Posted on Wed, May. 09, 2007
A guest column by B. J. Paschal
Atheist activism balances an overbearing right wing
Why are atheists writing so many books and filing so many lawsuits? It’s a reaction to the explosive mixture of politics and religion that governs American conservatism, especially since the 2000 election. Also, it’s in part because of the right-wing cottage industry that has published so many books pushing the radical argument that the Founders intended virtually no separation between church and state; that America is a Christian nation; and that the Constitution does not ban political activity by churches.
A recent Pew Forum poll found that 67 percent of Americans believe the false idea that America was founded as a Christian nation. Of course, the “Planting Fathers” are not the Founding Fathers who gave us the Declaration of Independence and the secular Constitution, whose main leaders were deists. In today’s terms, founders such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and George Washington would be atheists. It also means that secularism will always have to be defended, especially against evangelical religion that disillusioned Jefferson and Washington so.
In its most practical form, the debate between atheists and the faithful is about public life and private belief. When the Christian right presses atheists too much, as has happened since 2000, they become ferocious and passionate about the First and Fourth Amendments. They think religion is playing too great a role in politics, schools and courts. And it is!
The key to maintaining peace is how a culture manages the different factions contending for influence. The key to the American plan is to let all factions air all concerns – and then our system of checks and balances limits the possibilities of radicalism of any kind.
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http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/17200522.htm