At his annual interfaith breakfast on Tuesday morning, Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams nonchalantly rejected one of the nation’s basic values by saying that he “can’t divorce” his Christian views from his civic obligations.
Don’t give me that nonsense about church and state being kept separate. Church is the soul, and the state is the body. Adams addressed this to a room full of New York City’s religious leaders at the main branch of the New York Public Library.
Being an elected person makes it impossible for me to compartmentalize my beliefs. I feel closer to God when I’m out and about. I have a conversation with God every time I open my mouth. This is who I am, he added, and that’s why his plans are implemented with a divine hand.
“I… will always be a kid of God, and I won’t apologize about being a child of God,” he continued.
There was some scattered applause in response to the remarks.
Adams made the claim that “when we pulled prayers out of schools, firearms came into schools” throughout his 25-minute-long address, which at times sounded like a sermon.
Another time, he reached under his podium and pulled out a yellow sponge, using it to symbolize the consumption of negative news by the general public.
“Too many people who are pros at providing bad news because there’s something exhilarating about bringing terrible news to people,” Adams ostensibly stated in reference to New York City’s thriving journalistic business.
As Adams took his oath of office in January 2022, he was obligated to vow to uphold not only the laws of New York state but also the United States Constitution.
Read more:Â Recent Storm Brought 11.6 Tonnes of Trash, Which Was Picked Up by the Ballona Creek Trash Interceptor
The Founding Fathers notably opposed the presence of religion in public life and set up a secular structure in its place.
In an 1802 letter, Thomas Jefferson first used the now-iconic phrase “a wall of separation between Church and State,” which has had a major impact on how the First Amendment is understood.