Newly inaugurated Alabama Governor Robert Bentley said on Monday that people who have not accepted Jesus as their savior are not his brothers and sisters, according to The Birmingham News.
“Now I will have to say that, if we don’t have the same daddy, we’re not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother,” Bentley told a crowd at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church in Montgomery. “If the Holy Spirit lives in you that makes you my brothers and sisters. Anyone who has not accepted Jesus, I want to be your brothers and sisters, too.”
The Anti-Defamation League, a group that fights discrimination against Jewish people, worried that Bentley, a Republican, sounded like he was using his office to proselytize his Christian faith. “If he does so, he is dancing dangerously close to a violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids government from promoting the establishment of any religion,” Bill Nigut, the ADL’s regional director, told the Associated Press. “His comments are not only offensive, but also raise serious questions as to whether non-Christians can expect to receive equal treatment during his tenure as governor.”
On Tuesday, Bentley’s office released a statement regarding the incident: “The governor clearly stated that he will be the governor of all Alabamians: Democrat, Republican and Independent, young, old, black and white, rich and poor. As stated in his (inaugural) address, Gov. Bentley believes his job is to make everyone’s lives better.”
Bentley was elected in November with 58 percent of the popular vote.