[Ralph]

If it’s coming from an individual, I usually don’t care, unless it’s something I know is wrong or stupid, like someone saying it was a ‘miracle’ that they didn’t get hit by the falling safe that clobbered the person in front of them. I, however, get angry when someone uses the government or other sources of authority to cram God and religion down my throat. In Utah, for example, the schools are required to display banners with “In God We Trust” on them, and they require that all students stand and recite the pledge. The principal at my school also told the school that if anyone left, that they would be marked absent for the day, then forced us to sit through a Thanksgiving prayer.

User Detail :  

Name : Ralph, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 20, City : Salina, State : UT, Country : United States, Occupation : Looking, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower class, 

[Tom24128]

Technically, these folks are right that ‘God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance is a violation of the seperation of church and state. However, they are sadly mistaken if they believe they can completely separate the state from religion, or any other entity that is such a major and influential part of society. It cannot be done, and in my opinion it is not worth the energy to dissect this culture in hopes of blocking any connection between the two massive social entities of church and state. We must also accept that these religious references within the state are due to a social and national history that was imbued with religion, and specifically the Christian religion. It is folly to believe it is possible to have a completely secular state when religion is such a major part of the society out of which that state evolved.

User Detail :  

Name : Tom24128, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 19, City : Yonkers, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Eric]

Being an atheist, I’ve gotten used to references to God. Being an American, I get upset at references to God that are officially endorsed by my government, such as in the pledge or on the cash. It’s a Church/State thing, you see.

User Detail :  

Name : Eric, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 46, City : Greensboro, State : NC, Country : United States, Occupation : Programmer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Chris Bruk]

For myself, it is not anger or hatred or any other baser concern that fuels my concern over references to God in situations related to federal government. It is the gradual blurring of the line between church and state. From the influence that the evangelical movement is trying to exert on politics and the statements from U.S. Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia that he does not consider separation of church and state a fundamental principle of the Constitution, I feel that we could end up with a state-sponsored form of worship. The bedrock of this nation has been religious freedom. Some of the earliest settlers in this land were tying to escape religious persecution. The potential for widespread religious discrimination is evident throughout history, from the atrocities of the Spanish Inquisition and the slaughter of Catholics under Henry VIII when he formed the Church of England, to name a few. If the public could be whipped into hysteria over fears of creeping immorality, Jerry Falwell would only be too happy to fill McCarthy’s shoes. It does not have to amount to torture and slaughter to inflict damage to our society and the American way of life, if our government institutions begin discriminating on the basis of people’s religious views. People of all faiths should be concerned, because their particular faith may be the one censured. For example, it may not be enough to consider yourself Christian if the Baptists are holding the power and start leaning on the Methodists.

User Detail :  

Name : Chris Bruk, City : Kemah, State : TX, Country : United States, 

[Lisa22749]

I’m only offended when the reference includes the implication that everyone believes in God. So I dislike phrases like ‘One nation, under God’ or ‘In God We Trust’, that imply that everyone in America endorses that idea. I don’t like going to apparently non-religious events (company New Year’s party, for example) and being asked to pray, since there’s an inherent assumption that all of the 300 people in the room are not just theists, but Christians as well. I’m not offended by people talking about religion as it applies to themselves. I am offended by people trying to apply their religion to me, or by people who assume that their religion applies to me.

User Detail :  

Name : Lisa22749, Gender : F, City : Portland, State : OR, Country : United States, 

[Dorene]

I am a freethinker with deistic leanings. I consider God to be a cultural archetype, no more ‘real’ than Cupid or Santa. If I say that Cupid brought my husband and me together, that doesn’t mean I really believe Cupid exists. If I participate in ‘secret Santa’ games at work, that doesn’t mean I believe in Santa. And if I have a bumper sticker that says ‘If God wanted me to vote, he would have given me real candidates to choose from,’ that doesn’t mean I think God really exists. On the other hand, Christians annoy me with their ‘fishers of men’ tradition. I’ve been approached by people who feigned an interest in me only to discover they were meeting a quota of witnessing to others. I’m annoyed when people assume I’m Christian because I’m polite and considerate, as if non-Christians couldn’t be nice people. I’m annoyed when people tell me that all my problems could be solved by going to their church but refuse to consider that some of their problems might be solved by going to my karate dojo. I would ask Christians to consider that I am just as convinced that God doesn’t exist as they are that he does. Does anyone really think that the reason I’m not a Christian is that I never heard of Jesus? If I want to become a Christian, I know what I need to do. I don’t need some stranger to hand me a religious tract.

User Detail :  

Name : Dorene, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 42, City : Yorktown, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : Writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Rafael Macias]

As an atheist, I am a minority. I have to live with it. Besides, this country was based on a belief in God. Who am I to think that my beliefs should change policy or institution? I choose not to believe what the majority do. My wife does believe in God, so I let her handle the cash while I use my debit card.

User Detail :  

Name : Rafael Macias, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Atheist, Age : 33, City : Norfolk, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : Naval Officer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Tim24580]

There is no place for religion in civilized, intelligent, technologically advanced society. Does it make me angry to hear the references? No. It makes me sad.

User Detail :  

Name : Tim24580, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 37, City : Chesterfield, State : MI, Country : United States, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

[Rita]

Yes, the mention of ‘God’ in the Pledge and on money irritates me, because this is supposed to be a government ‘by the people, for the people.’ Isn’t having a single being controlling everything the antithesis of democracy?

User Detail :  

Name : Rita, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 22, City : Dayton, State : OH, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Lisa27008]

Just as all Christians are not the same, all atheists aren’t the same, either. Some people don’t like hearing anything they disagree with, and react childlishly. Reasonable adults know we live in a world with over 6 billion people in it, we’re not all going to agree on everything, so accepting differences makes life on earth easier (accepting, as in accepting that people are different and being OK with that, as opposed to merely ‘tolerating’ them). Some atheists are jerks, some aren’t. Just as you wouldn’t care for your religious belief to be judged by the behavior of the worst among you, atheists don’t want to be judged as ‘hateful’ or ‘intolerant’ by someone who runs across a jerky atheist. RE references to God/religion in pledges, on money: I’ve always wondered myself why religious people think that they don’t compromise their beliefs by splicing them into government. If you strongly believe in your religion’s tenets, and if those tenets have any validity at all, they shouldn’t need to be sponsored or approved or protected by the govt. They should be able to stand on their own. The casual references to God and religion in government functions are so numerous, it would be pointless of me to be really bothered by them, but they do represent what I think has been proven to be a really bad idea, i.e., that govt. and religion should go hand in hand. I would think that thousands of years of violent history of the mixture of state and religion would have convinced people otherwise. If you want present-day examples of how ruinous the combination of religion and government is, look at Saudi Arabia and quite a few other countries in the Middle East and Africa. Don’t mean to be anti-Muslim, but when millions of Muslims leave their own Muslim-run countries to live in freedom in Europe, Australia and America, that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement of theocracy. History shows that religion is always corrupted by government, but government is not improved by religion.

User Detail :  

Name : Lisa27008, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 39, City : Irving, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : advertising, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[David C. S.]

As an atheist any mention of god on money or when I sneeze could offend me, but only if I wanted to throw logic out the window. I live in a county that was founded by Christians and Christianity is still the majority religion here. Religion can be a major influence of any culture, so naturally references to god will surface in any day situations. If I lived in India I imagine I’d be hearing a lot about Shiva and cows. Why would any of this bother me? Also, the First Amendment was meant to prevent the establishment of an official religion. Later the term of Church and State was coined to ensure new laws and amendments were not influenced by any religion. Sure we might say, “One nation, under god” but it’s not like our school systems are making us believe in god, or any particular religion.

User Detail :  

Name : David C. S., Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 26, City : Southgate, State : MI, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Andrea]

I am not religious, and never have been. The bible has a few good things to say, but the majority of it is useless information and frankly, unbelieveable, (The whole book of Genesis for example). I resent Chirstian morality and politics in practice (pro-choice movement, celebacy being taight in schools etc..) and wish religious folks would mind their own business and let me and the rest of the country go to hell.

User Detail :  

Name : Andrea, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 27, City : Meyer, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Ken]

When I first encountered American currency I felt uneasy when I realised that a government which I had supposed was rather like our own in many respects (secular, democratic, upholding of freedom of the individual, and administering a multi-cultural society) professed to placing its trust in some undefined supernatural being of unproved existence. Even though I am a citizen of another country I just couldn’t help feeling disappointed and mildly affronted. How, therefore, must many Americans feel? Perhaps the fact that Australia was originally colonised by convicts, soldiers, fortune seekers and government administrators, and not by religious refugees, helps explain this particular difference between our two countries. If an individual wants to believe in a god or gods, okay, but citizens are surely best served by a government which makes decisions based on the best available facts, and is influenced as little as possible by unsubstantiated beliefs. It is disturbing to consider the history of Christianity. Although Islam is the most dangerous religion of the current era, not so long ago Christians delivered more torture and terror to the world than any other religion prior or since. That is why it is unsettling to see that the US government expresses what is essentially a fundamentalist religious standpoint, and purports to hold this standpoint on behalf of all its citizens. While governments cannot help but offend many of their citizens from time to time, references to god are often offensive and always unneccessary.

User Detail :  

Name : Ken, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 59, City : Mount Gambier, State : NA, Country : Australia, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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