Barack Obama spoke of his melting-pot biography throughout the presidential campaign, but around the beginning of June his background suddenly became even more eclectic than he realized. See, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has long practiced the baptizing of the deceased. While they’re “officially” supposed to get permission from relatives first, that hasn’t always been the case, as most famously illustrated by the repeated attempts of Jewish groups to stop the posthumous baptizing of Holocaust victims. Now the church is investigating why Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, who died of cancer in 1995, was baptized last June, as recently discovered by Americablog. The White House has yet to comment, but when they do, we’re sure they’ll express gratitude that Obama’s mom described variously as an atheist, an agnostic, and a religious skeptic can finally enter heaven as a Mormon.
President’s Late Mother Improperly, Posthumously, Baptized as a Mormon [Political Punch/ABC News]
Did the Mormons baptize Obama’s mother, after her death, without his knowledge or consent? [Americablog]