I have been an atheist for a while, but I've been a secularist for much longer. Even when I espoused religious beliefs, I had the objectivity to realize that the separation of church and state is necessary for a truly free society. The preferential treatment given to Judeochristian doctrine in this country has given us abstinence only sex education, stem cell testing bans, and the murder of doctors for doing their jobs, among other gems. So think about that when one of the candidates for the presidency says he doubts evolution, or wants to amend the Constitution to reflect a book that not everyone agrees on, certainly not me.
In that vein, I have reproduced here a portion of the Treaty of Tripoli. Ratified by Congress and signed by President John Adams in 1797.
As the Government of the United States of America is not,(emphasis mine)
in any sense, founded on the Christian religion;
as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion,
or tranquility, of Musselmen; and as the said States never
have entered into any war or act of hostility against any
Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no
pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce
an interruption of the harmony existing between the two
countries.
Happy President's Day Mr. Adams, I hope we make you proud in November.
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