GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION

GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION

But this — this — is offensive: “We're a Christian society,” Galloway Mayor Tom Bassford said. “And I think it's a good way to start off a meeting, with a prayer.” We're a Christian society? Bassford went on to say he planned to ask representatives from all faiths to lead prayers. But when a public official makes a statement like that, it undermines all the talk of inclusiveness. A cynic might even suggest that such a comment by an elected official strips bare this notion of an inclusive pre-meeting prayer to what it really is — an official blessing of the predominant faith. Yes, more people in this nation are Christian than members of any other faith. But remember — a founding principle of this nation is that the government will not favor any particular religion, including and especially the faith of the majority. Mayor Bassford, you may live in a mostly Christian community; you may say, if you want, that Christianity is our nation's predominant faith. But we are not a Christian nation. We are a nation of Jews and Hindus and Muslims and Buddhists and, it must be noted, atheists, too.