Raelian Wins Struggle For 'God-Free' U.S. Citizenship Ceremony

That's the title of this press release which caught my eye earlier today:

LAS VEGAS, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "I came to the United States seven years ago because of religious discrimination in Switzerland," said Raelian Guide Thomas Kaenzig, who heads the Raelian religion in Nevada. "Now I'm standing up for religious freedom here -- for my right to omit all religious references in becoming a U.S. citizen. After lots of red tape, I was granted a God-free citizenship oath-taking ceremony on December 7 here in Las Vegas."

Kaenzig said he lost his job in Switzerland because of his beliefs.

"As a Raelian spokesperson, I bashed the Vatican in an interview with Switzerland's major newspaper, Blick. I wasn't wanted on company projects after that. I was jobless."

Well, so much for assimilation. But the story as he tells it doesn't sound like religious discrimination to me. He didn't have to "bash the Vatican" in a major paper as a condition of his own religion. No, he wasn't discriminated against because of his beliefs, he was shunned because he trashed the beliefs of others.

So he comes here and spends years trying to expurgate the subject of his hatred from the customary rituals of citizenship of our country. If this has a familiar, um, smell to it...

Kaenzig said because the Raelian Movement is an atheistic religion, Rael had made attorney Michael Newdow an Honorary Guide for his commitment to remove all mentions of God from U.S. public affairs. Newdow, who assisted Kaenzig in his naturalization case, pleaded an argument this week at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking to omit the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance and U.S. currency.

That would be the same Michael Newdow who has made it his life's work to assert his rights by taking away the rights of others. And Kaenzig appears to be a kindred spirit, as his goal wasn't just to have a "godless" ceremony for himself, it was to force it on everyone. And he wasn't completely happy with the judge's compromise, which gave him a private ceremony:

Was the citizenship oath compromise satisfactory to Kaenzig?

"For my own situation, yes," he replied. "But it doesn't prevent religious references in future public ceremonies. Still, it's a significant first step."

If you are curious about the Raelians, they don't believe in a God. They believe we were put here by aliens. I'm guessing that's where much of Dennis Kucinich's support is coming from.

Oh, and here's something from the "I learned something new" category. Did you know that new citizens can ask to have the references to defending their newly chosen country removed from the oath?

"As a Raelian, I objected to three things in the standard naturalization procedure," Kaenzig said. "I object to an oath saying I'll bear arms to defend the country; to an oath ending in 'so help me God,' and to a public ceremony violating separation of church and state. The judge, a public official, typically pronounces 'so help me God' at the end."

So to sum up, we now have a new American who hates God and expects to be treated with respect when he tramples on the rights of those who don't agree with him, and would never defend his chosen country.

Nice to know we have such a loyal citizen in Mr. Kaenzig, isn't it?

It's not just illegal immigration that needs work from Washington. When we allow folks in legally who not only despise what we as a nation stand for, but proudly declare their disloyalty to their new country, we have a real problem.