Bill O’Reilly Says That “Christianity Is Not A Religion”

The War on Christmas is in full swing, folks. And the latest battle occurred last night on The O’Reilly Factor.

O’Reilly brought on David Silverman, President of American Atheists, to set up a manufactured debate over the place of Christmas in society, particularly when sponsored by agencies of the government. In the heated exchange, O’Reilly frequently bellowed at his guest whom he called a “fascist” at one point. But the segment’s most surreal moment came when O’Reilly sought to make the argument that public displays of faith on government property are permissible because…

Bill O'Reilly

Yikes! That’s a rather astonishing declaration. I wonder if Christians know that what they are practicing is philosophical, not religious. Among the repercussions of this revelation is that Christianity would not be protected by the First Amendment which prohibits Congress from “respecting the establishment of religion.” The Constitution says nothing about philosophies.

Just to be clear, Here is the definition of each from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary

re·li·gion noun \ri-?li-j?n\
(1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance.

phi·los·o·phy noun \f?-?lä-s(?-)f?\
(1) : all learning exclusive of technical precepts and practical arts (2) : the sciences and liberal arts exclusive of medicine, law, and theology.

It seems to me that Christianity fits squarely in the definition of religion with its worship of God and devotion to faith. Philosophy, on the other hand, explicitly excludes Christianity as a theology.

O’Reilly has said some idiotic things on this subject. Like when he wrote in his auto-bloviography “Next time you meet an atheist, tell him or her that you know [me]. Then ask him or her if they still don’t believe there’s a God.” But this makes no sense at all. It is an insult to his audience who are not likely to be pleased that their religion has been downgraded. They will surely chafe at their savior being lumped in with the likes of Aristotle, Confucius, Nietzsche, and Sartre, none of whom walked on water or rose from the dead (that we know of). And if supporting the Constitution’s principles of equality and free expression make you fascist, then there are tens of millions of American fascists. Don’t anybody tell O’Reilly or he’ll start a war on the Constitution.

[Update] Bill O’Reilly has doubled down on his insistence that Christianity is not a religion. In fact, he said that the people who think it is are “so stupid it’s painful.” But if you’re looking for stupidity, it’s in O’Reilly’s argument that Christianity cannot be a religion because “there are many different churches that promote the Christian philosophy in many different ways.” Right Bill, and all of them are “churches.” O’Reilly also quoted from a letter by Calvin Coolidge that he said proved that Christianity was merely a “state of mind,” despite the letter saying that “there will be born in us a Savior…” Now that’s not religious at all, is it?

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12 thoughts on “Bill O’Reilly Says That “Christianity Is Not A Religion”

  1. Guess who else believes Christianity is a philosophy that doesn’t require belief in Jesus’s divinity? Stewart Alexander, the 2012 presidential candidate of the Socialist Party. That’s right, BillO supports far-left commie Marxist ideas about religion.

    • OMG!! Someone should tell him that (I’m sure he isn’t aware)’but ensure you are a few feet away as his head will explode when he’s accused of being a socialist.

  2. Tonight he called Christmas a secular holiday. For years, if anyone had said that to him, his head would have exploded. Billo is instructive in one way…..he gives me valuable knowledge on the early signs of Dementia and/or Alzheimers.

    • The modern santa-and-tree-and-gifts is a secular holiday.

      But try telling that to the angels-and-manger crowd and you’ll get lynched.

  3. I think Jon Stewart said it best in his recent debate with Billo the clown. He resides on bullshit mountain and on bullshit mountain anything Bill says is true.

  4. I think the government should totally jump on this idea of Christianity not being a religion. I wonder what effect a couple hundred years in back taxes would would have on the national debt.

    • Good point. As a philosophy Christianity wouldn’t be tax-exempt. Unless existentialism, or even atheism, were also tax-exempt.

  5. Well, both right and both wrong. Christianity is the umbrella of all the religions (yes, give me a moment on this) that are based in the teaching of the works of Jesus. Basically Catholics, Protestant, Evangelical, etc etc. The Vatican in years past knew that separated, the religions would not be able to “take over” due to the fighting between them. BUT, if you find the common link, Jesus teachings, then call it Christianity or Christians instead then you have a stronger base to pull from.

    So, basically it’s he is correct, somewhat, that Christianity is not A religion but the upper umbrella phrase. But it’s just another fauxnews spin on things to make it sound like truth. But yes, he is also wrong, and majority wise, because technically Christianity IS religion.

    Someone please also hand him the 14 points of Fascism, and point out to him that the GOP is all 14 points, and the left and atheist are basically none. Then hand him a dictionary so he can read the actual meaning of the word. Hate it when anyone uses those “scare” words without knowing the full meaning behind them. Like Communist and Socialist, I just want to send these people to North Korea for a month or two and then Denmark or another Socialist country to see what it is all about.

  6. A prime example of why defense of our bill of rights is so important – nuts like this and Rick Santorum twist religion in such a way as to push it on someone else and/or justify their interference with others beliefs. What a screwed up mess. But again, hypocrite Mark wasn’t so righteous and the first amendment wasn’t so important when the Catholic church is being pushed by our dear leader to act contrary to its own beliefs BY THE STATE – you have no credibility in this you hypocrite. Only a bloviating Bill O should be called out for something so stupid and twisted with respect to our freedoms – you’re the joke Mark. What respect I sometimes find for you disappears quickly when you show your true colors as a total hypocrite.

    • Wrong. The church wasn’t being pushed around, they were told that if they provided modern medical care to ANYBODY, because they provide modern medicine and modern medical care to PEOPLE and NOT JUST ADHERENTS, then they would have to provide PROPER MODERN MEDICINE like all other modern medical facilities. Furthermore, the state didn’t order them to USE contraception, they were ordered to provide it as it applies to MODERN MEDICINE. If the church, or any religious institution, wishes to provide modern medical care to anyone, it needs to be in line with MODERN MEDICAL SCIENCE. I would think that that’s a good idea, unless you think it’s ok for a church run hospital to provide only the care that lines up with religious doctrine. Also, if you are an adherent that opposes the use of contraception for any reason, religious or otherwise, THEN DON’T USE IT. Providing it and using it ARE NOT THE SAME THING. Medicine is medicine, it is not different because a religious institution doesn’t like a part of it. Medicine is not religious and it doesn’t work better on religious patients or on non-believers.

      Again, if ANYONE wants to provide modern medical care to ANYONE, it needs to fall in line with modern medical science.

  7. Socialism is a political party, not a religion =) lol

  8. Bill go to James 1-27 enough said !

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