The founders of this nation had not forgotten that many of the original settlers had come here in order to be free to practice whatever religion they pleased. The notion of an official religion, sponsored, or required, by the government was abhorrent. So our Constitution states that people in this nation will be free to be religious, as they please, and that government will not deny them that right. And, second, government itself will not sponsor any of those religions.
That, of course, works only fairly well. Mitt Romney, for instance, belongs to a religious group that once practiced polygamy: lots of religious groups practice polygamy. But when Utah wanted to become a State, our government did not hesitate to require that polygamy be denied. Some of Mitt Romney's ancestors moved to Mexico, in protest.
The real fact--whatever we say--is that we are a Constitutional Democracy, and that our most important values are embedded in our Constitution, not in any particular denomination or sect. And if our Constitution and any of our religious groups find themselves in conflict, the Constitution will take precedence. And the Constitution says that we can pretty much be religious as we please (within the law), and that government will not sponsor any particular faith.
That, of course, works only fairly well. Mitt Romney, for instance, belongs to a religious group that once practiced polygamy: lots of religious groups practice polygamy. But when Utah wanted to become a State, our government did not hesitate to require that polygamy be denied. Some of Mitt Romney's ancestors moved to Mexico, in protest.
The real fact--whatever we say--is that we are a Constitutional Democracy, and that our most important values are embedded in our Constitution, not in any particular denomination or sect. And if our Constitution and any of our religious groups find themselves in conflict, the Constitution will take precedence. And the Constitution says that we can pretty much be religious as we please (within the law), and that government will not sponsor any particular faith.
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But it is obvious that every religious group is the kernel of some kind of political system. Want a king? The religion will compare God to an ultimate king. Want a top-down society? The religion will speak of order and obedience and hierarchy.
Believe men are superior? The religion will make it plain that God thinks so, too. Think the man should be the head of the household? And the nation? God will be on your side.
Religions have societal consequences. There are logical consequences--social consequences--to religious doctrines, and a religious group that become "official" will surely try to impose its logic on the town and the nation. The Taliban know that. For centuries, Catholics in Rome tried to shape the Roman Empire in its own image; male and female they tried to shape it (but mostly male).
There are consequences to being a "Christian" nation, or a "Muslim" nation, and they are not necessarily pretty.
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Nations need not be religiously based. Ours is not, but the Founders were, for the most part, Europeans, and Europeans were mostly Christian, so the morals and ethics and ideals of the people who wrote the Constitutition reflected common values. But it is similarly true that completely secular nations often hold similar values. Everybody has a history, a family, a tradition.
We talk. We write, and debate, and noodle. We come to pretty much similar positions because we talk and write and debate.
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What we need to worry about is the people who have talked to God recently, or maybe even quite a while ago, who think they know just exactly how God thinks about everything. They are the fanatics.
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