The efforts of some to have the government endorse and support particular religious views, for example Judge Roy Moore with his Ten Commandments monument, are sometimes portrayed as attempts to encourage people to better understand American history. That, however, is just a distraction. They are, or are supported by, Christian Reconstructionists; their real agenda is a Christian theocracy.

Sanjai Tripathi writes about this issue in a column at the Oregon State Daily Barometer Online:

[Y]ou don't see Moore and his supporters acerbically campaigning for monuments to the Code of Hammurabi or the Magna Carta. They aren't interested in history. They want government acknowledgement of the dominion of Christian ideals over all of us. ... I say that this is not a Christian country; it's a free country, although Christians are certainly welcome. The pilgrims were Christians who came to escape persecution from other Christians in England. Millions of people, from all over the world and many religions, have since come seeking the same haven.

The phrase "this is not a Christian country; it's a free country, although Christians are certainly welcome." is great - it's going to give many Christian Nationalists all sorts of fits and conniptions ("How DARE he?!?) - but it's really on target. It turns things around and emphasizes the fact that this country doesn't belong to any one religious group, but all are welcome - even Christians.

I hope Sanjai doesn't mind if I borrow that phrase to use occasionally...

The Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, in yet another amicus brief, this time opposing the monument, stated, "By displaying the Ten Commandments in the State Judicial Building, Justice Moore has usurped the role of private individuals and faith communities in shaping their own religious practices and views. Government efforts to promote religion drain religious practices and beliefs of their spiritual significance, thereby deprecating, rather than revitalizing, religion."

I'm glad that he quoted this because it underscores an important point which I try to make in my writings. The government is "usurping" an important private right and responsibility because the government has no authority in religious matters. It's up to the individual (perhaps in concert with privately chosen religious advisors) to make decisions about faith and to shape religious practices and views. Government has absolutely no role whatsoever in that - but Roy Moore and those who adopt the Christian Reconstructionist position act as though there were some role for the government to play.

They couldn't be more wrong.

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Ten Commandments
• Religious Right
• Christian Nationalism
• Religious Intolerance & Bigotry