LETTERS
Posted on Tuesday, May 6, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/Editorial/61543/
Conversation has frightening subtext
Recently there has been a conversation among letter writers on this opinion page about the religious affiliation of our Founding Fathers. Some of those writers have “ proof” that the Founding Fathers were god-fearing Christians, while others claim that several were deists.
One thing I’ve learned from this debate is that facts are meaningless if someone wants to believe one way or the other. So I would like to set that issue aside and focus on what’s behind it because the most disheartening part of this conversation is not whether someone believes Thomas Jefferson was a Christian. The most disheartening and even frightening thing is what this conversation implies.
Many people like to toss around the term “ Christian Nation, ” and some have even said that separation of church and state is wrong or was never the intent of the Founding Fathers. Are there really people who want our government to have connections to a specific church ? Do you really want our government sponsoring religious education ? And what if the majority of people preferred a creed other than your own ? Would you want them teaching your children their beliefs ?
Freedom of religion means anyone is free to have his or her own beliefs, and it means no one can be forced to participate in someone else’s religious practices. These freedoms are protected by our Constitution with the intent of guarding against oppression. “ Christian Nation” might seem like a harmless phrase to some, but to me it sounds like nothing less than theocracy. I ask you to think about what you are advocating when you argue against separation of church and state. And remember, there are many like me who will not surrender our freedoms easily.
Amanda Schilling / Bentonville