The Pilgrim fathers came to these shores to freely practice their Puritan faith. As such, religion plays an important role in our nation and on this holiday. Cardinal Timothy Dolan understands that and gives us an overview.

Close

Dolan: It’s almost a bromide that “America is a religious country.” Anyone who doubts that has never celebrated Thanksgiving!

While it is true that Americans seem to be drifting away from organized religion, faith still remains strong and nearly universal. The thermometer approaches 98.6 when it comes to the percentage of folks who believe in God, in His providence, and in eternal life with Him.

Exhibit A is Thanksgiving. Even the crustiest “secularist,” who may never have been inside a church, bows his head, closes her eyes and whispers a word of gratitude to the Lord on this holiday. No other country on the planet has such a traditional, hallowed, treasured ritual of praise as we do on Thanksgiving. Poll after poll shows it to be our most popular holiday. (That word itself comes from “holy day.”)

Now, I bring this up because scorn of religion is on the rise at the so-called high levels of culture – media, academia, government and entertainment. For them, religion is at best a superstition relied upon by weak, unenlightened people, at worst a toxic, corrupt, divisive force in a progressive society.

I worry about this, sure, because I am a pastor, but also because I am an American. Our Founders, to a person, considered faith essential for the republic, and agreed with the father of our country that this grand experiment in democracy could not survive unless built upon a foundation of belief.

Through most of our history, culture has viewed religion in a benevolent way, something to be celebrated and promoted. As President Dwight Eisenhower remarked, “Everybody should have a religion, and I don’t care which one it is.”

We citizens are shrewd in recognizing that our laws and policies should be neutral when it comes to religion. The “separation of church and state” has been beneficial for both. My apprehension is that now we’ve moved from a benign or neutral view of faith to one downright antagonistic. It seems chic now to exclude people of belief from any place in the public square. Our faith, we’re told, is something that we can practice inside our respective houses of worship, but we musn’t dare attempt to put it into practice out in “the real world.”

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

…Lyndon Johnson commented, “Religion is like a beehive! Admire it and leave it alone to flourish, and you’ll get a lot of good honey; stick your hand into it and you’ll be stung.” Our hands are better folded in prayer this Thursday when, as grateful citizens of this “one nation under God” who relish as our motto, “In God we trust,” ask that “God bless America,” as faith remains a constant, celebrated and cherished feature of America.