The Seperation of Church & State In A Modern World
March 2nd 2009 23:34
The common dogma [of fundamentalists] is fear of modern knowledge, inability to cope with the fast change in a scientific-technological society, and the real breakdown in apparent moral order in recent years....
That is why hate is the major fuel, fear is the cement of the movement, and superstitious ignorance is the best defense against the dangerous new knowledge. ...
When you bring up arguments that cast serious doubts on their cherished beliefs you are not simply making a rhetorical point, you are threatening their whole Universe and their immortality. That provokes anger and quite frequently violence. ...
Unfortunately you cannot reason with them and you even risk violence in confronting them.
Their numbers will decline only when society stabilizes, and adapts to modernity.
~G Gaia
That is why hate is the major fuel, fear is the cement of the movement, and superstitious ignorance is the best defense against the dangerous new knowledge. ...
When you bring up arguments that cast serious doubts on their cherished beliefs you are not simply making a rhetorical point, you are threatening their whole Universe and their immortality. That provokes anger and quite frequently violence. ...
Unfortunately you cannot reason with them and you even risk violence in confronting them.
Their numbers will decline only when society stabilizes, and adapts to modernity.
~G Gaia
Affairs of the State and Affairs of The Soul Have Always Been Intertwined Throughout Centuries Upon Centuries Of Human Existence.
No matter the religious beliefs or lack there of within the society the presence of a higher being always played into the daily roles of every major leader. These facts are inescapable and plagued the minds of the men who framed our Constitution.
On paper the decision was simple…
To either form a union of statesgoverned directly by the hands of a divine power disregarding those who believed in anything different than the adopted state religion or to run a dictatorship absent of any and all religion or beliefs.
World history is riddled with both sides of these extremes that have lead to the destruction of groups of people who didn’t have the fortunes of being on the right side of those who had power. Monks mauled over by tanks during peaceful demonstrations staged to maintain their way of life, century’s long persecution of people of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths for not adhering to the standards of the society of the time and the creation of societal standards that subjugated people into social groups based on gender, race and whom they decided to love.
The history of humanity is also riddled with painful stories of people enduring hardship in the name of religion but it has also been uplifted and enlightened by the same scriptures.
When given absolute power man will always reach to his lesser instincts in the name of any cause. Our framers had a strong understanding of this and this was the reason for the amendment that called for a separation church and state.
Outside of the clause to not obstruct the practice of any religion the lamen could take a hard line blanket view and interpret a seperation of church and state much like the efforts of Communist China or the Soviet Union who viewed religion as a weakness or depravity of the mind.
While the words of our Constitution were written in clear terms our countries leaders never allowed religion to stray away from our social conscience.
Emboldened on our monetary units are the words “In God We trust” acting as a beacon to our better instincts as well as the symbolic measures passed down from leader to leader as they place their hands on the bible before ascending the post of the most powerful man in the free world.
Religion and state affairs have always been a tight balancing act for our nation as the beliefs we carry are the bedrock that carried us through our darkest periods but also left the very real possibility of being the catalyst to our destruction as well.
No matter the religion or belief the essential tenants of peace, love and helping your common man are fundamentals any society can build upon and live by.
The problems with religion in the sense of it mingling with government is when ideological wars over which religion gets precedence over another, misunderstandings are raised based on rumor and innuendo and we stop looking for ways that all religions are similar and simply look to wage war on the differences.
One could say that it’s the duty of the state to promote the welfare of her people by funding religion or one could say this is the an infringement on the seperation between church and state…
The ultimate goal was the support of all religious groups without exclusion but as with all goals in our Federal government the originial plan was skewed but it is still law and became a precedent passed down from President George W. Bush to President Barack Obama.
On paper this plan to fund the very thing we hold dear to our heart as a nation to make us better a society sounds just and noble but has created a slippery slope through the generations.
Throughout our countries 232 year history certain religious Dogma conflicted with state law making the balancing act of modern law and religion a rubbery issue. Issues the likes of Polygamy, Statutory Rape and discrimination put modern society’s laws at odds with vestiges of religion and even forced some religions to restructure their beliefs to continue existence.
Right or wrong these changes of certain religions opened Pandora’s Box for our government leaders to begin placing litmus tests on which religious groups received support and representation from the highest levels.
Far be it from me to decide which beliefs of a religious faith are in tune with modern society and which are vestiges of the old world but these differences have become our modern day political hot button issue.
Simple changes in law that forced the hand of religious leaders to modify their books to give women rights outside of being baby producing pieces of property in a household that created a society of incest and rape have evolved into the center of the Gay Rights issue.
As per order of President Barack Obama religious groups who practice the scriptural belief of homosexuality being a mortal sin through employment discrimination can no longer receive federal funds.
Our new modern open society has now reached the point of challenging religion in ways our country has never scene before. Finding common ground on this issue is going to be one of the hardest tasks our country is going to have to face in her long history.
If cutting funding was the only issue at hand this would be cut and dry as I would feel that it would be the duty of our government to not give money to any institution that practices human sacrifice or bestiality.
The issue I’m asking you to think about is within the facts of where our government draws the line in deciding which forms of religious Dogma are simply stories from another time and which are still pertinent for the modern lives we are living today?
How do we prosper and grow as a society protecting all her people and their individual beliefs structured on diversity in race, religion, sexual preference, nationality and race?
Some questions don’t have answers and the evolution of any cause, religion or society always has those who ultimately become the have’s and have not’s.
The jury is still out on the final conclusions of who will come out on top for this issue but the fact still remains that we have to find a way to come together during this time of crisis and shaking hornets nests involving religious beliefs is not the way to achieve this…
Sources & Interesting Reading:
Obama Upholds Bush Faith Policy:
Really Long Link
Mormon Polygamy
Really Long Link
Senate Response to Bush’s Faith Based Agenda
Really Long Link
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