What’s Wrong With America?
I just Stumbled Upon this article. It’s basically about a guy who took a couple of pictures of his little girls “reading” Playboy, and posting them on the internet. The upshot is, someone reported him to the authorities, and they were questioned by the police and by Department of Health and Human Services Office of Child and Family Services. The police were apparently OK with it, but the social worker asked them if they were raising their kids to be Atheists. That’s what I found disturbing. We still have religious intolerance against anyone practicing a non-Christian belief system in the USA.
Here it is, the 232nd anniversary of The Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies in British North America adopting a Declaration of Independence. That document is one of the most moving, thought-provoking political manifestos ever written. And yet, we still have governmental authorities questioning people about their religious beliefs, or lack thereof. We are supposed to, in this country, have freedom of religion as codified in the First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
We also have in Article VI:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
I am guessing that in certain areas of the USA, these parts of the Constitution don’t hold much meaning. In Maine, it is apparent that a good parent cannot raise their kids to be Atheist or Agnostic, or as anything but Christian. It’s pathetic that there is no religious test to be a government official, but some people think there should be one in order to be a parent.
The free exercise of religion is just that: being able to practice religion as you choose. It isn’t that I should practice the religion that you choose for me. It isn’t that I should practice the religion that the majority of people in the country practice. It isn’t that I should practice the religion that the government mandates as being the one “true” religion. It’s me choosing the religious beliefs that I want to follow. It’s you choosing the religious beliefs that you want to follow. It’s John and Jane Doe choosing the religious beliefs that they want to follow. This is one of the ideas that makes this country a great nation.
Implicit in that phrase is the notion that if you do not want to participate in a religion, or you do not believe in religion, you are free to do so. You can be an Atheist in the USA, and there is nothing illegal about that. You can also be a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jain, a Zoroastrian, a Taoist, or even a Pagan. You can also be a Jew, a Sikh, a Shinto, a Wiccan, a Mormon, or a Scientologist. Being an American does not restrict you to simply being any flavor of Christian, just as long as you are indeed a Christian. You may believe whatever you want.
Unfortunately, there are a great many people who would have you believe that the USA is a Christian nation. Certainly, a majority of people believe in the Christian religion, but that does not make it the official religion of the USA. Still, the First Amendment Center published the results of a survey which indicate that 65% of Americans believe that the Founding Fathers intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation, and 55% believe that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation, both of which are sadly incorrect. It just goes to show you how inadequate our educational system is here in the USA, and how undereducated most people are.
To wit: in Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary, Article 11 states
As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
While there is some controversy regarding this article, it has been in the archives of the Department of State since approximately 1800. It befuddles me why it would be put there in the first place, if it wasn’t believed to be part of the treaty as originally written, signed, and ratified. It also befuddles me as to why it would be there if it did not represent the prevailing opinion of the nation’s people at that time.
In addition to this treaty, many quotations can be found from Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Payne, and Franklin which point to a non-Christian viewpoint of the Founding Fathers. People will ignore these, or distort them, or misrepresent them in order to try to prove otherwise. Does anyone else see the irony in this – Christians lying (a sin) to prove something that isn’t true. It’s laughable, except for the fact that too many people believe it to be true.
What can be done about this? I don’t know, really. It’s certainly an uphill battle to change a majority’s belief from fantasy to reality. A majority of the people in the USA would have to be re-educated, and children would have to be taught correctly from the start about religion’s place in the USA. More people would have to become tolerant of others’ beliefs. More people will have to be allowed to express their true beliefs, without fear of reprisal from fundamentalists. More people will have to be allowed to question what they are taught, and be allowed to toss the whole kit and caboodle out, should they decide to do that. Until those things happen, the USA will remain one of the most religiously intolerant countries in the world, contrary to our forefather’s wishes.
