In a dairy posted yesterday I argued that, due to the intentional influx of fundamentalist Christians into law and politics, atheist politicians must be aware of the reality of the conservative faith as a driving force in policy. Also, that they must understand this trend to be a threat to human liberty.
To quote the post:
While many secular atheists believe religion is a dangerous delusion, arguments such as ‘religion is irrational and has no business in politics’ will have little effect on a congress and judicial system teeming with fundamentalist Christians. More and more, to work within politics and law will be to work with the Religious Right. What these Christians believe and why they hold those beliefs is currently, and will continue to be, prevalent in political discourse and action—and therefore essential to all political understandings.
While many atheists understand religion to varying degrees, the new breed of fundamentalist politician and lawyer is driven not by an academic understanding of faith, but an emotional one. The fracture of experience between atheist and religious politicians causes some to fail to acknowledge the tide of conservative people of faith into the political and legal landscape.
Therefore, the initial course of action is the acceptance that within political discourse there will always be a strong undercurrent of faith—regardless of any separation between church and state. "Secular" politics is now a delusion (and I acknowledge that makes my title less effective). In fact, atheists must MAKE SURE the faith beliefs of politicians and the public are accounted for and, therefore, able to be balanced. The government of the United States is in less danger of theocracy if religio-political discourse is in the open, instead of being hidden and covertly legislated.
However, so far the discussion has been limited to atheists and Christians of a conservative perspective. It is my assertion that liberal atheists and liberal people of faith must unite under two common goals: social justice/work for the common good and the prevention of any form of endorsed state religion.
A person’s faith can be powerful, as is seen in the conservatives’ passion for politics mixed with religion—which often leads to oppression and restriction of human rights. Faith is equally as powerful in the lives of liberals, and can be historically demonstrated through religious leaders of the civil rights movement such as the Rev. Dr. King. Instead of deeming faith irrational, atheists—in conjunction with the recognition that faith is now a concrete part of politics—must utilize the religious fervor of liberal leaders to achieve desired goals of social justice.
There must be a checks and balances system within the religious-secular dynamic. As stated above, this can be achieved through atheists forcing the acknowledgement of religious underpinnings by fundamentalists. I believe liberal people of faith fear theocracy as much as atheists do; however, if left unchecked, the religious beliefs of liberals can become the norm just as easily as conservative views can—even if it is less intentional. Therefore, liberal faith views must enter into the discussion both in order to temper religion within the state and also to "re-brand" the concept of political faith to a pluralistic and not simply fundamentalist understanding.
Religion is taken seriously by being forced onto the table by atheists as a way to ensure it cannot covertly permeate and dominate the political landscape. In addition to being balanced, atheists must align with politically like minded individuals of faith to pursue an agenda of social justice. In addition, because of the embracing of liberal faith by atheists (because of its potential to motivate for good), both liberal and moderate religious voters will be re-galvanized within the democratic tradition and less likely to drift to conservatism.
Read more at Faithfully Liberal