Sept. 12, 1960 - Address of Senator John F. Kennedy to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. 

A man for whom the oath of office actually meant something.

When was the last time our politicians ever quote or reference the early documents of our country?

JFK was a great man and he really did focus on the important issues.

One of the modern day President's I like and admire. He had his flaws but for the time he lived in he was the Best Choice.

Given that a candidate reaffirmed today that these remarks made him "want to throw up," it's extremely valuable to watch this versus that kind of remark today.

what a great gift he was to a people. ..all people of the world an pure evil killed him. Love ya Jack R.I.P.

This speech to a potentially hostile crowd makes me proud to be a Catholic American.

Thank you for posting this video. Too many Americans fail to understand this critical point.

When you take office your oath is to the Constitution and everything else is second.

Simple, straight-forward, and effective. Well done on the part of then-Senator Kennedy, who would be elected president about two months later, and then take the oath of office about two-and-a-half months after that.

He would've had my vote, he was a true American,he wasn't perfect but who is???? We need another jfk for president

Nice way to sign the speech off reciting the presedential oath of office. Confidence personified.

This was the beginning of the end for Kennedy

@evolutionist101 hes not joining the state and religion..Hes saying the insurance companies that are already tied in to their workers (most non-religous) should support the women they cover by giving them contraception. Its not a government controlled mandate interfering w/religion, its a mandate from the government to modify insurance benefits to help get REAL benefits for workers in the middle class (working for the religious bodies but arent necessarily affiliated w/religion)

And now, in 2016, Ted Cruz says "I am a Christian first. I am an American second.." Guess where his support will go in a contest between the Constitution and his religious beliefs? Cruz wants atheocracy and in this he is no less a religious fanatic than the Taliban, or ISIS, etc. John Kennedy understood that one of the reasons our Constitution insists on separation of church and state is because of the dangers of theocracies.

Much Love Mr. President

@grindlbebe i wish we could have a candidate like kennedy who'd actually defend the constitution rather than making a show of trampling all over it. no wonder jfk was so popular

Memo to the Catholic Bishops: He would've handled you like he did US Steel

watch Erik Satie's "Gymnopedie No. 1" and this at the same time.

"And no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote" he'd swoon at the state of the evangelical MAGA world today -- and the fact his nephew just endorsed it

All leaders but, living in a Muslim State, I will say especially leaders in Muslim States, should listen to this and learn.

If the Secret Service had been on the cars two rear bumper foot stands with hand griips the shots would have been blocked. JFK did not want them there because he wanted himself and Jackie to be seen. It was always said that the rear bumper foot stands were not in the right place to protect the President anyway. This video clearly shows where the rear bumper foot stands were and would have protected the President. Also, it was always very obtuse about how Clint Hill got onto the back of the car with Jackie. Earlier windows of the footage show him riding on the side of the back up car. Somehow he managed to run up and jump on JFK's car stepping onto the bumper footstand and leaping onto the back of the car. Many accounts had him somehow walking along. So many strange stories. Strange these bumper stands were never brought up or revealed in the hundreds and hundreds of footage and photos I saw about the assasination. The bumper stands that were not there are there. Very mysterious. The hand rail to hang on is clearly visible on the right side of the car. More disproven conspiracy stories. It just goes on and on. Emory Roberts rode shotgun in the back up car head of the Secret Service Detail that day at Dealey Plaza. When the President got shot, Emory Roberts was in charge thereafter. Nobody ever talks about that. He took charge of everything, and immediately got Johnson onto Air Force One to leave Dallas and be sworn in going to Washington or if necessary a safe place to protect him. Emory was my neighbor in Wheaton, Md. on Holdridge Rd. Most of this is in Dealey Plaza - The End of Camelot by William Wells In the early morning it was scheduled to rain in Dallas and the Secret Service was setting up to install the canopy on the car. The forecast changed and the President wanted to be seen by the crowds, and besides the President did not want ir put on. So it was not put on. So as to not make JFK negligent in his death, it was bandied about that there were no foot stands on the rear of the car for Secret Service to ride on. Clearly you can see two foot stands on the rear bumper of the car with handrails to hang on. Clint Hills is stepping on one to get onto the back of the car to be with Jackie. There is just bogus story after bogus story surrounding JFK's assasination

I wonder what it would be like if we could get a Christian president

In these days when politicians, especially on the Right, attempt to use religion as a means of poltical power, this statement is something which all of us should take to heart. Especially the Catholic bishops, who are hungry for political power, should take heed from an devout co-religionist.

How's about this? No more tax-exempt status for any religious organization. When religious institutions are actually paying taxes, rather than receiving taxpayer money, and they have something to contribute to the national dialogue, I will then be happy to take their complaints about the moral failings of this country seriously. Basically, if you buy a product and you don't like it, your complaints just carry more weight than someone who has always had free samples and doesn't like fine print.

On the other hand, people also need to remember that Separation of Church and State goes both ways. Whenever religious leaders get too involved in politics, the left-wing rightfully complains about it. However, many of those same people remain silent when the government attempts to dictate something to religious organization, as this current administration has done in the past.

Une honte que Monsieur JFK ai été obligé de prouver sa loyauté aux États-Unis, devant un parterre de protestants, juste parce qu'il est catholique ! On comprend mieux la notion de liberté de culte, d'émancipation et de tolérance vu au travers du prisme WASP...

2:31

Jesus Christ has returned. I AM.

3:19

Of course politicians can have a religious world view, but that doesn't then mean that they can ENFORCE THOSE VIEWS on everyone else. It's amazing how right-wing religious folks don't understand that very simple concept. Keep religion OUT of public institutions. Keep religion OUT of public schools. Keep it OUT of laws. Stop trying to get the rest of us to follow what you believe your magical deity wants us all to do.

When right-wing pundits talk about religious persecution, I get angry. Why? Because this is just another attempt by right-wingers to say that they somehow own religion and morals. Christians suffer persecution in many places in the world today. Washington, D.C. is not one of them, just as the United States is not one of them. I don't know if someone's told Bill O'Reilly this, but God didn't vote Republican this year. To quote the president: "we worship an awesome God in the blue states, too."

3:00 "It may some day be again a Jew..." ...Fast-forward 2023...

Watching this speech makes me sad. Probably because religious institutions receive a significant amount of government funding. I don't mind that in and of itself. Religions for centuries have done wonderful charity work, and that's great. There is a need for public systems of welfare and charity in this country, but the stonewalled opposition to that has created a void. But when these organizations try to cry religious persecution when the government insists they comply with the law...

Who is listening to this speech in October of 2019? JFK would still be SO relevant today as we witness the Democrats try to impeach President Donald Trump. Begs the question: WWJFKD-What would JFK do?