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Bush Proclaims January 16, 2002 as Religious Freedom Day

(Asks nation to renew commitment to freedom of religion) (800)

Religious Freedom Day is an opportunity for the United States to celebrate its commitment to protect freedom of religion around the world, President Bush said in a statement proclaiming January 16 as Religious Freedom Day.

"On this special day," the President said, "I encourage all Americans to renew their commitment to protecting the liberties that make our country a beacon of hope for people around the world who seek the free exercise of religious beliefs and other freedoms."

"Today, as America wages war against terror, our resolve to defend religious freedom remains as strong as ever," said Bush.

"Many miles from home, American service men and women have risked their lives in our efforts to drive the Taliban regime from power, ending an era of brutal oppression, including religious oppression," the President said. "At home, Americans demonstrated the vitality of our religious freedom in the enormous outreach by faith communities to help those harmed by the terrorist attacks. In quiet prayers offered to God in churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques and in the helping hands of faith-based groups, Americans have shown a deep love for others and genuine spiritual unity that will sustain us through the difficult days of recovery."

Following is the text of the Presidential proclamation:

(begin text)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

January 16, 2002

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DAY, 2002

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Religious freedom is a cornerstone of our Republic, a core principle of our Constitution, and a fundamental human right. Many of those who first settled in America, such as Pilgrims, came for the freedom of worship and belief that this new land promised. And when the British Colonies became the United States, our Founders constitutionally limited our Federal Government's capacity to interfere with religious belief by prohibiting the Congress from passing any law "respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." These constitutional limits have allowed the flourishing of faith across our country, which greatly blesses our land.

George Washington forcefully expressed our collective constitutional promise to protect the rights of people of all faiths, in a historic letter he wrote to the Jewish community at Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island: "the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens...." Today, our cities are home to synagogues, churches, temples, mosques, and other houses of worship that peacefully welcome Americans of every belief. Preserving religious freedom has helped America avoid the wars of religion that have plagued so many cultures throughout history, with deadly consequences.

Today, as America wages war against terror, our resolve to defend religious freedom remains as strong as ever. Many miles from home, American service men and women have risked their lives in our efforts to drive the Taliban regime from power, ending an era of brutal oppression, including religious oppression. At home, Americans demonstrated the vitality of our religious freedom in the enormous outreach by faith communities to help those harmed by the terrorist attacks. In quiet prayers offered to God in churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques and in the helping hands of faith-based groups, Americans have shown a deep love for others and genuine spiritual unity that will sustain us through the difficult days of recovery.

Religious Freedom Day provides us an opportunity to celebrate America's commitment to protect the freedom of religion. On this special day, I encourage all Americans to renew their commitment to protecting the liberties that make our country a beacon of hope for people around the world who seek the free exercise of religious beliefs and other freedoms.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2002, as Religious Freedom Day. I urge all Americans to observe this day by asking for the blessing and protection of Almighty God for our Nation, and to engage in appropriate ceremonies and activities in their homes, schools, and places of worship as a sign of our resolve to protect and preserve our religious freedom.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-sixth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

(end White House text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: [URL=http://usinfo.state.gov)]http://usinfo.state.gov)[/URL]

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Why would he ask Americans to observe the day worshiping HIS one almighty deity? I thought the whole point was RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. Shouldn't he then urge Americans to observe the day by worshiping whichever deity or deities they choose? Shouldn't he also include those that don't worship deities like Buddhists, Humanists, Atheists, etc. Shouln't Bush urge those Americans to observe the day by reflecting on their own beliefs, principals, and/or values?

"Life is but a momentary glimpse of the wonder of this astonishing universe, and it is sad to see so many dreaming it away on spiritual fantasy." [Carl Sagan]

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Is it 2004 yet?


"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your common sense." -Buddha

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LOL. Naw! James, Go back to sleep, we'll wake you when it's over.
BTW, great quote. Everytime someone comments on Buddhism and god, I try to explain just that(quote) to them.

Rap Crap is to music what Paint by Numbers is to art!
Yes, I am NormaL!!
Carabao forever!!!

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To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19253-2001Dec23.html

Religious Right Finds Its Center in Oval Office

By Dana Milbank




Pat Robertson's resignation this month as president of the Christian Coalition confirmed the ascendance of a new leader of the religious right in America: George W. Bush.

For the first time since religious conservatives became a modern political movement, the president of the United States has become the movement's de facto leader -- a status even Ronald Reagan, though admired by religious conservatives, never earned. Christian publications, radio and television shower Bush with praise, while preachers from the pulpit treat his leadership as an act of providence. A procession of religious leaders who have met with him testify to his faith, while Web sites encourage people to fast and pray for the president.

There are several reasons for the adulation. Religious conservatives have regarded Bush as one of their own since the presidential campaign, when he spoke during a debate of the guidance of Jesus. At the same time, key figures in the religious right -- Robertson, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, Billy Graham and Franklin Graham -- have receded in political prominence or influence, in part because they are no longer mobilized by their opposition to a president. Bush's handling of the anti-terrorism campaign since Sept. 11 has solidified his standing by painting him in stark terms as the leader in a fight of good against evil.

"I think Robertson stepped down because the position has already been filled," said Gary Bauer, a religious conservative who challenged Bush in the Republican primary. Bush "is that leader right now. There was already a great deal of identification with the president before 9-11 in the world of the Christian right, and the nature of this war is such that it's heightened the sense that a man of God is in the White House."

Ralph Reed, who once led the Christian Coalition and now is chairman of the Georgia GOP, notes that the religious conservative movement "no longer plays the institutional role it once did," in part because it succeeded in electing Bush and other friendly leaders. "You're no longer throwing rocks at the building; you're in the building."

Conservative Christians tend to view Bush's recent success as part of a divine plan. "I've heard a lot of 'God knew something we didn't,' " Reed said. "In the evangelical mind, the notion of an omniscient God is central to their theology. He had a knowledge nobody else had: He knew George Bush had the ability to lead in this compelling way."

Bush himself dismisses the notion that he is part of some divine plan. "He does not believe he was chosen for this moment," a senior aide said. "He just views himself as governing on his beliefs and his promises. He doesn't look at himself as a leader of any particular movement."

Still, some of those around Bush say they have a sense that a higher purpose is involved. "I think President Bush is God's man at this hour, and I say this with a great sense of humility," Bush aide Tim Goeglein, described as a "strong evangelical," told World magazine, a Christian publication.

Partially a victim of their own success, groups such as the Christian Coalition are finding fundraising difficult. Some leaders, such as Focus on the Family's Dobson, have retreated from political involvement.

Some religious conservative leaders have inflicted wounds on themselves. Falwell was roundly criticized, even by supporters, for saying on television, with Robertson's agreement, that "abortionists and the feminists, and the gays and lesbians" and civil libertarians were to blame in part for the Sept. 11 attacks. Franklin Graham produced a furor by declaring Islam a "very evil and wicked religion."

Voting patterns also show a declining religious right. Karl Rove, Bush's top political strategist, said that only 15 million of the 19 million religious conservatives who should have voted went to the polls in 2000. "We may be seeing to some degree some return to the sidelines of previously involved religious conservatives," he said.

And Bush, his advisers acknowledge, deliberately circumvented the power of the leaders of the religious right, appealing to conservatives himself rather than paying homage to the Christian Coalition during the campaign. "In the old days, Republican presidential candidates went to religious conservative leaders to seek their imprimatur," said a Bush adviser. "George W. Bush was able to go directly to those who sat in the pews."

Bush's effort succeeded. "He is the leader of the Christian right," said Marshall Wittmann, a former Christian Coalition figure now with the Hudson Institute, a think tank. "As their institutions peel away, he can go over the heads" of religious conservative leaders.

Bush, aided by speechwriter Michael Gerson, himself a religious conservative, speaks the language of religion better than any president since Jimmy Carter, religious leaders say, and Bush's policies appeal more to conservatives. To many outside the religious conservative movement, Bush's faith-infused words may sound sanctimonious; to those within it, the words sound familiar and comforting. Across the country, churchgoers share Bush's "testimony," his discovery of God 15 years ago with the help of Billy Graham. "Reverend Graham planted a mustard seed in my soul, a seed that grew over the next year," Bush's memoir recounts. "He led me to the path, and I began walking. It was the beginning of a change in my life."

As Bush had embraced religious conservatism, religious conservatives have openly embraced him. The Internet has several sites offering prayers for the president's success. One example: "Call on the name of the Lord to hedge him in from terrorists and violent people. Psalm 91:11-12; 1 Corinthians 1:10-11."

World magazine, which is edited by one-time Bush adviser Marvin Olasky, named Bush's attorney general, John D. Ashcroft, its "Daniel of the Year." Ashcroft himself considered running for president in 2000 as the candidate of the religious right. "Just as the biblical Daniel faced an established idol-worshiping religion in Babylon, so our Dans must not back down in the face of deadly persecution abroad or the scorn and harassment that comes domestically from the academic and media high priests of our established religion, secular liberalism," Olasky wrote.

The top Daniel, of course, is Bush himself, a view liberally offered by the many religious figures who pass through the White House. In an account of one such meeting, Jean Bethke Elshtain, a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, wrote of a "powerful and moving moment" with Bush and an ecumenical group of religious leaders. "One of our group asked, 'Mr. President, what can we do for you?' He indicated that we could 'pray for me, for our country, for my family.' He believes in the efficacy of prayer and needs wisdom and guidance and grace, he said. A Greek Orthodox archbishop was invited to lead us in prayer. We all joined hands in a prayer circle, including the president."

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Maybe the pres could declare Tuesday "Freedom From Religion Day", and I could get a four day weekend. I need the time off.[Tim]

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I was hoping the same thing, Tim. I was hoping Religious Freedom Day would mean that all houses of worship would be closed for the weekend and give everyone a break. Although, I must admit that I "religiously" attend St. Mattress on the Bed.

The clergy should take their cue from the nation's retailers and offer 50% off on the length of their sermons during the month of January.

(:raig

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Although, I must admit that I "religiously" attend St. Mattress on the Bed.

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Here's hoping that your congregation is of sufficient number to make your devotion worthwhile. [Garrette]

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"When 2 or 3 are, er, ummmm, "gathered" in my name, there I will be also".

Okay, enuf already. I didn't intend for this to degenerate into an exposition on Tantric Yoga.

(:raig

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This Nation was founded upon the belief that every human being is endowed by our Creator with certain "unalienable rights."

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Dubya comes up with another useless day that calls for worship: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020118-10.html

First sentence is sick:

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This Nation was founded upon the belief that every human being is endowed by our Creator with certain "unalienable rights."

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First sentence is sick:

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This Nation was founded upon the belief that every human being is endowed by our Creator with certain "unalienable rights."

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If you disagree with this statement, your quarrel should be with Mr Jefferson and his committee, not Mr Bush.

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I have to agree with Zandermann, this sentence is right out of the Declaration. While I don't believe in a Creator, I don't take offense at the use of the word in this context.

(Though it is annoying that it is used so often by fundies to claim that this is "proof" that this is a Christian nation. )

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Sum Ergo Cogito

Edited by - tokyodreamer on 01/23/2002 06:45:11