That we have elected a President who understands that the USA is NOT a’ Christian Nation’?
From Americans United: “The United States was not founded as a Christian nation. NOTHING in the Constitution grants Christianity favored status. In fact, Article VI BANS religious tests for federal office, and the First Amendment bars laws “respecting an establishment of religion” while protecting “the free exercise thereof” – for all faiths.
It’s good to hear political leaders remind us of this fact from time to time, as President Barack Obama did yesterday during a press conference in Turkey…we have a very large Christian population – we do NOT consider ourselves a Christian nation, or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation,”Obama said. “We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values.”
A few second later, Obama went on to praise the concept of “a secular country that is respectful of religious freedom, respectful of rule of law, respectful of freedom, upholding these values and being willing to stand up for them in the international stage.”
“…Newt Gingrich, who appears to be attempting to remake himself as some sort of Religious Right leader. In recent remarks to the media, the former House speaker drips with sarcasm as he criticizes the West for being secular. The contrast between Obama’s forward-looking vision and Gingrich’s regressive one could not be starker….Fox News Channel blowhard Bill O’Reilly rail against “secular progressives”? Gingrich, O’Reilly, et al, believe “secular” is a dirty word because they insist on conflating it with hostility toward religion. It’s not. In fact, the idea of government neutrality on questions of theology is THE PLATFORM upon which religious liberty rests.
In 1797, the U.S. Senate endorsed — and President John Adams signed — theTreaty with Tripoli, a document stating forthrightly, “[T[he government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion….” It was reminder to the Muslim states of North Africa that religion need be no excuse for conflict.”
(EMPHASIS MINE)
see:http://blog.au.org/2009/04/07/celebrating-the-secular-obama-says-us-is-not-a-christian-nation-2/
Freethought 