Obama's dad was an African on a US student Visa. He married an American. Sadly, this dad returned to Africa without his family when Barack was two and died. Obama was raised in a secular home that tolerated but didn't practice religion. When married he began to practice faith in a Christian Church. His middle-name is from his paternal grandfather. It reflects a complex heritage; the name is a symbolic, bittersweet connection to his father and an African family that he honors from a distance.