Opinion: Barack Obama’s religious predicament

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Having racked up an impressive number of overseas travel miles (about 16,000, The Times’ Doyle McManus noted in an analysis piece on the trip), Barack Obama today turned his attention to what polls show is the main concern on the minds of Americans -- the economy. After his focus last week on international matters, he met with an array of economic experts in Washington.

This sort of balancing act likely will continue -- proving he’s up to the task on both foreign and domestic matters remains high on Obama’s ‘to do’ list. But in another reflection of his relative newness on the national political scene, so too is filling in some basic biographical blanks, as illustrated by a little-noticed question in last week’s NBC News/Wall Street Journal national poll.

The poll’s core result found Obama ahead of John McCain among registered voters by 6 percentage points, 47% to 41.% But among a plethora of other questions, the voters were asked about Obama’s religion. The answers showed greater awareness than in March that he is a practicing Protestant (perhaps the one positive for him out of the Jeremiah Wright controversy?), but also that work remains for the Obama campaign in fleshing out who he is.

In the new poll, slightly less than a majority -- 48% -- correctly identified Obama as a Protestant. That’s up from 37% four months ago, which should please his staff. Another positive for him: 8% identified Obama as a Muslim, down from 13% in March.

Still, fully 39% put themselves in the not sure/refused to answer category on the query (#27 in this detailed report on the survey). In March, that number was 44%.

Obama, speaking to the Unity convention of minority journalists Sunday in Chicago, discussed his campaign’s challenge in responding to Internet-fueled rumors that he is a Muslim.

‘This is a classic example of a no-win situation,’ Obama said. ‘I have repeatedly said I’m not a Muslim, but this whole strategy of suggesting that I am is indicative of anti-Muslim strategy that we have to fight against.’

A story in the Dallas Morning News focused on this issue.

-- Don Frederick