Topics in Public Faith

Such a pithy title deserves a dissertation, but alas, one is not forthcoming today. Or, if it does, then Project 5, which is due tomorrow, will be in rough shape.

Anyway, looking at my entries, I've noticed that I've been a bit hard on the old-tyme religion as of late, and I feel like it is high time I announced some premises/positions for future exploration in detail... later. My co-collaborators are welcome to jump in wherever they feel compelled to agree or disagree.

1. Inquiries that begin with the conclusion are doomed. Examples: Undertaking a scientific study of the world after first concluding that whatever you will find must conform to a literal interpretation of some holy text (not just looking at you Christians).

2. Neither evolution nor the big bang theory make any claims regarding the existence of supernatural deities or the creation of the universe. Those questions are beyond the scope of science. You can be a scientist who believes these things and devoutly follow any number of mainstream religions.

3. This is not a Christian nation. It is a nation of laws in which people are free to hold the beliefs that they choose without fear of coercion or harassment. Religious people set it up this way because they were sick of being coerced and harassed.

4. Faith is GREAT, for individuals. If you wish to take a position based on faith, it is your right. However, the moment you attempt to make decisions about other people's rights and property, you had better have evidence to convince them that what you propose is right. Example: Because of his religious beliefs, the owner of Chik'fil'a (sp?) closes all of his restaurants on Sundays. Good for him! They belong to him, he can do what he wants with them. However, if he were to lobby the government to force all restaurants to close on Sundays, he had better be able to make an objective case for the policy change that even folks who don't share his faith could find reasonable. "God says so," ceases to cut it.

5. Though people may have souls, the nation certainly does not. Using the state to advance a religious agenda at home or abroad saves no one. You can't get all of America into heaven by having the government force righteousness upon everyone, and the ones doing the forcing probably won't make it either. Instead, people need to focus on themselves and their families to make sure they are righteous in the eyes of their God.

6. The government is a tool we use to get along with one another, and secularism is a great approach for deciding just how it should work. We're a nation of a lot of people who believe a lot of different things. Holding debates on public policy within the domain of material facts which all parties can ascertain and share with others is the best way to come to conclusions that satisfy the most people's needs. When policy debate bears the burden of religious dogma, compromise, the original goal, becomes heresy enforced by damnation, and consequently, unpalatable to all sides concerned. What gets done?

7. Secular doesn't mean Hollywood. Secular doesn't mean relativism, either. Just because you hear these things lumped together in straw-man arguments (as I heard in this Sunday's homily), it doesn't mean they are all the same thing. It is possible to come to conclusions about right and wrong without relying on any particular group's religious views (see Philosophy in general). The alternative isn't resorting to hedonism.

That's good for now. I could go further, but I have a J.D. to get.