Pastor Introducing Santorum Criticized for Allegedly Telling Non-Christians to 'Get Out!' of America if They Disagree

Pastor Dennis Terry of Greenwell Springs Baptist Church in Greenwell Springs, Louisiana, is facing criticism after a fiery sermon he gave while introducing Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum at his church on Sunday. In his speech, which Tripped Media called "disturbing," Terry talked about America's spiritual origins, abortion, gay marriage and public prayer, among other subjects.

"This nation was founded as a Christian nation...there's only one God and his name is Jesus," Terry said. "I'm tired of people telling me that I can't say those words."

After discussing America's Christian roots, Terry continued, sparking controversy by seeming to tell those who disagree with these sentiments to "get out."

"If you don't love America and you don't like the way we do things, I've got one thing to say -- Get out!," he proclaimed. "We don't worship Buddha. I said we don't worship Buddha. We don't worship Mohammed. We don't worship Allah. We worship God. We worship God's son Jesus Christ."

It is somewhat unclear to determine who the "we" is, although based on the context, Terry seems to be referring to the American public. Statistically, the majority of the nation does, indeed, worship (or at least claim to align with) Jesus Christ. But, very clearly, there are substantial portions of the nation that do worship Buddha, Mohammed, Allah and other deities (or none at all for that matter).

In 2007, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that 78.4 percent of Americans identify as Christians of some sort. An additional 4.7 is classified as “other” (Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu) and 16.1 percent is “unaffiliated” (atheists and other unaffiliated non-believers).

Of course, to be fair to Terry, it's important to note that he may have been exaggerating for effect and to reiterate his point that attacks on faith and Christianity shouldn't be tolerated.

The pastor went on to address cultural issues, saying that the "church needs to be the conscience of our nation."

"As long as they continue to kill little babies in our mother's womb, somebody has to take a stand and say it's not right," Terry continued. "As long as sexual perversion is becoming normalized, somebody needs to stand up and say, 'God forgive us, God have mercy upon us.'"

Following these comments, Terry went on to address "revival" in America and the role that Christianity should play in it.

"I believe that Christians in America are the key to revival. I believe that Christians in America is the key to the economy turning around. I believe that Christians in America is the key to the jobless rate continue to go down. I believe it's a spiritual thing," he said. "If we'll put God back in America, put God back in our pulpits. Put God back in our homes and our statehouse -- and then in Washington, D.C. -- then we can have revival in America...and mighty things will happen for this country."

This is how Right Wing Watch, a blog that pinpoints conservative "intolerance" described the speech:

Greenwell Springs Baptist Church pastor Dennis Terry introduced presidential candidate Rick Santorum and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins tonight in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with a rousing speech railing against liberals and non-Christians and condemning abortion rights, "sexual perversion," same-sex marriage and secular government. Terry said that America "was founded as a Christian nation" and those that disagree with him should "get out! We don't worship Buddha, we don't worship Mohammad, we don't worship Allah!" Terry, who has a long history of attacks against the gay community, went on to criticize marriage equality for gays and lesbians, and said that the economy can only recover when we "put God back" in government.

Watch video of Terry's words, below. Santorum, like the rest of the audience, can be seen applauding during the remarks:

Here, Terry prays over Santorum, asking God to "have favor over" the candidate:

(H/T: Tripped Media)