This isn’t the place to go into detail about everything Judge Roy Moore believes, nor are all of his beliefs necessarily relevant. However, there are a number of things he has said and done which are related to his battle with separationists over the posting of the Ten Commandments in his court rooms.
Perhaps the most important and fundamental idea of his, one which plays a role in his other beliefs and in his actions, is that America is a Christian Nation. At a Christian rally in Tennessee in early 2002 he told supporters that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and that Christians should “take back our land.” He then went on to say:
- Since September 11, we have been at war. I submit to you there is another war raging — a war between good and evil, between right and wrong. For 40 years we have wandered like the children of Israel. In homes and schools across our land, it’s time for Christians to take a stand. This is not a nation established on the principles of Buddha or Hinduism. Our faith is not Islam. What we follow is not the Koran but the Bible. This is a Christian nation.
There are a number of very important features to the above which people should pay close attention to. First, there is the clear designation of his opponents (the people who have fought for the separation of church and state) as being on the side of “evil” while he and his supporters are on the of “good.” For him and people like him, this isn’t merely a difference of opinion where someone is simply misguided or mistaken; instead, it is part of a cosmic battle between God and Satan. The stakes are high, so it is no wonder that harsh language and underhanded tactics are more the rule than the exception.
Second is the reference to the wandering of the “children of Israel.” It has long been an important component of American religion that Americans view themselves as the “new Israelites” and America as the “new Israel.” This language resonates strongly with evangelical Christians and is a prelude to any call to “take back” the land which God has designated as theirs. Take it back from whom? Why, from the infidel, the godless, and the nonbelievers who are currently occupying it. This is the same theological argument employed by Jewish extremists in Israel today.
Another important point to note is the relatively explicit statement that Christianity should be given a position of privilege and preference in America while other religions must be satisfied with a second-class status. This is not the sort of thing normally asserted by the accommodationists who typically oppose the separation of church and state. Usually, accommodationists say that all religions should be helped by the government equally; Roy Moore, however, is only interested in aid to Christianity.
Moore’s identification of his religion with American politics and law is rather extensive. He believes that God was responsible for his becoming a state circuit court judge — that is a primary reason why he originally placed a plaque of the Ten Commandments there. According to him, “Our government was founded upon God. Our laws are founded upon God ... I think it is all fitting and proper that [the Ten Commandments] should be displayed in a court of law.”
In fact, Moore has explicitly said that it is his duty to keep the Ten Commandments posted and to open court sessions with prayers — it isn’t his duty according to the laws which regulate the behavior of judges, so it is a duty which comes from God. Once again, his religious beliefs and governmental position are, for him, so deeply intertwined that they simply cannot be separated — or, if they are, his religion takes precedence. At a press conference he said:
- Many judges and government officials deny any higher law and forbid the teaching to our children that they are created in the image of an Almighty God, while they purport that it is government, and not God, who gave us our rights. ...in order to establish justice we must invoke the favor and guidance of Almighty God.
