While touring a country that’s dealing with religious cleansing, U.S. President Barack Obama revealed what strengthens him—his Christianity.
“In our lives, Michelle and I have been strengthened by our Christian faith,” Obama said, according to ABC News. “Still, as you may know, my faith has at times been questioned—by people who don’t know me—or they’ve said that I adhere to a different religion, as if that were somehow a bad thing.”
“He has a serious practice of faith even though he doesn’t necessarily wear it on his sleeve,” former White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Joshua DuBois told the New York Times.
The president made the comments during his second tour of India, which included a visit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He warned Nodi that religious persecution could splinter the country.
Modi has come under fire since his election in 2014 for reportedly forcing Muslims and Christians to convert to Hinduism. The Washington Post reports Indian Christians are fearful of violence now that Modi is at the helm.
“Every person has the right to practice their faith how they choose, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so free from persecution and fear,” Obama told Modi during his tour, according to Yahoo! News.
The Obama family has faced heat when it comes to their personal faith. The president has been accused many times of being a Muslim, as well as faced scandals involving his former pastor Jeremiah Wright.
“I would argue that Obama’s faith has been one of the most misunderstood of any president out there,” Gary Scott Smith told the New York Times. Smith is the author of Faith and the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush.
