Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
A story four days ago caught my attention and I thought I’d present it for discussion. In recent years many have claimed that there is a “war on religion” taking place in America. This “so-called war” has been the result of many rulings that have tried to enforce the cherished principle of “freedom of religion”, but of necessity could also be called “freedom from religion.” When I was young most of the stores in my neighborhood were required to close on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath. This was a hardship for Jews that celebrated their Sabbath on Saturday and Muslims that celebrated their Sabbaths on Friday. It affected Asian merchants, with their own native beliefs, that didn’t have a formal Sabbath. Many of these “blue laws” have been repealed because of the reality that they are showing preferential treatment to one particular religion, in a country that is made up of many religions and whose Constitution is believed by many to ban such preferential treatment.
The Supreme Court’s most important case on “blue laws” is McGowan vs. Maryland.
“The Supreme Court of the United States held in its landmark case, McGowan v. Maryland (1961), that Maryland‘s blue laws violated neither the Free Exercise Clause nor the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. It approved the state’s blue law restricting commercial activities on Sunday, noting that while such laws originated to encourage attendance at Christian churches, the contemporary Maryland laws were intended to serve “to provide a uniform day of rest for all citizens” on a secular basis and to promote the secular values of “health, safety, recreation, and general well-being” through a common day of rest. That this day coincides with Christian Sabbath is not a bar to the state’s secular goals; it neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days.[9]
There were four landmark Sunday-law cases altogether in 1961. The other three were Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Mass., Inc., 366 U.S. 617 (1961); Braunfeld v. Brown, 366 U.S. 599 (1961); Two Guys from Harrison vs. McGinley, 366 U.S. 582 (1961). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_laws
I personally disagree with the SCOTUS decision in these cases and think that the logic used is disingenuous. The purpose of the Sunday “blue laws” was of course to promote religious attendance and encourage that attendance at Christian services on Sunday. A secondary reason was one of respect to Christianity and its belief that the Sabbath day of rest demanded in the Ten Commandments was Sunday. To say that it was to serve as a “uniform day of rest for all citizens” is frankly an untruth and adds intent to these laws that was never present in their imposition. This week though another ruling came down in what I see as a related case involving what I see as our right to have “freedom from religion” and I would like to add that to the discussion.“SAN FRANCISCO (RNS) An atheist parolee should be compensated by California after the state returned him to prison for refusing to participate in a religiously-oriented rehabilitation program, a federal court ruled Friday (Aug. 23).
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that a lower court judge erred when he denied Barry A. Hazle Jr., a drug offender and an atheist, a new trial after a jury awarded him no damages.
In a move that could have wider implications, the appeals court also ordered a Sacramento district judge to consider preventing state officials from requiring parolees attend rehabilitation programs that are focused on God or a “higher power.”
Hazle was serving time for methamphetamine possession in 2007 when, as a condition of his parole, he was required to participate in a 12-step program that recognizes a higher power. Hazle, a life-long atheist and member of several secular humanist groups, informed his parole officer that he did not want to participate in the program and would prefer a secular-based program.
According to court documents, the parole officer informed Hazle the state offered no secular treatment alternatives. When Hazle entered the program but continued to object, he was arrested for violating his parole and returned to a state prison for an additional 100 days.
Secular Organizations for Sobriety, a 12-step program with no emphasis on God or a higher power, runs multiple programs in California, but had none near Hazle’s home in Northern California during that period.
Hazle sued, alleging his First Amendment rights had been violated. The district court agreed, citing well-established rulings supporting Hazle’s claim, but allowed to stand a jury’s conclusion that he deserved no compensation.
Friday’s ruling requires Hazle be awarded a new trial for damages and compensation.
“The jury’s verdict, which awarded Hazle no compensatory damages at all for his loss of liberty, cannot be upheld,” Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the court’s opinion.
“The jury simply was not entitled to refuse to award any damages for Hazle’s undisputable — and undisputed — loss of liberty, and its verdict to the contrary must be rejected.”
The case now returns to the district court in Sacramento.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/26/barry-a-hazle-atheist-religious-rehab-california_n_3818833.html
As someone with some expertise in drug addiction treatment and who is also quite familiar with “12 Step Programs”, I have always been a little troubled by the prominence of appealing to a “higher power”, to which they give a great deal of significance. I understand that Bill W. in his original formulation was trying to cater to people of varied religious beliefs and in truth that was a good thing in that it created a somewhat universal methodology. The 12 Steps were an appeal to humanity’s spiritual nature and were also developed in the context of a world where religious beliefs held far more sway than today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_W. As interpreted then and today the appeal to a higher power is referent to a divine being. This is not necessarily so, nor is believing in a higher power necessary for a 12 Step Program to work. The proof of that was mentioned in the body of the quote above which names “Secular Organizations for Sobriety” as one example of a 12 Step Program that does not deal with a deity or paranormal force.
As this quote from Wikipedia shows that the idea of spirituality can take many different forms other than the belief in God of a Higher Power:
“There is no single, widely-agreed definition of spirituality.[1][2][note 1] Social scientists have defined spirituality as the search for the sacred, for that which is set apart from the ordinary and worthy of veneration, “a transcendent dimension within human experience…discovered in moments in which the individual questions the meaning of personal existence and attempts to place the self within a broader ontological context.”[8]
According to Waaijman, the traditional meaning of spirituality is a process of re-formation which “aims to recover the original shape of man, the image of God. To accomplish this, the re-formation is oriented at a mold, which represents the original shape: in Judaism the Torah, in Christianity Christ, in Buddhism Buddha, in the Islam Muhammad.”[note 2] In modern times spirituality has come to mean the internal experience of the individual. It still denotes a process of transformation, but in a context separate from organized religious institutions: “spiritual but not religious.”[5] Houtman and Aupers suggest that modern spirituality is a blend of humanistic psychology, mystical and esoteric traditions and eastern religions.[6]
Waaijman points out that “spirituality” is only one term of a range of words which denote the praxis of spirituality.[10] Some other terms are “Hasidism, contemplation, kabbala, asceticism, mysticism, perfection, devotion and piety”.[10]
Spirituality can be sought not only through traditional organized religions, but also through movements such as liberalism, feminist theology, and green politics. Spirituality is also now associated with mental health, managing substance abuse, marital functioning, parenting, and coping. It has been suggested that spirituality also leads to finding purpose and meaning in life”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality
It is quite easy for me to envision that someone can undergo a major transformation in their life, to even conclude there is meaning to it for them and yet not believe in any God or Higher Power. This transformation can be deemed spirituality in my book and yet have nothing to do with supernatural phenomena. Perhaps you differ, but I would caution you to at least consider that Mr. Hazle, in the case above, may well transform his life even if he is a confirmed atheist. He need not believe in a higher power in order to end his addiction and forcing him to serve another hundred days was indeed an unwarranted punishment.
Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
Squeeky, You should be drinking Bushmill when reciting that poem. Or Jameson if you’re Catholic. Bushmill is Protestant whiskey.
Well, there’s one thing we can all be sure of—there’s an Irish Poem for everything!
H.P. Livecraft???
The Atheist knew suddenly,
In a moment of stark clarity.
As he took his last breath,
He understood Death,
Was a power much higher than he.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
SWM, My prayers for your troubles. One prodigal Catholic to another. You are classy to say it’s other people who are having a difficult time. We know it is seeing those we love struggle, that often hurts more than if it were us suffering.
leejcarroll, Thanks, I have been okay. It is the other people in my life that have been having a difficult time. I have been traveling all summer and not for fun.
SWM, Im sorry you have been going through a bad time. I am glad it may be coming to an end.
nick s. It has not been a good summer. A lot of unexpected things happened but things are finally settling down. By the way, Hazleden is a good place. 🙂
rippleton w/ words of wisdom. Of course, you were just praised by a person in a sleazy profession. So, there’s that.
SWM, Firstly, it’s good to hear from you. I hope all is well. And thanks for the corroboration, it means a lot to me that you would come out of the witness protection program and blow your cover. The NSA has you on GPS!! Seriously, I appreciate the comment very much.
Lost in translation it seems. Language can be literal, analogous or even metaphorical. Literally, the words ‘higher’ and ‘power’ do not refer to anything supernatural or even metaphysical. I see the atheist in this case being either willfully unwilling to translate the words literally or as an analogy, or he’s just too ignorant to truly be an atheist. Surprisingly, I find this legal dispute to be as petty as those Christians who claim there is a war on Xmas. Both are bloviating some sort of non-existent oppression.
AA meetings have different flavors. If one attends an AA meeting in London, god is never mentioned. If one attends in the South, god with a capitol G is often mentioned. There are mindful meditation AA meetings in Maryland. California has many different types of AA meetings. I think the main thing is that the alcoholic or addict identifies with the group. Nick is right when he says addicts and alcoholics can fool therapists but not other addicts and alcoholics.
Wow!
Mike S,
That point I was bring forward late last night was the old site, I believe was called Ritejack had, among other items, a list of famous quotes & documents from the founders of the US that the USA was in no way conceived or meant to be a Christian Nation.
Where you & I find ourselves today is with people like Alex Jones to some extent & others attempting to rewrite history to convince people that the US was founded & was always meant to be a Christian Nation & then among many other minors groups one other large group, I assume run by the Wallst Banking interest.
The Wallst group is pushing people to stop believe in all religion & for people to submit themselves, their families & kids over to complete control of the State, from cradle to grave.
I find both of the larger groups, Christians/Wallst highly offensive to the intent of the founders & I reject both.
One easy example of the difference between Christian/Jewish religious dogma & the intent of this Nation I often use is;
In the eyes of the govt: All people are Innocent Until Proven Guilty Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.
In the eyes of Christian/Jewish religious dogma: All people Are Guilty in the Eyes of the Lord
It’s plain to see those beliefs are the polar opposite from the other.
One movement among the Christian Religious sects/cults was over the Pledge of Allegiance.
Still to this day I resent have public gatherings saying the Pledge in public.
I refuse to give into their peer pressure & I stand there & do not say the pledge.
How could I or anyone pledge to 2 different Masters? So I don’t!
What I didn’t realize back when the Christian Polecats were pushing for the Public Pledge is that they are really disavowing all loyalty to the US Govt unless the govt is in conformity to their brand of religious dogma.
IE: “One Nation, Under God”
From the words: E Pluribus Unum included in the Seal of the United States, being one of the nation’s mottos at the time of the seal’s creation
** “Out of many, one”[1][2] (alternatively translated as “One out of many”[3] or “One from many”[4]) **
I could be wrong but I always felt those words meant that the people of the USA were very diverse in their beliefs, that we as a people showed respect towards others beliefs that were different from our own, but we came to gather on certain core principles & personal interest.
Now I believe many leaders among Christian Groups believe much the same as Muslims, E Pluribus Unum,that they have a goal that will take all of the different people & force them into their One True Religion with all it’s Dogma.
One of Oklahoma’s State Senators that I support many of his political positions, he & his family supported & paid for a monument at the State Capital of the 10 Commandments.
It really ticks me off his utter contempt of the founders intent on that issue.
Yet I’ve said nothing to him because he’s promoting other areas of the US Constitution I support. At some point I’ll say something if the courts don’t force him to get rid of it 1st.
“In the eyes of Christian/Jewish religious dogma: All people Are Guilty in the Eyes of the Lord”
Oky1,
Leave the Jews out of it. Judaism does not believe in the concept of “original sin” as do Christians. Otherwise we agree.
Tony, For the record, I do not believe that parolee should have been forced to go to AA. That’s obviously wrong. I just don’t want AA pilloried in the process. The agent needs to be the target, not AA.
Tony, I get it. You’re an atheist. AA is not for you. I have no beef w/ that. Thankfully, you’re not a substance abuser and the issue is moot. As I said previously, all AA groups have different dynamics. It sounds like your atheist friend[s] needed to find another group if they still wanted to pursue AA. If not, to each their own. I only hope all people find something that works, the odds are against them, as much as 10-1. That’s all I’m saying.
Nick: Then the higher power can be your higher use of your brain
No, it cannot. I have had friends in AA and they were being encouraged to surrender to a power higher than themselves.
I am not a psychologist like Mike, but I think the psychological mechanism in use was simple religious subordination, “God is your boss, and I speak for God when I say He wants you to Stop Using. So listen up and do what I tell you to do … I mean what God tells you to do, God is saying it!”
I refuse to submit and voluntarily subordinate myself to a fictional front for what is in reality just other humans trying to coerce me with threats of supernatural displeasure and punishment.
I cannot appeal to any higher power, I am integrated within my own mind. The purpose of the rational mind is to influence the emotional mind to take courses of action that result in longer term good; to convince the emotional mind to sacrifice immediate or short-term satisfaction for longer term and more permanent satisfaction. But the rational mind is not a “higher power,” it is just a projective tool and a subordinate advisor to the one emotional ME that makes the final determination on ALL decisions.
That is not some fantastical philosophy, that is backed up by extensive scientific study into how the human brain actually functions.
“I am not a psychologist like Mike, but I think the psychological mechanism in use was simple religious subordination, “God is your boss, and I speak for God when I say He wants you to Stop Using. So listen up and do what I tell you to do … I mean what God tells you to do, God is saying it!”
Tony C.,
You’ve gotten to the heart of the matter and the reason why the “cure” rate for addiction is so low. True change comes about when a person accepts that they alone are responsible for their behavior and can only save themselves. There will be no higher power to intervene and save them.
Oro Lee, Thanks for the good link. I had a guy I knew years back. He was brilliant but sczhizo, taking thorazine. He started abusing alcohol and I suggested he might want to attend an AA meeting. I had a kid on probation and I got him into an Alanon program and his mom into an AA program. Both were @ a nearby community center and I knew the AA group would be a good fit for my buddy. He asked me to explain the AA program. I gave him the foundation. He looked @ me and said, “Well, it sounds like Buddha put that together, I’ll give it a try.” He went for 4 or 5 months and really liked it. He moved back to Tulsa[from KC] and I found a group for him there. That was the last I knew of Jim. When of the many souls I think about @ times.
“Thanks for the good link. I had a guy I knew years back. He was brilliant but sczhizo, taking thorazine. He started abusing alcohol and I suggested he might want to attend an AA meeting. I had a kid on probation and I got him into an Alanon program and his mom into an AA program. Both were @ a nearby community center and I knew the AA group would be a good fit for my buddy. He asked me to explain the AA program. I gave him the foundation. He looked @ me and said, “Well, it sounds like Buddha put that together, I’ll give it a try.” He went for 4 or 5 months and really liked it. He moved back to Tulsa[from KC] and I found a group for him there. That was the last I knew of Jim. When of the many souls I think about @ times.”
Nick,
Well aren’t you special? I’ve dealt with hundreds, but then I’m not some private dick, who’s been everywhere and done everything, or so he says. I just worked my ass off when dilettantes like you got to pontificate about the few decent things they did to make up for the fact they made their living from a sleazy profession.
Sounds like Nick has Religion, AA.
Mike, Have you ever attended an AA meeting? A real expert of drug addiction, an MD @ UCLA I believe, not some social worker, pointed out that he asks the “helping professionals” who spew their derision @ AA if they ever attended a meeting. Many say they have not. As far as pontificating, you are the master on the mount. But, you did convince Dredd his quitting cigs was more difficult than kicking meth. I pray he never learns the truth first hand. Incredibly, dangerously wrong
The “helping professionals,” who get paid regardless of their success, have pilloried AA for several decades. Well, there is a big pushback the last 5 years or so. Thankfully, you’re not still an “expert” saving lives and telling people AA is “better than nothing.” I know people who have had their lives saved by AA. I’ve known a lot of social workers, worked w/ a lot of them. The only ones who saved lives were the ones who worked w/ abused kids. Your ilk just sat around, smoking cigs, and saying “Go w/ that.” How did that make you feel?” and other boilerplate horseshit.
Why do Hazelden, Betty Ford, Silver Hill, and most all the REAL treatment centers use 12 step programs?
Hazle of California was clearly being punished for refusal to take part in religion, under the fraud of “AA”.
There is also the case of William A. Yates of New Hampshire. Like Hazle, Yates was denied parole because he refused to forced participation in the religious activity known as “AA”. Unlike Hazle, however, Yates DID get treatment for his addiction, from Rational Recovery. RR is a non-religious treatment system that actually has a verifiable rate of success, unlike AA whose claims are hearsay.
But even though Yates completed the program, he was still denied parole because RR was not “approved” (read: not religious). Yates was harassed by the prison system for his attempts at legal manoeuvres, but he did eventually win release in court.
http://www.leagle.com/decision/199911770FSupp2d47_1112
BTW, addiction is a disease, a medical condition. Just as a metal bar forcefully laid alongside one’s skull has the propensity to reshape the brain and impair its functioning, so do addictive substances. Breaking an addiction is not a matter of will power or character — it is dealing with a malfunctioning of the brain, one that craves the addictive substance.
And the imposition of religious requirements as a means of treatment — besides being unconstitutional — evinces another mental malady: hubris.