Interesting. Money in the US has "In God We Trust," and it's not inherently religious. So I'm not sure the proclamation makes Thanksgiving religious. The origins might, though. I don't know enough about it to tell, and I'm not sure I care enough to research it. I don't really celebrate it as other than a day off from work though. Travel is a nightmare at that time, and, although this may sound like humblebragging, I try to be grateful at all times anyway.
skissane|4 years ago
US currency in itself isn't inherently religious, but the decision to put that phrase on the currency was religious, and so is the decision to keep it there today. Now, it is not just religious, it is also very political, but the two are very often intertwined: it is a form of politicised religion, or religious politics.
> So I'm not sure the proclamation makes Thanksgiving religious. The origins might, though
I think to most Americans in the 19th century and earlier, the idea that Thanksgiving was a religious festival would have seemed obvious–it was about giving thanks to the deity, assuming a Judaeo-Christian conception of deity. Now, no denying that it became quite secularised through the course of the 20th century, and to many 21st Americans it is an entirely secular occasion, and if "thanksgiving" is anything more than an empty word, it is thanks directed at one's friends/family/colleagues/acquaintances/community/etc, maybe even at the cosmos, but not at God in whom one quite possibly doesn't believe.
As I said in my original comment, other religious festivals, such as Christmas, have also become highly secularised. But, even though many celebrate Christmas in an entirely secular way, people still remember its association with Christianity, which makes many non-Christians feel uncomfortable celebrating it even in a secular form. Thanksgiving was never so explicitly Christian, so Jews and Muslims and others feel more comfortable in celebrating it.