The Journal and Courier has an editorial about the ICLU’s suit against the Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives endorsing sectarian prayer as official business of the State of Indiana.
Basically, the J&C characterizes the ICLU as a burr under the saddle of those who see nothing wrong with mixing God and the process of American government. They say it’s the ICLU who is driving a wedge between Hoosiers who have a hard enough time getting along with respect to religious issues. However, they also ask whether having a prayer to kick off House business is really necessary since it gets really close to the line drawn by that pesky Constitution. Speaker Bosma, on the other hand, feels that not allowing prayer as a part of official House business would be an “attack on people of faith.”
I think the J&C’s article is fairly sensible. But, the more I think about it, the more it strikes me as a bad idea to leave government mixed with religion unchallenged simply because people who like prayer with government will be upset about it. Unlike chocolate and peanut butter, they are not two great tastes that taste great together. They’re more like ice cream and ketchup.
The public quotes will be like those issued by Bosma: “censorship of people of faith” or some variation thereof. Contrary to the assertions of Speaker Bosma and those of James Dobson’s minions, this isn’t about shutting religion out of the public square. It’s about keep religion out of government. Private citizens can go to any public forum they want and proclaim their faith as they see fit. In fact, the ICLU will defend their right to do so. But you’ll never see the people who are upset by this kind of thing acknowledge that fact. These folks like to generalize about the persecution of the people of faith generally in these situations, instead of talking about their religion specifically, because they know that the Wiccans are never going to have the political clout to have some kind of moon-worship ceremony to kick off the House’s business, and they know that the Muslims aren’t likely to invite the Representatives to face Mecca and pray any time soon. This is all about demonstrating the primacy of a certain religious sect.
The folks likely to get particularly incensed about this are the folks who think that “American has a duty to share a living savior with a dying world.” Those are the words of the “Ohio Restoration Project” an effort of Brother Dobson and his ilk to politicize certain Christians through efforts like “God and Country Rallies where the issues of the day are underscored and highlighted and the Judeo-Christian ethic is affirmed.” The Presbyterian Reverend John Lentz has said of this movement:
This is not America’s mission. This is frightening, diabolical stuff for non-Christians and Christians alike. It is blasphemous to claim that any earthly kingdom is God’s kingdom. The theological foundations of this movement are vacuous. They are set on the sands of opportunism, self-righteousness and greed.
The politicization of religion is an effort that will not do anybody any good — other than Brother Dobson and similar charlatans who will certainly be enriched and empowered by stirring the emotions of the faithful.
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