‘Tis the Season for Censorship

The holiday season is fast approaching. Christians as well as atheist activists both relish this time of year, but for completely different reasons. People of faith see this time as a heartwarming opportunity to enjoy deeply held traditions in the American culture. Atheist activists, on the other hand, see this as the proverbial “golden opportunity” for their cause. They can hardly wait for the publicity they gain from attacking schools and town councils. In many of America’s schools, the atheists have been effective in censoring mention of the religious nature of holidays. For example, too often educators teach that Thanksgiving is merely a nostalgic remembrance of what happened 400 years ago between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Students get the idea that besides some dusty old origin, Thanksgiving is about Turkey, football, and being the day before Black Friday retail sales.

A few years ago, Americans United for Separation of church and State got mad at us because we “encourage teachers to use Thanksgiving to explain how the country thanks ‘God for His blessings.’” Guilty as charged. We encourage educators to actually educate their students about the meaning of Thanksgiving as expressed by the President of the United States in his annual Thanksgiving Proclamation.

For example, last year, President Obama proclaimed, “This day is a time to take stock of the fortune we have known and the kindnesses we have shared, grateful for the God-given bounty that enriches our lives… Let us spend this day by lifting up those we love, mindful of the grace bestowed upon us by God and by all who have made our lives richer with their presence.” But if atheist activists had their way, the President’s words would be censored from the classroom.

And when it comes to Christmas, many educators have been so intimated by atheist threats they censor traditional Christmas carols and references to the birth of Jesus. Consequently, the lesson students absorb is that Christmas is just a merry commercial enterprise.

During the Christmas season last year, the atheist extremists of the Freedom From Religion Foundation couldn’t resist trying to be offensive to Christians in Arlington Heights, IL, who got proper permission to set up a Nativity scene in a park. Instead of merely setting up their own display celebrating some atheist holiday in an expression of multicultural diversity, these extremists put up a display directly across from the Nativity scene with a heartwarming banner that read: “There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth & superstition that hardens hearts & enslaves minds.”

Hopefully this year school boards and town councils won’t join the atheists in singing “’Tis the Season for Censorship.”

Atheist Group Sues to Impose Its Values on Others

The atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) recently attacked a South Carolina school board for opening its meetings with an invocation. They find it unacceptable that a group of elected officials begin their meetings with an invocation like the one board member Beth Watson recently offered: "Our Creator and Sustainer, we pray for the health and well-being of our students and their families. We pray for all our employees who work so hard on behalf of all our students." However, the school board's prayer is in keeping with the practice established by Congress and upheld by the courts, and reflects the sentiment of South Carolina's constitution which begins "grateful to God for our liberties."

Our friends at the Alliance Defending Freedom have written an excellent defense of the practice of public meetings opening with prayer. Attorneys Brett Harvey and David Cortman remind us that:

The central case on this subject is Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983), where the Court approved the Nebraska Legislature’s practice of opening each day of its sessions with a prayer by a chaplain paid with taxpayer dollars. Marsh has been repeatedly mischaracterized by some advocacy groups in recent months, but its holding is clear. In Marsh, Chief Justice Burger concluded:

The opening of sessions of legislative and other deliberative public bodies with prayer is deeply embedded in the history and tradition of this country. From colonial times through the founding of the Republic and ever since, the practice of legislative prayer has coexisted with the principles of disestablishment and religious freedom.

In fact, the Court noted that agreement was reached on the final language of the Bill of Rights on September 25, 1789, just three days after Congress authorized opening prayers by paid chaplains. Clearly then, “To invoke divine guidance on a public body . . . is not, in these circumstances, an ‘establishment’ of religion or a step toward establishment; it is simply a tolerable acknowledgment of beliefs widely held among the people of this country.”

We need to keep in mind that the Freedom From Religion Foundation is not some benign group that merely wants to maintain what it thinks should be a separation of Church and State. FFRF is an aggressively anti-religious organization that sees religion as a threat to civilization. For instance, it characterizes the Ten Commandments as epitomizing "the childishness, the vindictiveness, the sexism, the inflexibility and the inadequacies of the bible as a book of morals." It encourages people to abandon their faith and its website offers a "DeBaptismal Certificate" which states "I categorically reject the creeds, dogmas, and superstitions of my former religion."

President George Washington in his Farewell Address on September 19, 1796 urged the nation:

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. . . . The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them."

Thomas Jefferson, whose statement about a separation of Church and State atheists love to misinterpret, gave America this warning (which is carved into his memorial in Washington, D.C.):

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?"

Make no mistake, Atheists groups like FFRF do not want to merely preserve a so-called separation of Church and State. They want to remake America into something that the Founders never intended, and which, as they warned, will destroy the fabric and freedom of the nation.

Why "Under God" Must Remain in the Pledge of Allegiance

This Wednesday (Sept. 4), Massachusetts’ highest court will consider the constitutionality of having students recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The practice is being challenged by an anonymous atheist couple who object to the words “under God” in the Pledge. The clamor by some people about this acknowledgement of God stems from a misunderstanding of why the phrase is so important to the American concept of government. Here are five reasons why “under God” must remain in the Pledge of Allegiance:

1. Thomas Jefferson explained why being "one Nation under God" is important.  Thomas Jefferson and our other Founding Fathers understood that the government does not give us our freedom. Our freedom comes from God, and the government was established to protect that God-given freedom. That was their justification for the American Revolution as stated in the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson wrote: 

"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; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government laying its foundation on such principles…"

No king or emperor, no president or congress, no court or crowd gives us our rights. They come from God himself and are unalienable. And the Founders built America's "foundation on such principles."

2. Abraham Lincoln explained why being "one Nation under God" is important.

Abraham Lincoln understood that the nation's unity and freedom depended upon being one nation under God. In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln used the exact phrase, "nation, under God," echoed in the Pledge of Allegiance. He began his address by referring to the Founding Fathers' foundation in God-given rights:

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure."

As Lincoln closes his remarks honoring the fallen soldiers at Gettysburg, he offered this inspiring vision:

"...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." (emphasis added)

3. Martin Luther King, Jr. explained why being “one Nation under God” is important.

Dr. King's famous "I have a dream" speech reflects his ideals rooted in the Founders’ belief that our rights come from God. King relied on the Declaration of Independence’s reference to the Creator when he said:

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'"

In every century of American history, arguably the most significant document or speech of that century references the rights of Americans being derived from our Creator: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence in the 18th century, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in the 19th century, and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech in the 20th century.

4. It doesn't matter that the phrase "under God" was added to the Pledge in the 1950s.

Some people argue that "under God" was not in the original Pledge and was inserted over 50 years later. But, that only proves it took over 50 years to get it right!

5. The phrase "under God" does not make the Pledge a prayer.

Some people argue that "under God" is a form of prayer, and thus it is unconstitutional to have schoolchildren recite it. However, a careful reading of the Pledge of Allegiance reveals that we are not pledging allegiance to God. We are, instead, pledging allegiance to a republic. The Pledge describes the republic as one nation under God and indivisible. In other words, it is a statement of fact. It is a fact that our Founders established our government on the proposition that freedom comes from God, not the state.

As Jefferson, Lincoln, and King attest, the American people's freedom--the freedom of your neighbors, your co-workers, your children, and their teachers, are because we are one nation under God. Take that principle away, remove it from our national consciousness, and we will lose the very basis for the freedoms we so easily take for granted.

Thomas Jefferson warned of the dire consequences of forgetting this important principle. On the Jefferson memorial his warning is carved:

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?

Lincoln said it well, "Now we are in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure."

In this war of ideas, people will not defend what they do not cherish, and they will not cherish what they do not understand.

Teachers Tell Their Stories

Listen to four teachers tell how Gateways' seminar, "Faith, Freedom & Public Schools," helped them overcome their fear to teach about the importance of the Bible and Christianity as they relate to history, culture, and values.

The President Has Issued Better Proclamations

Today, President Obama issued his Religious Freedom Day proclamation. He's done better in previous years. While I appreciate that he upholds this twenty-year tradition of emphasizing the day, I am concerned that this year's proclamation lacks a clear understanding of America's religious freedom.

In his opening statement, he emphasizes the "freedom to worship as we choose." This is a narrower understanding of religious freedom. His next statement, reinforces this notion by editing Thomas Jefferson's words.

Since Religious Freedom Day is the anniversary of the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786, written by Jefferson, it is appropriate to quote it. However, the President's proclamation edits the statement to read "all men shall be free to profess...their opinions in matters of religion." The full statement from Jefferson is this:

"Be it enacted by the General Assembly that no man...shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion."

Jefferson's words go beyond merely having the freedom to go to hear sermons, sing songs, and pray in church. The Virginia Statute includes the freedom to maintain -- to act on -- one's religious convictions.

To put this in a modern context, the federal government is telling business owners like the Greens, who own Hobby Lobby and refuse to provide employee health care that runs counter to their religious convictions, "you are free to profess your opinion, but you are not free to maintain your opinion in the management of your business."

The President's 2011 proclamation was better. In it, he uses the full quote ("that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion.")

In that proclamation he also reminds us that "these liberties are not self-sustaining, and require a stalwart commitment by each generation to preserve and apply them." He goes on to state "we vigorously protect the civil rights of Americans, regardless of their religious beliefs." But, doesn't this contradict what is currently happening with the health care mandate?

The President's 2012 proclamation was also better. In it he states that we "reaffirm that the American people will remain forever unshackled in matters of faith." Again, doesn't this contradict what is happening with the health care mandate? The federal government is asserting that people's religious faith IS shackled to the mandates of the government.

Hobby Lobby faces fines of $1.3 million per day if its owners do not make their faith subservient to the government's mandate. This, it would seem, is exactly counter to Jefferson's statement that no person should be "burthened" (meaning "burdened") "in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief."

This year's proclamation lacks the strength of previous proclamations. It begins with a diluted message about "worship" but, toward the end it does call on Americans to honor the day "by forever upholding our right to exercise our beliefs free from prejudice or persecution."




(See the President's proclamation below)

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DAY, 2013

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Foremost among the rights Americans hold sacred is the freedom to worship as we choose. Today, we celebrate one of our Nation's first laws to protect that right -- the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. Written by Thomas Jefferson and guided through the Virginia legislature by James Madison, the Statute affirmed that "Almighty God hath created the mind free" and "all men shall be free to profess . . . their opinions in matters of religion." Years later, our Founders looked to the Statute as a model when they enshrined the principle of religious liberty in the Bill of Rights.

Because of the protections guaranteed by our Constitution, each of us has the right to practice our faith openly and as we choose. As a free country, our story has been shaped by every language and enriched by every culture. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, Sikhs and non-believers. Our patchwork heritage is a strength we owe to our religious freedom.

Americans of every faith have molded the character of our Nation. They were pilgrims who sought refuge from persecution; pioneers who pursued brighter horizons; protesters who fought for abolition, women's suffrage, and civil rights. Each generation has seen people of different faiths join together to advance peace, justice, and dignity for all.

Today, we also remember that religious liberty is not just an American right; it is a universal human right to be protected here at home and across the globe. This freedom is an essential part of human dignity, and without it our world cannot know lasting peace.

As we observe Religious Freedom Day, let us remember the legacy of faith and independence we have inherited, and let us honor it by forever upholding our right to exercise our beliefs free from prejudice or persecution.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2013, as Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to commemorate this day with events and activities that teach us about this critical foundation of our Nation's liberty, and show us how we can protect it for future generations at home and around the world.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA