Tuesday, April 07, 2009

This Will Honk Some Folks Off

But, then again, the truth always does (via PZ):

President Obama told reporters in Turkey that America is not defined by any one religion. 'I've said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is, although as I mentioned we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values,' said the president.
This, of course, is not news:
As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
That's Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli, signed in 1796 during George Washington's second term and unanimously ratified by the Senate the following year during John Adams's first.

Like I said, not news, but I still imagine it will frustrate those folks who cling to the idea that we are a "Christian nation," whatever that would mean. It's nice to hear it from the Prez.

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