March 15 (Bloomberg) -- The Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr., whose sermons raging against the U.S. have sparked controversy, is no longer formally tied to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign, an Obama spokesman said late yesterday.

Wright, Obama's longtime spiritual adviser and pastor of his Chicago church, was off Obama's African American Religious Leadership Committee as of last night, said campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor, who didn't elaborate. The move follows calls for Obama to sever connections to Wright after news outlets began airing some of the pastor's past sermons.

Wright's sermons have included suggestions the U.S. brought the Sept. 11 attacks on itself and that the government had a role in spreading the AIDS virus in the black community. Obama said he sharply condemns such comments and that he never heard those kinds of sermons from Wright. He also said he doesn't plan to leave the church.

``This is a church I have been a member of for 20 years. This is a well-established, typical, historically African- American church,'' Obama told CNN last night. ``What I have been hearing and had been hearing in church was talk about Jesus and talk about faith and values and serving the poor.''

Obama spoke to supporters at a rally outside Indianapolis today about America's ``tragic history'' when it comes to race and the need to speak ``forcefully'' against remarks such as Wright's.

Wright, who is retiring from Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ after 36 years, has prompted a swirl of speculation about his relationship with the Democratic presidential frontrunner. Obama wrote about the influence Wright has had on him in his second book, ``The Audacity of Hope.''

Married in Church

Obama, who grew up in Honolulu and Indonesia -- largely without organized religion -- joined Trinity two decades ago while working as a community organizer in low-income neighborhoods. He and his wife, Michelle, were married in the Chicago South Side church, and his two daughters were baptized there.

Obama gave $22,500 to the church in 2006, according to his income tax records. Trinity, whose motto is ``Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian,'' espouses a ``black value system'' emphasizing commitment to the black community, family and work ethic.

Obama said he wasn't aware of Wright's incendiary comments until he began running for president early last year.

``If I had heard any of these statements, I probably would have walked up and I probably would have told Reverend Wright that they were wrong,'' Obama, 46, told CNN.

Sept. 11

In one sermon, shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Wright said ``America's chickens are coming home to roost,'' referring to U.S. foreign policy.

In another sermon, Wright said the government ``lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color.'' He also preached the kind of racial politics that Obama has said he is working to end.

Wright lumped Obama's rival, Hillary Clinton, with what he characterized as a white ruling elite.

Obama ``ain't rich and he ain't privileged,'' Wright said. ``Hillary fits the mold.''

The Illinois senator reminded people today that he's someone ``born into a diverse family'' and ``has little pieces of America all in me.'' Obama is the son of a black Kenyan father and a white American mother.

Wright, who is on sabbatical from Trinity church, didn't respond to requests for an interview.

`Like an Uncle'

Obama stressed that Wright is retiring and said the pastor is a product of the divisive era of the 1960s. He depicted Wright as ``someone who is like an uncle or family member who you may strongly object to what they have to say.''

He pointed out that Wright is a former U.S. Marine, a biblical scholar and someone who's had a ``reputation as a preeminent preacher in the country.''

The Wright controversy winds up two weeks of sparring between the Obama and Clinton campaigns over remarks made by supporters.

An Obama adviser, Samantha Power, resigned last week after she was quoted in a Scottish newspaper calling Clinton ``a monster.''

Two days ago, Geraldine Ferraro, the first female vice- presidential nominee for a major political party, was pressured to quit Clinton's finance committee after saying Obama's success in his quest for the White House stems largely from the fact that he's a black man.

Obama said he didn't believe Ferraro meant the remark to be racist, though also said such comments aren't ``entirely unexpected.''

`Powerful' Issues

``Race and gender issues are very powerful in our society. They've been an organizing principle in our politics since the early days of this country,'' Obama said earlier this week.

``I'm not naive enough to think that we're going to solve the country's racial problems and some of these other divisions in the span of six months or a year,'' he said. ``What I do think is that our campaign has pointed towards the future, an era where these distinctions are less prominent in our politics.''

New York Senator Clinton told reporters on her campaign plane today that she and Obama spoke earlier this week on Capitol Hill about ``the importance of keeping our campaigns on the issues.'' She declined to comment about Wright.

Obama campaigned in Plainfield, Indiana, today before heading back to his home in Chicago to attend two fundraisers. Indiana holds its primary on May 6 with 71 pledged delegates at stake.

Iowa Caucuses

Clinton is stumping today in Pennsylvania, which is the biggest nominating contest left with 158 delegates up for grabs. Pennsylvania holds its primary on April 22.

Earlier today, Obama widened his lead in pledged delegates over Clinton, gaining at least seven after Iowa activists took the next step in designating delegates to the party's national convention, according to Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

Obama won the Iowa caucuses in January, followed by former North Carolina Senator John Edwards and Clinton.

With most of Iowa's 99 counties reporting, Obama won 52 percent of the delegates elected today, compared to 32 percent for Clinton, according to the Iowa Democratic Party Web site. About 16 percent stayed with Edwards, even though he is no longer in the race.

Including Iowa's results today, Obama has amassed 1,610 delegates to Clinton's 1,496, according to an unofficial tally by the Associated Press. A candidate needs 2,025 to gain the Democratic nomination.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Chipman at kchipman@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 15, 2008 21:15 EDT