Having gotten on the Center For Inquiry’s (CFI) mailing list, probably when they combined with Skeptical Inquirer, I’ve recently been subjected to frequent mailings from them. For those readers unfamiliar with CFI, they are an organization carrying on the free-thinking tradition, aka agnostics and atheists. Part of that tradition is the view that one of the strengths of the United States is the Separation of Church and State, also known as the Establishment Clause, as bolstered by the Johnson Amendment, which forbids churches taking advantage of tax-free status from advocating for particular candidates.
As I noted here, the younger generations (you can insert a harsh, grating voice at this juncture if you’re so inclined) are showing less and less interest in organized religion. Now, I’m aware that this doesn’t make them all agnostics and atheists, but reports do indicate that youngsters are falling into that category with increasing frequency.
So, if you’re not aware of CFI, let me note that, while like most profit-free organizations they’re usually on the hunt for funds, and they’re not always above trying to inflate a point here or there to gain your sympathy, their latest missive impresses me as more than just the hunt for the nickel. I suppose that may be because they don’t actually ask for one.
Instead, they explain their very deep unease about tomorrow’s midterm elections. Perhaps my younger reader, atheist or faithful, doubtful as to voting, might want to read their concerns.
Dear Friend of CFI,
Please vote tomorrow.
We face a pivotal moment in our country’s history. The separation of church and state is suffering under the most withering attack in generations.
The Trump White House has embraced the religious right with open arms. The balance of the Supreme Court has shifted ever further in favor of religious privilege. Congress is our best, and perhaps only, chance to stop theocracy from calcifying in the federal government. It’s not an overstatement to say that our freedom from religion is at stake in this election.
And while theocratic activists batter at the wall between church and state, our government is becoming disconnected from basic facts. Career scientists are being driven out of federal agencies where their work informs life saving regulations. Propagandistic media networks spread wild conspiracy theories that become accepted knowledge in the White House. Trump lies so often and so outrageously that news outlets are struggling just to accurately cover his statements.
Your vote matters. Please vote tomorrow, and help others to vote if you can. If you’d like more resources for how to register, find your polling location, or join a last-minute voter registration drive, check out Secular America Votes.
As always, thank you for supporting the separation of church and state.
Sincerely,
Jason Lemieux
Director of Government Affairs
Center for Inquiry
Partisan readers will dismiss this as a partisan letter from an organization which they may despise.
I think it’s a bit more, though. Whether you’re religious or atheist, it’s a fair question to ask: Why is the United States secular? We may be a highly religious country, but our miscellany of religions makes it critical that the State remain secular and disinterested in religious affairs which do not infringe on our secular legal system.
By voting for the Republicans, who have been pursuing the policies concerning which CFI has expressed concern, we risk putting in place policies which favor one religious sect over all others. This road is unstable and has historically lead to terrible violence, tragedy, and backwardness. For more on this, see my thoughts at length here.
If you’re atheist or at least not a member of an organized religion, this should concern you. If you’re a member of a religious sect, which can mean anything from a Roman Catholic to a 10 member church out in the middle of nowhere, you should also be concerned, because, again, you may not find yourself in the proper group. Given the history of theocracies, this should leave you deeply uneasy.
And the whole religious strife drama is a poor way to run a country. See Iraq.
So give voting another thought, if you had decided against it. No snowflake has ever hurt anyone on its own, but an avalanche of them is a helluva thing to stop. Be part of one.
