What exact statement did Barack Obama make about the U.S. being a 'Judeo-Christian' nation and when?
Executive summary
Barack Obama said variations of the line that the United States is not (or “no longer” or “not just”) a solely Christian nation in at least two well-documented settings: as a U.S. senator on June 28, 2006, he said, “Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation… we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers” [1] [2]. As president on April 6, 2009, during a news conference in Turkey he said the U.S. does not “consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation” and instead described Americans as “a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values” [3] [4].
1. What he actually said — the two most-cited moments
The most-cited, oft-quoted 2006 line comes from his June 28, 2006 Sojourners “Call to Renewal” keynote, where Obama said, in context, “Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers” [1] [2]. In his April 6, 2009 overseas press conference in Turkey, President Obama said, “we have a very large Christian population — we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation,” framing the point as America being a nation bound by ideals rather than a single official faith [3] [4].
2. How the quotes were shortened and weaponized
Multiple outlets and chain emails omitted key words or context — notably the qualifier “just” in the 2006 line — converting a descriptive statement about religious pluralism into an absolute denunciation of Christianity [5]. FactCheck and other debunking sites documented that removing “just” flipped the meaning and produced viral outrage; media critics documented conservative leaders using the clipped wording to accuse Obama of attacking Judeo‑Christian America [5] [6].
3. What Obama meant, according to contemporaneous reporting
Contemporaneous coverage and analysis present both an explanatory and an argumentative take: advocates and neutral reporters read his remarks as descriptive and pluralistic — stressing religious diversity and civic ideals — while critics treated them as a repudiation of a Judeo‑Christian heritage [3] [4]. PolitiFact showed the 2006 video and writeups where Obama argued for political compromise across faiths and did not denigrate Christianity [7].
4. Political fallout and competing narratives
Conservative commentators and some religious leaders framed the remarks as evidence Obama was hostile to the country’s Christian roots; high-profile critics like Franklin Graham and political figures used the clips to mobilize opposition [8] [6]. Conversely, analysts and civil‑liberty groups argued Obama was emphasizing secular civic identity and separation of church and state; Americans United for Separation of Church and State summarized his Turkish remarks as a reminder the U.S. is not officially a Christian nation [4].
5. On the phrase “Judeo‑Christian” specifically
Obama’s public lines most often referenced “Christian nation” or “not just a Christian nation,” not the exact term “Judeo‑Christian” in the two principal citations above. Opinion pieces picked up his Turkey remarks and asserted he said the U.S. did not “consider itself a Judeo‑Christian nation,” which some columnists used to argue he denied the tradition’s role — those interpretations appear in commentary [9] [3]. Available sources do not mention Obama using the specific phrase “we are not a Judeo‑Christian nation” verbatim in the two cited instances; reporting cites “Christian” and broader formulations [3] [4].
6. How scholars and journalists interpret historical claims
Scholars and commentators disagree on whether America was ever a strictly “Christian” nation; some trace strong Christian influences while others note constitutional secularism. Writers like Steven Waldman and outlets such as The Christian Century recount Obama’s 2006 line as descriptive and aspirational about pluralism; others insist that prevailing cultural and demographic facts support calling the U.S. historically shaped by Judeo‑Christian values [2] [9].
7. Bottom line and reporting limits
The precise, well-sourced formulations: June 28, 2006 — “Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation… we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers” [1] [2]. April 6, 2009 — “we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation” at a Turkey press conference [3] [4]. Claims that Obama said simply “we are no longer a Christian nation” without the qualifying language reflect edited or out-of-context reproductions; fact‑checking outlets document that omission changed the meaning [5] [7].