To: President Donald Trump
President Obama: Leave religion out of the swearing-in
During the swearing-in ceremony for your second term, would you please lay your hand upon a copy of the Constitution instead of upon the Bible and please eliminate all trappings of religious faith from the ceremony.
Why is this important?
Dear President Obama, I request that, during the swearing-in ceremony for your second term, you consider laying your hand upon a copy of the Constitution instead of upon the Bible and that you eliminate all trappings of religious faith from the ceremony. The reasons for this request are as follows:
-Having the Chief Executive sworn in with a Bible is an obvious violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as it clearly represents a preferential acknowledgement of one religious belief (Judeo-Christianity) over all others.
-The Constitution represents the set of rules that applies to all Americans regardless of race, sex or creed, whereas religious texts only apply to the adherents of their particular faith.
-The Constitution is the document that you swear to defend in your oath of office.
-The Bible contains passages that are supportive of mysogyny, homophobia and genocide. It also offers advice on how to properly treat slaves without once stating that owning other human beings is morally wrong.
-None of the governments described in the Bible are democratic.
-The words "so help me God" are not a part of the official oath as stated in the Constitution and when said by a member of the government being sworn into office represent another violation of the Establishment Clause.
Obviously the choice to remove all forms of faith from a presidential inaugural will be controversial and cause outrage among your political foes as well as many of your supporters. But in the interest of obtaining true religious liberty in our country, this outrage will be well worth facing and the ensuing debate healthy and well worth having.
-Having the Chief Executive sworn in with a Bible is an obvious violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as it clearly represents a preferential acknowledgement of one religious belief (Judeo-Christianity) over all others.
-The Constitution represents the set of rules that applies to all Americans regardless of race, sex or creed, whereas religious texts only apply to the adherents of their particular faith.
-The Constitution is the document that you swear to defend in your oath of office.
-The Bible contains passages that are supportive of mysogyny, homophobia and genocide. It also offers advice on how to properly treat slaves without once stating that owning other human beings is morally wrong.
-None of the governments described in the Bible are democratic.
-The words "so help me God" are not a part of the official oath as stated in the Constitution and when said by a member of the government being sworn into office represent another violation of the Establishment Clause.
Obviously the choice to remove all forms of faith from a presidential inaugural will be controversial and cause outrage among your political foes as well as many of your supporters. But in the interest of obtaining true religious liberty in our country, this outrage will be well worth facing and the ensuing debate healthy and well worth having.