The American Stupidity

For the longest time now I have been following several issues regarding Religion in this country. Knowing about the history of our country has made me realize that we are headed right back for the same mistakes that plagued us before.

Early in our country's history, we had hundreds of people coming over to finally have a little relief from religious persecution. However, the minute they got here, religious intolerance appeared, and you ended up with many problems like burning "heretics" at the stake, and laws like the "Mormon Extermination Order" to indicate how open we were to our newly found "religious freedom".

How could things like this happen in a place that boasts religious freedom, and even protects that freedom from governmental interference?

We went through our own "enlightenment" period, where religions of all kinds were finally accepted, from the most strange and bizarre (like having "prostitute priestesses" who will have sex with you for money to forgive your sins) to the most normal and benign (like traditional Catholicism or Orthodoxy).

Now, we have started our turning again to religious intolerance. Religion is being removed from our schools. Religion is not “bad”, and teaching about religion is not “state supported/enforced” and therefore is NOT against the constitution. I don’t care what anyone says, religion is an important part of our lives. It has been shown in several studies that people who regularly participate in religious activities are happier, healthier, and less likely to break the law. Also, religion is a part of our lives, it is a part of our history. It is the reason for the United States, it is the reason for Utah state...

We have a large contingent of “atheists” here in the U.S. This is fine and good. However, they have decided to fight against those that do believe in God with a “religious zeal” that rivals the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or Bible thumping, pulpit pounding Baptists.

One would have to question WHY they are so against the Religious of this country. If they don’t believe in God, why fight against those that do believe in God? What do they get from it? But then, I ask this question of the Anti-Mormons, and have yet to get an answer.

There is no such thing as the “Separation of Church and State”. I have an offer of $$ for anyone who can prove that there is such a thing. It would have to be listed in the Constitution or Bill of Rights, or any of the Federal Laws (in the Federal Register) or in any of the founding documents of this country that have a bearing on the legal system. Find it, let me know, I will pay up.

This punches the atheist argument of the supposed “separation” right out the window. All they are doing is trying to legally enforce “anti religion”. Because their actions are so similar to that of a regularly organized religion that believes in God, they (the Atheists) could be considered to be a religion. Why not? If you can have a religion with prophetess prostitutes, and Atheist Religion isn't so far off. By enforcing their “religion” BY LAW, against the rest of us who DO believe in God, they are violating the First Amendment which specifically prohibits the enforcement of a religion OR the prohibition of religion by the state.

I guess my argument is this; the enforcement of “anti religion” or “anti God religion” is the same as the enforcement of “pro religion” or “pro God religion”.

Several of the arguments come in against the “so help me God” in the oaths of office or in the courtroom, or the “in God we trust” on the currency, or the “one nation under God” found in the pledge of allegiance. So long as these are not enforced by law, i.e. you MUST say the pledge of allegiance or go to jail…you MUST use minted coin or currency to pay for goods and / or services or go to jail…you MUST state an oath with “so help me God” or face penalties…so long as there is no enforcement of these by law, there is no violation of the First Amendment.

The only thing that is being accomplished by the current trend of the Atheists against the Religious is the breakdown of tolerance. When religion is being excluded from our classrooms and from history, how will anyone really know what it is all about? Why did settlers come to America? Why did the pioneers go to Utah? If we cannot tolerate religion in anything "pubic" how can we tolerate it at all?

We will have no tolerance for people or their religion. Atheism may grow, but so will lawlessness and intolerance.

Why do I say that? Think about it…If we completely remove religious influence from the laws of the country, we would be left without laws against murder, rape, child molesting, child porn, robbery, assault, drugs, etc. All of these laws can be traced back to one religious (Judeo/Christian) principal or another.

You wanna say that these things would belong in a civilized society? Why? We were “civilized” back in the 1800s and it was still ok for a 50 year old man to marry a 13 year old woman, many drugs were legal, and stealing was a way of life for those with the bigger guns. In truth, we have these laws because the majority of the citizens in the U.S. are a religious, moral people.

What we should be worrying about is teaching tolerance to this and future generations. The only way we can live harmoniously together in this ever growing civilization is to be able to tolerate the differences that each of us has. Half of learning tolerance is learning about the thing to be tolerated. Religion is one of the most common commonalities that exists. Many people are religious, and some are non-religious. Understanding both these points of view is essential to learning tolerance.

If we can be tolerant and accepting of other’s religious beliefs, or lack of them, we can have a more open mind, and an open mind is never a bad thing.

However, if we continue on the path we are currently pursuing, we will end up like Germany, Iraq, Armenia, Croatia, Somalia, and all those other countries where religion, or absolute lack of it (or intolerance of it) has caused civil wars, mass genocide, and many other problems. This is America, we rely on Religious Tolerance and Freedom. Without it, we are just another problem waiting to happen.