Americans have always trusted in God, and even today atheism is little more than a quiet voice on the margins. Faith, working calmly in the lives of Americans from George Washington to Barack Obama, has motivated some of America’s finest moments
This diary essay started as a reaction to Newt Gingrich's statement at yesterday's Republican Candidates debate, but in preparing it I realized that the issue has become broader. The above quote is from the last paragraph of this OpEd article: The Evangelical Rejection of Reason that was published in today's New York Times.
I know how an OpEd article is processed by the Times; and while it is the product of the writer, it is subject to the editorial approval of the newspaper. No one gets to express ideas that are unacceptable to this publication. Yet, the thrust of these two sentences are consistent with this statement of Newt Gingrich at yesterday's debate:
I think if the question is "does faith matter." Absolutely. How can you have a country which is founded on truth, which begins, “We are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights” — how — how can you have the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which says religion, morality and knowledge being important, education matters? That’s the order: religion, morality and knowledge.
Now, I happen to think that none of us should rush in judgment of others in the way in which they approach God. And I think that all of us up here, I believe, would agree. (Cheers, applause.)
But I think all of us would also agree that there’s a very central part of your faith in how you approach public life. And I, frankly, would be really worried if somebody assured me that nothing in their faith would affect their judgments because then I’d wonder, where’s your judgment — how can you have judgment if you have no faith? And how can I trust you with power if you don’t pray? (Applause.)
Who you pray to, how you pray, how you come close to God is between you and God. But the notion that you’re endowed by your creator sets a certain boundary on what we mean by America. (Applause.)
There are many themes (some described in this article) that emerge from the series of debates among the Republican Presidential candidates, but one has not been fully explored, is this full throated attack against atheists, secularists and humanists. History Professor Newt Gingrich leads the charge on this one, but without a single dissent from the other candidate or the audience. It has become customary among all but the most fundamentalist Christian politicians to talk about this country allowing freedom of conscience for people of all faith or of no faith. In this group of candidates, those of "no faith" are conspicuously absent, for the reasons expressed by Gingrich.
We may expect this of what the Republican party has become, yet the N.Y.Times allows their pages to describe as factual the marginality of Atheists, as if the vast majority of those at the top levels of scientific achievement do not reject such supernatural myth. Would they have printed the same message of appropriate marginality of gays, handicapped, or intellectually disabled.
The Times chose to allow a voice for the "reasonable evangelicals" by showing solidarity with "All Americans" who dismiss those who are beyond the pale of shared prayerful obedience to the almighty. The statement was both reprehensible and factually incorrect, as shown by all but simplistic surveys, ignoring church attendance and the political cost of acknowledging a lack of religious belief.
At times I think that my friend Mike Newdow who has spent a good part of his life pushing against those now unnoticed traditions, such as uttering "under God" in the Pledge, as just causing trouble. But on days like this I'm reminded just why his work, and others who fight for this cause, are so important. The Times editor who approved this article made it that much more difficult for those who fight against institutionalized religious dogma to be a full member of our society, which must include achieving elected office.
One thing about the OpEd that was correct is this, "today atheism is little more than a quiet voice on the margins." He's right; and if we want to protect the decreasing core of rationality that still exists in our poor besieged country, we better damn well start making some noise. Or else it could be too late.