~It’s wrong to compel children to espouse religion of any kind.~Religion should be private.
~This country was founded on religious freedom in opposition to religiously oppressive countries in Europe.
~How important can they be since they weren’t added until later in our country’s history?
~Are we really so worried about “Godless communism” these days?
~How would you feel if the pledge said, “One nation with no supreme authority?” or “One nation under thirty-eight gods.” That’s the parallel.
~How about if the money said, “In Allah we trust?”
~Isn’t there something sacrilegious about putting God’s name on money…almost like it’s a violation of some Commandment or other?
~The government is supposed to be neutral to religion.
Post-Show Thoughts: It may well be the last vestige of an overwhelmingly Christian culture, but that doesn't mean it's nothing at all. The opponents here are between two problems: on the one hand they want to say that these things are significant violations of Constitutional principle but they also want to say they aren't really meaningful. Which is it? To say that these are violations of the establishment clause is to really belittle the meaning of that clause. I like reminders that God is the source of morality which is the source of law.
Links on mottos:
History of "In God We Trust" by U.S. Treasury
In God We Trust by Wikipedia
Pledge of Allegiance by Wikipedia
Pledge of Allegiance criticism by Wikipedia
Should "Under God" be in pledge? by UnderGodprocon.com
1 comment:
Re “In God We Trust”
I am an agnostic who has never traveled to Denver to picket the mint building to protest the “In God We Trust” phrase on U.S. coins. My main reasons for not publicly protesting are: (1) I do not like drawing attention to myself, (2) I am too lazy, and (3) I am very doubtful that the U.S. government will change that policy as a result of my protest.
I don’t know of any instances where Young Earth Creationists have gone to a college campus to picket in front of the buildings where mainstream geology, astronomy and biology are taught. I would guess that their reasons for not doing that are pretty much along the same lines as my own reasons for not protesting in front of the Denver mint.
Post a Comment