By Mike Appleton, Weekend Contributor
“All governments are theocracies. We now live in a secular humanist theocracy. I want to change that to a government with God at its head.”
-Gary DeMar (quoted in John Sugg, “A Nation Under God,” Mother Jones (December, 2005)
When I started first grade in 1951, each school day began with the Pledge of Allegiance. We recited “one nation, indivisible,” because people understood that fidelity to one’s country is not a religious virtue. The National Prayer Breakfast was not on anyone’s calendar because it didn’t exist. Politicians felt no compulsion to invoke God’s blessings on the United States at the conclusion of every speech. Protestants opposed every effort to secure public funding of Catholic parochial schools in order to preserve the “wall of separation” between church and state. The corner grocer didn’t care whether a customer was gay or had been born again. Textbooks were not reviewed by religious committees for conformity with the King James Version. No serious person had yet suggested that insentient, artificial commercial entities could magically channel the religious beliefs of their shareholders. And no one complained that a war was being waged against religion.
But following some of the events at this year’s Values Voter Summit, I have become nostalgic for 1951.
The Summit is the premiere annual political event for conservative Christian evangelicals, and making an appearance has become almost a required pilgrimage for Republican presidential candidates who desire the support of the religious right base of the party. Those in attendance this year heard many of the usual rants against same-sex marriage, abortion and the contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act. However, those concerns did not top the priority list. Instead, a 39% plurality of those polled at the conference believe that the most important issue facing the country today is religious liberty.
So how is this possible? The past 30 years have seen an explosion in government support of religion. Millions of dollars in public funds are provided to a variety of so-called “faith-based” programs. Taxpayers support charter schools with decidedly sectarian curricula all across the country. A number of states provide tax credits to enable parents to send their children to religious schools. Religious institutions and, after Hobby Lobby, for-profit businesses as well, have been granted exemptions from compliance with portions of the ACA. This is in addition to the exemptions from anti-discrimination legislation which religious institutions already enjoy in their hiring and firing practices. Religious groups distribute bibles in public schools and operate after-school programs on school property to proselytize grammar school children. The Town of Greece decision now permits governments to schedule ceremonial prayer in accordance with local majoritarian religious preferences. Most rational people would agree that freedom of religion and religious expression are hardly at risk.
The comments of several of the event speakers may furnish us a clue. Kelly Shackelford of the Liberty Institute repeated the false story of the child disciplined for saying grace before eating her lunch. Michele Bachmann reminded the audience that the battle against Islamic terrorism is “spiritual warfare.” Gary Bauer accused President Obama of protecting Muslims while ignoring the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. Jason and David Benham, whose proposed television program on HGTV was cancelled after revelations of their virulently anti-gay activities, compared themselves to victims of ISIS, silenced for their Christian beliefs. And Sen. Ted Cruz, who for the second year in a row won the presidential straw poll, intoned “We need a president who will speak out for people of faith, for prisoners of conscience.” So for the attendees at the Values Voter Summit, there is indeed a war on Christianity. It is being waged by Muslims and by those who object to intolerance.
But the whole story is really darker. When members of the Christian right speak of freedom of religion, what they mean is freedom for a particular brand of conservative Christianity. Tony Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council, the principal sponsor of the annual Summit. He is neither a legal scholar nor a theologian, but that does not matter. In Mr. Perkins’ view, religious freedom does not apply to Islam. It also does not apply to Christians who support gay rights. In fact, religious liberty is reserved solely for those holding “orthodox religious viewpoints. It has to have a track record, it has to come forth from religious orthodoxy.” Mr. Perkins’ First Amendment does not compel government neutrality toward religion; it requires preferential treatment for those Christian sects whose doctrines adhere to Mr, Perkins’ notion of orthodoxy. He is a theocratic dominionist in religious liberty’s clothing.
And that, in a nutshell, is what the war on religion in America is all about. It is a war declared by Christian fundamentalists on all religious traditions deemed non-conforming. The goal is a society in which separation of church and state is eliminated and religious pluralism rejected as unbiblical. Ted Cruz is merely the latest last hope for the hapless.
The American Taliban is alive and well…..
Indeed we who were in elementary school in the 50’s are old farts, and are apt to wax nostalgic about those times. Don’t. Polio, white/colored water fountains, right-to-refuse-service, horribly built cars, ink wells, the draft, duck-and-cover, constant gnawing fear of nuclear war, blacklisting… Way, way better now than it was then.
Steve’s comment reminds me of this….”Blasphemy!” being yelled from the lips of the Sharia Court Judge.
Annie, you have had a comment deleted under our civility rule.
I guess I am slightly younger than the author. I also attended elementary school in the 1950’s. However, my experience is completely different. We did say the Pledge of Allegiance in the morning. We also sang patriotic types of songs God Bless America, Oh Beautiful….etc. I do not ever remember being forced to say or listen to prayers in school. If it happened, I must have just ignored it and spaced out while the activity occurred.
My brother and I attended Catechism classes on Saturday at my Mother’s request, her being a strong Irish Catholic. She did let us go to other churches IF we wanted to with our friends. Sometimes we did and sometimes it was amazing to us. Especially when we went to the Pentecostal church with one of my girlfriends, and people started speaking in tongues. Wow….THAT was interesting and entertaining to us little Catholic kids who went to church and attended masses in Latin. Very regimented services compared to the wild and crazy Pentecostal. My mother laughed her @ss off when we told her about it.
Even today at town meetings or other small town government functions, we rarely hear opening prayers. When it does occur, I don’t feel oppressed or threatened. I just stand politely, stare at my shoes and think about my grocery list or some other mental activity. Then we just get on with the business of the meeting.
We have had this conversation on this blog before and I am opposed to having religion of any kind or the ideology d’jour in schools. Not because I’m opposed to religion but because it has no place there. The students are supposed to be learning: math, English, geography, history. The teachers are supposed to focus on teaching their disciplines and the students to learn. Religious instruction should be personal, on your own time and out of the reach of the government.
Steve H. Can you hum only one tune? Tiresome.
Poorly written article intended only to advance the author’s bias against religion, especially Christianity, and to demean and degrade persons of faith. Mr Appleton’s rant is inappropriate for a “weekend contributor” and, like several of these articles of hatred, it diminishes the Jonathon Turley brand.
Mr Turley, it’s time to reconsider turning over the power and prestige of your blog to “weekend contributors” like Mr Appleton before you become associated with his brand of hatred and intolerance.
Steve H –
Please refer me to the portion of Mike’s piece that was either poorly written or
a “brand of hatred and intolerance”? To my mind, he was asking, in a well-written piece, for greater tolerance by calling out the so-called “Values
Voters Summit”, which wants to impose only their values upon the country.
It’s a tired meme to scream intolerance when the group being criticized is the dominant party/race/religion in the land. My grandparents were Jews in Russia, and I think I can speak to intolerance far better than those who are claiming to be “persecuted” here because there might be evolution taught in schools or the right of an Air Force member to pledge an oath his way is upheld.
Jim22 – –
“Just like the “war on women” is a trumped up progressive left construct.”
Instucted the man.
Just like the “war on women” is a trumped up progressive left construct.
Reblogged this on veritasusa and commented:
Those who would invite religion into Government , invite Government into religion.
When we go down this road, soon Government defines what is an acceptable religion and what is not, then what is acceptable in that religion and what is not, and in the not too distant future Government’s approval is needed for every Sermon, prayer and Hymn in a service as the pulpit is transformed into a propaganda arm of the Government – much as we see in Iran today.
Government screws the pooch on almost everything – I want them as far away from my personal relationship with my Lord and Savior as possible.
The dividing line needs to be neon bright and absolute.
Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar, and unto God that which is God’s.
Those who would invite religion into Government , invite Government into religion.
When we go down this road, soon Government defines what is an acceptable religion and what is not, then what is acceptable in that religion and what is not, and in the not too distant future Government’s approval is needed for every Sermon, prayer and Hymn in a service as the pulpit is transformed into a propaganda arm of the Government – much as we see in Iran today.
Government screws the pooch on almost everything – I want them as far away from my personal relationship with my Lord and Savior as possible.
The dividing line needs to be neon bright and absolute.
Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar, and unto God that which is God’s.
@Barking Dog
You said, ” I just don’t like Holier Than Thou Hypocrites.”
Well then, you don’t like anybody at all because everybody is a hypocrite in one way or another, including me. Who among us doesn ‘t say one thing, and then do the exact opposite??? At least Christians who go to church put themselves into a place where a preacher can call them on it.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Oh yes, another memory of growing up in a fundamentalist church and other Christian religions. They would ask people they just met, “Are you a Christian?” and when the hapless person answered “Yes, I’m Lutheran, or Catholic, or Presbyterian, or Methodist, etc” the comeback by the Born Againer would be “Well, no you’re not a true Christian until you know Jesus personally and become born again”. “You wont get to see heaven as a Catholic, Lutheran, etc.” They didn’t and they STILL don’t consider anyone to be a ” true” Christian unless they have been born again into their brand of Christianity.
The Values Voter summit are “Just the Jayvee.”
The “War on Religion”, is a religious right construct. As Mike points out, the push to inject religon in politics has ratcheted up over the years. It’s obnoxious and typical of fundamentalists to do whatever they can to convert the “unbelievers”, they have the moral imperative from God, or so they believe. Controlling behavior of others to comport with what the believe the Bible decrees is ongoing, even though they’ve backed off the wearing of makeup, listening to “worldly” music, movie going, dancing, women wearing pants, all those silly things. Now they’ve moved on to controlling much more serious things, privacy of people’s bedrooms, the autonomy of a woman to her own body, legally pushing their brand of religion and prayer on school children in public schools, teaching Creation myths in public schools, denying others the right to marry and more. So the idea that fundamentalist Christians are under siege is laughable and it’s dangerous, they are seriously attempting to inject themselves into every aspect of Americans lives. Those of you who are Christians, but not fundamentalists, be aware that they consider your brand of Christianity worthless. Growing up in a fundamentalist church, we had sermons about the Catholics and idolatry and how any religion who doesn’t embrace the “born again” doctrine is worthless and on their way to hell as the atheist was. Wise up folks, if the fundamentalists do get the kind of power they seek, your “social justice” ( their description) religions will go poof! It will truly be A Christian Nation.
Jim 22:
The First Amendment and Article VI [Sections 2 & 3] don’t use those exact words but that is the result.
The government (including public schools or some schools that receive taxpayer dollars) can’t favor one religion over another or religion over non-religion. “Students” (citizens) in school have the right to religious expression, if any other expressions are allowed (ex: a school uniform policy that bans 100% of all tee shirts is legal, but it can’t ban only religious shirts while allowing others).
Article VI states there can be “no religious test” for government officials at the federal, state or local levels. Today it would also include government contractors and government front companies.
I just don’t like Holier Than Thou Hypocrites.
What I deplore are the self absorbed so called Christians in politics who are always demanding that some convict get executed and that the state do it quicker. I respond that The Sixth Commandment says: Thou Shalt Not Kill. They respond with:” Well, Y’all have not read your bible.” I respond with:” I don’t have a Sears Roebuck Bible.” “It is written in stone that : Thou Shalt Not Kill and there is no exception that Y’all Can.”
I’ve asked this before and no one seems to answer. Where in the constitution does it say the words “separation of church and state”?
As for schools? I’m all for removing religion from it. That includes the liberal agenda religion. Stop stealing my property and giving it to the liberal union run monopoly known as public school. Let me take the property the govt. steals from me and give it to the school of my choice. Oh, that’s right all of you above aren’t really interested in choice, only when it comes to killing babies.
And, I knew this was an older crowd but based on the comments about when you folks started school you are really old farts. And, I think MikeA is a vampire.
Very thoughtful piece. I do see some of he history being revisionist, particularly about the being gay not being a big deal in the 50’s. I’m sure a gay person who has lived through that era would STRONGLY disagree it was better in the 50’s than it is now. Gays were confined to the closet except in very segregated artists communities. Now, they parade down streets in thongs and get married, Come on, Mike, you can’t slip that past me.