It would seem to be so since the Pilgrim Fathers left Europe to pursue in an unknown land, peace and their desire to worship and practice their religion freely. They persisted amid untold hardship and perils,face death and destruction to achieve their goal.
This had to be so for Thomas Jefferson to include in the Declaration of Independence the statement 'we are endowed by our creator'
Trust in God must have been preeminent in the minds of those who designed the currency to write the words 'In God We Trust' so that all who use the money can be reminded of it.
This has to be so for the Congress the law makers of the land to include 'prayers' at the commencement of their proceedings.
Trust in God must have been in the minds of the authors of the pledge that they would include the line 'one Nation under God'
Similarly this notion must have occupied the mind of Irving Berlin as he penned the national song 'God Bless America'. Certainly one cannot miss Kathrin Lee Bates emphasis on God in every stanza of her popular patriotic song 'America the Beautiful'.
And what about the National Anthem. The last stanza not only includes the words 'In God is our Trust' but refers to them as the 'national motto'. In addition references are made to the 'heaven rescued land' and 'praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation...'
The consistency in these examples is remarkable. There is no attempt at inclusion by mentioning 'Allah' 'Confucius' 'Ram' 'Zorasta' or any other 'deity'. It is pure, simple and unadulterated 'God'
To suggest therefore that a)'prayer of any kind/religion in schools' contravenes the principle of separation of Church and State; b)to also suggest that putting up the Ten Commandments (which is connected to the same 'God we Trust' in a Federal building contravenes the separation of Church and State is to deny the very principles of consciousness for which 'God' is used so freely in these writings.
The 44th President of the United States recently held a National Prayer Breakfast. He called on the Nation, lawmakers and religious leaders to invoke the Power of Prayer.This while some of his congregation including schools and public employees are forbidden from practicing this invocation in their offices or classrooms. Pray to whom ? I ask. This is the Head of State arguing that, ....'we become numb to day-to-day crises.We become absorbed with our abstract arguments, our ideological disputes, our contests for power and in this tower of babble, we lose the sound of God's voice'. Then we close all our major speeches with the words 'God bless America'.
On April 21,2010 a US Federal District Court Judge ruled that the idea of a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. The Court Judge argued that the day 'serves no purpose but to encourage a religious exercise making it difficult for a reasonable observer to see the statute as anything other than a religious endorsement' therefore violating the establishment clause separating Church and State.
On April 26,2010 the United States President (head of State) made a pilgrimage to the North Carolina home of famed evengelist Billy Graham. Graham's son also an evangelist who was present at the meeting reported that his father 'prayed for the Nation and that God would give Obama wisdom in his decisions.... the President prayed to thank God for Billy Graham' Whats up with this Judge?!!!
I contend that the notion of separation of Church and State (blurred in the Presidents' remarks above)does exactly what the President is trying to promote.You can't have it both ways Mr President and Mr American. What is it about Religion,Church, Bible, the Ten commandments, God, Jesus ,the Holy Spirit that is criminal and reprehensible that the nation is so scared of.... when this very country was founded on principles contained in and represented by each of these.
Further, the development of good moral and decent values, so necessary but woefully lacking in our Society if insisted on would provide a foundation which could stymie the lawlessness, inhumanity and lack of Brotherliness that pervades much of the behaviors in the society.
Coupled with this it would usher in Love, Kindness,Peace, Courtesy and Brotherliness, Gentleness,Faith and Fairness against which there is no Law.
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America is a land of contradictions. It is what makes the land strong; but also bipolar. The same people who want the God removed from the classrooms or taken out of the nation's discourse are not as quick to turn in their money and denounce it as unconstitutional. Somehow, currency is excluded from the the debate.
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