I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Arianna Huffington at a recent event in Austin, Texas, sponsored by the Texas Freedom Network (TFN), an organization dedicated to fighting right wing extremism in the Lone Star State. The discussion focused on the lunacy of the current Texas State Board of Education (SBOE), which is attempting to rewrite the facts of American and world history to conform to a particularly virulent brand of conservative ideology. Decisions about text book content made in Texas reverberate across the country as a consequence of the way publishers accommodate the biggest purchasers of school books.
The subject of School Board extremism is close to my heart and the target of a series my blogs in January (two examples are: Descending Again into Darkness: An Extraordinary Revolution of Willful Ignorance; http://tiny.cc/TexasTyrannyand Bible Belt Bravado: The Beat Goes On; http://tiny.cc/BibleBelt). So I was delighted to meet in addition to Ms. Huffington two sane candidates for the SBOE, Rebecca Bell-Meterau and Judy Jennings. These candidates are our front line soldiers, the infantry in the trenches fighting our ground battle against the worst of right wing excess.
How did we arrive at this sad state of affairs in which such excess has become the norm? In her comments about SBOE abuses, Ms. Huffington offered one explanation by noting that uncertain economic times foster irrationalism and fear, and a penchant for conspiracy theories. As job losses rise, government becomes a frequent target for displaced wrath as people search for scapegoats. Extremist school boards and Glenn Beck are born.
I agree completely that economic decline contributes to a significant uptick in political extremism, the very kind we are seeing in the SBOE in Texas. Economic insecurity is fertile ground for the likes of Beck, O'Reilly, Hannity, Limbaugh and Palin. But I disagree with the thesis that job insecurity and recession are primary causes of the growing irrationalism we are witnessing in local and national politics. The state of the economy clearly exacerbates any tendency toward extremism and paranoia, but the rising fanaticism of the far right is caused by something much more sinister and insidious: the intrusion of private faith into public life.
A Christian Nation
Let us establish without doubt that we are not a Christian nation. The facts supporting that conclusion are unambiguous, overwhelming, and indisputable. The Declaration of Independence in 1776, the Articles of Confederation of 1777, the U.S. Constitution (1787), and the Federalist Papers (1787-1788) are purely secular documents. I have previously reviewed each in detail (Religion in the Affairs of Man: Mixing Theology and Politics; http://tiny.cc/theologypolitics). Searching for references to god in any of these documents is akin to looking for a BP executive at a Greenpeace rally. Nowhere to be seen.
Our national obsession with God in politics is a recent phenomenon, and would seem completely alien to any of our founders. "In God We Trust" was first placed on United States coins in 1861 during the Civil War. Teddy Roosevelt tried to remove the words from our money in 1907 but was shouted down. Only in 1956 was that phrase adopted as the national motto by the 84th Congress. The clause "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance was inserted only in 1954 when President Eisenhower signed legislation to recognize "the dedication of our Nation and our people to the Almighty."
For the first 180 years of existence, the United States never included God in its motto, on its currency, or in any document creating the republic. We were born a secular nation and remained one for nearly two centuries.
We really need to stop this ridiculous argument about being a Christian nation. If there should be any doubt, let us listen to the founding fathers themselves. This from Thomas Jefferson in an April 11, 1823, letter to John Adams: "The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus by the Supreme Being in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter." He went on to say in his concluding paragraphs, "But we may hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with all this artificial scaffolding..."
Jefferson even earlier said that his statute for religious freedom in Virginia was "meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammeden, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination."
The final word, however, belongs to John Adams, who said when signing the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, "the government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion."
The religious right claims, incredibly, to know more about the intent of our founders than the founders. For in spite of this overwhelming incontrovertible proof that we are not a Christian nation, codified in the words and deeds of Adams, Jefferson and their brethren, the "State of the First Amendment 2007" national survey revealed that nearly 70 percent of Americans believe our founding fathers intended the Unites States to be a Christian nation. Even more astonishing, 55 percent believe that the Constitution formally establishes a Christian nation. Here we find the essential core of what ails us: a fundamental misunderstanding by the majority of who we are as a country.
How can the majority of Americans believe something that is so evidently false, so easily verified as untrue? Because faith has triumphed over reason, and religion has corrupted our political discourse. Since religion is based, by definition, on faith rather than facts, no mechanism exists to arbitrate between competing ideas, and no claim no matter how absurd requires proof.
Once faith becomes dominant in public life, anything goes, because nothing is subject to verification. You simply need to believe. As soon as logic and facts are removed from the debate, conflicting ideas cannot be evaluated based on relative merit, but are supported as inherently right, immune to any reasonable counter-arguments. Without logic, in the absence of facts, nobody has any basis on which to claim to legitimacy compared to another. All have equal claim to the truth, with no mechanism to prove or disprove the claim. So based on faith alone Americans can ignorantly claim we are a Christian nation, unperturbed by the inconvenience of contradictory facts. Faith requires no proof. Faith is immune to history. The dominance of faith over reason is the only rational explanation for how so many people can believe something so clearly and verifiably false.
Consequences of Ignorance
From this false belief that the United States is a democratic theocracy flows the dark forces of extremism that create a rogue SBOE locally and Palin/Beck nationally. Economic insecurity is only the kindling that burns bright in the flame of religious intolerance. In this environment of religious fervor, rationalism is considered a problem to be conquered with belief. Science is a liberal plot. Intelligence is an ominous sign of elitism. The great divide in our society is not between rich and poor, or Catholic and Protestant, or Christian and Muslim, but between those who rely on faith to define the past and those who depend on reason and fact. The divide that matters is between those who believe we are a Christian nation and those who know we are not: efforts to solve societal problems in a theocracy are not often compatible with methods used in a democracy.
We have lost our common language because we no longer have a shared story of our nation's origin. Civil political discussions are simply not possible when the majority of Americans are ignorant of our founding principles, or when facts lose all relevance, or when history is rewritten as myth. A Chinese speaker can communicate effectively with an Englishman through an interpreter because while the two speak different languages many of the ideas being shared are common to both parties. That allows an interpreter to bridge the gap by finding different words to express the same thought. That is not true in a conversation between a theist and a humanist. Not only are the languages of faith and reason different, but so too are the fundamental ideas. There is no role for an interpreter here because language cannot jump the abyss of incompatible ideas. Somebody who believes in god cannot possibly comprehend a world in which god does not exist. Somebody who understands god as a myth cannot pretend to grasp a world controlled by some unseen higher power. So we keep shouting incomprehensibly at each other in a growing cycle of incivility. With no common tongue and incompatible world views the decibels and vitriol of our protests and proclamations are the only measure of success.
Yes, both sides are guilty of shouting, but that reality misses an important point of volume. There is no symmetry here, no "let's split the difference, there are two sides to every story." According to a 2008 survey from Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, more than 78% of Americans identify themselves as Christian. Only 4% are self-proclaimed non-believers (broken into the survey categories of atheists at 1.6% and agnostics at 2.4%). A yelling contest is not exactly equitable. The humanist cry is lost like a frog croak in a hurricane.
Yet in spite of these massive, overwhelming, deeply embedded majorities, Christians often speak in the dialect of victimhood. Many feel under attack by secular humanists threatening them with gay marriage, abortion, Darwinism and moral decay. This idea of Christians as modern victims is the perfect example of how the two sides can never communicate. From the perspective of a tiny 4% minority, any claim by a 78% supermajority that the views of a few are a threat to the many is simply surreal. That would be like claiming absurdly that the frog croak is drowning out the thundering winds of the hurricane. For humanists the idea is too ridiculous to contemplate, but quite real to theists.
The barrier separating us is defined by the unbridgeable gulf between god and rationalism. This is not a culture war, not a war borne from economic uncertainty, but a cosmic battle between theism and humanism. Humanists are losing, outgunned, out spent and in retreat. But even with that bleak reality, all is not lost. With the likes of Rebecca Bell-Meterau and Judy Jennings taking the field of battle, we can slowly turn the tide toward the shores of rationalism. Tip O'Neill's adage that "all politics is local" has never been more important or more obviously true as we battle school boards district by district. Our secular soldiers can take on their Christian counterparts; but they will need our persistent and dedicated support to ultimately claim victory over the forces of darkness.
Follow Jeff Schweitzer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JeffSchweitzer
Jeff Schweitzer: Faith and Reason, Science and Politics
Chris Stedman: The Humanist Obligation to Serve: Being "Good without God" Requires Action
Gustav Niebuhr: Congress Considers "In God We Trust"... But Who Is This God?
Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D.: The Texas State Board of Education: Now Promoting Islamophobia?
..................................................Oscar Wilde
The fact is, this idiocy threatens the very existence of Christianity as an organized social force. It's reasonable to think that it was created by godless Marxists to bring down the institutions of Christianity with it's absurdity.
This is a fascist political movement that has hijacked Christianity.
The swastika has been replaced by the cross.
Not only do these guys not agree with the Founding Fathers, they don't even agree with Christ himself.
I just stumbled across your blog a little bit ago. I'm surprised that it's taken me this long to see your writing.
I like what you say - and I like how you say what you do! Thanks...
"Fanned"
My secular views do not endanger the evangelicals, but their views certainly put me in harms way.
Do you have any suggestions how a secular couple can fight the good fight in a Catholic/Nazarene stronghold where we live and work?
We did go to school board meetings when our kids were young when the overly-religious tried to bring religion in to the schools (they tried to ban a grade school reading book because it had stories about other cultures that were not Christian). Usually we "separation of church and staters" who were willing to speak up won the arguments, though we did lose the annual Halloween (Satan's) party.
But now the kids are grown and living in wonderfully progressive areas (I'm jealous) while we just have to nod and smile while neighbors and customers say they are praying for us (for any and every reason, apparently).
I really don't want to be an appeaser, but mostly them are nice, well-meaning people who would freak if they knew what we thought of their beliefs. We will consider moving when a couple of elderly relatives we look in on are gone, and if the job market allows, but in the meantime. . . . . . ?
My sisters KNOW I am going to hell, and evidently I am a part of a regular prayer chain of people I have never met in two different towns (luckily, not too close to me). They are scared FOR me. There is no reasoning with that sort of conviction.
cont. below
Two years ago, I opened up to a woman who had been assistant leader to a youth service club I had run for over 20 years. I had known her over 10 years. I thought we were the best of friends. But she would end almost every sentence with, "Pray for me." Ex. "I have to go down town and I'm afraid I won't find a parking place. Pray for me." So, one day, I told her I don't pray because I don't think there is anyone listening. Though we had worked together for a common purpose for 10 years (helping kids do good works in their community) and I was the same person I had always been, she was now afraid I would be a bad influence on her kids.
I have a new next door neighbor that is as sweet as a person could be who "prays for me" a lot. I have MS, and she can tell when it is bad since I don't even make it outside on those days. I appreciate the sentiment. I have learned to hear it as, "I care about you."
We both would like to know people who think like we do and with whom we can be ourselves. But, I don't get out much, and my husband is looking for work and may end up working for a catholic hospital. I can't even conceive of a good time for us to "come out".
When my kids were young, we read Greek myths, American Indian legends, various stories about other cultures and beliefs. And we read some Bible stories. We talked about how people used to believe all these things and how some people still believe some of them--even most of our relatives. And we talked about how we believe in helping others instead of praying that someone will help them. And then, of course, we went out and helped people. We (along with a youth club I led) adopted a nursing home where we visited and did crafts with the residents, we volunteered regularly at the animal shelter, we planted trees and flowers in parks and picked up trash there as well.
When the kids got older, we volunteered at the local food pantry/soup kitchen, and raised money for a local boy who needed a liver transplant.
The kids saw that "doing" is very important--"praying" not so much. They did attend church with their grandparents when we visited them, and respect other people, though not their beliefs.
They turned out great. One became a social worker. The other volunteers often for several charities in her community. Both married young men who think like they do and both live in communities where they can find like-minded people.
It is not easy to raise humanist kids if you are surrounded by religious family, but it can be done. I wish you well.
I don't know how involved you are in other political arenas, but it would be great for you to join the crowd May 19th for the Texas Freedom Network's "Don't White-Out Our History" Rally opposing the Texas State Board of Education's latest round of nuttiness. It will be May 19 at 1 p.m. at the William B. Travis Building, 1701 Congress Ave., in Austin.
http://www.tfn.org/site/PageServer?pagename=involved_latest_campaigns_white_out_rally&AddInterest=1281
I hope to be there, & hope you will be also.
I once had an online argument with a young Fundie-type over health care politics. I wouldn't have even touched the conversation if I hadn't seen him ranting and raving about the "lazy homeless." I was especially angry because someone on the board I admired had just left with an annoucement that she was going to be homeless for a while. I brought up to him *scripture* - particularly where Jesus talks of the sheep and the goats - "This you did for the least of these, you did for me." This... Fundie kid shot back at me some bull about how Jesus only meant for us to help poor people that "deserved" it (whatever deserving it means in the eyes of this kid and his family).
Needless to say, I was appalled. The kid probably thinks I'm going to Hell.
I happen to be a Christian (though probably not "Christian" enough for most right-wingers)... and I've *never* in my recollection ever been under the impression that America was a specifically Christian nation (not even back when I *was* a Fundie). I paid attention in History classes - especially to things such as the seperation of Church and State which is supposed to guarantee protection to us all. I've known for a long time that the "Under God" rhetoric in the Pledge was a McCarthyism thing (heard if someone was unable to say "Under God" it meant they were a Commie). I thank you for the correction on the "In God We Trust" on the money, though - I thought that was a 1950s thing, too... rather than so early. I think it's fairly perverse, anyway, to invoke "God" on money, myself.
I agree that we do need to fight the "mythic America," but, honestly, you don't need to make it a "theists vs. atheists" thing. Some of us theists, and yes, even *Christians* are willing to fight with you to combat historical and cultural ignorance, at least, if you would refrain from broad-brush insults.
I cannot change my beliefs just like that. Even when I've tried to chase them away, they've stuck. I'm fairly powerless where I stand right now, but I "vote for the right people" and I speak out on forums like this one on the Internet. I do what I can - but I guess it is not enough and will never be enough because just *happen* to have a theistic notion lodged in my brain.
I still contend "cosmic?" "Forces of darkness?" You sound like a videogame or something - or worse yet.... I'm having flashbacks to when I used to be a conservative fundie type and watched Jack Van Impe. The fundamentalists who want to perpetuate the Christian Myth of America - ie. your true enemies are the ones who use this very langauge.
I realize of course, by the simple trait that I am a theist, nothing I say is of any value to you. You've made your prejudice abundantly clear. I will, however, remain on your side when it comes to dispelling myths about American history.
And "Are they Jews or Muslims?" (From your wording, you're talking about how Christians have stymied American progress, but apparently not Jews or Muslims)? Then you go on to say that this is a "battle between theists and rationalists." Does "Theist= Christian" exclusively to you? I was under the impression that Jews and Muslims were Theists - Monotheists, to be exact, like Christians.
There are also, lesser known theist categories, such as pantheists. The panthiests I know don't tend to cause political turmoil of any sort.
Then, of course, while you might dissagree, there are people in all of the above who might call themselves "theistic rationalists." I think I've read a few of them on other blogs here at Huffpost.