March 14, 2007 6:04 AM

Separation of Church and State? Yeah, right....

Atheist group takes on Bush initiative

THE THEOCRATIC AGENDA IS COMING TO A STATEHOUSE NEAR YOU

MY NEW HERO #67: Annie Laurie Gaylor

Annie Laurie Gaylor speaks with a soft voice, but her message catches attention: Keep God out of government. Gaylor has helped transform the Freedom From Religion Foundation from obscurity into the nation’s largest group of atheists and agnostics, with a fast-rising membership and increasing legal clout.

One of the most disturbing trends over the past six-plus years is the prevalence of the language of religion-specifically Christianity- in American government. In seemingly total and willful ignorance of the reality that this nation was founded by people fleeing religious persecution in their native land, their descendants are fast at work turning the tables in modern-day AmeriKKKa. There is of, course, nothing wrong with the concept of religion- when it’s a private, personal matter. Unfortunately, when government funds and promotes what it refers to as “faith-based” (Right-wing code for “Christian”) programs, religion ceases to be either private or personal and becomes the domain of the State.

Whose God gets the benefit of government largesse? Or whose “version” of God? Given the current tenor of the Right-wing, Apocalyptic zealots pulling the levers of power in Washington, the version of God currently in favor is a mean-spirited, aggressive SOB willing, ready, and more than able to kick ass and take names. Praise Jeebus…and passes the bullets, willya??

Who would Jesus bomb? Well, Iran seems a good candidate, and we’ve got about 150,000 American troops next door in Iraq. Coincidence? Not for those whose Christianity is the muscular, Apocalyptic variety.

The court will decide whether taxpayers can sue over federal funding that the foundation believes promotes religion. It could be a major ruling for groups that fight to keep church and state separate.

“What’s at stake is the right to challenge the establishment of religion by the government,” Gaylor said.

The 51-year-old once donned a nun’s habit as a college student in 1977 to protest a judge who blamed rape on women who wear provocative clothing.

She uses different tactics these days, though her activism remains strong.

Among its victories, the group has stopped funding for a Milwaukee charity that Bush visited during the 2000 campaign and an Arizona group that preached to children of prisoners.

The case in front of the high court claims White House conferences to promote the faith-based initiative turn into unconstitutional pep rallies for religion.

The initiative helps religious organizations get government funding to provide social services.

George Washington University law professor Ira Lupu called the Madison-based foundation “by far the most aggressive litigating entity against the faith-based initiative.”

“When they can prove there’s religious content in those programs, they’ve been quite successful and they’ve won a few cases,” Lupu said. “When they’ve tried to go after the initiative as a whole, they’ve been less successful.”

When Evangelical Christianity becomes the defacto official religion of our federal government, we can assume that religious tyranny is in full flower. When people like John Hagee, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Rick Scarborough have the ear of this sorry excuse for a President, we can’t claim to be surprised when our government begins to disassemble the barrier between Church and State.

I’m grateful for people like Annie Laurie Gaylor, who’ve recognized the threat that intolerant Christian zealotry poses to the fabric of this country. You can argue about the propriety of the separation of Church and State if you choose, but let me ask you one simple question: Do you really want James Dobson making decisions about how your tax dollars are spent? I certainly don’t

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on March 14, 2007 6:04 AM.

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