Peeved by a recent ruling that a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional, Sarah Palin is urging America to base its laws on the Ten Commandments, telling Fox News' Bill O'Reilly that we should "go back to what our founders and our founding documents meant. They're quite clear that we would create law based on the God of the Bible...." While Palin supporters remained mostly silent, secular critics quickly shot back. "More people in the United States are Christians," says Joe Gandelman in The Moderate Voice, "but the United States is not a Christian nation. And the founding fathers most assuredly did not define it as such." Not only "should we not base our laws on the Ten Commandments," adds Ed Brayton in Science Blogs, but "8 out of 10 are indisputably unconstitutional." Besides, the Declaration of Independence's "principle author," Thomas Jefferson, once described the Judeo-Christian God as "cruel, capricious, vindictive and unjust." Watch Palin's interview:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Can Texas redistricting save the US House for the GOP?Today's Big Question Trump pushes a 'ruthless' new plan, but it could backfire
-
'No one should be surprised by this cynical strategy'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Intellectual property: AI gains at creators' expenseFeature Two federal judges ruled that it is fair use for AI firms to use copyrighted media to train bots
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: which party are the billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to goThe Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala HarrisThe Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
