As a candidate, it was a measure of Barack Obama's political innovation and ambition that he set out to win religious voters, including evangelical Christians. As president, his failure in this effort is equally revealing.

During the campaign, Obama's brand of progressivism was refreshingly free of secularism. He combined a conciliatory message -- that believers do not need to "leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square" -- with persistent outreach to religious leaders. He affirmed the importance of faith-based organizations in the provision of social services, pledging they would "be central to our White House mission." And he made his convictions clear: "I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian," he told Christianity Today in 2008. "I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Read the complete story (Some news sites require registration)