The Game The Right Is Playing With Religion

Religion has always been problematic for me. I understand the concept of religion, which is deeply personal for many, and I am not impervious to those whose belief system is integral to the way they conduct their lives.

My objection centers around those who behave as if religion is the answer to all the problems we have if we have faith.

Suppose people would spend some effort to study history. In that case, they might be surprised their religion is the progenitors of the ugly stepchildren born out of the carnage from religious beliefs and forced indoctrination from the very religion they hold so sacred.

For many, their belief systems are an integral part of their lives. They are their barometers of how they conduct themselves and deal with others.

Based on their religious views and precepts, they make decisions for themselves and their family members in the hope of believing they are doing right by their faith.

I have noticed that those strong in the belief system are not prone to the I am a Christian pronouncement. Their actions and behavior give testimony to their religiosity. You do indeed recognize them by their deeds and interactions with others.

Sometimes, people told me they were Christians with some expectation; I would acknowledge it like a parent who hears their child’s first legible word. This has always fascinated me.

But what tickled me more was the look on their face when I stared at them blankly without uttering an acknowledgment.

Sometimes, I would respond with: ‘Yeah, and?’ or ‘And why is it important for me to know?’ I admit I am a bit of a devil when I ask those questions, but a guy must have some fun.

Telling me you are Christian during a conversation will elicit one of two responses. I will ignore your declaration of your self-proclamation and cast it off as useless nonsense.

Or challenge your contention of what you put forth as information you felt I needed to know.

Ninety-five percent of the time, I ignore it. Why bother? But, for those select few, it is game on for the simple reason they do not acknowledge both verbal and nonverbal cues I send when they utter what I consider a nonsense statement and that I do not give a tinker damn about their professed religious beliefs.

Dealing with religious zealots is difficult enough, but when they permeate the arena of politics, it is cause for concern.

I bring your attention to the actions of the newly elected governor of Jeff Landry, Louisiana, and Ryan Walters, State Superintendent of Oklahoma, who want to force Christianity on the school children of their respective states.

Governor Landry signed a bill that mandates the Ten Commandments displayed in all elementary, secondary, and postsecondary classrooms. Walters has ordered the incorporation of the teaching of the Bible along with the Ten Commandments in grades 5–12.

It is incredible how individuals in positions of power and authority tend to allow their perceived power and authority to cloud their judgment into thinking they can now dictate to people what they should do and how they should do it.

But we were warned that something of this nature could happen if, as a country, we ignored the vicissitudes of men. In Federalist 1, Hamilton wrote:

“History teaches us that of the men who have overturned the liberties of republics, most began their career by proclaiming their devotion to the people. They gain position by arousing people’s prejudices and end as tyrants.” — Webster, Mary E. The Federalist Papers In Modern Language Indexed for Today’s Political Issues, page 18.

You may wonder why this quote from the Federalist Papers since this is a discussion about individuals proclaiming their belief in Christianity. Let’s not overlook the facts: the framers of our Constitution believed in God, and many were devout Christians.

The difference is many were deists and had strong reservations about promoting any form of state religion. It is why we have an amendment to our Constitution, which says that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.

Take a moment to ponder on the words shall make no law. That is a very declarative clause. Put in context with something many of you may be familiar with: Gandalf saying to the Barlog: You shall not pass! He understood what would happen if that demon escaped its underworld confinement. It would wreak havoc on Middle Earth and humanity.

The push by those of the far right (Bad Bleach Blond Butch Body AKA Majorie Taylor Green, Grabby Bobert AKA Lauren Bobert, Run Away Josh Hawley, and others) have called for an amendment to the Constitution that would declare the U.S. “A Christian Nation” which is in direct opposition to what they founders laid out in our Constitution.

The founders knew and understood the true implication and impact of the separation of Church and State for the country compared to the religious tyranny that enveloped Europe at the time and before this country started developing into a nation essentially free of mandated spiritual influence, which some call Christianity.

Both Governor Landry and Superintendent Walker are playing a dangerous game, thinking they have history on their side and the general populous desire the U.S. to declare itself a Christian nation. Nothing could be further from what they seem to believe is the truth.

Governor Landry, who boldly proclaimed, “I can’t wait to be sued,” didn’t have long to wait as his request was duly honored with a Complaint For Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, which says in part:

Consistent with Louisiana law requiring parents to send their minor children to schools, upwards of 680,000 students are enrolled in more than 1,300 public elementary and secondary schools across the state. These children and their families adhere to an array of faiths, and many do not practice any religion at all. Nevertheless, under House Bill n o. 71, Act 676 (“H.B. 71” or the Act”), which requires public schools to post a state-approved version of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, all of these students will be forcibly subjected to scriptural dictates, day in and day out, including I AM the LORD thy God”: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me: “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in Vain,” Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”; and Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

This simply cannot be reconciled with the fundamental religious freedom principles that animated the founding of our nation.

Landry’s position is laughable on so many fronts. For someone such as Landry, who governs a state that enslaved over 300,000 humans who had their own religious beliefs before being ripped from their own countries, has the unmitigated gall to proclaim his support for forcing religion on people who did want to accept it where often denied the very opportunity to engage in simple Bible study as Fredrick Douglass points out:

“We might have met to drink whisky, to wrestle, fight, and to do other unseemly things, with no fear of interruption from the saints or sinners of St. Michale’s. But, to meet for the purpose of improving the mind and heart, by learning to read the sacred scriptures, was esteemed a most dangerous nuisance, instantly stopped. The Slaveholders of St. Michale’s, like slaveholders elsewhere, would always prefer to see the slaves engaged in degrading sports, rather than to see them acting like moral and accountable beings.” — Narrative of the life My Bondage and My Freedom Life and Times, by Frederick Douglass, pg. 299

What makes this passage interesting is the desire to learn to read by studying the very book that Governors like Landry and self-appointed purveyors of “Chrisitan Morality and Teachings” like his homunculus counterpart in Oklahoma, Ryan Walters, who has mandated that all teachers are now required to incorporate the Bible, including the Ten Commandments in their lessons plans for grades 5–12. Why? Because he believes the following:

“The Bible is one of the most historically significant books and a cornerstone of Western Civilization, along with the Ten Commandments, as an instructional support into the curriculum across specific grad levers, e.g., grades 5 through 12.”

Somehow, I believe many academics would have something to say about that. But presently, the directive is in place, and the assumption one can only make for the moment teachers will comply, but there is one school holding out, saying they will not comply; the question is whether other schools do the same.

Both Walters and Landry are pushing the envelope on the separation of church and state. Walters is very open about his overreach to aggressively move his religious agenda, which includes getting the religious charter school he supports by the hurdles of separation of Church and State.

Landry and Walters seem cut from the same cloth concerning school prayer and care. They care next to nothing about the Establishment Clause, as shown in their recent overt acts challenging the courts to sue them. In the case of Landry, it is his blatant mandate that the Ten Commandments be prominently displayed in all public schools in New Orleans.

Walters forced Oklahoma teachers to incorporate teaching the Bible in their lesson plans regardless of their lack of qualification in religious doctrine or understanding.

Both are in plain open defiance of the Establishment Clause, which says that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion. Both have cast their gauntlets down, essentially saying, ‘Let the trial by combat begin!’