Muslims in Space

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Funny, isn't it? Fox "News" claims to be worried about Muslims trying to legislate Islamic religious views - and even about Muslim missionaries - while being eager for Christians in America to demand government support for their own religion. How could any American be this dumb, more than 200 years after our forefathers established a nation of complete religious freedom and the strict separation of church and state?

And that's especially the case now, when our worst enemies are religious fanatics. Why do so many Americans want to imitate the Taliban? Why do we see so much "fatwa envy" among American Christians? Are right-wing Christians still upset that they can no longer burn witches? Get over it!

Our founders had seen religious wars devastate Europe. For centuries, war had raged over the most minor differences in belief (none having any evidence backing them up). Wisely, our forefathers didn't want this for America, and their solution was revolutionary: the strict separation of church and state. That wonderful experiment became a model for the whole world.

In America, you could believe whatever you liked. Your religion, if any, was your own business, not your neighbor's and not the government's. You couldn't force anyone to follow your own religious beliefs, but they couldn't force you to follow theirs, either. You couldn't use the sword - or government taxes - to convert anyone. If you wanted to convince them in the free marketplace of ideas, you were welcome to try. But the government would remain strictly neutral.

Of course, Christians were always a majority in America, so there were always some eager to force their beliefs on the minority. That's just human nature. Some people tend to be authoritarian, even in a liberal democracy. And politicians, being natural cowards, allowed some chipping away of our protections. Luckily, we also had the Supreme Court, so the worst of these were not allowed. It hasn't been a perfect protection, but by and large, we've maintained our freedom of religion.

However, the separation of church and state traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support in America. Both political parties used to support our Constitution. These days, that's less true. And as the Republican Party lurches further and further to the right, it becomes less and less true. They've almost succeeded in packing the Supreme Court with far-right extremists. So how much longer will our freedoms last? Recently, the right-wing has launched a relentless attack on freedom of religion, and we Americans seem to be too dumb, or at least too ignorant, to understand how dangerous this is. How could we let this happen?

I guess I could understand the previous assault on religious freedom in America, during the McCarthy era of the 1950's. After all, our enemy then was "godless" Communism, specifically the officially atheist regimes of Red China and the Soviet Union. So I suppose it was natural, at least for people who weren't too bright, to equate religion - and specifically Christianity - with patriotism. (In reality, of course, freedom of religion was the real difference between our societies. We let people decide for themselves.)

But these days, our enemies are clearly religious nuts determined to force their own beliefs on everyone else. Obviously, the opposite of that is freedom of religion and the strict separation of church and state. It's certainly not becoming religious nuts ourselves! I don't get it. Why would we want to imitate our enemies? Do we admire the Taliban that much? Why isn't there now a renewed appreciation for our religious freedoms? Why isn't it more clear than ever that the strict separation of church and state is the way to go?

Are religious believers that insecure that they think they can't win in a free marketplace of ideas? Do they really think that their beliefs make so little sense that they must force people to believe them? How can Americans look at the Taliban and think, "Yes, that's the way we need to run our country"? I really don't get it.

I guess the opposition to building mosques in America seems particularly bizarre to me. Why in the world is it any of your business? Do you really think that your children will flock to Islam if there's a mosque in the neighborhood? How insecure is that? Is your own religion really that unappealing? OK, I suppose a lot of it is just fear, irrational fear of terrorism pushed by right-wing ideologues. But that brings up another question. How come that tactic works? How did we Americans become such hopeless cowards, anyway?

I'm an atheist, but I'd object just as strongly to the idea that the government should favor atheism as I would - as I do - to the suggestion that it should favor Christianity, Islam, or even just religion in general. I stand with our founding fathers on this issue. Church and state should remain strictly separate. That's the American way.