What ever happened to freedom of religion?
Is the faith commitment of a presidential candidate important? One way or another it is. Consider the only president to be baptized after taking office. First, it is worth noticing he, like the rest of us, was not perfect. In hindsight he made some decisions that are questionable. That is not to discredit the great good he did. For example initiating the development of our interstate highway system.
A few days after his inauguration on Jan. 20, 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the new president, was baptized. Time spent with Billy Graham prior to his election inspired his vision of America. As a former general he saw the need of a spiritual renewal in America and affirmed, “I think one of the reasons I was elected was to help heal this country spiritually,” and concluded, “We need a spiritual renewal.”
The evening following his baptism he gave an address from the Oval Office for the American Legion’s “Back to God ceremony” in which he called for America to return to her spiritual roots. A few days later he set a tradition by attending the first-ever National Prayer Breakfast.
In 1954, Eisenhower was instrumental in Congress adding “under God” to our Pledge of Allegiance. Soon thereafter “In God We Trust” was added to our postage stamps and money.
At his inauguration he asked the 125,000 people present to bow for prayer in which he prayed and 70 million people heard him on radio and television: “Almighty God as we stand here at this moment my future associates in the Executive branch of Government join me in beseeching that Thou will make full and complete our dedication to the services of the people in this throng, and their fellow citizens everywhere.”
Today there are groups who want a new “faith” approach to public office holders. It is faith based on agnosticism and/or atheism. It is a counterfaith to religious faith. It is faith. The word “agnostic” combines “ag,” meaning “no” and “nostic,” meaning “knowledge.” Such persons hold open the possibility of there being a god, yet they do not believe in one.
Atheism comes from the Greek word “atheos” meaning “without god,” the belief there is no god.
A basic law of logic is that a negative cannot to proven. For example to prove there is no God would require having all knowledge in the universe and in that knowledge that God does not exist. Even the most brilliant of intellects do not possess anything like all knowledge, so intellectual atheists have the integrity to admit one could exist because they have no knowledge proving there is no God.
To prevent expressions such as those made by President Eisenhower is to acquiesce to the faith of there being no God. The two positions are self-excluding. The difference is the pro-faith group respects and allows for the no-faith group to exist and express themselves while the no-faith group wants to mute the pro-faith group.
A president or presidential candidate is free to profess there is no God. Freedom of speech allows the right. Why then can’t public officials express their faith in God? George Washington is one in a long line of public officials to do so.
We have come a long way. Maj. Gen. Craig Olson expressed his faith at the National Prayer Breakfast. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation in a vitriolic letter has demanded he be court-martialed and severely punished for doing so. What ever happened to Freedom of Religion?