At a press conference in Turkey, President Obama casually rebuked the old chestnut that the United States is a Judeo-Christian nation.
"One of the great strengths of the United States," the President said, "is ... we have a very large Christian population -- we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."
John McCain caught flak for saying in 2007 that the Constitution established the U.S. as a Christian nation. During the 2008 election, the Arizona senator watered the phrase down somewhat by calling the U.S. a "Judeo-Christian valued nation."
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