"The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do well is my religion". ~ Thomas Paine "The serious enemies are the priests of the different religious sects, to whose spells on the human mind its improvement is ominous." -Thomas Jefferson

The innocent 9/11 victims whom were killed, their families and loved ones, all have suffered because centuries old conflicts between the leaders of the various leaders of the Abrahamic religious sects. Perhaps the self-proclaimed religious leaders whom were offended because they were not invited to use the bully-pulpit can instead use the time to contemplate, meditate, or pray seeking solutions to religious warfare.

What else did our Founding Fathers have to say about religion? "Question with boldness even the existence of a god." - Thomas Jefferson (letter to Peter Carr, 10 August 1787): "All natural institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit." Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason; "Religion and government will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together", James Madison. “Lighthouses are more helpful than Churches”, Benjamin Franklin. Our Founding Fathers never intended for the United States to be a religious nation.

My grandparents had to flee Northern Ireland after death threats because of conflicts between Christian Catholics and Christian Protestants. She was Protestant, and he was Catholic. When I became of age, I volunteered and joined the Army, and I served as an 11B Infantryman. Most of my time in the field was in squad or platoon size operations. When there were conflicts between the South Vietnamese Buddhists and Christian, we would have discussions about what we were fighting for. It always came back to the “Bill of Rights”. To me the most important was “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”.

Well said.

My grandparents had to flee Northern Ireland after death threats because of conflicts between Christian Catholics and Christian Protestants. She was Protestant, and he was Catholic

Per the Constitution of the United States of America: Article Six: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. The Second Amendment states: ““Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”.

Per the Constitution of the United States of America: Article Six: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. Case closed!

Per the Constitution of the United States of America:

Per the Constitution of the United States of America: Article Six: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. The Second Amendment states: ““Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”. Case closed!