Sunday, July 6, 2008

Commentary 37-On State/Church Separation

...the Founders were deeply suspicious of organized religion, including Christianity and its multiple sects. They understood fully the inherent dangers to liberty of placing into the hands of people whose beliefs rest on faith rather than reason the coercive power of government...

In America, the practice of religion by one is no threat to any other. We owe the unfettered right to our own beliefs free from fear of persecution to that "wall of separation." As an athiest, I cannot understand how any religionist would want to begin chipping away at that safeguard with such nonsense as "faith-based initiatives."

The battle today is not between Islam and Christianity. It is between theocratic tyranny and political freedom. Our soldiers are fighting not for an atheistic government or a Christian government, but for the freedom to hold his, and our, own personal beliefs and for a government that protects that freedom.

A nations legal framework, to be just and fair, must be based upon some set of ideas...of universal principles...that all people can relate to and that can be the basis for resolving disputes peacefully. The Declaration of Independence is America's set of universal principles.

That New York Court's decision to force Catholic hospitals to pay for abortion coverage for their employees is, indeed, an abomination. It is a violation of the rights of the owners of the Catholic hospitals (or their representatives) to be true to their religious principles (a blatant violation of the establishment clause, as I interpret it). It is also a violation of a whole host of other rights, such as their right to set the terms and conditions of employment at their institutions, including what to include in the health care coverage they offer.


Excerpts from my latest activism. Read the rest.

No comments: