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Religion & Law

: Thoughts in a Haystack

Siege Mentality

By John Pieret

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According to Misty Upton, "Christians are under siege again."

Why? Because people dare to say there is no God ... gasp ... in public!

[T]he American Humanist Association is launching an ad campaign appearing on Washington, D.C. buses. The ads read, "Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness' sake."
The spokesman for the group stated, "Our reason for doing it during the holidays is there are an awful lot of agnostics, atheists and other types on non-theists who feel a little alone during the holidays because of its association with traditional religion." The ad features a man in a Santa costume, hands mid-air, shrugging. Since Santa Clause is traditionally associated with Christmas, this ad seems not to be geared at attacking all religions, but solely attacking Christianity.

Well, of course, the connection with Santa is the thoroughly secular song "Santa Clause Is Coming to Town." And it isn't just Christianity. In this "holiday season," Judaism also celebrates Yom Kippur and Chanukah. But I guess Jews are just the junior partners of Christians.

Naturally, if people say "Happy Holidays" (even acknowledging that not everyone celebrates Christmas) that is violating "Christians' fundamental rights ... to freedom of religion." Apparently, Christians have a constitutional right to force you to say "Merry Christmas."

Strangely, Easter, which is presumably a much more important Christian holiday than Christmas and which has been much more secularized -- when was the last time you saw Jesus, instead of the Easter Bunny, portrayed in the Easter parade? -- brings out no such angst.

But this is the real crux of Ms. Upton's complaint:

In the case of Murray v. Curlett in 1963, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 to absolish mandatory school prayer and Bible readings in public schools. Oddly enough, it is reported not a single Christian organization filed a brief in support of school prayer. In 2003, it was ruled that Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore should remove a granite monument of the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of Alabama's judicial building. Moore stated, "It is a sad day in our country when the moral foundation of our law and acknowledgment of God has to be hidden from public view." The majority let these things slide. After all, they were little things. Tiny. Not a big deal and we should have separation of church and state. Right? ...
[I]f Christians continue to allow the government to bully individuals to keep their religious convictions confined to their homes and locked behind Church doors, Christians will also evolve. Christians will evolve into Christians without Christ. In order to survive and adapt in a politically correct society, Christians have stood by and let tiny changes occur at the expense of religious freedom.

It is, according to these sort of Christians, their right to use their majority position to force the government to do their proselytizing for them, in the form of Bible readings in public schools and Christian symbols displayed in government buildings. They don't think they should have to go out in the street and compete against other voices or try to get people into their churches. They feel entitled to move their beliefs outside their homes and churches by the simple expedient of turning government institutions into Christian places of worship.

There is no "war against Christmas." There is only a continuing war against theocracy, begun by the founders of our country and, sadly, still necessary today.
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Full post as published by Thoughts in a Haystack on December 14, 2008 (boomark / email).