Ronald Reagan Quote on Religion

[sfga6970]

I am not a religious person, but I was was raised in a family that thought religion and morality were important. (The Jesuits beat my education into me).
This short quote seems to outline the beliefs of the man we are mourning. May he rest in peace, his pain is over.



"If children prayed together, would they not understand what they have in common, and would this not, indeed, bring them closer, and is this not to be desired? So, I submit to you that those who claim to be fighting for tolerance on this issue may not be tolerant at all. When John Kennedy was running for President in 1960, he said that his church would not dictate his Presidency any more than he would speak for his church. Just so, and proper. But John Kennedy was speaking in an America in which the role of religion -- and by that I mean the role of all churches -- was secure. Abortion was not a political issue. Prayer was not a political issue. The right of church schools to operate was not a political issue. And it was broadly acknowledged that religious leaders had a right and a duty to speak out on the issues of the day. They held a place of respect, and a politician who spoke to or of them with a lack of respect would not long survive in the political arena. It was acknowledged then that religion held a special place, occupied a special territory in the hearts of the citizenry. The climate has changed greatly since then. And since it has, it logically follows that religion needs defenders against those who care only for the interests of the state. ... The churches of America do not exist by the grace of the state; the churches of America are not mere citizens of the state. The churches of America exist apart; they have their own vantage point, their own authority. Religion is its own realm; it makes its own claims. We establish no religion in this country, nor will we ever. We command no worship. We mandate no belief. But we poison our society when we remove its theological underpinnings. We court corruption when we leave it bereft of belief. All are free to believe or not believe; all are free to practice a faith or not. But those who believe must be free to speak of and act on their belief, to apply moral teaching to public questions. I submit to you that the tolerant society is open to and encouraging of all religions. And this does not weaken us; it strengthens us. ... You know, if we look back through history to all those great civilizations, those great nations that rose up to even world dominance and then deteriorated, declined, and fell, we find they all had one thing in common. One of the significant forerunners of their fall was their turning away from their God. ... Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we're mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under." --Prayer Breakfast, 1984

[odannyboy]

Awesome speech!


He is absolutely correct. As a nation we mandate no religion, but to deny that this nation is rooted in Christian principles is to deny our very foundation.

We must be tolerant of all religions, but we must not ignore the obvious, and that is that this nation is predominantly a Judeo-Christian nation, and while Europe has declined into decadence long ago, we have tried to rise above this and keep our television and schools free from the "liberation" of sexual suggestiveness and acceptance of lifestyle seen as sexually explict and degenerate (best summed up as immoral)

However, I do believe that much of this is hypocrisy, as a little channel surfing shows a lineup of television programs of a debauched nature, like we are all Neanderthals that can only respond to crude and vulgar sexual references and bathroom humor.

Then, the events at Abu Ghraib ripped the veneer of moral certainty away and made many wonder if all it did was reveal a larger aspect of American society, an indifferent and desensitized generation that found such behavior not only amusing, but also not disgusting.

We need a moral compass in this country, and in this world, and only the teachings of the Judeo-Christian religion really provide that. I hope that God continues to bless this great nation, and that we don't lose our way and sink into decadence.

[sfga6970]

Thanks for the reply Danny. As I said before, I am not religious, but there has to be a solid core of beliefs for us to survive as a Nation. The Founding Fathers had these beliefs and this is what helped us to survive and thrive as the greatest Nation in the world.

[Snowden]

Originally Posted by sfga6970

there has to be a solid core of beliefs for us to survive as a Nation. The Founding Fathers had these beliefs and this is what helped us to survive and thrive as the greatest Nation in the world.

Yes, sfga - that core is vital for this nation to remain free. None of the people who spew out "I'm okay, you're okay" are really making a display of the love we are supposed to have for one another as Christians - it seems to me that only by adding "you're okay" can they justify to themselves how "okay" they are. That's not religion, it's denial. The thing we see replacing religion here is political correctness, and it is of no value.

By Odannyboy:

We must be tolerant of all religions, but we must not ignore the obvious, and that is that this nation is predominantly a Judeo-Christian nation, and while Europe has declined into decadence long ago, we have tried to rise above this and keep our television and schools free from the "liberation" of sexual suggestiveness and acceptance of lifestyle seen as sexually explict and degenerate (best summed up as immoral)

Well, we tried for a while - the media has slowly changed it, as you point out after this paragraph. We really should look at Europe - and at Britain, sadly - and see where we are heading if we don't put God back at the top of our list of who we love and revere.

Islam is on the doorstep here too - and its ideas of morality aren't quite what our God meant for us. But in some areas, they seem like the moral superiors. At least that's what they teach our kids and others searching for moral leadership.

[odannyboy]

Well said by the both of you.

How many people attend church in the "cradle of civilization", Europe?

Very few. Sweden has somehting like only 3% of its population attending church, and most of Europe is proudly secular (except for the growing Islamic population)

Europe has losts its way, its moral compass has long been broken.

[Snowden]

Originally Posted by odannyboy

Well said by the both of you.

How many people attend church in the "cradle of civilization", Europe?

Very few. Sweden has somehting like only 3% of its population attending church, and most of Europe is proudly secular (except for the growing Islamic population)

Europe has losts its way, its moral compass has long been broken.

That sure is spot on, odannyboy. Europe has become a vacuum where faith and morality are concerned, the the tenacles of godlessness are reaching here. I hope and pray that our nation won't follow suit. Christianity supports progress; Islam wants to take us back to the Seventh Century.

Reagan's words, "If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under" are 100% true. This nation was built on the Christian concept and if we turn our back on that, we deserve what we will get. The trouble is that it's our grandchildren who will pay for our denial - and theirs.

The terrifying words in your post, odannyboy, are "except for the growing Islamic population," aren't they? and it's growing here as well.

Oh dear, there I go again! Politically incorrect - but correct all the same, darn it.