Holy Uproar After Adams Decries Separation Of Church And State

NEW YORK CITY ? Mayor Eric Adams sparked a holy uproar Tuesday when he seemingly dismissed a bedrock American value.

"Don't tell me about no separation of church and state," he said during remarks at an interfaith breakfast.

"State is the body, church is the heart. You take the heart out of the body, the body dies. I can't separate my belief because I'm an elected official."

The mayor's remarks came amid a 25-minute speech during which he argued not only argued that faith is a foundational part of New York City's tapestry, but also pinned many problems within the city and society on its absence.

At one point, Adams appeared to not-so-implicitly support school prayer.

?When we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools,? he said.

Adams also seemed to argue that God chose him to be New York City's mayor.

"I strongly believe in all my heart, God said, 'I'm going to take the most broken person and I'm going to elevate him to the place of being the mayor of the most powerful city on the globe," he said. "He could have made me the mayor of Topeka, Kansas."

Adams' speech drew swift condemnation and criticism from many left-leaning groups and people in New York and beyond.

Government can only truly represent people if it shows no favor to any belief, or non-belief, over another, said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, in a statement.

"The very opening passage of the Bill of Rights makes clear that church and state must be separate," she said.

"On matters of faith, the Mayor is entitled to his own beliefs. On the Constitution, he must uphold his oath."

In order for our government to truly represent us, it must not favor any belief over another, including non-belief.

On matters of faith, the Mayor is entitled to his own beliefs. On the Constitution, he must uphold his oath. pic.twitter.com/jbXbLwoPkE
? NYCLU (@NYCLU) February 28, 2023

Other people were even more disturbed by Adams' remarks.

"Call me crazy but a mayor who believes he is chosen by god to run the city and doesn?t believe in the separation of church and state is kinda scary," tweeted Joel Wertheimer, a civil rights attorney.

Adams' dismissal of separation of church and state is "shocking and dangerous," said Rachel Laser, the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and Church, in s statement.

?It?s especially disheartening to hear the mayor of New York City promoting right-wing, Christian Nationalist talking points about prayer solving gun violence," she said. "Not only is it simply untrue that prayer alone will end school shootings, but his words ignore the fact that students are free to voluntarily pray in public schools because of the separation of church and state."

City Hall officials argued that Adams was simply saying that his faith guides his decisions.

Policies crafted by the current administration are rooted in Adams' belief in the creator, said spokesperson Fabien Levy.

"The mayor personally believes all of our faiths would ensure we are humane to one another," Levy said in a statement. "While everyone in the room immediately understood what the mayor meant, it?s unfortunate that some have attempted to hijack the narrative in an effort to misrepresent the mayor?s comments."