Artful Dodger:

> By comparison, the White House has released statements recognizing the observance of major Muslim holidays

From a letter written by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to the Danbury Baptists Association:

"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof", thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."

In Jefferson's view, freedom of worship is a right of every citizen, and the state has no business in interfering or promoting a particular religion (hence his term: establishment). The United States is a society that claims to be based on the separation of church and state. This is a claim that most wertern countries do. If that is the case, the White House should release NO statement on ANY religious holiday. The president and all members of the cabinet and the house should issue no religious statements at all.

Insiting on having the president be a Christian goes against the separation of church and state. Otherwise, it is little different from Iran expecting its president to be a moslem, or Israel expecting its president to be a Jew. We should leave the integration of church and state to those countries that insist on thinking that religious scripture and the law are the same thing. Western culture abandoned that idea during the Enlightenment.

> I don't think church going every once in awhile qualifies one as a Christian. Especially when church attendance is done for purely political reasons.

Is it different from politicians that boast of being religious in order to court the vote of the religious right? There are politicians that boast of being really good christians just to gain votes (c.f. the Tea Party and other religious conservatives). Are they not using religion for political gain?