LOSING
OUR RELIGION
"The
general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general
principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe,
that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as
the existence and attributes of God."
(John
Adams, June 28, 1813, 1.)
We know the story-
the rich history of a quest for religious freedom in a journey fraught with
danger. It was the birth of a nation
founded on the principles of freedom and religious tolerance, framed around
Judeo-Christian values and the belief that the very freedom we enjoyed was a
gift from God himself. Not a theocracy,
the core values of this country were that of simple Christian ethics framed
around the idea of personal responsibility and limited government.
The course has been
altered. The 60’s, often seen as a
turning point for much in our society, seemed to bring with the ideas of “free
love”, sex, drugs, and rock and roll a natural turning away from the more
standard, religious cultural ideals. The
ways of the past seemed hypocritical-sure we spoke of freedom, but racism
abounded and the nation was in chaos, involved in an unpopular war, and dealing
with the assassinations of the Kennedy’s and MLK. Reeling from a decade of change, a turning
point was reached and we turned from our spiritual roots to embrace secularism
in both society and government. But has it gone too far? How has this trend
affected us? Does the government share a
roll? And is there a double standard
when it comes to how we relate to Christianity today?
Somewhere along the
way, the push toward secularism became a push against Christianity. Prayer was banned in schools and religious
holidays put on life support, there have been cries to change state mottos,
remove memorials and the list goes on. Cries
for tolerance seem to wield a greater intolerance toward a Judeo Christian heritage
full of symbolism. There is a current
debate at Camp Pendleton regarding a memorial erected 10 years ago by a group
of grieving Marines to remember fallen brothers. They erected a cross, and brought up rocks,
ribbons and notes, as many have done since.
After a local paper did a story about the memorial several atheist
groups complained and have threatened to file a law suit saying “the site violated the
Constitutional mandate of separation of church and state” (3) But
according to widow Karen Mendoza, the cross has nothing to do with religion “It's not a religious spot at all, it's a place for
the Marines to grieve and to grow to let go of their burdens of what they had
in their soul, so they can go back down that hill and back into battle and put
their own lives on the line.” Stories like this one abound in our society
today, with the push towards completely removing all symbols and phrases with
any reference to God or the roots of Christianity, regardless of intent or
harm. To many evangelicals it
seems that this goes beyond a change in attitude and that war has been raged
against them and their Christian faith.
The cited rationale
in each of these victories in the removal of religiosity is most often the
“separation of church and state”. So
common has this become that many Americans believe the separation of church and
state is a constitutional guarantee preventing religious expression or
allowance of religious influence in government or public life. Nowhere does this idea appear within the
constitution. In fact the constitution
specifically prohibits the government from preventing religious
expression. The constitution protects,
not prohibits expression and influence.
The “wall of separation between church and state” was coined by Thomas
Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptists seeking to assure them there
would be no state control or influence upon the church, not that religion had
no place within government and society.(2)
The idea is that we
do not become a European system with a state church that exists for political
reasons and becomes a controlling force, not that a Christian prayer cannot be
said at a graduation ceremony, or that the 10 commandments must be removed from
a courthouse lawn. The prevailing
religions in the United States are Christian, the founding influence Christian,
therefore a strong Christian influence is a reasonable expectation.
Has the effect of
secularism been positive? At the heart
of the Judeo Christian value system is personal responsibility and
individualism. The founders, not all
Christian, revered the principles of Christianity and our founding documents
are replete with Christian references.
George Washington
in his farewell address noted that "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to
political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."(4) The very nature of freedom is the allowance
of men and women to regulate their own behavior, and it is the moral compass
granted by faith that as Washington said, supports the prosperity of a free
people.
So what happens
when the fundamental ideals of Judeo Christian ethics are cast aside? One needs only to look to the chaos that has
become our public school system to see the result of lost responsibility and
the demonization of religious principles.
As schools are pulling down copies of the Ten Commandments and replacing
them with posters of Britney Spears wearing little more than a milk mustache,
teachers, parents and administrators alike struggle with out of control
kids. Teen pregnancy, drinking and drug
use have become all too common and teachers now play a duel role as both
teacher and “Great Carnac” as they try to read through behavior for signs of
abuse of every stripe and isolate the potential Columbine perpetrator. ”Thou
shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal”-seems rather benign in that context.
Schools are just a microcosm of the society
that surrounds them. To say that we are
a society sex, drug and alcohol obsessed is to understate. Our heroes on the field, screen, and radio
are all too often studies of amoralism.
The moral compass spins away as no behavior is off limits, “if it feels
good, do it” no matter the cost. The
more outrageous and abhorrent the behavior the more “inquiring minds want to
know”-and we do. Our screens and grocery isles are saturated
with the sex lives of the Kardashians,’ Branjelina’, and the Jersey Shore
bunch. According to Univ. of Denver
professor Jim Taylor “The heroes that emerge in a generation are the living
manifestation of the zeitgeist of the times which doesn't speak well of this
recent generation…Today's zeitgeist is vastly different, controlled by a
popular culture that worships the antihero. Many of today's entertainers,
athletes, and other popular culture icons exemplify everything that is unheroic
in our society -- 50 Cent and Britney Spears, Terrell Owens, and Paris Hilton
-- yet are seen as heroes in the eyes of children. Many of today's heroes
encourage values that are also unheroic, such as selfishness, dishonesty,
disrespect, irresponsibility, greed, cruelty, and violence. “
We have shifted from a society that seeks greatness and goodness to one
that seeks to glorify mediocrity-we can’t have winners or competition. We have moved from being self- sufficient and
hard working to expectant of others to carry the load and bear responsibility
be it for a loan we cannot repay to a child we did not plan.
Government has not been immune to blame in the devolution of American
Christianism. Front and center for weeks
in every news outlet was the Obamacare/ Catholic Church contraception issue. We saw story after story about the waging war
against the mighty Catholic Church. For
most within the church, and many in other denominations, contraception was not
really the issue, but rather the government stepping on the practices and standards
of the church and squelching their first amendment rights. If the government could determine the
allowances of behavior acceptable within a church, could they not determine sin
itself and mandate tolerance for what churches preach against? Bishop Paul Loverde wrote that ““I am absolutely convinced that an
unprecedented and very dangerous line has been crossed.” (5)
New Government mandates have
had an effect on other issues within the church-adoption and foster care,
migration services, funding in the fight against human trafficking, the ability
of churches to lease or rent public buildings-there is a new direction in the
relationship between Christianity and the state. So concerned is the Catholic church that they
have launched a campaign to protect religious liberty in the United States, a
liberty they believe to be integral to the continuation of freedom itself. According to a document from the U.S.
Conference on Catholic Bishops, ““This is not a Catholic issue. This is not a Jewish
issue. This is not an Orthodox, Mormon or Muslim issue. It is an American
issue.” (6)
Within the overall context of this American
religious issue is a changing perception of what is considered appropriate
speech or behavior toward people groups.
What is offensive, and what is considered ok, and is it the same for
everyone?
The
silence was deafening. In 2008, several
churches in the US sent Bibles in several Afghan languages to the base at
Bagram. Doing so was a violation of
current US regulations regarding prostyletizing and the Bibles were rounded up and
burned. When questioned about taking the
step to burn the Bibles, which to Christians is the written Word of God, Lt.
Col. Mark Wright told CNN that the “troops at posts in war zones are required
to ‘burn their trash’”. The US
Government response to the Bible burnings?
None. Apologies? None.
Apologies abounded, however, when in April
Korans confiscated after hidden messages were found written within were
burned. Riots and violence ensued,
dozens lost their lives, and the US government could not apologize enough. While the response would never have been the
same, the offense in fact was. Imagine
referring to the Koran as “trash”. (7)
The desire to preserve the influences of
Christendom is not simply a religious issue.
It is not a Christian caliphate. It
is at its core a desire to maintain the structure and basis of our freedom,
including our freedom to worship as we please-or to choose not to worship at
all. It is the preservation of a value
system that promotes self- governance through moral and ethical certitude,
without which, the system fails. As
Benjamin Franklin artfully said “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As
nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” (8)
References
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