I am not a member of the United Church of Christ, but I suggest that in addition to looking the web site of Obama's local church, anyone interested peruse the web site of the denomination: www.ucc.org. You'll find that the United Church of Christ is one of the most mainstream of the mainstream protestant churches. It's history literally goes back to the New England Pilgrims and Puritans, and its current record is socially conscious, liberal, and reformed. You are not going to be able to elect a pure atheist in this country today. Obama's denomination should be, even to rabid secularists like Hitchens (my favorite Slate columnist), the least of many evils.

Amen, stan2. And, for what it counts, Amen, Mr. Hitchens.

I think the whole point is that this *particular* denomination is not mainstream at all.