In a move that may be unprecedented for a New Hampshire religious leader, Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson yesterday endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Robinson, the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop and among the best-known religious figures in the state, said he was endorsing as a private citizen and would not bring politics to the pulpit.

"I'm looking for a healer, and I believe that Sen. Obama can be that," said Robinson, of Weare. A registered independent, Robinson said he had never before waded into politics publicly, but he said that in recent years, he's become convinced that "we are at a real turning point in the future of this country."

David Lamarre-Vincent, who has served as executive director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches for 17 years, said he cannot remember a state religious leader or parish priest endorsing a candidate.

"You're within your rights as a religious leader to speak, although I can't remember a religious leader actually endorsing a candidate," said Lamarre-Vincent, who said he's "only paid attention since 1981," when he started working for New Hampshire Catholic Charities.

Obama's staff has done "dramatic outreach" to the state's religious community, Robinson said in a conference call with reporters yesterday. Although his role with the campaign was not settled yesterday, Robinson said he hoped to serve as an adviser on the "rightful relationship" of faith and politics, saying that "20 years has shown the inappropriate role."

Robinson extolled Obama's experience, citing his years living abroad as a child, his work as a community organizer in Chicago and his perspective as a black man who "knows what discrimination is like." With less than three years in the U.S. Senate under his belt, Obama's political experience is often cited as his weakest point.

"There's been a lot of talk about whether he has the kind of experience that's needed," Robinson said. "Frankly, I've been quite unimpressed with the experience of other politicians and where that has gotten us in the recent past."

Obama, a Democrat, backs civil unions for same-sex couples but not gay marriage. Robinson said that if he gets a chance, he "will attempt to move" the senator on that point. But, he added, Obama's not alone.

"I don't think there's any major candidate that is where the gay and lesbian community would hope they would be on our issues," he said.

Robinson's 2003 consecration as an openly gay bishop has been controversial in the worldwide Anglican Communion; after years of bitter fighting, the church remains on the brink of schism. His story has been widely followed in New Hampshire and has generated interest and support outside the church.

Yesterday, a blogger on BlueHampshire.com listed Robinson with other endorsements Obama has won, including Rep. Paul Hodes and Stonyfield Yogurt CEO Gary Hirshberg. "Senator Obama is literally surrounding me with people I really like," Dean Barker wrote.

But not everyone was cheered by the news.

This kind of endorsement "is certainly not done in New England," said Mark Silk, a professor of religion and public life at Connecticut's Trinity College, who said the ramifications made him nervous.

"Can you imagine the cardinal archbishop of Boston endorsing somebody in a primary?" he asked.

Single page