Today's topic is religion so we're going to start off with a joke.
Four men, a Muslim, a Jew and 2 Southern Baptists, survive a ship wreck, swimming ashore to a deserted island.
All four men are devoted men of faith and thank God for their deliverance from death on this island.
Each of them decide to establish as a show of faith and devotion a place of prayer and worship.
Using rocks, branches and straw, the Muslim makes the island's first mosque.
Also using rocks, branches and straw, the Jew constructs the island's first synagogue.
And likewise employing rocks, branches and straw, the 2 Southern Baptists build the island's 1st and 2nd Baptist churches.
Anyone who has ever driven through any small southern town knows where I'm coming from.
I grew up in a small town that you think could barely sustain one Baptist church and we had three! (Or four if you count the black Baptist church but we didn't count it because of, you know, racism.)
The thing is there are a lot of different people with different ideas of faith and God. And those ideas are important to each person who believes in them.
But even within a particular segment of faith, however, there is not always unity about those ideas of faith and God.
Which brings me to the non-joke part of this post.
(And I know there may be a smartass thinking "Wait! Did I miss the joke part?" Well, I know I'm thinking it and I'm writing this.)
Last week, a rather official sounding government group called the Religious Liberty Commission issued a report.
The commission was created at Donald Trump's request but I feel assured to say he will not read the report. It has 14 chapters.
Li'l Donnie's lack of reading comprehension as well as the lack of any substantial attention span will forestall any reading of the report.
He may read the page one summary, especially if there is a color coded graph or chart.
"Americans must know their rights and stand with courage when those rights are challenged. To preserve this freedom, we must build bridges, not walls, between the City of God and the City of Man. If we do so, we will pass on a free and prosperous nation to the next generation"
To clarify and summarize, the Commission is recommending eliminating the seperation of church and state.
The report tries to put some distance between it's recommendations and the concept of the seperation of church and state: “To be clear, this does not involve or require advocating ‘theocracy’ or even the total elimination of any separation between church and state."
The report goes on to "clarify" that we need to acknowledge there is a “tension between the relevant clauses of the First Amendment” the guarantee religious freedom but forbidding any government-established church.
What I think this boils down to is this.
If my religion says that...
- I don't want a black person in my neighborhood.
- I don't want a gay person in my neighborhood.
- I don't want a woman having an abortion in my neighborhood.
But if the law says....
- I can't say NO to a black person in my neighborhood.
- I can't say NO to a gay person in my neighborhood.
- I can't say NO to a woman having an abortion in my neighborhood.
Well, we have a problem and the government should not get in the way of my religion.
If your rights as an American citizen run counter to the tenets of my religion, I should not have to make compromises to allow you to live your life your way.
If your rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are diametrically opposed to my right to practice my religion as I choose, well, one of us needs to step aside.
And it won't be me because I have God on my side.
Which is (and I might be quoting Pope Leo or Mother Theresa) "a pretty fucked up way of thinking".
The commission's report provides a series of recommendations, to increase the role of religion in government, schools and public life.
Okay, fine but whose religion will have an increased role in government, schools and public life?
Given that the commission is made up of people who have asserted that the United States is a Christian nation, we can have a good guess on which religion wins that lottery.
And even within the context of a Christian focus, which version of Christianity?
Baptists think Methodists are on par with Sapphic druids.
Let's break the tension with another joke.
How can you tell the difference between a Baptist and a Methodist? Unlike a Baptist, a Methodist will say "hi" to you in the liquor store.
On the same day the Religious Liberty Commission was delivering it's report, the Republican-controlled Texas State Board of Education added parts of the Bible to a list of required reading for millions of students.
Starting in 2030, all public school students in Texas will be required to read passages from the Bible in class.
- Hey, what if you're Jewish and your faith doesn't include the New Testament parts of the Bible?
- What if you're Muslim?
- Or Hindu?
- Or atheist?
I believe the answer from the good Christian people of Texas is "Fuck them! They're going to hell anyway!"
Or to put it in more professional terms, I'll turn the blog over to Rachel Laser, the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State: “Today’s vote by the Texas State Board of Education is yet another example of Texas politicians pushing Christianity on public schoolchildren. Public schools should not force children to read Bible stories. This policy is part of a broader movement ... to misuse public schools to impose one narrow set of religious beliefs and indoctrinate a new generation of Americans in the lie that America is a Christian country.”
Let me take a moment to comment on what a freakin' cool last name "Laser" is!
Susan Perez, founder of Citizens for Education Reform, a right-wing organization that pushes for Christianity in public schools, begs to differ with Ms. Laser: “We need to focus on what our nation was founded on and not apologize for that. It is the truth, and we should not be afraid.”
I'm always wary of alleged Christians who conflate faith with truth.
- Truth is objective, factual, some other 3rd thing.
- Faith is subjective, spiritual, yet another 3rd thing.
One time while driving in the countryside, my son and I saw a church sign that said "I don't just believe I'm going to heaven. I know it!"
So there's this ONE guy who has this all figured out. Absolutely sure he's getting in. Have you considered everything?
St. Peter: "Let's see, it says here you went to church on Sunday, gave a 10% tithe to the church and said prayers everyday. Uh oh! What's this? You had the endless shrimp at Red Lobster? You know that thing in Leviticus against eating shellfish? Yeah, turns out THAT, not the gay thing, is the deal breaker. 'Bye!"
We have NO idea! Assuming there is an afterlife and there is criteria for getting in, it could be anything.
St. Peter: "So Dave-El, you remember that one time you fondled yourself watching Daisy Duke in Dukes of Hazzard?
St. Peter: One time and the 22,437,513 times after that? NEXT!"
OK, so I might not be getting in.
Houston resident Joshua Fixler, you may have the microphone: “This list is full of Christian texts that are inappropriate for public school classrooms. As a rabbi and a parent of Jewish kids, I think it is vital that this board make a distinction between teaching about religion and teaching religion. This list will force teachers to cross that line.”
As the United States approaches it's 250th birthday in a few days, in what shoud be a time of unified celebration, the nation is fundementally divided on the subject of religion.
My faith matters more than your faith.
This perspective is wrong and dangerous.
Despite assertions by Donald Trump and right wing pundits, Christianity is NOT under attack.
I would say that NO ONE is telling you what you can or cannot believe.
I would say that NO ONE is telling you what church is the right one to go to.
I would say that except....
The Religious Liberty Commission and the Texas State Board of Education are telling us what to believe and what church to go to.
They want to make THEIR faith a component of OUR laws.
And that is not a joke.
Not NOW, Gary!
