Notes from Evil Bender

As readers of this blog know, I blog against theocracy on a regular basis. I’ve never hidden my contempt for those who would use the mechanism of the state to force their religious beliefs on others, whether this takes the form of the Exodus Movement to South Carolina or simply letting religion be the guiding factor behind State decisions. I’ve noted that being anti-theocracy isn’t just for the godless, but that religious people should be concerned about it as well.

Today, as we prepare to celebrate what was by any standard, a truly remarkable undertaking. We recognize the complex political motives of the founders of the United States, and we know they were flawed men, many of whom kept slaves, who denied women the right to vote, and who protected their own interests often at the expense of the poor. But none of this makes their achievement any less remarkable: their failings only illustrate how truly ambitious and worthy of praise was their ambition. The words of the Declaration of Independence have rarely been matched in history:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed

Not an original idea, but a profound one, that governments exist to provide for the needs of its people, and that they must exist only so long as those whom they serve fine it useful. Government, in this model, was not a God-founded institution demanding obedience, but rather a tool, useful only so long as it upheld the inalienable rights of its people.

The document did not deny a deity, but neither it nor the Constitution would give that deity a central place in the new government. On the contrary, government was conceived as for and by the people.

This new government would have two contrasting features. First, it would be a government which responded to the will of the majority. But it would not be a government of the majority exclusively, it would not be mob rule, for the majority was given no authority to deny the rights of the minority. Thus the US Government was envisioned as being by the people and yet protecting the people from encroachments by the tyranny of the majority.

This model was compatible with some religious beliefs–for example, it owed much to the Quakers–but it was incompatible with such religious beliefs as the Divine Right of Kings, a greatly unpopular view at that time. Moreover, it was designed to make the conscience of the individual more important than the law of the state. If the government was derived only through the will of the people. then it was also also subservient to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

What role did religion play in this? A great deal, in the private lives of some founders, and an important part in the community which formed the new nation. But it was always a supporting role, useful for providing individual guidance, not State control. Individuals were to be guided by conscience, and the state by the absolute rights of its members.

This is why I oppose theocracy. I believe that for all its flaws our country was founded on some of the most remarkable and democratic ideas ever conceived, and that these ideas are worth preserving. When the state acquires the power to enforce religious belief on its citizens–either through direct legislation or from a sufficient number of individuals in power letting their religious beliefs unduly influence the course of the country–it divorces itself from its foundation and violates the mandate on which it rests.

It matters not if a majority of the country believes in a religion, for that religion cannot be forced on anyone. Religion is, and should be, a matter of conscience, not of public policy. And if it becomes public policy, it undermines the rule of law on which that policy depends.

Religious rule is completely, irrevocably, and forever incompatible with democratic principles. As we honor the sacrifices of those who have secured much freedom for us, let us not forget to be vigilant from threats–including theocracy–which would undermine all that we hold dear.

On Independence Day, let us celebrate our freedom of religion–and, if we so choose–our freedom from religion–a freedom which our founders so wisely defended.