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| Banning religion from all public places is impossible. |
Religious motto on currency and coins
In 1861, then Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon Chase wrote the following letter to the Director of the Mint at Philadelphia:
"Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition. It was found that the Act of Congress dated January 18, 1837, prescribed the mottoes and devices that should be placed upon the coins of the United States."This motto on currency and coins is not an exercise of religion, but only a reminder of those heroes who gave every citizen the right to practice religion openly and freely.
Religion and the "Pledge of Allegiance To The U. S. Flag"
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all."Efforts to remove the words "under God" from this pledge have been made, but in most situations people still say those words.
Religion and the U. S. Constitution
Do you know what immediately precedes all the signatures on our U. S. Constitution? Here's what they all signed:
"Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth."So far, if religion was removed from all public places, the U. S. Constitution would have to be destroyed, all currency and coins would have to be re-minted, and the "Pledge of Allegiance" would have to be eliminated.
Have you ever participated in singing the song "America The Beautiful" or have you ever listened to the song? Here are some of the words:
"O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!"
Religion and the Declaration of Independence
Here's how our Declaration of Independence begins:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."OK, now in addition to burning the Constitution, destroying all currency and coins, eliminating the "Pledge of Allegiance", tearing down most of the government buildings in Washington, D. C., destroying all historical documents, the Declaration of Independence must also be destroyed and "America The Beautiful" should never be sung again.
Religion and the National Day Of Prayer
There's one more thing. Senate Bill 1378, introduced by Senator Strom Thurmond, passed both houses and enacted a permanent national day of prayer. After this bill was passed, some 33 governors and 150 mayors issued proclamations to commemorate a national day of prayer.
On May 1, 2013, President Obama issued a proclamation that stated, in part:
"All of us have the freedom to pray and exercise our faiths openly. Our laws protect these God-given liberties, and rightly so. Today and every day, prayers will be offered in houses of worship, at community gatherings, in our homes, and in neighborhoods all across our country. Let us give thanks for the freedom to practice our faith as we see fit, whether individually or in fellowship."Even though many concerned citizens realize what was going through the minds of those who founded this nation, they must constantly struggle for the right to practice any form of religion in public places.
The First Amendment of our U. S. Constitution is a constant, permanent reminder that freedom of religion is still guaranteed. Removing religion from all public places is not only not a good idea but an impossible task.
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As a freelance writer, I write on many other topics outside government and politics. If you need some help writing those high quality blog posts, you can get in touch over here. - Ken
