PRESIDENT Barack Obama has vowed that "the best is yet to come"
in his victory speech after the presidential election in the United
States.
Using a style reminiscent of his first election victory, he said
that the country was not as divided as its politics suggested.
Although it was predicted to be a closely fought ballot, the
suddenness of the news of Mr Obama's win - a few hours after the
polls had closed - shocked many Republicans.
In a concession speech, his Republican challenger Mitt Romney
urged his supporters to pray "earnestly" for President Obama.
The President's re-election was welcomed by one of the leading
figures in the Episcopal Church in the US. The Rt Revd Gene
Robinson, a former Bishop of New Hampshire, who is gay and
partnered, tweeted after it became obvious that Mr Obama had won:
"So happy for women, LGBT people, the uninsured, the 99 per cent,
the 47 per cent, Medicare/Medicaid recipients, Pell grantees, for
all of us in America."
The Dean of Washington National Cathedral, the Very Revd Gary
Hall, said in a statement that all at the Cathedral thanked all
those across the United States who exercised their vote:
"On behalf of all those who have won or lost, as well as the
voters who feel they've won or lost, we extend prayers that God's
purpose might shine forth with new clarity in our lives.
"Called to serve as the spiritual home for the nation,
Washington National Cathedral stands open to people of every
perspective and every belief.
"We pray for President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney and
their families. We look forward to continuing our work with the
office of the president, which this Cathedral has long been
privileged to respect and whose guidance to the nation this
Cathedral has been honored to witness many times."
The leaders of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, of which Mr
Romney is a member, congratulated Mr Obama in a statement that was
released minutes after the result became clear:
"This is now a time for Americans to come together. It is a long
tradition among Latter-day Saints to pray for our national leaders
in our personal prayers and in our congregations." They also
"commended" Mr Romney's efforts in contesting the election.
The economy was the decisive issue for voters, but many of the
most divisive debates during the campaign centred on religion -
whether Mr Romney's Mormon beliefs could be described as Christian,
and persistent false rumours that Mr Obama was a Muslim rather than
a Christian.
Roman Catholic bishops have been accused of abusing their
position and of breaking tax rules by urging parishioners to vote
against President Obama. A formal complaint has been made to the
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by a watchdog group, Citizens for
Responsibility and Ethics, in Washington DC.
It has asked for an investigation into the US Conference of
Catholic Bishops for engaging in prohibited political activity, in
violation of its protected tax status. To qualify for tax exemption
in the US, an organisation must not participate or intervene in any
political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate
for public office.
The RC Bishop of Peoria, in Illinois, the Rt Revd Daniel Jenky,
required every priest in his diocese to read a statement accusing
the Obama administration of an "assault upon our religious freedom
. . . simply without precedent in the American political and legal
system". Bishop Jenky had previously compared President Obama to
Stalin and Hitler, saying that they "would not tolerate any
competition with the state in education, social services, and
healthcare".
Other RC bishops warned of the evils of the Obama administra-
tion, followed by an exhortation to Roman Catholics to vote. The RC
Bishop of Springfield, also in Illinois, the Most Revd Thomas
Paprocki, warned in his diocesan newspaper that voting for a
particular candidate "places the eternal salvation of your own soul
in serious jeopardy".
In the run-up to the election, the ecumenical group Faithful
America, urged its supporters to resist the approach used by the RC
bishops and Mr Romney's campaign team. In a letter to supporters,
the group declared: "The religious right is desperately trying to
frighten Christians into voting for their preferred candidate. It's
up to us to remind our family, friends, and neighbours that Jesus
doesn't belong to one political party, and that there are faithful
Christians on both sides of this election."
The research group Pew Forum suggested that it was a mistaken
tactic to attempt to isolate the Roman Catholic vote, and that the
fastest-growing group of voters in the US was those who were not
religiously affiliated.
Early polling data suggests that a majority of those with no
religious affiliation voted for President Obama.
The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Dr Olav
Fykse Tveit, congratulated President Obama by letter. "As
president of the United States, you can exercise remarkable
influence in promoting and establishing justice and peace
throughout the earth," he said.
"And so we pray that the God of life will lead you, as you lead
your nation, into the ways of justice and peace. In particular, we
pray that you may provide inspired leadership within the
international community in the quest for peace with equal justice
and mutual respect in Israel and Palestine."