Bill O’Reilly wrote that the “separation of church and state argument” is “bogus” because it “does not appear anywhere in the Constitution.” O’Reilly continued, baselessly asserting that “[i]f Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he would mock these secular fools and then retire to his Virginia estate for Christmas dinner.” In reality, as Media Matters points out, Thomas Jefferson actually wrote a letter outlining his support for “a wall of eternal separation between Church & State.” In fact, Jefferson was quite outspoken about his support for absolute, equal freedom for every religion.
The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
Thomas Jefferson was a Deist, and, were he alive today, he would undoubtedly be one of O’Reilly’s biggest and loudest critics.
Why do people take that guy seriously?