We know by now the Rowan County Defence of Religion Act of 2013 was created in reaction to the ACLU's lawsuit against Rowan County concerning sectarian prayer during council meetings and speculatively political posturing by Reps Carl Ford and Harry Warren to appease their fundamentalist constituents. I don't discount the possiblity that it was actually an attempt to open the door to ultimately creating a state religion in North Carolina. I don't put that past some of our state's representatives and voters, but whatever the truth is concerning the reason behind submitting this resolution, it does further the conversation on Seperation of Church and State.
I only wish people who think that freedom of religion means they should be able to advance their religion even in a taxpayer funded situation like council meetings, public schools, etc., and that legislating their religious views is their constitutional right, would realize that other people exist who don't hold the same religious views. Their freedom of religion is the only one that matters. If they actually DID respect the views of others, they would easily understand why people have fought so hard to keep church and state seperate. They could empathize with the discrimination that minority religions and non-believers have been subjected to. They would understand how it feels to be forced to live in a way that goes against what we believe and who we are.
It would be easy enough for any of them to understand this if they put themselves into the very scenario they would like to create. That scenario...with a slight twist. What religion would they like to see become the official religion of the United States, by which all laws would then be created? Christianity! they would answer.
But really? As if Christianity is a generic term? Even if we break it down into Catholics and Protestants, which one should be the official religion? Can we even imagine the war between those two? It might play out a bit differently than it did in the middle ages, but it still wouldn't be pretty. Could a Protestant imagine how he or she would feel if they were forced to practice Catholicism? Or simply forced to hear Catholic prayers at the beginning of their council meetings or led by a teacher at the beginning of their school day then required to genuflect? Or if laws were based on the Catholic interpretation of scripture and all the extra dogmatic crap they have invented? What if birth control became illegal and you were forced to give a percentage of your income to the Roman Catholic Church? What if you were forced by law to baptize your children into Catholicism? What if you were required to pledge allegiance to the Pope? And if your beliefs would not allow you to do any of this and maintain your integrity, not to mention your freedom, or if you were discriminated against when trying to find employment, or were evicted from your home because you believed differently, or were abused verbally or physically and shunned by your community because you didn't conform? Or were demonized by the ruling religion simply for your different beliefs?
Can you put yourself in that scenario and really understand how you would feel? If not, please read the above paragraph again carefully. If so,can you finally understand why government must remain neutral and secular? It IS as much for your freedom as for everyone else's. But it is as much for everyone else as it is for you.
No one is taking away your rights if prayer or worship or bible study is not allowed in taxpayer sponsored situations, or if laws are created through the influence of your religion. But you are taking away others' rights if you force your own religion into these situations. That is when it becomes only about YOU. Neutrality and secularity makes it about ALL OF US.
No comments:
Post a Comment