The U.S. Constitution prohibits the United States of
America from having an official, state religion. The first amendment states:
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.
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.
The fact is,
however, that roughly 71 percent of Americans say they “identify” with
Christianity. About 50 percent of
Protestants and 40 percent of Roman Catholics say they are “Highly Religious,”
while about a third of each say they are “Moderately Religious.” (1) Accordingly, the United States may be
considered a Christian country in terms of the way most religious Americans
worship.
The framers of our
constitution were closer than we are today to the Reformation, and the religious
wars that racked Europe thereafter. The
founding fathers wanted to avoid that kind of conflict in the United
States. As a result, Americans are free
to worship as they choose. They are also
free to be atheist or agnostic. Atheism and
agnosticism are systems of belief about God, and are, therefore, considered a
type of religion here. In America, the
practice of all religions must be nonviolent and absent the violation of the
rights of others.
As Shakespeare
said, “Ah, there’s the rub.” Many
Americans fear the growth of some religions because violent, terrorist
extremists associate themselves with those religions. Atheists and others resent the intrusion of
religious values into their lives and proselytization by believers. Consequently, some religious persons push
back at efforts to drive religious thought out of the marketplace of ideas.
Religious people
are accused of trying to violate the 1st Amendment by establishing a
de facto state religion through efforts to incorporate religious values into
law and government policies. Believers
argue that their opponents are trying to, “prohibit the free exercise” of their
sincerely held religious convictions and their freedom of speech.
And so, we contest
for our point of view. We go to court
and write letters to legislators, governors, and the president. We circulate petitions. We argue publicly, much to the amusement of
observers in other countries. That is,
however, the nature of a free society that values freedom of speech and
thought. Airing our differences in
public is one way that we try to sway others to our point of view.
Karl Marx thought
that, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” (2) Some Democratic Socialists, Progressives,
leftist lawyers and college professors, and other “hard left” persons say they
adhere to one religion or another, or that they support freedom of
religion. Others are areligious. Their actions, however, speak otherwise. They tend to promote laws and government regulations
that limit religious freedom. For
example they impose restrictions on religious speech and activity in the
military and in schools or on college campuses.
Religious symbols, monuments and verses of scripture have been removed
from public places. They prohibit public
prayer. Employers are forced to provide
medical insurance that includes abortion benefits against their convictions,
and attempts have been made to force unwilling medical practitioners to perform
abortions. Businesses have been driven
into bankruptcy paying legal expenses in order to defend their right to refuse
to participate in same-sex weddings against their sincerely held religious
beliefs. The tax exempt status of churches
is threatened if the pastor makes remarks that may seem “political” or that can
be twisted to imply support for a particular candidate. Christmas has become a “winter holiday
celebration.” It has been politically
incorrect to wish someone a Merry Christmas.
At this writing, radical liberals in California are trying to prohibit
singing and other forms of expression in church services. At the same time, however, demonstrations
continue in the streets unabated. And so
on.
Some view religion
as ignorant, hateful, and bigoted superstition.
The influence of Christian missionaries on native cultures is criticized,
and it is viewed as a form of colonialism. They would have us believe that genuine
religious beliefs in America are only felt by country bumpkins in the “fly over
states” who stubbornly cling to their Bibles and their guns.
Religious people are sometimes deserving of criticism. Jesus said:
Then Jesus
said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law
and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and
obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice
what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and
never lift a finger to ease the burden…
and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and
obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice
what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and
never lift a finger to ease the burden…
“What
sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites!
For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in
yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. “What sorrow awaits you teachers
of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to
make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you
yourselves are!
For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in
yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. “What sorrow awaits you teachers
of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to
make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you
yourselves are!
“What
sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites!
For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,
but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith.
You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides!
You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow
a camel! “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you
Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and
the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You
blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside
will become clean, too.
For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,
but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith.
You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides!
You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow
a camel! “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you
Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and
the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You
blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside
will become clean, too.
“What
sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites!
For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the
inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like
righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and
lawlessness. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you
Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed,
and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed.
Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have
joined them in killing the prophets.’ “But in saying that, you testify against
yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the
prophets. Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. Snakes! Sons of
vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?
For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the
inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like
righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and
lawlessness. “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you
Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed,
and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed.
Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have
joined them in killing the prophets.’ “But in saying that, you testify against
yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the
prophets. Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. Snakes! Sons of
vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?
“Therefore,
I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious
law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in
your synagogues, chasing them from city to city … I tell you the truth, this judgment
will fall on this very generation. (Matthew 23:1-4, 13-15, 23-34, 36 NLT) (3)
law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in
your synagogues, chasing them from city to city … I tell you the truth, this judgment
will fall on this very generation. (Matthew 23:1-4, 13-15, 23-34, 36 NLT) (3)
Sadly, “religious” people often value rules more than
people. Judgmental and harsh, they try
to force others to follow systems of religious rules that they are unable to obey
themselves, instead of showing others how to follow Christ in love. True Christianity is abiding in Christ and
allowing Him to abide in us; by faith and not by following rules. Religiosity alienates people from each other.
When voting in 2020, let’s remember that many people see
the constitution as an archaic relic of the past that just gets in the way of
what they want to do; not as the foundational law of the land. Remember that if a person or group is
allowed to diminish or do away with even one constitutional right, they can get
rid of them all. Therefore, I urge
my fellow citizens to vote to uphold all of the constitution, whether we think religion
is important, or not. Please vote for
religious liberty. It is more important
than it may seem.
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