New York City Mayor Eric Adams is under scrutiny after he dismissed the separation of church and state while giving a speech at an interfaith breakfast on Tuesday. During his speech, the mayor said a lack of faith is causing homelessness, violence and other issues in society.
“When we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools,” Adams said.
He also said in his speech that a stronger belief in God will help children in school.
“Why can’t our children read and write? Why don’t they behave?” he said. “We are destroying our next generation, destroying them. And we say over and over again, ‘We need to build a world that’s better for our children.’ No, we need to build children that’s better for our world. And we have to be honest about that. And it means instilling in them some level of faith and belief.”
The mayor, who described himself as a “servant of God,” said he puts policies in place “with a God-like approach to them.”
“Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state,” he added. “State is the body. Church is the heart. You take the heart out of the body, the body dies.”
New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman spoke out against the mayor. Lieberman pointed to the First Amendment, which states, in part, that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
“It is odd that Mayor Adams would need a refresher on the First Amendment. After all, he has sworn to uphold the Constitution more than once, first as a police officer, later as a state representative, and then last year upon becoming mayor,” Lieberman said according to PIX 11. “The very opening passage of the Bill of Rights makes clear that church and state must be separate.”
Adams’ spokesperson said the administration’s policies “are rooted in the mayor’s belief in the creator.”
“The mayor personally believes all of our faiths would ensure we are humane to one another,” spokesperson Fabien Levy said according to PIX 11. “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.”
