But no matter what we choose to believe… there is one law that binds all great religions together. Jesus told us to “love thy neighbour as thyself ”. The Torah commands, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.” A hadith in Islam reads “none of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself”. And the same is true for Buddhists and Hindus; for followers of Confucius and for humanists.”
I have heard both surprise and criticism of this public display of religious diversity, from people in the United States and elsewhere. Some of my American friends say they do not expect their president to be the ‘preacher in-chief’. Some of them abroad cite America’s separation of church and state, its historic commitment to religious freedom, its reputation as a Christian country — and express surprise at Obama’s public attendance at prayer services, the diverse makeup of his faith council, or the fact that there is a formal faith council at all.
But diversity and devotion have played a key role in the United States since its early days. George Washington, America’s first president, famously had a Jewish clergyperson present at his inauguration in 1789. He carried on a correspondence with a Jewish congregation and stated his hope in one letter that the religiously diverse people “who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants; while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.” – The Time of India
