Obama describes his upbringing as not "particularly religious."His father was raised a Muslim but became an atheist before he met Obama's mother.
When Obama was two, his father left the family and moved back to his homeland of Kenya.
Obama's mother was raised by a Baptist and a Methodist, both of whom were "non-practicing." Obama describes his mother as "one of the most spiritual and kindest people I've ever known," but with a "healthy skepticism of organized religion."
When she remarried, it was to an Indonesian man who Obama said practiced "a brand of Islam that could make room for the remnants of more ancient animist and Hindu faiths."
After his mother's second marriage, Obama spent five years in Indonesia where he attended a Catholic school for three years and a predominantly Muslim public school for one year.
The heritage of Obama's father and stepfather as well as Obama's middle name – Hussein – have led to media questions about the Illinois senator's religious identity.
In response, Obama's spokesman said that "Senator Obama has never been a Muslim" and "is a committed Christian."
After graduating from college, Obama began attending Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, a predominantly black congregation affiliated with the United Church of Christ, a mainline Protestant denomination with about 1.2 million members.
Obama said that he was moved by the "power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change" and that he "felt God's spirit beckoning me."
In March 2008, controversial sermons by Obama's former pastor at Trinity became a major campaign issue, prompting Obama to give a speech on race and religion in which he called the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's comments "divisive" and "racially charged."
After Wright repeated some of his most inflammatory points – that the U.S. may have brought the 9/11 terrorist attack on itself and that a racist U.S. government may have spawned the AIDS epidemic – Obama denounced them as "appalling," "ridiculous," "outrageous," "insensitive" and "destructive."
In a May 31 letter sent to the church, Obama and his wife, Michelle, resigned as members, citing "strained" relations caused by Wright's statements and the distraction to church members who wanted to worship in peace.
At a news conference the next day, Obama said, "I make this decision with sadness. This is where I found Jesus Christ, where we were married, where our children were baptized. We are proud of the extraordinary works of that church."
Obama said he and his wife would search for a new church but probably would not make a decision until after the election.
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