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Questioning Theocracy
Posted By Stefan Monsaureus
In Saturday’s Secular Sermon at Daily Kos, tbrucegodfrey discusses the sad, persistent attempts of some religious conservatives to impose biblical values on American governance and jurisprudence, noting (among other things) the the difficulties in applying “traditional” religious values as law when there are numerous competing religious traditions and no small amount of inconsistency within and between them.
Ultimately, the question of whether, and if so which, religious traditions govern our society’s public morals, i.e. laws, remains to be seen. To claim stupidly, however, that America needs to “return to the Bible” is asinine; not only does the Constitution bar Congress from establishing a religion and guarantee freedom from Congressional interference in the free exercise of religion, it bars all religious tests for federal office.
And, of course, there is the huge issue of whether whatever moral code one might glean from an ancient text written when heliocentricity was an unknown concept, slavery was an accepted practice and the subjugation of women was routine could possibly be applicable to contemporary society. But the point of this sermonette seems to be that candidates should be called to account for pandering to those who would impose theocracy on America.
What does this have to do with Democrats winning elections? I think that we should start asking theocratic Republicans - meaning those who take public support from theocratic organizers - which Bible passages should become statutes. I think we should ask their opinions of Biblical stoning, whether adultering men should be stoned as well as women, whether the government should be in the business of promoting Christianity or whether that is a church’s day job.
Such questions do not seem out of bounds, especially in cases where a stance is based on a selective reading of the Bible. It would be wise, though, to avoid over-generalization; the goal is to drive a wedge between religious fundamentalists and religious moderates, not between all religious adherents and atheists. Not all Christians are biblical literalists lacking the sophistication to appreciate allegory and metaphor.
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17 November 2007
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