Reagan later disclosed that his son was also an unbeliever. “The president concluded that there was one thing he had long yearned to do for his atheist son,” according to the declassified minutes of the meeting.

“He wanted to serve his son the perfect gourmet dinner, to have him enjoy the meal, and then to ask him if he believed there was a cook.”

Aware of how sensitive and potentially politically embarrassing the conversation was, Reagan swore the two American note-takers at the meeting to secrecy.