SUN RISES IN EAST. POPE CATHOLIC. O'REILLY LIES.

Bill O'Reilly says that if we don't put Christ back into nonsectarian holiday celebrations, we'll lose the war on terror and become Canadian.

No, I'm not exaggerating.

Secular progressives realize that America as it is now will never approve of gay marriage, partial birth abortion, euthanasia, legalized drugs, income redistribution through taxation, and many other progressive visions because of religious opposition.

But if the secularists can destroy religion in the public arena, the brave new progressive world is a possibility. That's what happened in Canada.

The facts:

• In 1980, 79 percent of Canadians said that religion was important for the nation there. That number has now dropped to 61 percent.

• In 1971, less than one percent of the Canadian population reported having no religion. That number has now risen to 16 percent.

The fall of religion in Canada has corresponded to the rise in progressive public policy. Most Canadians now favor gay marriage. The age of consent for sex is 14 years. That means if you're an adult and you have sex with a 15-year-old, that's fine....

... the USA cannot defeat terrorism and any other evil without a strong, traditional foundation that clearly defines right from wrong. The struggle today is not about Christmas, but about the spirit of our country.

So, do you want to know when Canada fixed the age of consent at 14?

1890. (Prior to that it was 12.)

Here's a history of age-of-consent laws in Canada, courtesy of Canada's Parliament. There have been changes in the laws regarding adult-child sex, but that age of consent has been around for 114 years. Please note, however, that you are breaking the law in Canada if you're an adult having sex with someone aged 14 to 18 "where a relationship of trust or authority exists between the adult and child." Whether or not that's strong enough to prevent exploitation of minors (quite a few Canadians don't think it is, and it seems to me they have a point), the legal minimum age is not the consequence of a recent move toward flaming secular humanism -- as one of O'Reilly's interns might have discovered in about twenty seconds by searching "'age of consent' canada."

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UPDATE: O'Reilly tells a Jewish caller to his radio show that this is a Christian country and he can go to Israel if he doesn't like it.