Randall Balmer : It 's unusual for a president to include nonbelievers in his words . He says America has widened its circle of religion for hundreds of years . Balmer says rhetoric has grown to include Jews , Muslims , Hindus . But he doesn't say that the United States is now an atheist nation or even a secular one.
Randall Balmer : It 's unusual for a president to include nonbelievers in his words . He says America has widened its circle of religion for hundreds of years . Balmer says rhetoric has grown to include Jews , Muslims , Hindus . The First Amendment makes it appropriate to recognize nonbelievers , he says .