Romney: Obama Hopes To Establish ‘Secularism’ As An Official Religion

[cbayer]

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/04/03/457068/romney-obama-hopes-to-establish-secularism-as-an-official-religion/

By Igor Volsky on Apr 3, 2012



Likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney doubled down on his attack against President Obama for allegedly waging a “war on religion” during a town hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Monday night, insisting that the Affordable Care Act’s new rule requiring employers to provide preventive health care services like contraception constituted an effort to establish “secularism” as an official religion.

“They decided to say that in this country, that a church, in this case the Catholic Church would be required to violate its principles and its conscience and be required to provide contraceptives, sterilization and morning after pills to the employees of the Church,” Romney said. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), who has endorsed Romney and has campaigned throughout Wisconsin with the former governor, went even further, suggesting that “if that’s what this president is willing to do in a tough election year, imagine what he will do after the election if he ever has to face the voters ever again in fulfilling the rest of Obamacare.”

But both men should know better, particularly since they’re in a state that has a far more aggressive contraceptive equity law than Obama’s national model and have yet to witness any grand sweep of secularism across the Badger State.

For instance, under Obama’s rule the Catholic Church — and all houses of worship — are specifically exempt from providing contraception to their employees, while religiously affiliated nonprofits can also opt out of offering birth control if they so choose. The same is not true in Wisconsin, however, where a 2010 law requires all employers — including the Catholic Church — to offer contraceptive benefits. But rather than declare war against “secularism,” religious organizations seem amiable towards the change. Some had been providing the benefit prior to the requirement and other characterize the use of contraception as a matter of personal conscience.


more at link

[RDANGELO]

1. Congress shall pass no laws regarding the establishment of religion nor the free practice thereof.

Sounds like secularism to me.

[longship]

10. At least get the 1st Amendment right

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;..."

respecting is a very important word in this context, and it's one that every single person who claims that the USA is a Christian country does not understand.

I would hope that all DUers would get that right.

[Enrique]

2. does Romney know the Ninth Commandment?

"you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor"

[LeftishBrit]

8. Or for that matter the Third Commandment..

'Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord Thy God in vain'...

I would say that using God's name in order to smear opponents and win power for yourself was definitely taking it in vain. If I was religious, I would consider that as blasphemous. As I'm not, I just consider it disgusting.

[bongbong]

18. Nope

All R-Money knows is the 11th Commandment, which all repigs follow: "Get into power by any means necessary including lying, cheating, stealing, and murder. Then send trillions in gov't contracts & tax cuts to your rich cronies. Amen"

[benld74]

3. Secularism definition

refers to the view that human activities and decisions, especially political ones, should be unbiased by religious influence.

[msongs]

4. LDS Mormon church launches its election year attack on non-believers nt

[cbayer]

6. That's exactly how I am reading this as well.

[safeinOhio]

11. If this were not a secular country,

Mormonism would be banned.

[cbayer]

13. It is impossible for him to see that.

It is the secularism that (eventually) protected Mormon's when they were being persecuted.

[SamG]

5. Yeah, 'cause a Christian tea bag taliban government would..

be SO reasonable!

[YankeyMCC]

7. Secularism --> Everyone is included

[SecularMotion]

9. Just for the record

Secular

1.of or pertaining to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal: secular interests.

2.not pertaining to or connected with religion ( opposed to sacred): secular music.

3.(of education, a school, etc.) concerned with nonreligious subjects.

4.(of members of the clergy) not belonging to a religious order; not bound by monastic vows ( opposed to regular).

5.occurring or celebrated once in an age or century: the secular games of Rome.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/secular

[sinkingfeeling]

12. I think we should buy him a dictionary.

[dmallind]

14. If only. I'd put up with the false label if we could get secularism that way.

Don't know enough history to say for sure this country has never been a secular one but it sure as hell hasn't been since the Red Scare and McCarthyite hysteria.

[struggle4progress]

15. Poor Mitt! To win the White House, he's first gotta convince

all the wingnut Publican primary voters that he's as crazy as they are, and then throughout the fall he's gotta convince the Independents he was only joking in the spring about being crazy, without pizzing off his wingnut core: Sometimes I feel like a nut! Sometimes I don't!

[cbayer]

16. Agree. He is totally painting himself into a corner here.

If I were him (and I am really, really glad that I am not), I wouldn't mention religion at all.... ever.

[bongbong]

19. Etching

That's why he etching as fast as he is sketching - and America is retching.

[Goblinmonger]

17. And yet progressives right here on DU feed this BS

By making a similarily stupid argument that atheism is a religion. Let's remember this thread when we see that argument again.

[dmallind]

20. They won't. Nobody will. The big A is too "militant" for rationality from believers. nt

[darkstar3]

21. "When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail," to paraphrase an old saying...

Most believers don't have the necessary frame of reference to understand what not having a religion or a belief means.