Barack Bashes Right for 'Hijacking' Faith Dem candidate inveighs against evangelicals for dividing the country By Caroline Zimmerman Posted Jun 24, 2007 2:23 PM CDT Copied U.S. Sen. Barack Obama addresses the biennial General Synod meeting of the United Church of Christ, Saturday, June 23, 2007, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/George Ruhe) (Associated Press) Barack Obama assailed right-wing evangelical leaders yesterday, accusing them of "hijacking" faith and politicizing religion, the Daily News reports. Addressing the national conference of the United Church of Christ, he criticized "so-called leaders of the Christian right" for demonizing Democrats and convincing Americans that Christians' main concerns are gay marriage and abortion. Obama, a long-time member of the UCC, proposed an alternative set of "matters of conscience" such as universal health care, an issue the church champions. One Republican in attendance said the event fell nothing short of a "Democratic pep rally," the Chicago Tribune reports. Read These Next Is $136K the new poverty line? An essay goes viral. One mystery is solved around chilling Holocaust photo. Police say a homeowner in Maryland pulled a gun on Christmas carolers. New York explores how women are 'quietly quitting' marriages. Report an error