Obama keeping his spiritual life private

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Religious figures with ties to U.S. President Barack Obama say he is trying to keep his spiritual life separate from his governmental duties.

"There are several ways that he is continuing to grow in his faith, all of them -- or practically of all them -- he's trying to keep as private and personal as possible so they will not be politicized,'' Dr. Joel C. Hunter said in a report Monday in The Boston Globe.

Joshua DuBois, who is in charge of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, told the Globe that Obama typically practices his faith in his everyday life.

"He'll talk about his Christian faith when it feels right and appropriate, and other times he's just going to practice his Christian faith through the way he lives his life," the Pentecostal pastor said.

The Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus, who campaigned for Obama during his run for the presidency, said a decision to keep his spiritual side private while in office is unacceptable.

"If the president says he's Christian, then in his narrative, and in his speeches and in his life, that should be displayed," De Jesus told the Globe.