# Real Quote?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-quote/56153>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 28, 2001, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-quote/56153 "2001-02-28T04:08:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![The\_Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@The\_Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tim)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-quote/56153/1 "2001-02-28T04:08:42Z")

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Is it true that George Bush senior once said that atheists don’t deserve to be citizens?

I’ve seen Satan mention it and asumed that no president was dumb enough to say something like this. However snopes didn’t have anything on it.

So is it a real quote? Someone got a cite?

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**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-quote/56153/2 "2001-02-28T04:26:50Z")

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George Bush, 27 August 1988, in an interview with American Atheist magazine reporter, Rob Sherman: “I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”

To my knowledge, the statement has never been retracted.

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**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-quote/56153/3 "2001-02-28T04:27:14Z")

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[Here’s](http://www.freethought-web.org/ctrl/news/file004.html) a page with the exchange the quote is taken from.

> [@](#):
>
> **Sherman:** Surely you recognize the equal citizenship and patriotism of Americans who are Atheists?  
> **Bush:** No, I don’t know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.

I’d prefer a source that’s not so extremely pro-atheist, but I couldn’t find one.

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**Author:** ![The\_Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@The\_Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tim)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2001, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-quote/56153/4 "2001-02-28T04:41:12Z")

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Thanks for the responses. I didn’t think he was that stupid, well I learn something new everything day.