President Barack Obama’s religious beliefs have been questioned ever since he ran for office in 2008. Now that the 2016 presidential race is heating up, his adversaries are once again calling him out on his faith, most recently with Republican candidate Mike Huckabee insisting that Obama “pretends to be Christian,” the Christian Post reports.
Huckabee was a guest on NewsMax TV’s “The Hard Line” Tuesday and was asked about the controversial remarks of fellow Republican candidate Ben Carson, who had said last week that the U.S. was not ready for a Muslim president. Huckabee responded by saying that he’s not concerned with a person’s faith, but that the truth about their beliefs should be out in the open, and the role their beliefs play in their political strategies is also important.
“I’m also concerned about a guy that believes he’s a Christian, and pretends to be, and then says he is, but then does things that makes it very difficult for people to practice their Christian faith,” he said.
The former Arkansas governor then mentioned Pope Francis’ current visit to the U.S. Huckabee said it was “very unseemly” of Obama to invite the pope to the White House at the same time he was having visitors with beliefs that are against those of the Catholic Church.
Earlier in the day, Huckabee made a Twitter post expressing disappointment in how the president has been handling the pope’s visit.
“I welcome @Pontifex to America &offer my apologies that @POTUS will not offer him the warm, respectful welcome he deserves #PopeInUS,” he tweeted.
Although the president has expressed his Christian beliefs several times, both Republicans and Democrats reportedly continue to believe he is Muslim. According to CNN’s recent poll, 3 out of 10 people think he’s lying about his religion, with 4 out of 10 being Republicans. Politifact found that 15 percent of Democrats are among those who think Obama practices Islam.
