I think it's a semantical thing, aka a misunderstanding, that's taken place here. When I hear "This is a Christian nation," I feel fine about it when I understand the meaning to be descriptive (as it has been here.) Just as I do when I hear "This is a Judeo-Christian nation," though I'm neither a Christian nor a Jew. I mean, it's true. And since most of those values are mine, me being part of this culture and created by it, I'm naturally glad it's true.
It's the fear that there is intended, in such remarks made here on BB, a message of the sort we've heard from, for example, George Bush Sr. and Pat Robertson that gives atheists and agnostics an uneasy feeling, I think.
I presume everyone knows what Robertson has said. But here is what Bush, who was the President of my country, and that of my atheist parents and grandparents, said:
"I don’t know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."
So a bit of discomfiture, even touchiness, on the part of atheist citizens is perhaps understandable. |
