“Purpose Driven Life” Author Rick Warren To Give Inauguration Invocation

Liberal groups and gay rights proponents are up in arms about President-elect Obama’s choice. Rick Warren has turned into one of the most prominent religious leaders in the country and frequently gets behind issues such as human rights abuses, poverty and the AIDS epidemic.

However, as founder of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, Warren has taken social conservative positions with his opposition to gay marriage and abortion rights. These opinions don’t mirror the views with most in the Democratic Party, particularly the most liberal faction of the party.

"[It's] shrewd politics, but if anyone is under any illusion that Obama is interested in advancing gay equality, they should probably sober up now," Andrew Sullivan wrote on the Atlantic Web site Wednesday.

Yet, People for the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert expressed to CNN that she is " with the choice of Warren and said the powerful platform at the inauguration should instead have been given to someone who has "consistent mainstream American values.”

A spokeswoman for President-elect Obama, Linda Douglass, believes "This is going to be the most inclusive, open, accessible inauguration in American history," in defense of the selection of Rick Warren.

Douglas goes on to say:

"The president-elect certainly disagrees with him on [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] issues," Douglass said. "But it has always been his goal to find common ground with people with whom you may disagree on some issues."

The spokeswoman also pointed out that Obama and Warren share the same opinion on many issues, including advocating on behalf of the poor, the disadvantaged and people who suffer from HIV/AIDS.

Recently, Rick Warren created an uproar when he came out in support of California’s Proposition 8—the measure that banned same sex marriage in the state. Normally Warren does not endorse political candidates and stays far away from politics. Just this October he wrote an article stating he believes gay marriage is not a political issue, but a moral one, "a moral issue that God has spoken clearly about."

In a newsletter Warren wrote that was distributed to his congregation: "For 5,000 years, every culture and every religion -- not just Christianity -- has defined marriage as a contract between men and women. "There is no reason to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2 percent of our population."

Rick Warren may be best known for his book, “The Purpose Driven Life.” It was first published in 2003 and has sold more than 20 million copies.