Apparently, Obama’s line reaching out to “non-believers” in his inaugural has unsettled some Non-non-believers.
Obama “seems to be trying to redefine American culture, which is distinctively Christian,” Bishop E.W. Jackson of the Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Va told Melinda Henneberger of AOL. “The overwhelming majority of Americans identify as Christians, and what disturbs me is that he seems to be trying to redefine who we are…. Obviously, Jewish heritage is very much a part of Christianity; the Jewish Bible is part of our Bible. But Hindu, Muslim, and nonbelievers? I don’t think so. We are not a Muslim nation or a nonbelieving nation.”‘
Where to begin?
First, for all the talk of the Judeo-Christian heritage, let’s remember that the Judeos were not really in the mix. As of the Constitution’s ratification, 11 of the 13 states had rules banning Jews from holding office. In fact, Catholics were no even more loathed. The dominant heritage, and often the official religion, was Protestantism. So if we want to talk about the religious foundations of the country, let’s be accurate, and then assess how we like the sound of it.
Second, the idea that our official tradition is determined by what group constitutes the majority is obviously at odds with the Founders’ notions of religious freedom — for all. “Almighty God hath created the mind free,” Jefferson said — and he meant free to believe or not to believe. And by the way, if majority-rules determines what we call ourselves we’ll need to start saying, “America is a Women’s Nation” since there are more women than men.
Finally, and most important, the Constitution made a point of not saying this was a Christian nation or allowing a religious test for office. In fact, many ministers at the time complained that the Constitution as written seemed to give safe haven to non-believers. But it got ratified anyway.
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