I wrote this six years ago, but never published it.
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When religion enters government, it spreads like an infection. All these kids are guilty of are peaceful civic protests and speaking their minds – two principles underlying the concept of Freedom of Speech that, I would argue, makes up the very foundation of this country. Speaking out, deviating from the norm, expressing minority opinion, refusing to submit to the tyranny of the majority – all of these concepts are an anathema to today’s religious activists, who, having obtained the majority, have forgotten where they came from. Such protests arise not from the wish to impose a liberal agenda (how did all secularists become liberals?), but from continual attempts to use government mandates to impose a monolithic Christian belief system on those who do not want it. Not directly, not obviously, but with subtlety, like awarding the third-largest private security contract in the United States to Blackwater, whose founder and CEO is the son of one of the founders of the ultra-Christian activist Focus on Family. Those who choose to speak out are not trying to disrespect Christians, they are rebelling against being continually told that they are bad, that they are going to hell, that they cannot possibly be moral or decent human beings, that they are evil, that good is beyond them unless they believe, that if they simply believe that there is no god, then they are attacking their fellow human beings.
Religion is powerful. No one can ever take religion “out of the public square” – last time I checked, there were at least seven religious channels on DirecTV alone, and nary a single channel devoted to atheists (because atheism is not a religion – it has no tenets, no doctrine, no agenda, no worship services, no congregations, no ceremonies, no songs, no books that everyone must follow, no rules, no edicts, no fatwahs – just a simple realization that – hey – I don’t think there is a god. Doesn’t make for good TV, and religion is nothing if not entertainment and socialization.) Last time I checked, their were four churches along a stretch of road near my house that is a little over a mile long. Nearly everyone that I have met in my subdivision has spoken about going to church, where they go to church, who they go to church with. Religion dominates the public square, and the religion-out-of-the-public-square argument is nothing but a fear-mongering strawman trotted out by religious leaders who rely on the donations of their followers for their jobs. In truth, no one is trying to do any such thing. Unlike many of the most outspoken religious advocates, I will never try to get you to change your beliefs, because I can’t. Secularists would rather that we listen to the wisdom of our Founding Fathers and keep religion out of the
government square, not the public square. Whether a controlled by Christians or Atheists, governments that try to govern based on belief rather than reason have always ended up in tyranny and collapse. And that was the genius of our Founding Fathers – deists, yes, but they could see what happened in Europe when religion was allowed to govern, and included a safety net for us that has worked for over 200 years.
Religion simply does not belong in government-sponsored schools. Blaming the schools for the (supposed) moral failings of our children is nothing but another aspect of our increasing unwillingness to take personal responsibility for anything. You are responsible for your child’s world view, morality, and behavior, not the school system. I suspect that many of the failings of our public school system can be traced not to a lack of religious guidance, but to time taken away from education and spent instead on raising the children for their parents.
Asking that the Nativity scene not be erected by my local government with my taxes on public property is not an attack on Christianity (or Christmas, for that matter), but a plea for reasonableness. Any private entity anywhere can put up any scene they want - on private property.
If I submitted this, a profession of my beliefs, to the newspaper and it were published as an op-ed with my address, telephone, and email address, how long do you think it would take me to get hate mail and other threats? Do you think I would ever be able to run for public office? The leaders of Christian activist groups (e.g., Focus on Family, Family Research Council) are some of the most powerful people in the country. It never ceases to amaze me that a group of people with such an absolute majority in this country, such political muscle, and such an effect on the daily lives of everyone can feel persecuted if a single non-believer stands up to be heard. Will you please stop trying to force our government to recite your prayers and make us all bow our heads?
Where have all the Father Mulcaheys gone? Those religious leaders who provided advice, support, and understanding, regardless of belief, rather than spewing hatred and judgment upon those who deviate from the sect as so many religious “leaders” do today? If you are out there, Fathers, you need to take back your moral compass from those who have bent it to their own ends and used it for control, power and fame.
