The Atheist Experience: Christian persecution

This is an excerpt from the Atheist Experience TV show, and it's episode #666, so of course I wanted to post it. :)

But it's also because we're seeing this exact same thing today, with the Republican campaign against women's rights. The right-wing sees this issue differently. They see it as persecution of the Catholic Church.

If the Catholic Church can't dictate to women - not just Catholic women, but any woman their hospitals or universities might employ - then we're persecuting them. We're taking their stick away. How can that be fair?

The rest of us see individual rights. We think that people - and yes, women are people - should be allowed to make their own decisions. Catholic women have, indeed, made their own decisions, since they overwhelmingly use birth control themselves, despite church teachings. Well, what Catholic bishops don't know won't hurt them, right?

But Republicans are top-down. They uphold the rights of the wealthy to lord it over the rest of us. They stand up for an employer's right to do anything he wishes, even when it involves snooping into the personal and private lives of his employees. They support the authoritative institution that's the Catholic Church over the rights of Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

And all too many Christians buy into this persecution story, because they've never been persecuted, themselves. If you're straight, white, and Christian in America, you've never had to worry about these things. Well, these days, maybe I should add "male" to that. Women are seeing the flip side of this right now.

(Nick Anderson)

If you give people the freedom to decide for themselves, some of them are going to make the wrong choices. You, at least, will think that they're wrong, and in many cases, I might agree with you. But if it doesn't harm anyone else, it's their choice. You and I could be wrong. And even if we're not, denying that freedom would be an even worse mistake.

But these are individual freedoms. Institutions have a great deal of power, already. Corporations have an enormous amount of power in America. The Catholic Church is one of the most powerful institutions in the world. When it comes down to protecting freedoms, ordinary people generally need protection from them, not the other way around.

Well, as usual, I'm getting off on a tangent, aren't I? Funny how that keeps happening, huh? Anyway, enjoy the video clip. The hosts are Matt Dillahunty and Jeff Dee.