The Lt. Governor of Tennessee, Ron Ramsey, is running for governor. And he thinks America’s constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion may not apply to Muslims.

At a recent event in Hamilton County, Ramsey was asked by a man in the audience about the “threat that’s invading our country from the Muslims.” Ramsey proclaimed his support for the Constitution and the whole “Congress shall make no law” thing when it comes to religion. But he also said that Islam, arguably, is less a faith than it is a “cult.”

“Now, you could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, cult whatever you want to call it,” Ramsey said. “Now certainly we do protect our religions, but at the same time this is something we are going to have to face.”

The interesting part of the story to me, aside from the blatant bigotry, is that Ramsey is essentially parroting the un-American ideas of Dutch far right ideologue Geert Wilders, who also calls Islam a “cult” that does not deserve legal status as a religion. That bad old European ethnic/religious hatred is spreading to the US.