Atheists want God stricken from inaugural oath

[Brett Alex]

"Freedom of Religion" was actually put in the Constitution just for the sake of one sect of Christianity to exist in America.

the US is a Christian founded and dominate nation, and I'm not saying it's a good thing at all, it's just fact.

This guy

It's fair to say that the US is a nation OF christians, but not A christian nation.

has pretty much said what I was trying to say.

To be a religious nation, you'd have to be like Iran, with an Ayatollah as your Supreme Leader and with a government intrinsically woven into the religion.

And by woven, I don't mean that most members of government go to church on sundays, I mean that all members of government give the sermons on Sundays.

 

[Dramatic Flare]

This happens every 8 years now. It hasn't worked and will continue not working.

 

[Credge]

It's a Christian nation, like it or not. It's not like anyone's forcing atheists to become practicing followers. If anything, it's honoring this nation's roots.

It is? It's also honoring the nations roots? You mean the atheist and agnostic roots of our nation? Do tell.

 

[apeoflight]

Sorry, I was wrong its not in the Constitution but it is in the Declaration of Independence.

 

[Lavi]

The nation is SECULAR, not atheist or agnostic.

And for all fucking atheists and every other whiner, SHUT THE HELL UP! My school choir sung religious music in a public school and did every other religion freak at the Christian song? NO! Stop thinking you're so RIGHTEOUS and INTELLIGENT because usually, you're just being an asshole.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

What worse is that that people are going too far in criticising those atheists, trying to defend this on all the wrong grounds, like 'this is a Christian nation' or 'the First Amendment only applies to laws' or 'it's his Constitutional right to practice his religion' and not something like 'look, it's just ceremonial deism' or 'hey--it's more about our admiration for George Washington than any kind of religious issue'.

I disagree. This is a religious issue, and it is right it should be addressed as one. These kinds of atheists deserve to be criticised as harshly as those theists who want gay marriage outlawed or who want evolution to be taken out of schools. They are trying to shove their own particular belief system on other people.

How is not allowing the President to practice his religion in the course of performing his duties as President of all of us, whether we believe in God, the Goddess, gods and/or goddesses, or no gods or goddesses, the same as outlawing evolution in school or gay marriage?

Because someone is forcing their own religious (or anti-religious) views on another human being. Come on dude that's just wrong.

The oath is Obamas. Not yours, not mine, and certainly not this sulker in court.

Obama has a constitutionally protected right to say the words "so help me god" if he really means them. It really is that simple. No amount of fundamentalist atheists throwing their toys out of the cot is going to change Obamas own views on religion nor the role of the constitution in protecting peoples right to practice religion (or indeed forgo its practice if they so desire).

Could you stop dodging the question of why Obama needs to be free to practice his religion when he's exercising his duties as President? Is the Inauguration on a holy day of rest for him? Does he have to shave his beard? How exactly is the requirement that the President avoid entanglement with religion trampling his religious freedom?

I am not dodging it, it just isn't a valid question. It isn't a case of need, it is a case of right. The constitution doesn't say you may practice religion "only when you need too" or "only if you don't piss off any butt-hurt atheists in the process". He has the right too. And someone else is trying to take that right away because it doesn't sit well with them. Exactly the same as when a Christian fanatic lobbies to keep gay marriage illegal.

 

[PersianLlama]

It's a Christian nation

Really? So all that stuff in the Constitution about being a secular nation is just filler then?

As to the OP, personally I really don't think it matters. As Obama is a christian then he is fine to say it, and if he wasn't, what does it matter? He's just sticking to tradition in that case.

This. I really dislike it when people call America a Christian nation, despite the majority being Christian, we are a secular nation.

 

[Grenbyron]

You want to be president you say "So help me God". Pretty simple and strait forward. Our constitution and Bill of Rights have the same mention. If you do not want to say those words then do not become president. There is a time and place for political correctness. Usually up the ass of the person that wants it, right next to that stick that is lodged so deeply in there.

 

[Lavi]

so what leave it it has the right to be there so atheists need to work on being more grouped like the christians and there church(and other groups)atheists need to work to gether more

No. Just no. Atheism is not a church, it's a concept. It doesn't need organization. It doesn't need protests or activist groups, that just twists it into something it's not(or at least shouldn't be). If all Atheists thought like that, we'd just be another church, but one that believes in nothing.

Yes, all we need is an organization where all the rebellious unintelligent people can swarm to be non-conformist and cool. Face it, many atheists sound like and are exactly that. Or better yet, why not anti-religion? Lots of types of people fall under atheism.

 

[Alex_P]

You want to be president you say "So help me God". Pretty simple and strait forward. Our constitution and Bill of Rights have the same mention. If you do not want to say those words then do not become president. There is a time and place for political correctness. Usually up the ass of the person that wants it, right next to that stick that is lodged so deeply in there.

No, if you want to be president you take the oath of office. Which doesn't actually include those words.

It's a tradition for the president to add "so help me God" as a sign of his good will. Now we've polluted that tradition by creating this other tradition where the guy administering the oath tells him to say it. What used to be a personal gesture has become stupid boilerplate.

-- Alex

 

[ZacQuickSilver]

Let me say this straight:

The US was founded on Christian beliefs, but was set up so that anybody could practice their religion within certain guidelines.

All the First Amendment does is say that the US Congress may not establish a State Religion, nor can it say that any given Religion is illegal.

Which means that Christianity and Atheism are both allowed to be practiced (There are a few religions that are restricted, mostly where human rights are concerned.


And as such, as long as Obama is not forced to NOR prohibited from saying 'So help me God', nothing is against the Constitution.

 

[Brett Alex]

Yes, all we need is an organization where all the rebellious unintelligent people can swarm to be non-conformist and cool. Face it, many atheists sound like and are exactly that.

Mmm, I love the smell of a good generalisation in the mornin'!

 

[Alex_P]

Because someone is forcing their own religious (or anti-religious) views on another human being. Come on dude that's just wrong.

The oath is Obamas. Not yours, not mine, and certainly not this sulker in court.

Hey, remember that part a page ago where I said that he's asking for an injunction against Roberts, not Obama, and that this was an important distinction that makes all this crap about "blah blah Obama's choice" completely irrelevant?

-- Alex