It’s deeply troubling that a Muslim [the man mentioned is actually a Sikh) was allowed to lead prayer in the House of Representatives this morning. This should have never been allowed to happen. American was founded as a Christian nation, and I believe our government should reflect that truth. May God have mercy!
— Representive Mary Miller, as reported by Huffington Post
Sikhs and Muslims practice two separate and distinct religions, and conflating the two based on how someone looks is not only ignorant but also racist. America was founded on the principle of religious freedom. It is disgraceful that someone who has such disdain for our nation’s values can serve in the halls of Congress.
— Statement by The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
Bruce Gerencser, 68, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 47 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated. All first-time comments are moderated. Please read the commenting rules before commenting.
You can email Bruce via the Contact Form.
I could not have said any better than the statement from The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. Our country’s principle is freedom of religious expression or non-expression. Neither theistic nor anti-theistic. We are also a pluralistic society. People of all religious beliefs or non-belief should be equally represented. I am personally ok with some reasonableness in this regard. I have no issues with a nativity display in a small town square, for example. But the congresswoman’s statement was not only ignorant but also alarming. We were not founded as a Christian nation but rather an enlightened one, where people fleeing religious persecution (including Catholics, Mennonites, Jews, etc.) could come, live and practice their faith in relative safety, so long as they were good citizens.
Sikhs follow the teachings of Guru Nanak, who lived in 16th century India at a time where the ruling class was Muslim, over a predominantly Hindu population. After a revelation received while drowning, Guru Nanak advocated a religion that was monotheistic but had a worship style that was more Indian in nature. His movement was severely oppressed by the Muslim rulers, so referring to a Sikh as a Muslim (due to the requirement that men not cut their hair, resulting in the wearing of a turban) is a historically insulting error to make. Sikh Americans are very patriotic and hard working. Many serve in the military. This congresswoman needs to get some education before making such dumbass ignorant statements about someone performing a public prayer.
We have an increasing number of Sikhs locating in Northwest Ohio. Some of them have purchased local convenience stores, gas stations, and motels. Good people. I try to meaningfully talk to them when visiting their businesses.
That’s not to say thousands of Sikhs live here. Much like Asians and Blacks, their numbers continue to increase. In my youthful days there were two races: white and Mexican. (I was in elementary school before I saw my first black person — a porter on the Santa Fe Super Chief out of Chicago.) Thanks to migrant farm work, we have a lot of Mexican residents. Transitory works came to Northwest /Ohio for the summer, and instead of moving in to another site or returning back to Mexico, they stayed. If I remember correctly,nearby Defiance had the largest per-capita number of Hispanics in the state of Ohio. And if ICE ever gets serious about the undocumented migrants in this area, they are going to find lots of parents and grandparents who have quietly, happily, and productively live here right under their noses. Oh the wailing when Trump sends these people back to Mexico. Deportation is meant for bad Mexicans, and not the good Mexicans who live here, or so the thinking goes, anyways.
I’m a supporter of strict border control. Nation states must be permitted to control who lives in their countries. That said, we have winked our eyes at illegal border crossings. Decades of this has resulted in millions of undocumented migrants in this country — most of whom work and pay taxes.
We need some sort of amnesty program for these people. As long as they have haven’t committed crimes such as rape, murder, and other violent acts, they should be granted a path to citizenship. We need them as much, if not more, than they need us. Our economy needs them. We used to live in Yuma. I watched migrants do farm work 12 hours a day, six days a week. I don’t know of one freeborn American who would be willing to spend 12 hours a day in the hot Arizona sun, bent over doing backbreaking work for menial sub-fast food restaurant wages.
Agree with you.
You’re correct. Sikh men customarily wear beards, long hair, turban, an iron bangle, and a symbolic dagger to represent their faith. Men became warriors to fight off oppression from some of the Muslim rulers of Northern India, most notably Aurangzeb, the son of Shah Jahan. Men take the name Singh (Lion) and women take the name Kaur (Princess) from Punjabi, and the faith originated in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. Sikhs reject caste distinctions and some Sikhs operate Indian food restaurants. Their local houses of worship or gurdwaras serve meals to the public.
Mary Miller is offensive and an ignoramus. When she was running for her Congressional seat, she quoted Hitler in saying that you have to reach the young people first. You can imagine this remark went over like a lead balloon. She is a Christian Nationalist, so naturally she would get mad if they invited a religious leader from a non Christian faith to offer an invocation. I get so frustrated at the ignorance that abounds about immigrants and immigration. I’ve never forgotten my ancestors were mostly post-famine immigrants from Ireland.
Bruce as always you hit the nail on the head. ICE’s operations very much look like using a sledge hammer to kill a mosquito. Yes, there are issues with immigration, but there’s a reason these folks came to our country and not say, North Korea or Iran. It’s because we (until recently) have due process, rule of law, freedom of religion, public education and general access to clean drinking water, sanitation and electricity.
I think in my school years (the 1980’s) I remember a teacher putting it this way- we have to put up barriers to keep people out vs. other places that have to put up walls to keep their own people in. This is not to say the US is a perfect place- far from it. But under our current Dear Leader/King Stupid, we are losing our true national identity as a beacon to those seeking freedom for their children and future generations.
As an outsider Brit, I can’t see why any prayers should be necessary!
I’d tell the Rep it’s either all or nuffin. The Supreme Court decided that religion is OK in the public square, so long as all religions get a seat at the table. The reality is that you can see the absurdity of this when Christians express their umbrage at hearing a prayer that is from another religion.
My favorite “prayer” was from an Atheist in Arizona, Arizona State Rep. Juan Mendez:
“Most prayers in this room begin with a request to bow your heads. I would like to ask that you not bow your heads. I would like to ask that you to take a moment to look around the room at all of the men and women here, in this moment, sharing together this extraordinary experience of being alive and of dedicating ourselves to working toward improving the lives of the people in our state.”
He goes on, but I love the fact that to make law you shouldn’t be closing your eyes, bowing your head, or tuning out the rational cues to solve the problems that are at hand.
I cannot think of a better example of why state and religion should be kept separate. The current right-wing Christian groups are trying to find ways to shut everybody else up, There should be no opening prayers in congress anyway because this is an example of subtly saying one religion is better than other religions or agnosticism.