Posted by
Jack Fisher on Thursday, June 04, 2009 11:59:59 AM
Before the founding of the American Republic, it was unheard of for a country not to have an official religion. The founding fathers sought to set themselves apart from the tyranny and autocracy of European powers at the time by leaving their new country open for any religion, regardless of how great a majority it may be in the populace, to thrive and benefit from equal protection under the law. It is one of the reasons why so religious groups like muslims, jews, catholics, and buddhists have been able to come to America and enjoy the success wrought by freedom and liberty.
But in the era of political correctness, religious liberty is being continually contorted in ways that go against the very principles of freedom. Recently, Townhall columnist Chuck Norris reported on a situation that would have been laughable if it weren't true:
Got your permit to study the Bible?
The event was a real headscratcher. David and Mary Jones were visited by a county code enforcement officer on April 10 (Good Friday) after receiving a complaint about their Christian gatherings, which included only around 15 people. After hearing they did things such as pray, read scripture, and discuss spiritual matters they were given a cease and desist order. That's worth repeating. An official of law enforcement told two people with the same legal rights as everyone else to cease and desist their religious gatherings.
That's not the only incident of it's kind. On June 3rd the Associated Press reported that a Pennsylvania court ruled 2-1 that a Kindergartner's mother cannot read the bible for show-and-tell, even if it is her favorite book.
It's the same as the previous story. The law is basically telling people they cannot discuss their faith publically even when it is done in a peaceful, non-threatening way. Even as an atheist with many criticisms against religion, I find that nothing short of outrageous.
The issue at hand is not about church and state as some left-wing politicians may see it. The issue is freedom of expression. It's been a developing trend since the turn of the century. Conservatives and progressives alike seek policy that favors or dissuades certain groups of people over the others. It's classic collectivism, trying to mold society by regulating (or sometimes dictating) how people can gather and express themselves. But the core elements of a free society do not reflect collectivism. They reflect individual rights.
Freedom of expression cannot be masked by the church/state issue. The freedom to expression one's self and beliefs is a fundemental right that extends to religion. Any person of faith be they Christian, Muslim, or New Age has a right to stand in a public or private square and express their religion in any way they see fit so long as it is peaceful and does not infringe on the rights of others. This means things like praying in a park, preaching on a street corner, or discussing spiritual matters with others in an open place is every bit as protected as political speech. This extends to public schools as well. In a free society, there is no public institution where free citizens have to leave their rights at the door in order to serve some politically correct agenda. If people wish to discuss religion in a school, a public park, or even a court house they should not be dissuaded from doing so.
The constitution is clear. The government is not to prohibit the free expression of religion or endorse any one faith over the other. That means the government cannot grant special privlidges to certain faiths people happen to like. It also can't give public money to someone and have them use it to carry out their own religious activities. So if the people in the article were doing what they did using government resources, then that would be an issue. But it wasn't. These were people just freely discussing their beliefs. To deny them that is to pervert the spirit of separation of church and state and stand against the principles of religous liberty and freedom of expression.
I am proud to be an atheist. I feel it is wrong whenever the government uses its powers to further religious agendas as it has often done with the Christian Right. But I am never in favor of policies that would prohibit people from freely expressing their religion. As long as it's peaceful, they have every right to their faith as I do to my non-faith. Collective idealists stand against this under the veil of political correctness. If they can harass one religous group, they can harass them all. And that completley goes against the spirit of a free and just society.