Wednesday, November 19, 2003

1st Amendment: Issue is government endorsement

I must disagree with John Mrosek’s views about the First Amendment. Mr. Mrosek says that “federal cases (are) removing any reference to God and religion from our public affairs.”

This is a very misleading statement, and is a typical tactic of the Religious Right. The issue here is not removing God from our public affairs; it is the government endorsement of religion. The judges are ruling that government is not allowed to endorse religion.

Every citizen has the right to pray, to acknowledge God and the Ten Commandments, and to share their faith with others. That is a Constitutional right. But we need to be careful about what we let the government do. It is not a proper role of government to be an endorser of religion.

Our Founding Fathers learned this lesson a long time ago. Government involvement with religion back in Europe led to the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and many religious wars in which millions of people were killed in the name of religion.

Every time government gets involved with religion, the rights of the citizens are trampled. If the U.S. government promoted Christianity, it would offend U.S. Muslims. If it promoted paganism, it would offend U.S. Christians.

Since we have a pluralistic society, the only way for the government to act regarding religion is to be neutral, neither promoting nor prohibiting religion. This allows citizens to freely pursue religion as they choose. The principles of freedom promoted by our system of government require that the government be religiously neutral.

Does that mean that the government promotes atheism? No! The government cannot promote or prohibit atheism either! Besides, I’ve never heard a government representative promote atheism, and I doubt that I ever will. Remember: the key is for the government to be religiously neutral.

It appears to me that Mr. Mrosek wants the U.S. government to force religion on its citizens. (And of course, it is his particular brand of religion that he wants promoted.) I am thankful that the Constitution prevents this from happening! I’ll get my religion from a church of my choice. I don’t want the government forcing it on me!

Mrosek is quick to blame the “problem” on atheists. Then, he proposes to change the First Amendment to “fix” the problem. So, in actuality, the “problem” was caused by the Founding Fathers!

I’ve had enough of this baloney. The Constitution is fine just like it is. If Mr. Mrosek wants government promotion of religion, he should move to Iran or Afghanistan. (Of course, the religious police may not like his particular form of religion.)

Steve Yothment
Peachtree City, Ga.