Press Release
Bush Signs into Law U.S. Subjugation to God
For Immediate Release - November 14, 2002
Tony
Hileman, (202) 238-9088
(Washington, DC) Yesterday President Bush signed into law a bill reaffirming
the reference in the Pledge of Allegiance to ours being one nation “under
God.” Tony Hileman, executive director of the American Humanist
Association
(AHA) responded, “This legislation divides us when we need uniting,
attacks
the First Amendment when it needs bolstering, and places responsibility
outside ourselves when we most need to accept it.
“It is paradoxical that the words ‘under God’ and ‘indivisible’
are side by
side in our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance. Our constitution intentionally
had no reference to God because it’s not the job of the government
to impose
religious belief. How can a declaration of America’s subjugation
to God
unite the thirty million people in our country with no religious
affiliation?
“Over recent months we’ve seen an overabundance of public
religious
endorsements by government officials. This latest action is just another
swipe at Thomas Jefferson’s wall of separation between church and
state. Our
leaders forget that such separation is what maintains religious liberty
and
protects us from theocracy.
“By placing our trust in a higher power we relinquish responsibility
at a
time when we are struggling with a war on terrorism and contemplating
preemptive military action against another nation. Will Bush be relying
on
divine inspiration to guide his executive decisions as he places our
citizens in harm’s way? I hope not.”
Congress was overwhelmingly supportive of this latest legislation with
only
Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Michael Honda and Pete Stark of California,
Jim McDermott of Washington, and Bobby Scott of Virginia voting against
the
measure.
Hileman concludes, “On behalf of the American Humanist Association,
I
commend these representatives who were brave enough to vote against
this
uncalled-for measure. AHA will continue to support those who speak out
for
religious liberty and freedom of conscience in defense of an indivisible
nation.”
# # #
The American Humanist Association (www.americanhumanist.org) is the
oldest
and largest Humanist organization in the nation. The AHA is dedicated
to
ensuring a voice for those with a positive outlook, based on reason
and
experience, which embraces all of humanity.
For more information on the Pledge of Allegiance, please click on Pledge of Allegiance
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