Restoring Our Religious Liberty Against Attempts to Make Secularism Our State Religion

The promotion of secularism in the United States is rapidly becoming 'politically correct' as the organizing principle of our present day culture.  Dictionary.com defines secularism as a system of political or social philosophy that rejects all forms of religious faith or worship.  It includes the view that public education and other matters of civil policy should be conducted without the introduction of a religious element.  Secularists may refer to themselves as humanists, rationalists, freethinkers, skeptics, atheists or ethical societies.

Secularism is increasingly being upheld in our government circles, courts, universities and law schools as the necessary foundation for admittance to and participation withing social organizations.

For example: In 2009 Julia Ward entered her final semester of Eastern Michigan University's graduate counseling program with a 3.9 grade-point average.  After her professors and dean of studies kicked her out of the program because she refused to affirm homosexuality because of her Christian faith, Ward appealed to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) organization  to defend her cause. (1) (7)

ADF affirms that such attacks against religious freedom are rapidly increasing across the country.  The ADF, founded in 1993, provides legal support for cases of religious discrimination by coordinating the legal efforts of Christian attorneys and allied groups that are working to protect religious liberty, family values, and sanctity of life cases.   First Liberty Institute is another organization actively supplying legal support for the protection of our religious liberties. (8)

NO RELIGIOUS TEST  

Recently anti-religious bigotry was demonstrated against Amy Coney Barrett, a law professor at Notre Dame, who was being considered for a position on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.  In a letter signed by every full-time member of the Notre Dame law school faculty, Barrett was described as "a brilliant teacher and scholar, and a warm and generous colleague.  She possesses in abundance all of the other qualities that shape extraordinary jurists..."  Barrett is also a serious Christian believer.

California Senator Dianne Feinstein declared Barrett part of a suspect class.  "Dogma and law are two different things...And I think whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma. The law is totally different...When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you." (2)

This line of questioning that contends that secular ideas are the only valid basis for public engagement violates the 'no religious test' clause of the Constitution.  The Constitution makes it impermissible to deny any person a national, state, or local office on the basis of their religious convictions or lack thereof.

A CHRISTIAN NATION

A letter to the editor printed in the San Antonio Express News (August 30, 2017) boldy contended that "The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion.  Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution is God mentioned.  The Bill of Rights does not mention a Christian God.  Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, as well as other Founding Fathers, were also influenced by deism, which is not a Christian religion."  The newspaper editor emphasized these comments by printing colored pictures of Jefferson, Washington and Franklin adjacent to the comments.

However these statements are misleading and inaccurate  

AMERICA'S SPIRITUAL HERITAGE

The Declaration of Independence lifts up 4 references to God as the Creator, the Lawgiver, the Judge, and the Protector.
1. All people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
2. 'the laws of nature and nature's God
3. 'appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World
4. 'with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence. (3)

In his prayer journal, our first President George Washington wrote, "O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before Thy Divine majesty...daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy son Jesus Christ." (6)

"In 1787, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin declared, 'God governs in the affairs of men.  And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?"  (3:23)

In a prayer to the nation in 1801 Thomas Jefferson stated, "Almighty God...We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will... all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. (5)

President Andrew Jackson declared that the Bible "is the rock on which our Republic rests." (3:25)

After the Union army was defeated at the Battle of Bull Run, President Abraham Lincoln declared a National Day of Prayer and Fasting, stating "It is fit and becoming in all people at all times, to acknowledge and revere the Supreme Government of God...the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (4:124)

The last act of Congress signed by President Lincoln required that IN GOD WE TRUST be inscribed upon all our national coins. (4:101)

President Teddy Roosevelt declared "The Decalogue and the Golden Rule must stand as the foundation of every successful effort to better either our social or our political life. (3:25)

D-Day, June 6 1944, during a six minute prayer, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, "If we will not prepare to give all that we have and all that we are to preserve Christian civilization in our land, we shall go to destruction." (3:25)

President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared, "Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. (3:25)

President John F. Kennedy stated in 1961, "The guiding principle of the nation has been, is now, and ever shall be IN GOD WE TRUST." (4:105)

THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF THE USA OUR LEADERS HAVE PLACED THEIR FAITH IN GOD'S GUIDANCE FOR OUR NATION.   
TO SAY OTHERWISE IS BOTH MISLEADING AND INACCURATE.    


Previous Considerations of Secular Challenges to Our Country

The reader is referred to two previous discussions within this blogsite.

Holy Humanism! It's Politically Correct -  September 20, 2008

Imagine No Religion.  Impossible! -  December 26, 2008


References:

1. Dial, Karla.  "Christians Need Not Apply."  Citizen. Aug/Sept 2009, Vol. 23, No. 7. Pg. 26
2. Gerson, Michael. "Dem inquisitors would make secularism the state religion." San Antonio Express News. Thursday, September 21, 2017. pg. A11.
3.  "A Nation Like No Other".  Citizen. Aug/Sept. 2009, Vol. 23, No. 7. Pgs. 22-25,
4. Federer, Susie. Miracles in American History.  2012. Amerisearch, Inc.  St. Louis, MO.
5. "Thomas Jefferson's Prayer for the Nation."  Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation.  www,findroom219.com.
6."George Washington's Prayer Journal."  William J. Johnson . The Abingdon Press, 1919. NewYork.
www.cbn.com/spirituallife/prayerandcounseling...  
7. Alliance Defending Freedom.   https://www.adflegal.org.
8. First Liberty Institute.  https://firstliberty.org.

(13) Gays Confront the Church: The Gay Battle for Social Reorganization of America

Although prostitution and homosexuality were sometimes included in practices of early religions, the moral commandments of the Hebrew people protected sexual relationships in support of family values. The formation of the family unit through the love and sexual union of a man and a woman was seen as the way in which the love of God was shown to individuals in the present and passed on to future generations through their children. Scriptures from the Jewish Bible and the New Testament supported husband/wife unions and condemned homosexual relationships.

When gay activist groups emerged in the 1960's, churches were challenged to include homosexuals and allow them to participate without discrimination in church activities and events. Fundamental groups held firm to scriptural guidance, while mainline churches, especially within the leadership of the denominations, were moving toward inclusion.

Churches Challenged

The Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant denomination with sixteen million members, was not without challenge in its effort to preserve conservative family values. In 1965 Anne and Fred Alexander, members of the Southern Baptist Church, started the publication of The Other Side magazine "to keep alive the possibility of fundamental change." In 1978 The Other Side published an issue dealing with homosexuality, which included groundbreaking articles offering gay and lesbian speakers the opportunity to express their feelings and experiences. 1.

Organized elements within the mainline Protestant churches began a systematic push to change thinking related to theological and ethical issues involving sexuality. In 1978 a Task Force on Homosexuality submitted a report to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) recommending that avowed practicing homosexuals be ordained as ministers, ruling elders, and deacons. The 1978 General Assembly of PCUSA declared homosexual behaviors contrary to scripture and persons who practiced it could not be ordained. In 1978 the General Assembly appointed a seventeen-member committee, heavily weighted with members who condoned homosexuality, to develop a study on human sexuality. The report repudiated scriptural morality and proposed legitimizing premarital, extramarital, and homosexual relationships. The Human Sexuality Report was rejected by 94% of the delegation at the 1991 PCUSA General Assembly. A committee moderator stated, "We are convinced that the issue raised by this report will not go away." 2.

In 2006 a report titled "A Season of Discernment" that devoted 100 pages to "Sexuality and Ordination" was passed by the General Assembly of PCUSA. Agreement was reached on some matters. While ordination would be denied to anyone who demonstrated licentious behavior, celibate homosexuals and bisexuals were not barred from consideration for ordination. Every ordaining body was given the opportunity to decide what departures can be tolerated. 3.

Aggressive Attacks on the Church

In December of 1989 the late Cardinal John O'Connor was beginning his sermon in New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral when angry shouts came from the congregation. Members of the militant homosexual group ACT-UP stretched themselves out in the aisles or chained themselves to the pews. An angry man yelled, "You bigot, O'Connor, you're killing us." Forty-three protesters were arrested while O'Connor tried to go on with the service.

In 1992 the voters of Colorado had passed Amendment 2 that denied homosexuals special legal privileges. Will Perkins, the man who helped get Amendment 2 on the Colorado ballot, attended the Village Seven Presbyterian Church. In the middle of a Sunday service in 1993 a dozen homosexual activists leaped out of their seats and bombarded the parishioners with condoms. Focus on the Family in Colorado had rocks thrown through the windows, dead animal parts left on the ministry's front door, and flyers posted on light poles in front of the ministry and throughout the downtown area calling for conservative Christians to be thrown to the lions. 4.

Soulforce, Inc: We Will Split You

Soulforce, Inc. was a roving protest group of multi-denominational gays, lesbians and transgendered persons committed to nonviolent action with a goal to challenge church doctrines on homosexuality. The organization was founded in 1998 by the Rev. Mel White who had co-authored books in the 1980's with Evangelical elites including Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. After 25 years of trying to 'cure' himself, the father of two left his wife and moved in with his male partner. In the summer of 2000, protests were organized to disrupt the general assemblies of the Methodist, Baptist, and Episcopalian denominations. Working with activists within the denominations, Soulforce staged demonstrations. White's attitude was "We don't debate anymore. Change your policies or we're going to split you apart and leave." 5.

Denominations Divided

The demonstrations brought fervent opposition from evangelical forces within the churches. The vote by the delegates at the 2000 annual conference of the United Methodist Church rejected by a two-thirds majority any effort to alter the denominations's marriage centered sexual morality or sexual standards for ordination. 6.

Episcopalians were also divided by the debates on homosexuality. In 1998 conservative members formed a reform movement called Concerned Clergy and Laity of the Episcopal Church. In 2003 the election of a partnered homosexual bishop created turmoil in the church. The 2009 General Convention adopted two resolutions that seriously departed from biblical sexuality by repealing a moratorium on the consecration of additional gay bishops, while opening the doors to blessing same-sex unions. 7.

In August of 2009 the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA) adopted policies that were a departure from traditional Christian teaching. "The new policies allow ELCA churches to give approval to non-marital sexual relationships, both homosexual and heterosexual, and to ordain persons in such relationships." 8.

Priestly Sexual Abuse Challenges the Church

Accusations of priestly pedophilia exploded in the Catholic Church in the 1980's. The dual system of sexuality within the Catholic Church created problems in the development of a consistent understanding of sexuality. Church leaders for centuries have been called to celibacy. However seminary training did not adequately address the realities of leading a sexually celibate life. A church sponsored panel reported that 2 to 4% of Catholic priests may have been guilty of sexually abusing children, mostly teen boys. 9.

Many Catholic seminaries have a gay subculture. R. Scott Appleby, professor of history at Notre Dame University, said "People I know quite well have left the seminary either in disgust because people are not keeping their vows, or in alienation because they're not gay." 10

AIDS has taken a toll among Catholic priests. By the beginning of the new millennium, hundreds of Catholic priests had died of AIDS-related illnesses, and hundreds more were living with HIV. Priests were dying of AIDS at a rate four times that of the general population. 11.

Priestly sexual abuse of children and young teens raises two questions.

1. How many young boys were drawn into the homosexual lifestyle by early experiences of sexual behaviors with priests.?

2. To what extent has the homosexual challenge to traditional family patterns been supported and encouraged through these behaviors?

These questions become especially relevant in light of the high rate of AIDS among the priesthood.

ENDA and Hate Crimes Challenges Religious Liberty

Since 1994, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has been repeatedly introduced in Congress. If the bill passes, 'sexual orientation' would be added to the list of federally protected classes under the 1964 act that prohibits job discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. ENDA would make it illegal to make decisions on hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee based on sexual orientation. Supporters argue that ENDA is necessary to protect a minority from discrimination while opponents argue that religious employers who disagree with the homosexual lifestyle would be discriminated against. Church related facilities or non-profits could lost their tax exempt status if they refused to hire a person on the basis of their sexual orientation. 12.

After a decade of political struggle, President Obama signed the federal hate crime bill into law on Oct 28th of 2009. A hate crime is identified as a crime of violence motivated by the hatred of the group to which the victim belongs. The federal hate crime protects against violence based on the race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity of the victim.

BACKLASH- Protecting Religious Liberties

When church leadership moved toward changing sexual expectations to include practicing homosexuals as clergy and leaders, church members who leaned toward maintaining a scriptural foundation to the faith voted with their feet. Between 1965 and 1989 six mainline denominations (Evangelical Lutheran, United Methodist, United Church of Christ, Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Disciples of Christ) reported a combined membership loss of 6.2 million members. The churches that increased in membership were conservative and evangelical, in contrast to the secular liberalism of mainline denominations. 13.

Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council contends that state-sanctioned same-sex unions pose a dangerous threat to religious liberties, not just for churches but for everyone. Heterosexual relationships, although the only relationships that can naturally reproduce, would be officially declared 'nothing special'. Non-discrimination laws would threaten the rights of individual believers trying to live their daily lives in accordance to their faith. 14,

Perkins lists ways in which individuals may be challenged in their faith or denied the right to express their personal religious values.

* Individuals would be denied the right to express their views in regard to the gay lifestyle in public.

* Private business owners would be required to provide benefits for same-sex domestic partners.

* Organizations that challenged same-sex relationships may be denied government grants.

* Organizations may be denied access to public events.

* Professionals may face lawsuits or be denied licensing.

* Religious non-profits or educational establishments may lose their tax-exempt status.

* Religious clubs at secular universities may be denied recognition.

* Private business owners and religious non-profits would be required to include gays as employees.

Perkins notes occasions in which these conditions have already occurred.

* Catholic charities in Boston were told they could no longer do adoptions if they refused to place children with same-sex couples.

* A fertility doctor was sued for refusing to artificially inseminate a lesbian.

* A Christian camp meeting lost it's tax-exempt status for refusing to rent their pavilion for a lesbian 'civil union' ceremony.

* A Lutheran school in California was sued for expelling two girls in a lesbian relationship.

The late Dr. D. James Kennedy, founder of Coral Ridge Ministries, sounded the alarm on the federal hate crime law, which is named after Matthew Shepherd. Shepherd, who was a homosexual, was brutally pistol whipped and left tied to a split-rail fence in Laramie, Wyoming by two thugs in an attempt to get money and drugs. Homosexual protesters turned the tragic event into an attack against the Christian community, claiming that anti-gay messages by Christians who opposed homosexuality contributed to the 1998 murder of Shepherd.

Hate crimes add additional penalties for crimes committed against homosexuals or other designated groups when hatred or bias is a motivating factor.

Dr. Kennedy contended that "hate crime laws have been used to silence Christians, while providing special protection to homosexuals." 15.

Opponents of hate crime laws argue that the legislation leads to criminalizing speech that opposes the homosexual lifestyle. Current laws punish behaviors while hate crime laws punish offenders for what they think or say. In 2004 eleven Christians were arrested for committing a hate crime when they preached at a homosexual gay-pride event in Philadelphia. Matt Barber, Director for Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel, calls hate crime legislation "Constitutionally dubious and dangerous to religious liberties and freedom of speech" and "entirely unnecessary."

16.

REFERENCES

1. Davidson, Doug. "Disturbing the Peace:Thirty years on The Other Side." The Other Side. 30th Anniversary . Vol. 31, No. 6 (Nov/Dec) 1995:7.

2. Presbyterian Layman. "Highlights from the Layman's years of reporting on Presbyterian Church (USA)." Vol. 28, No. 6 (Nov/Dec) 1995.

Jameson, Vic. "Assembly maintains traditional Presbyterian sexuality policies." Presbyterian Survey. (July/Aug) 1991:24-25.

3. Religious Tolerance. "Statement on homosexuality: 2000 to now." 2008. http://www,religioustolerance.org/hom_pru22.htm. 2/22/2010.

4. Sears, Alan & Craig Osten. The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today. (Revised and updated) Nashville,TN: B&H Publishing. 2003:127,156.

5. Van Biema, David. "Out of the Fold.". Time. Vol. 156, No. 1 (July 3) 2000:48-51.

6. Tooley, Mark. "United Methodists move to the center." Faith and Freedom. Vol. 19, No. 3-4 (Summer/Fall)2000:6-7.

7. Walton, Jeffrey H. "Episcopalians Roll Down the Slope". Faith and Freedom. Vol. 28, No. 4. Fall 2009:7.

8. Wisdom. Alan F. H. "Evangelical Lutherans Go Over the Edge." Faith and Freedom. Vol. 28, No. 4, Fall 2009:6.

9. Associated Press. "Catholic bishops urge new rules over sex abuse." San Antonio Express News. November 18, 1993:15A.

10. Sears, Alan & Craig Osten, 2003:152.

11. Thomas, Judy L. "AIDS taking toll among Catholic priests in U.S." San Antonio Express News. Sat., Feb. 5, 2000:10B.

12. Riley, Jennifer. "Gay Employment Bill on Queue for Returning Congress." Aug. 21, 2009. http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090821/gay-employment-bill-on-agenda... 2/21/2010.

13. Ostling, Richard N. "The Church Search." Time. Vol. 141, No. 14 (April 5) 1993.44-51.

14. Perkins, Tony. "Same-sex 'Marriage' vs. 'Religious Liberty." Truth & Triumph. Alliance Defense Fund. Vol. II, Issue 3. 2009:14-15.

15. Kennedy, D. James. "CRM Sounds Alarm on Hate Crime Laws." IMPACT. Vol.XX, No. 10. Coral Ridge Ministries. 2008

16. Ibid

(11)Gay Adoption: The Gay Battle for Social Reorganization of America

A study done in 1993 indicated that there were 3-8 million lesbian or gay parents raising 6-14 million children in the United States. While most were children from a former heterosexual relationship or marriage, a growing number were opting to become parents through commercial reproductive services or adoption. 1.

Adoption becomes controversial

A March 2007 study reported that 65,000 adopted children were being raised in the U.S. by same-sex parents and an estimated 14,100 foster children were living with one or more gay or lesbian foster parents. States differ in their laws for single gays and lesbians and same-sex couples who seek to adopt.

*Florida is the only state that bans gay adoption by both singles and couples but it does allow gays to become foster parents.

* Arkansas, Utah and Virginia prohibit all singles or unmarried couples from adopting a child.

* California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and the District of Columbia have laws permitting gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered (GLBT) single, joint or second parent adoptions.

* Colorado permits same-sex couple adoptions while also allowing grandparents and other people who are raising a child to adopt.

Many states do not have specific laws covering gay adoptions or foster parenting. Gay singles have an easier time adopting than do gay couples. Twenty states permit single GLBT adoptions but are unclear in regard to joint adoptions. In these states gay couples wishing to adopt or foster a child are at the mercy of judges and adoption agencies. The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a non-profit organization that studies adoption and foster care claims that about 60 percent of adoption agencies accept applications from gays and lesbians, but they often are confronted with prejudice during the process 2.

Rob Calhoun and his partner, Clay Calhoun, have two adopted children, a 4 year-old daughter and an 18 month old son. Calhoun said, "We're not moms, we're not heterosexual, we're not biological parents... But we're totally equal and just as loving as female parents, as straight parents, and biological parents. Love makes a family, not biology or gender." 3.

BACKLASH/ Americans divided

A 2006 Pew Research Center poll reported that 46 percent of Americans support gay and lesbian adoptions. Opponents argue that children raised in gay or lesbian households suffer from not having both a mother and a father. Others argue that there are millions of single heterosexual mothers and fathers raising children across the country. They question why children of single or same-sex couples would be worse off.

Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, wrote in a commentary for Time magazine.

"Love alone is not enough to guarantee healthy growth and development...The two most loving women in the world cannot provide a daddy for a little boy, any more than the two most loving men can be complete role models for a little girl." 4,

The Catholic Church opposes gay adoption. On the Catechism on Call website, Robert Fry speaks for the church in saying, "A child who grows up with a mother and a father is exposed to both the masculine and the feminine, which according to God's plan, allows that child to grow up with an intimate and connected experience to both sexes. A boy, for example, raised by two women is deprived of the right to learn what society expects of men, and how men are expected to handle the challenges they will face in that society. A woman cannot transmit this knowledge to a child! You can't pass on what you don't know! Every child has a right to a mother and a father...Two men, for example, who choose to adopt a little boy, make a conscious decision that this boy will never have a mother. The situation is much worse when artificial insemination is involved, and the father's role is reduced simply to that of being a 'sperm donor'...To think that we've now decided to tamper with this foundation of our civilization, just so that a minority of adults can have their lifestyle sanctioned and codified as both normal and even 'healthy' should concern us all." 5.

The Catholic Church has been highly involved in adoption services. Changes in legislation which prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation places in jeopardy the ability of the church to continue offering this family service. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, is deeply concerned about how same-sex legislation will effect religious liberty in the country. He reports, "When Catholic Charities in Boston insisted that they would stay true to principle and refuse to place children for adoption with same-sex couples, they were told by the Commonwealth that they could no longer do adoptions at all." 6.

REFERENCES

1.The Gay Almanac. Compiled by the National Museum & Archive of Lesbian and Gay History. New York:Berkley Books, 1996:232.

2. Gandossy, Taylor. "Gay adoption: A new take on the American Family". http://www. cnn.com/2007/US/06/25/gay.adoption.

Johnson, Ramon. "Where is Gay Adoption Legal?" http://gaylife.about.com/od/gayparentingadoption/a/gaycoupleadopt.htm?p=1. 2/11/2010.

3. Gandossy.

4. Ibid.

5. Fry, Robert. "Learn What the Catholic Church Really Teaches: Catholic Church and Adoption." http://wwwcatechismoncall.wordpress.com/2009/04/16/catholic-church-gay-adoption/. 2/11/2010/

6. Perkins, Tony. "Same-Sex 'Marriage' vs. Religious Liberty." Truth & Triumph. Alliance Defense Fund. Vol. 11, Issue 3. 2009:14-15.