix and why the framers of the U.S. Constitution insisted upon a "wall of separation" between church and state. Democrats, especially progressive Democrats, should be defending secularism not attacking it.

See Obama Campaign Post-Mortem