Fear of Clowns

God is becoming more popular, not less. Religious / political leaders claiming otherwise are LYING.

Here are the presidents who gave oral SOTU addresses, sorted from most God-talking to least, with the post WW II presidents made bold and blue and presidents from the first 50 years of the Union italicized and red.

Counted are the names and words God, Creator, Lord, Almighty, Supreme Ruler, and divine.

Our four most rcent presidents are all in the top five.

(rank. name (year of first SOTU): average number of references to God in each SOTU address)

1. Reagan, Ronald (1982): 4.43
2. Buchanan, James (1857): 2.75
3. Clinton, William J. (1993): 2.63
4. Bush, George W. (2001): 2.5
5. Bush, George (1989): 2.5
6. Truman, Harry S (1946): 1.88
7. Lincoln, Abraham (1861): 1.75
8. Polk, James K. (1845): 1.75
9. Pierce, Franklin (1853): 1.5
10. Kennedy, John F. (1961): 1.33
11. Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1953): 1.33
12. Roosevelt, Franklin D. (1934): 1.17
13. Taylor, Zachary (1849): 1
14. Cleveland, Grover (1885): 1
15. Jackson, Andrew (1829): 1
16. Ford, Gerald R. (1975): 1
17. Tyler, John (1841): 0.75
18. McKinley, William (1897): 0.75
19. Wilson, Woodrow (1913): 0.625
20. Monroe, James (1817): 0.625
21. Johnson, Lyndon B. (1964): 0.5
22. Adams, John Quincy (1825): 0.5
23. Nixon, Richard M. (1970): 0.4
24. Roosevelt, Theodore (1901): 0.375
25. Grant, Ulysses S. (1869): 0.375
26. Adams, John (1797): 0.25
27. Washington, George (1790): 0.25
28. Coolidge, Calvin (1923): 0.17
29. Madison, James (1809): 0.125
30. Harrison, Benjamin (1889): 0
31. Arthur, Chester A. (1881): 0
32. Hayes, Rutgherford B. (1877): 0
33. Johnson, Andrew (1865): 0
34. Carter, Jimmy (1978): 0
35. Fillmore, Millard (1850): 0
36. Van Buren, Martin (1837): 0
37. Harding, Warren G. (1921): 0
38. Jefferson, Thomas (1801): 0
39. Hoover, Herbert (1929): 0
40. Taft, William Howard (1909): 0
41. Cleveland, Grover (1893): 0

A graph of the same thing:

Source for the Addresses.

// posted by Erik @ 12/27/2004 03:30:00 PM
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