Is there really a "War on Religion"? Yesterday Troubadour answered that question in a brilliant diary post. This will not be nearly as brilliant, I'm afraid.
The link to Troubadour's writing as well as my muddled musings are below the double gnocchi. But first, a word from our sponsor...
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On Saturday, I read a thought-provoking, if acerbic, post by Troubadour called Every Thought Is a "War on Religion." I really love the case he made for reason.
But I would make the case for religion as well. I am an atheist as the term is generally defined. But I think that there may be such a thing as the human spirit and that it is possible to believe in both reason and spirituality. The trick is to keep them in their proper arenas.
Image courtesy opednews.com
Reason should rule when arguing in the public arena and, by law, in the political arena. America was very specifically not founded upon religion but rather upon reason and some shared fundamental principles which are summarized in the Preamble to the Constitution. Theocracy was thoroughly discussed by the Founding Fathers and soundly rejected.
What these enlightened men chose instead was a liberal democracy based upon reason. These were men of science. They understood that spirituality is entirely personal. Now when I say "personal" I do not mean that people cannot socialize spiritually. What I mean is that spiritual matters are as individual as snowflakes. Doesn't mean snowflakes can't congregate.
But unlike snowflakes, which must conform to the laws of science, those who choose to believe in God or spirits or a spirit or the spirit or the FSM, do not have to. And they are free to do that because that's entirely their own personal business. They are free to assemble with other people who believe similarly, and they can build cathedrals and sing songs and elect popes or whatever. As John Lennon said, "Whatever gets you through the night." Image courtesy Wiki
What they cannot do in a liberal democracy is bring their religion into the political arena as a legitimate argument. Laws should not be made based upon the premise that "the Bible says so" or "those are my religious or spiritual beliefs" or, most especially, "America is a Christian nation." (My response is always, "No, the United States is a free country.") If we accept religion as a legitimate argument in the public square, we abandon the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and religious freedom. Religion is not a proper argument in the political arena because 1) it is not required that one be reasonable about spiritual matters and 2) we are all equal and entitled to our own personal religious beliefs. In politics, if we ever abandon reason in favor of faith and if we ever decide one person's religion is more equal than another's, we have lost our liberal democracy and have become a theocracy.
This struggle is not just "political." It is much deeper than that.1 I long for the days when Republicans argued over policy with some semblance of reason. Unfortunately, today the right wingers are attempting a coup. It is an effort to overthrow our very system of government. In fact, it is an attempt to overthrow reason itself and with it science. It is an attempt to return to the pre-Enlightenment days of myth, magic, superstition, and serfdom. It is a rejection of reality itself. It gains its legitimacy from power, not observation and analysis. Might makes right.
1 This link goes to a diary by LithiumCola called "The Deeper Issue at Hand." It was published in August 2008 and remains my favorite all-time Daily Kos dairy.
So I guess I would just amend Troubadour's thoughts to allow for spirituality on a personal level. But when it comes to politics, religion has no seat at the table. The family dinner table, the church, and the many available media are all proper places for discussing religion. In the halls of Congress, in public school science classrooms, on the back of the one dollar bill, in the Pledge of Allegiance, on the courthouse lawn, in access to public accommodations, and in employment practices, religion has no place. Period.
If the only argument against same sex marriage or reproductive choice is religious — and it is — then that argument is seditious. The meaning of "liberal" here is free, i.e. free to have whatever personal beliefs one wants. So if our personal spiritual beliefs clash, fine. You follow yours and I'll follow mine. Don't believe in gay marriage? Don't marry someone who is the same sex as you. Don't believe in abortion? Don't have one. Don't believe in contraceptives? Don't use them. Don't want to lose your rights? Don't take away anyone else's. (H/T paradise50)
Image courtesy vote29.com
Once you enter the public and political arena as a hospital or a university, don't start using your religion to tell your employees and patients what to do or not to do. You say your God gave people free will. Who are you to take it away? You are out of bounds in the public arena — not just politically, but generally and specifically. You can't break in line at the theater because "God told you to" either. And if you try and everyone pushes you away, remember: it's you who started the "war." But it's not a War on Religion or Christianity; it's a War on Theocracy. There's a difference.
So, Catholic Bishops, STFU.
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February 11, 2012
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