Earlier this year I attended a conference in Marrakesh, Morocco at which an important declaration was issued affirming the rights of religious minorities in Muslim lands. This week, I participated in a panel discussion that considered the impact of the declaration.

The conversation took place during a religion and diplomacy conference sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Over the past several years, there’s been a shift in American diplomacy which has resulted in a more sophisticated understanding of the role religion plays and a recognition that religious actors and influencers need to be engaged. 

For a long time, religious leaders were viewed by our government as inconsequential and marginal. Perhaps they would be periodically invited to receptions at U.S. embassies and diplomatic outposts, but religion itself was viewed as a secondary matter. 

This has changed during the presidency of Barack Obama. Not only is religion viewed as complex and important, but it is understood that it must be incorporated into U.S. government strategies if those are to have any success. 

While George W. Bush began a faith-based office at the White House, Obama has extended this throughout the executive branch. All faiths have ready access to government officials. It will be interesting to see if this continues into the next presidency. 

President Obama himself was transformed by his experience as a community organizer in Chicago. He came to understand that to effect change, he had to engage local religious figures. He joined a United Church of Christ congregation and received considerable assistance from Catholic social justice ministries. 

This is not to suggest that religious groups have much, if any, power over him and in his administration. There is a big difference between access and influence, and I have never doubted even for a moment that this is the case. Plenty of my recommendations and requests have been disregarded and ignored by the Obama administration and I’m well aware that often the loudest and most insistent religious voices are catered to more than those who represent much larger memberships. 

Still, the tone of a presidential administration is set from the top. During the transition in late 2008, the Obama team held numerous meetings to which faith groups were invited. Repeatedly, his people would say that the president-elect wanted the faith community to have a seat at the table. That has continued over the past eight years. It will be a pleasant surprise if it continues into the next presidency. 

It's also amazing that this reality has largely been overlooked by the media and President Obama’s critics. Instead, too often the falsehood has been repeated that the president is not a faithful Christian and is even hostile to religion. 

Additionally, in spite of the fact that far too much money has been wasted over the past eight years on the military and our secret police apparatus, and far too many people have been killed in military and drone attacks, President Obama has made a much greater effort than recent presidents to seek peaceful resolutions to conflicts around the world. 

In other words, we’ve witnessed much incremental, positive change during President Obama’s two terms in office. There are fewer people in poverty and our grotesque income inequality has improved a bit. 

Justice may not be rolling down like the waters, but righteousness is more than a trickle!