Obama recognizes non-believers in ‘Religious Freedom Day’ proclamation

[octoberlib]

President Barack Obama on Wednesday again recognized the rights of atheists and agnostics in his Religious Freedom Day proclamation.

“Because of the protections guaranteed by our Constitution, each of us has the right to practice our faith openly and as we choose,” he said. “As a free country, our story has been shaped by every language and enriched by every culture. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, Sikhs and non-believers. Our patchwork heritage is a strength we owe to our religious freedom.”
“Today, we also remember that religious liberty is not just an American right; it is a universal human right to be protected here at home and across the globe. This freedom is an essential part of human dignity, and without it our world cannot know lasting peace,” the President added.


Religious Freedom Day, which has been celebrated on January 16 every year since 1993, commemorates the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786. The statute was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and declared, “no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief.”

Last year, Obama noted the statute “preserved religious freedom for both believers and non-believers for over 220 years,” and in 2011 he said the Founding Fathers upheld “the right to believe in no religion at all.”

Raw Story (http://s.tt/1yyoa)

[fadedrose]

1. Thank you, Mr. President...

I don't have religious beliefs, just hunches.

I feel that you are a gift to us for acknowledging this freedom. It's about time.

[cantbeserious]

2. Thank You For Affirming My Prerogative To Choose No Religion

eom

[defacto7]

3. My deepest gratitude to you, Mr. President

for speaking openly of our right to freedom from religion.

[LibertyLover]

4. That's great -

but he could have mentioned pagans too.

[awoke_in_2003]

6. They are the worst...

just kidding

[forestpath]

5. And yet there is an office of FAITH-BASED and neighborhood partnerships in the HHS.

The government partners with faith-based organizations, a sign of preference that should not exist IMO.

[ReRe]

8. I agree..

Didn't that start under GWB?

[forestpath]

9. Yes, it was. It used to be part of the White House. Obama moved it to HHS.

He should have gotten rid of the "faith-based" part.

[ReRe]

11. Well, I totally agree...

...it's a foot in the door and I don't like it. I am a staunch believer in the separation of Church and State. I don't want to wake up someday and find myself in a country like Iran or Saudi Arabia!

[forestpath]

21. A foot in the door - exactly.

[Hekate]

14. That is a relic of GWB's administration and it's been moved out of the White House

Not exactly Obama's fault, and his actions show he is distancing himself from it.

[Politicub]

7. The second term is off to a strong start

[Bonobo]

10. I don't care for the phrase "Non-believer"...

It has the ring of "heretic" or "apostate" to me.

I consider myself an Atheist and, on my more faith-clutching days, an Agnostic.

[Hekate]

15. It's a simple construct of the English language

Believer -- non-believer

It's not pejorative unless someone makes it so.

[Bonobo]

18. I merely said I don't care for it. As for your argument...

the same could be said for "darkie", "colored", "negro", etc.

[Hekate]

19. Oy.

[forestpath]

22. Yep -as if "believer" is the default.

[RedCappedBandit]

24. Exactly. nt

[lindysalsagal]

28. All bigots consider their position the default, and any other a sign of mental illness.

Which says more about them than it ever will about the rest of us.

[Phillip McCleod]

27. the one i cannot abide is 'non-theist'.

never mix latin and greek!

i too prefer 'atheist' but 'godless heathen' will do in a pinch

[amuse bouche]

12. Bravo Mr President

[valerief]

13. Woo hoo. Now, next time put us non-believers FIRST! nt

[Hekate]

16. Very fitting for a president from multi-cultural religiously liberal origins

His Tutu's funeral service was in the Unitarian Church. Whether she was a member I don't know, but they are all-embracing and would not have turned the family away.

He was not raised in a religious household -- his grandparents were skeptics, and both his father and step-father were non-practicing Muslims -- his father in particular was an atheist. His mother was "spiritual" but not a member of a church.

He's a Christian, to be sure, but those are his roots and he does not cut himself off from them.

[AtheistCrusader]

17. Very nice, Mr. President.

[shanti]

20. thank you for that, president obama!

has any other president done this before?

[cer7711]

23. I Wish Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov & Bertrand Russell . . .

. . . had lived long enough to see this day.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Now how about we remove that "under God" nonsense (inserted in the 50s at the height of the "Red Scare&quot from our Pledge of Allegiance? We indeed should be "one nation, indivisible"--period, the end.

[RedCappedBandit]

25. Well, as the saying goes, we're all atheists, right?

Or, for that matter, "non-believers", as if there is something there to 'not-believe' in.

[Demo_Chris]

26. Outstanding Mr President!