War on Religion
There are so many violations of our conservative values within society that picking one is a tough task.
The separation of church and state has been an area of controversy in America, and while the Constitution clearly defends against a national, mandated religion, the meaning of this statement has been skewed over the years. It is important that the GOP candidates understand the importance of religion in this country’s founding principles.
Countless questions have arisen about the faith of GOP front runner Mitt Romney, a proud Mormon, and one whom many feel is the Republicans’ best chance at reclaiming the White House in 2012. Newt Gingrich has picked up where Rick Perry left off, attacking the Democratic administration’s “War on Christianity.” A war that he claims has oppressed religious freedom within our nation, as he states during a recent debate.
Just this week, President Obama has come under fire from the Catholic Church for a mandate that requires employers to provide their employees access to artificial contraception, sterilization services and birth control pills through their existing health plans. According to the words of Newt Gingrich, this new mandate is “another example of President Obama and his promoting of anti-religious policies.”
Over the last few decades, the Ten Commandments have been removed from our federal buildings, prayer has been banned from schools and other public meetings, and marriage and life have been redefined. Not to mention our very own President Obama publicly declaring that America is “no longer a Christian nation.”
These things are not merely just good ideas they are truths that our nation stands upon and when we begin to remove or dilute them from their intended state we lose our identity as a nation. There are some reading this that will cite the argument over the words “Separation of Church and State,” however many fail to recognize this ideology of how the church and government should interact was taken completely out of context. This idea that our government should operate separated from the church was taken from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote in response to a constituent in which he was stating the government has no ability to establish a national religion or interfere with religious activities, not to keep these activities out of the government. This idea is illustrated here in his response entitled the Danbury Baptists Letter.
“I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.”
Over the decades many candidates hide or diminish their religious beliefs in order to avoid offending others and to give themselves a better chance of gaining election to their intended office. However, we fail to realize just how large the religious majority is within America. In the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey conducted by Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar of Trinity College, we find that over 76% percent of Americans call themselves Christians. If this is the case it would seem hiding ones Christian views in order to appeal to the masses would be counterproductive.
This is certainly not an issue that can be fully examined or analyzed in one column, however, I feel it is important we are reminded and for some enlightened to these realities. Our nation is under attack on many fronts however history has shown us that the Judeo-Christian beliefs our nation was founded upon are quickly becoming extinct. Not only as conservatives but as Christians, it is our responsibility to speak up and take a stand for what we believe in. We are blessed to live in a nation in which we have a democracy that allows us to elect candidates that reflect our views and beliefs, ones who will stand and fight for the values that make our nation great.
Jacob Harmon :: University of California at San Diego :: San Diego, California :: @Jacobsonlv
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Technically the Ten Commandments are permitted in federal buildings within a more passive and at least partly secular context and purpose. Decisions are based on a few things, one of them being the three pronged Lemon Test. 1)The government’s action must have a secular legislative purpose, 2)The government’s action must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion and 3)The government’s action must not result in an “excessive government entanglement” with religion. There’s also the Sherbert test that concerns whether the government can infringe on the right to free exercise. First, they must determine whether the belief is sincerely held and religious in nature and whether the government’s action is a substantial burden on the person’s ability to act on that belief. Once these are determined, they must show that the government is acting in a compelling state interest and is doing so in the way least restrictive to religious practice.
Prayer has not been absolutely removed from schools. Students are not prevented from praying within reason, it is only the school that cannot pray, since it is not afforded privileges of religious exercise, since it is not technically a person, but a group of people with diverse religious views representing a diverse religious population. School sponsored prayers in any function are a violation of the establishment clause in an implicit manner on the principle that for the government to be fair in terms of religion and irreligion, it should not take a stance or perform actions that suggest support of either.
And we were never a Christian nation in explicit or implicit intent, but only in the demographics of people’s personal convictions, creeds and associations. The founding fathers found Christianity very inspiring in political contexts, but they did not feel religion needed to be involved with making decisions that affect everyone. Religion was primarily a personal and private matter to them and publicizing religion for political gain is reprehensible and underhanded.
As per the 1st Amendment, the government would best serve the country by remaining neutral on religious items. This means making no law that promotes any religion over another. Hence why mandating companies to provide birth control or keeping abortion legal is fully supported by the 1st Amendment. Any candiate that promotes or mentions religion in suggestion that the law should follow Christianity is voilating the 1st Amendment.
What if abortion is against my religion? Why should I have to be the one to sacrifice my view for the minority?
Is the law forcing you to have an abortion?
And who said you’re the majority?
A “war on religion”? Seriously? Get a grip.
Christians dominate American society and politics. Christians of all sorts comprise about 78% of the population; Catholics comprise about 24%. Christians comprise over 90% of members of Congress; Catholics 29%; Jews 7%; only one member is atheist. http://www.pewforum.org/Government/Faith-on-the-Hill–The-Religious-Composition-of-the-112th-Congress.aspx Six justices of the Supreme Court are Catholic; three are Jewish.
The official national motto is “In God we trust.” The government prescribes a pledge of allegiance declaring that our nation is “under God.” Presidents and other politicians close their speeches with the obligatory “God bless America.” Federal and state laws naturally reflect the views of the religious electorate for the most part.
Even though Christianity remains by far the dominant religious influence in our society, Christians no doubt have occasionally faced instances of unfairness and the like. But persecution? When I hear a member of that dominant religion express feelings of persecution and such, the image of a privileged child comes to mind–one who, faced with the prospect of treatment comparable to that experienced by others, howls in pained anguish at the injustice of it all and pines for the good old days.
As an atheist, I know how it feels to hold views not shared and even reviled by many in our society. You may understand then how alarming it is to hear members of the dominant religious group speak of their sense of persecution. History often reveals dominant groups working themselves into a lather about perceived wrongs against them before they lash out to “restore” matters as they see fit.
Hear hear! As a fellow atheist, I’m with you 100%. It’s childish how “how come everyone doesn’t have to be like me?” becomes “HELP! I’M BEING OPPRESSED!”.
To the poster: Yes! Judaeo-Christian-values are becoming extinct. The idea that the earth is flat and the center of the solar system are almost extinct. The imperative morality of the bible is becoming extinct because more and more people are realizing how poor a substitute it is for a reasoned logic-based morality. According to the aforementioned holy books, we should stone those who commit apostasy or work on saturdays. Is anyone opposed to there becoming extinct?