Jeune Street

Canterbury Cathedral

So, a couple days ago I said this:

I have a feeling that in a few decades we will see a line-up of religious leaders at the inauguration in an acknowledgement of the rich religious fabric of America. Well, I hope so anyway.

I’m such a pessimist. It turns out that the Presidential Inauguration on Tuesday will feature the following, in addition to Rick Warren: the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, the first female president of the Disciples of Christ, the president of the Islamic Society of North America (who also happens to be a woman), three Rabbis, and Bono (?!) (Hat tip: Baha’i Thought).

I echo Phillipe’s comments (at Baha’i Thought):

When I look at the lineup and design of the faith-infused events around Obama’s inaugural, I see a new story — one of radical inclusion that echoes the plurality of our new president’s spiritual and social formation as a child. His mother, a secular humanist for lack of a better no-size-fits-all label, exposed her children to Christianity as well as Islam and other world religions, cultures, and philosophies. She was a student of the world and her children were, too.

While this is, in part, a story about Obama, it’s also a story about America.