Preach On, Reverend Buzz!

Today's USA Today has an op-ed column by Oliver "Buzz" Thomas - a reverend, attorney, and author - about the myth that the Constitution creates a "Christian nation." As he shows:

Ask most Americans what the Constitution says about God, and their answers may surprise you.

'One nation under God?'

Nope, that's the Pledge of Allegiance.

'Oh, yeah, right, right. How about, 'Endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights'?'

Sorry, but that's the Declaration of Independence.

'Hmmmm.'

Mostly what you'll get is a lot of blank stares. Trust me. I've tried it in nearly 50 states. Fully 55% of the country, according to a recent survey by the First Amendment Center, believes that the U.S. Constitution establishes us as a 'Christian nation.' Worse still, while nearly all Americans say freedom of religion is important, only 56% think it should apply to all religious groups. The truth is that the Constitution says nothing about God. Not one word. And, you can bet that some of the local clergy back in the 1780s howled about it. Newspapers, pamphlets and sermons decried the drafters' failure to acknowledge God.

Wrapping up, Buzz gets in a nice zinger:

America's so-called Godless Constitution, with its provisions separating church and state, has given us the strongest political and religious institutions on earth. Among developed nations, no one else believes and worships as much as we Americans. One can only marvel when today's pious pulpiteers clamor for federal dollars for their 'faith-based initiatives' or complain that God has been kicked out of the public schools. Perhaps they were praying in school when they should have been studying their history.

Amen!