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Sick and Tired of ‘God Bless America’
New York Times ^ | 02/08/2016 | Susan Jacoby

Posted on 02/08/2016 8:20:12 AM PST by SeekAndFind

THE population of nonreligious Americans -- including atheists, agnostics and those who call themselves "nothing in particular" -- stands at an all-time high this election year. Americans who say religion is not important in their lives and who do not belong to a religious group, according to Pew Research Center, have risen in numbers from an estimated 21 million in 2008 to more than 36 million now.

Despite the extraordinary swiftness and magnitude of this shift, our political campaigns are still conducted as if all potential voters were among the faithful. The presumption is that candidates have everything to gain and nothing to lose by continuing their obsequious attitude toward orthodox religion and ignoring the growing population of those who make up a more secular America.

Ted Cruz won in Iowa by expanding Republican voter turnout among the evangelical base. Donald J. Trump placed second after promising "to protect Christians" from enemies foreign and domestic. The third-place finisher Marco Rubio's line "I don't think you can go to church too often" might well have been the campaign mantra. Mr. Rubio was first christened a Roman Catholic, baptized again at the age of 8 into the Mormon Church, and now attends a Southern Baptist megachurch with his wife on Saturdays and Catholic Mass on Sundays.

Democrats are only a trifle more secular in their appeals. Hillary Clinton repeatedly refers to her Methodist upbringing, and even Bernie Sanders -- a cultural Jew not known to belong to a synagogue -- squirms when asked whether he believes in God. When Jimmy Kimmel posed the question, Mr. Sanders replied in a fog of words at odds with his usual blunt style: "I am who I am. And what I believe in and what my spirituality is about, is that we're all in this together."

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Arkansas; US: Florida; US: Iowa; US: New York; US: Texas; US: Vermont
KEYWORDS: 2016election; agnostic; agnostics; america; arkansas; atheist; atheists; berniesanders; demagogicparty; election2016; faithandphilosophy; florida; god; hillary; hillaryclinton; hitlery; marcorubio; memebuilding; newyork; newyorkcity; newyorkslimes; newyorktimes; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; religion; susanjacoby; tedcruz; texas; trump; vermont; wipewater
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To: SeekAndFind

Bernie followers and progressives in general are extremely religious. They worship government. The worship the global warming. Abortion is their sacrament to the god of government. Recycling is their confession of sin. Their imps and demons are Christian conservatives


41 posted on 02/08/2016 10:21:14 AM PST by Organic Panic
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Arthur Wildfire! March; Berosus; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Americans who say religion is not important in their lives and who do not belong to a religious group... have risen in numbers from an estimated 21 million in 2008 to more than 36 million now.
Weird coincidence -- 2008 saw the election of the Kenyan-born muzzie. BTW, there is no "freedom from religion."
The presumption is that candidates have everything to gain and nothing to lose by continuing their obsequious attitude toward orthodox religion and ignoring the growing population of those who make up a more secular America.
Spin, spin, spin.
Ted Cruz won in Iowa by expanding Republican voter turnout among the evangelical base. Donald J. Trump placed second after promising "to protect Christians" from enemies foreign and domestic. The third-place finisher Marco Rubio... was first christened a Roman Catholic, baptized again at the age of 8 into the Mormon Church, and now attends a Southern Baptist megachurch with his wife on Saturdays and Catholic Mass on Sundays... Hillary Clinton repeatedly refers to her Methodist upbringing, and even Bernie Sanders -- a cultural Jew not known to belong to a synagogue -- squirms when asked whether he believes in God. When Jimmy Kimmel posed the question, Mr. Sanders replied in a fog of words at odds with his usual blunt style: "I am who I am. And what I believe in and what my spirituality is about, is that we're all in this together."
IOW, Sanders is an atheist, which fits his equally ridiculous socialism.

Partisan Media Shill Alert!


42 posted on 02/08/2016 10:24:30 AM PST by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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To: ex-snook

I always thought it was the national anthem for the Broad Street Bullies.


43 posted on 02/08/2016 10:52:47 AM PST by gusty
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To: SeekAndFind

3 percent say they don’t believe in God

5 percent say they’re agnostic

Crawl back into your holes you loons!


44 posted on 02/08/2016 11:26:09 AM PST by TexasFreeper2009 (You can't spell Hillary without using the letters L, I, A, R)
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To: SkyDancer

No, God Bless America should not be out national anthem. It should be fervent prayer, but our national anthem is what it should be.


45 posted on 02/08/2016 11:57:58 AM PST by ro_dreaming (Chesterton, 'Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It's been found hard and not tried')
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To: ro_dreaming

The SSB is based on the war of 1812 not the Revolutionary War freeing us from Britain. GBA exemplifies what America is, the SSB does not. And lots of people don’t know there are four stanza’s to the SSB. All this IMHO.


46 posted on 02/08/2016 12:01:11 PM PST by SkyDancer ("Nobody Said I Was Perfect But Yet Here I Am")
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To: Opinionated Blowhard

He doesn’t wake up to that. That was getting prettied up just for picture taking day.


47 posted on 02/08/2016 12:03:25 PM PST by Yaelle
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To: SkyDancer; SeekAndFind; DungeonMaster
["God Bless America"] should be our national anthem.

Given how America lately welcomes every opportunity to tell God to take a flying leap, I don't sing "God Bless America" at public sporting events anymore.

America, bless God.


48 posted on 02/08/2016 12:19:48 PM PST by newgeezer (It is [the people's] right and duty to be at all times armed. --Thomas Jefferson, 1824)
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To: mulligan

There is a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven. I’m sure the highway is an easier route.


49 posted on 02/08/2016 1:51:22 PM PST by Guardian Sebastian (Life is a bitch, why elect one?)
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To: SeekAndFind
THEM nonreligious Americans — including atheists, agnostics and those who call themselves “nothing in particular” — idea of baning the song “Gob bless America. the use of the phrase “Under God” can just sit on a sharp stump as far as I'm concerned.
50 posted on 02/08/2016 2:33:42 PM PST by SandRat (Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
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