Bush on Atheism

[johnlal]

"But I'm mindful in a free society that people can worship if they want to, or not. You're equally an American if you choose to worship an Almighty and if you choose not to."

Does this mean that Atheism will actually be recognized as a right equal to the right to worship? Will this put prayer in school to rest? Or was it just "lip service"? (I know the answer).

[takumi]

1. Remember: Bush never knows what he's talking about.

[Ediacara]

2. It was lip service

But leaps and bounds better lip service than his dad's concept of non-citizen atheists.

[soupkitchen]

3. I'm sure this statement went over big with his Evangelical Base

In fact, he might have pulled a political strike three with that one.

[Pig_Latin_Lover]

4. Our God or No God nt

[On the Road]

5. I Was Shocked That He Said This

especially after his father mused that atheists should not be considered citizens.

On Edit: Maybe that's why -- he had to contradict his old man.

If he's trolling for atheist votes, he's in big trouble.

[BurtWorm]

6. This is the second time Bush has acknowledged atheism as worthy of freedom

He did it one time early in his admin--or possibly in the last election season. He may be thoroughly evil in every other way, but it's rare when anyone, Democratic or Republican, gives atheism its due. His father certainly didn't. It puzzles me whenever he puts it on par with "belief."

[spooky3]

8. Yes, I'll give him credit for that.

[nonconformist]

7. That's not what his father thinks.

The following exchange took place at the Chicago airport between Robert I. Sherman of American Atheist Press and George Bush, on August 27 1987. Sherman is a fully accredited reporter, and was present by invitation as a member of the press corps. The Republican presidential nominee was there to announce federal disaster relief for Illinois. The discussion turned to the presidential primary:

RS: "What will you do to win the votes of Americans who are atheists?"

GB: "I guess I'm pretty weak in the atheist community. Faith in God is important to me."

RS: "Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are atheists?"

GB: "No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."

RS: "Do you support as a sound constitutional principle the separation of state and church?"

GB: "Yes, I support the separation of church and state. I'm just not very high on atheists."

More here:
http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/arguments.html#bush





And then there is how George W Bush feels about Wicca:

"I don't think that witchcraft is a religion. I wish the military would rethink this decision."
-- George W. Bush to ABCNEWS, June, 1999

[Nicholas_J]

9. Bush and his government agencies have a rather hard defining line

For what qualifies as a faith based group.

If you are of the monotheistic religions based on Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, you can get all the money you want. If you are a member of a less traditional religion, but one that is recognized as a tax exempt religion, you have more problems. Buddhists, Hindus and other eastern religions have had a greater rate of turn down for government money in the faith based initiatives programs. Forget it if you are a legally constituted Pagan Church ofany kind. Though th government recogonizes them for tax purposes, Bush's faith based initiatives do not.

In fact in my own area in the state of Florida, John Ashhcroft has set up the first FAITH BASED PRISON at Lawtey Correctional INstitute in rural Northern Florida. All prisoners are required to take part in the faith based programs of the prison and guess what, the progarm is NOT ecumenical in nature.

http://talkleft.com/new_archives/004568.html

and:

Reflection 23
Teaching Christianity in Jails
To open a discussion on this article, please use the contact page to provide your comments.
A "Faith-based" prison, Lawtey Correctional Institute, has been opened in Florida.<1> Prisoners will get daily worship services and prayer-based rehabilitation delivered by predominantly Protestant ministries.

In exchange for willingness to undergo 3-4 hours of Christian indoctrination a day, prisoners will have experience more peaceful surroundings and more lenient treatment. It can also be expected they will receive more post-release support, thanks to the various ministries involved.

http://www.apatheticagnostic.com/articles/reflections/ref02/ref023.html

Again, no program to offer better jail conditions for those who would choose to take part in a non Christian religious program, nad this program is highly doctrinaire.

Nothing more highly makes a Kerry presidency imperative. No matter how Bush claims to respect the faiths of others or their right to no faith, his vision is clearly one of a theocracy, and even more clearly, one in which those who follow his own religious doctrine are favored,starting with non violent criminals, who will be thefirst to be indoctrinated into the evangelical faith. Be sure that those who are released from this facility will be among those few Florida Felons who have their FULL civil rights restored, incliding the right to vote, while those who do not participate in this program will have to wend the massive bureacracy in FLorida that almost always results in a rejection for ones request to get ones civil rightrs reinstated.

Religions that are out of the mainstream are heavily discriminated against in this program

Even the Bahai faith, which is an offshoot of Shia Islam, is wodely respected as a separate religion, and actually has representation at the United Nation's has been lumped by the heavily protestant controllers of this program as a "non-mainstream" untraditional religion.

The entire faithed based initiative program while claiming to be open to all, in fact is highly discriminatory in the way it chooses to fund faith based groups, and in particular, how it defines such groups.