NYC Mayor Adams appears to reverse himself on controversial remarks criticizing separation of church and state
"Mayor Adams appeared to take back his recent controversial comments on religion Sunday, saying, “Government should not interfere with religion and religion should not interfere with government.”
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” he said religion guides his policymaking, but that he’d never “compel” others to follow his faith.
Last week, Adams gave remarks that dismissed the separation of church and state, a foundational value of U.S. government.
“Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state,” the mayor, who is Christian, said at an interfaith breakfast in Manhattan on Tuesday. “State is the body, church is the heart. You take the heart out of the body, the body dies. I can’t separate my beliefs because I’m an elected official.”
The comments drew criticism from groups including the New York Civil Liberties Union, whose executive director, Donna Lieberman, said, “It is odd that Mayor Adams would need a refresher on the First Amendment.”
Asked Sunday whether he fundamentally believes in the separation of church and state “from a governing standpoint,” Adams said, “No.”
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MANHATTAN - NY - 12/05/2022 - Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference where he announced that his is administration joining forces with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine to provide free training on better eating and healthier lifestyles to every health care practitioner in the city. The $44 million partnership will fund up to 200,000 doctors, nurses and other health workers on how to use “lifestyle medicine” in their practices. Lifestyle medicine focuses on boosting physical and mental health through nutrition, stress management and other areas, according to Stanford University. Four out of five diagnoses of type-2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke are preventable through lifestyle “interventions,” it noted. Along with the city’s publicly run hospital system, the new program will work with 19 major health care institutions, from BronxCare Health System to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Northwell Health.(Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News) (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)
“What I believe is you cannot separate your faith — government should not interfere with religion and religion should not interfere with government,” he continued. “But I believe my faith pushes me forward on how I govern.”
Pressed on the matter, the mayor repeated that government should not “interfere” with religion.
Adams also discussed Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s recent reelection loss.
Handling of rising crime by Lightfoot, a Democrat, was seen as a key issue in the contest.
Adams rejected the suggestion that her loss was a warning sign for Democratic mayors like him.
“I think it’s a warning sign for the country,” he said. “Eric Adams has been talking about public safety, not only on the campaign trail, but for the first year.
“I showed up at crime scenes,” the mayor continued. “If anything, it is really stating that this is what I’ve been talking about. America, we have to be safe.”
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