False arguments abound about government interference in public institutions. The fact is that when such arguments as school prayer, among other things, come to play it is actually the governments constitutional duty under the First Amendment to assure no religion is given preference over any other. If you are a Christian anything that looks like a ban on prayer in a public school can be made by ultra-conservative forces to be a denial of religious freedom. The truth is, that what this says it that your government has upheld its obligation to all Americans to not allow or promote any one religion over another in an institution funded by and for all Americans. If you were Jewish and attended a public school you would be offended if the entire class had to stand and pray to Jesus. Likewise if you are Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist etc. Having to pray to a Christian God says to you that your religious choice is somehow inferior to the rest of your class mates. It is not a judgment against Christianity by a biased government or court"it is an affirmation that they are enforcing the constitutional mandate of our founders that government shall not permit any laws or policies that show a preference for one religion over another. Some continue to frame this as anti-Christian then try to use this notion to generate fear for political purposes that have nothing at all to do with your choice of religion. This spreading of unwarranted fear is always aimed at those easiest to convince, mostly, white Americans, and mostly those with lesser educations who are less likely to question authority.
The abortion issue is another area where fear and manipulation of religious beliefs is used as a wedge to drive between Americans for political gain. The government's only role in the abortion issue has to do with funding for medical purposes. There is no moral stance taken by this or any government beyond what individual elected officials hold as personal beliefs. It is the government's constitutional duty to avoid a religious reasoning for such decisions. This, like all religious issues is something for churches to teach it's believers, not for governments to dictate to all religious groups based on the point of view of only a few. This is an opinion-driven argument with different points of view based in religion that cannot be settled by the rule of law in a manner that favors no one religion over another. It is thus used as a wedge to divide American.
Another divisive wedge the conservative politics is all-to-willing to employ to political benefit is the gay rights and marriage issue. Opponents try to paint equal rights as somehow diminishing their own marriages or the religious practices within their churches in this regard. These are those same people who wave the flag and pronounce themselves staunch supporters of our Constitution, yet quietly believe it only should apply to those who hold all the same beliefs they do. While younger Americans are far less distracted by this argument, older white Americans are easily led by appealing to these unfounded fears. This is and has always been about equal civil rights for it's citizens, and never, from the government or court's perspective, been about making a moral or religious judgment regarding homosexuality. Nothing in any ruling has ever required any church to grant the sanctity of marriage to gays or to anyone for that matter. It is, has and always will be a choice for the church to make. From the government stand point this is about the denial of certain legal rights based on sexual orientation. As a citizen you retain your personal freedom to approve or disapprove of anything regarding homosexual behavior. Your church remains free to refuse to grant any religious stamp of approval, even if a gay couple can be joined in a civil ceremony.
Several years ago in Ft. Myers, my cousin who is lesbian, asked me if I could build a wooden cross for her church, which I gladly did. This was a gay Christian church with a lesbian pastor"but the point is they are just as Christian as anyone else. Is that it is a shame that these religious patriots felt they were being discriminated by other Christians to such an extent they found it more comfortable to open their own church. Imagine Americans subjected to religious persecution on American soil in modern times. It remains a shameful fact that religious groups prefer to sweep under the rug.
Bigotry is fast becoming a major tool of the conservative movement because religious conservatives seem to all agree that God makes mistakes and that it is up to them to sort them out and segregate them from other "good" Christians. To me this is not a very Christian attitude toward a fellow human and fellow American. But again, it is a great political tool used to divide us.
Religion advances, and for some these advances bring fear and uncertainty, ripe for exploitation just as it was and for some, continues with the evolution discussion. Just as time and knowledge long ago "killed off" various of our former gods. Modern intellect and knowledge is playing a role in the contraction of some of religions oldest notions about man's place in the cosmos. This is particularity so for those far-right fundamentalists who resist change as if it were a plague. It is inevitable that the more we understand about the universe of which we are a part, that knowledge narrows how religions have to cope with conflict between what we learn and what we once though.
I recently read an interesting article in Time Magazine, showing evidence of self-awareness, learning and emotion in many of our fellow animals.
And God said, " and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
As we ourselves evolve with time we come to understand that the Earth we live on is not ours alone and that we must share it with each creature large or small. Are we really supreme or merely the more advanced of a whole host of His creations? There are other sentient beings living here with us. This is but one example of how our religious beliefs are changing over time as we move forward. For some this notion that even their religious teachings may be subjected to revision frighting many.
Religions resist granting their own God credit. By denying evolution and creationism, advancing knowledge of our selves and our universe, they are placing their own limits on their "all powerful" God, saying he is really not that powerful after all. Their claim says that their God is not powerful enough to have created the laws of evolution we can see at work, and thus those were his tools for creation. That their God could not allow for man's intelligence to be able to study and learn the workings of the cosmos. That He could not create a brain capable of fathoming the depths of the universe and our Earth. They fail to understand that denying what we study and learn as false, denies His ability to endow us with the curiosity and intelligence we used to reach our conclusions.
How this relates to our political climate today.
In a recent conversation with a local Baptist pastor of a church I donate a web site to, we briefly discussed greed and it's corrupting influence over our nations leaders. It is common that most southern church leaders tend to favor conservative politicians. He agreed that greed is one of the worst sins corrupting politics today. When I made note of the fact that these very conservative politicians are backed very wealthy individuals with corporate interests, I could detect a flash of guilt. Perhaps it is not too late.
There is a long history, not exclusively attributable to Republicans, to manipulate the religious beliefs and faiths to curry favor for their political agendas, agendas that are right-leaning are far more likely to favor the wealthy above the average American. Lies are common as are more subtle campaigns of mis information, fear and bigotry, in order to enlist Christians to sponsor their political goals. Sadly too few look beyond the fear and imagined threats, buying the rhetoric and, thus, vote against their own best interests.
Religion should never allow itself to become a tool to be manipulated for the political gain of any person or groups of persons over the other. If there is anything more destructive to our nation than a corrupt politician it could be that preacher who has aligned himself with that politician in an effort to drive a wedge between Americans.
If I were to offer advice to those who follow any faith it would be this: worship how and where you wish. Don't deny others the same right. Treat others as you would have them treat you and your family. Don't let anyone's politics manipulate your fear, anger or uncertainty into doing their bidding for anyone who would thus manipulate you is not your friend.
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