Remember when separation of church and state was a thing? The original ‘build a wall’. Of course none of us were around when the deist founders wisely inserted that anti-persecutional notion into our country’s foundational documents. For two hundred and fifty years, the concept of a secular society in lieu of a religious one has been the official guiding principle of civic order.
But a tug of war, and erosion of this boundary has always been underway. ‘In God We Trust’ printed on money and statehouses… Prayer and benediction at inaugurations, and openings and closings of Congressional sessions…Tax free churches…And now in Louisiana, an official declaration that the ten commandments must be printed and displayed in every classroom.
Why stop there? If the idea is constant reinforcement of a monotheistic moral code, print the commandments on every tube of toothpaste, on milk cartons, paint it into crosswalks, add it to airline safety instructions prior to takeoff, put them on mattress and couch labels which are illegal to remove…If bombardment is the strategy, the possibilities are plentiful. Let’s see where this goes.
But let’s not peer too probingly at actual adherence to these underlying concepts, which seems to elude certain hypocritical political officials. It might be worth considering, as the Good Book says, “the letter killeth the spirit”. Can I get an amen to that?
Thou Shall Not Commit Adult....
“I think the whole concept of monotheism was a gift from the gods.” Emo Phillips
In the 70s/80s in Florida we had to do silent prayer every morning in school. The principal would come on the loudspeaker and read announcements, but after a “moment of silence” that they didn’t always remember to call a moment of silence. All the church-going students would bow their heads and pray. I’d often contemplate the division of church and state. : )
We also had the pledge, with ‘Under God’ in it.
We also had a “history” class that taught us all of the stories of the old testament. Totally Bible school in regular school. No hiding it at all. The teacher was good and didn’t preach, but we did learn all about Adam and Eve and Abraham and Noah and so on. Came in handy when I got to college and had art history classes. “Ahh, Cain and Abel!”
In elementary school, come to think of it, we were taught about the Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. I liked that. It did lead to a question – if all “those” gods and goddesses are myths… um, what about this current one everyone is interested in? Things little kids ponder.
And, for anyone hoping a current president can make us a Christian nation, just remember that a future president, without separation of Church and State, could make everyone worship Flying Spaghetti Monsters. 10 Types of Pasta will be posted in all classrooms. Don’t get saucy.
Waiting for All the Others
Both Pastafarians and Satanists have shut this insanity down before, and I’m waiting on them to end it again. Whatever anyone wants to believe is their business but they best not try to make it mine.
Nobody Expects…the Spanish Inquisition
This push by Christian Nationalists is not innocuous, nor is it exclusively aimed at improving the moral standard of the country. If you look at the drive to court evangelical voters, and examine the motives of ‘Project 2025’, faith based loyalty tests aim to dislodge well established performance-based-standards of professionalism and expertise, in all aspects of government.
In the 80’s I had the opportunity to interview and gather oral histories of elder natives of pueblo culture in the southwest. Many of them remember vividly the missionaries who infiltrated their communities, and established mandatory religious schools. As they said, the overarching ethos could be summed up by the phrase, “give me a child until five years old, and we’ll give you a Christian for life.”
Guilt and fear are powerful methods, and the framers of our country were well of aware of the dangers, to both free thought and liberty in general.
On a somewhat side note- while the pope made a show of courting top comedians in the name of honoring humor- slaughter, oppression, and indoctrination in the name of faith is no laughing matter.