| WASHINGTON
- January 20 - George
W. Bush, sworn in today as the nation's 43rd president, announced a
religious agenda in his inaugural address, including an emphasis on
using houses of worship for providing publicly financed social
services.
Just
moments after being sworn in as president, Bush used a speech laced
with religious rhetoric to explain the role religion will play in his
administration.
"[S]ome
needs and hurts are so deep they will only respond to a mentor's touch
or a pastor's prayer," Bush said. "Church and charity,
synagogue and mosque, lend our communities their humanity, and they
will have an honored place in our plans and laws."
The
Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for
Separation of Church and State, expressed concern about Bush's
comments.
"Bush
apparently believes he was elected national preacher as well as
president," Lynn said. "The newly elected president
presented himself today as a determined foe of church-state
separation. The Constitution he swore to uphold simply does not permit
the president to merge religion and government.
"Churches
and other houses of worship play a cherished role in our society, but
they do not have a role in our secular laws," Lynn added.
"Bush's remarks showed a gross insensitivity to the
constitutional principle of government neutrality on religion."
Bush
also used his inaugural address to emphasize his plans for education,
remarking, "Together, we will reclaim America's schools, before
ignorance and apathy claim more young lives." News agencies were
reporting today that Bush will unveil an education plan on Tuesday
that will feature vouchers for religious and other private schools.
"Far
too much of Bush's agenda calls for a unity between church and
state," noted AU's Lynn. "To protect the religious liberties
of all Americans, his plans must be rejected by Congress."
In
one of his first acts as the nation's chief executive, Bush issued a
proclamation ordering today as a "national day of prayer."
Bush, in the proclamation, called "upon the citizens of our
Nation to gather together in homes and places of worship to pray alone
and together and offer thanksgiving to God for all the blessings of
this great and good land." He added, "I ask Americans to bow
our heads in humility before our Heavenly Father, a God who calls us
not to judge our neighbors, but to love them, to ask His guidance upon
our Nation and its leaders in every level of government."
Ironically,
Bush quoted Thomas Jefferson both in his inaugural address and his day
of prayer proclamation. Jefferson, a staunch advocate of church-state
separation, never issued a prayer proclamation in order to preserve
government neutrality on religious matters.
"Bush
would have been wise to follow Jefferson's example and allow Americans
to make up their own minds about how and when to pray," said AU's
Lynn. "It would have gotten the Bush presidency off to a much
better start.
"The
Bush Administration is only a few hours old and it already has
signaled remarkable hostility for church-state separation,"
concluded Lynn. "Anyone concerned with this nation's religious
liberties should realize that the next four years will be awfully
busy."
Americans
United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C.
Founded in 1947, the organization represents 60,000 members and allied
houses of worship in all 50 states.
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