Feb 20, 2012 / 17:11 pm
A new Knights of Columbus commercial uses Presidents Day Weekend to remind Americans that past presidents saw God and religion as foundational to the country.
“The idea that our rights come from God and that religion has a role to play in our nation’s public life is not partisan or sectarian, it is quintessentially American,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said on Feb. 20, Presidents Day.
“This Presidents Day is an excellent opportunity to remind Americans that God is – and has always been – foundational to this country and to our system of ordered liberty.”
Among the presidents the ad cites is Thomas Jefferson, who asked “Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are of the gift of God?”
Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his January 1941 State of the Union, said the United States has placed its faith in freedom “under the guidance of God.” George Washington deemed religion and morality to be “indispensable supports” for the “dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity.”
The ad also cites John F. Kennedy, who in his inaugural address said, “The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”
The 60-second spot ran on national cable networks Feb. 18-20. It is running in regional markets from Connecticut to California.
