It is very disheartening to me that so many Americans are losing sight of the democratic principles this country was founded upon. They openly applaud the likes of the Reverend Dennis Terry who espouse the “America is for Christians only” sludge and believe that this country was founded by Christians for Christians. People of his ilk, whether misinformed, or just unlucky to have terrible U.S. History and government teachers, take this as the cornerstone of our democracy.
      Obviously, they are confusing the U.S. Constitution, which does not directly mention God anywhere, with the Declaration of Independence, which does. One thing is clear – the founding fathers were very much aware of the dangers of state-sponsored religion. They fought a revolution to break away from a king who was also head of church. Even after the ratification of the Constitution, the document was seen by the majority of statesmen of the time to be deficient in this regard. The first change to the document was the First Amendment, which enshrined the freedom of religion – along with freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition.
      One of the truly great religious leaders of our time, John Paul II, deeply understood the importance of human autonomy and he firmly rejected any notion that religious truth should be imposed on others or that modern democracies should be dominated by the Church. He understood that one of the greatest gifts that our Creator gives us is free will – free will to seek Him out or to reject Him. Both choices are to be made without the imposition of will from others or governments.
It seems to me that those who are yelling from the rooftops the message, “If you don’t like a Christian America, then leave,” should reflect on the actions of Jesus. I would think that they would find that Jesus would welcome all with a message of love….not coercion and hate.