Powell Calls U.S. 'Judeo-Christian,' Then Amends

Reuters
Tuesday, September 23, 2003; 2:14 AM

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell called the United States a Judeo-Christian country on Monday but quickly amended that to "a country of many faiths."

The first amendment to the U.S. constitution prohibits the establishment of any state religion -- a provision usually interpreted as requiring strict separation of church and state, though Christian activists dispute that.

Powell made the remark in an interview with the Charlie Rose Show on public television while talking about Washington's vision of what kind of government Iraq should have.

He said he expected it to be "an Islamic country by faith, just as we are a Judeo-Christian..."

"Well, it's hard to tell any more, but we are a country of many faiths now," he added quickly.

The remark was likely to antagonize millions of American Muslims, most of whom want to be included in the mainstream.

Some American Muslims have coined the term Judeo-Christian-Islamic to reflect their ideal of what the United States should be.