Is Secularism Relevant Today?

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Let’s look at some statistics from the ARIS 2008 report:

Christians make up 76% of the US population.
The non-religious make up 20%.
Other religions make up 4%.

How about the Christian break down:
Catholics are at 25.1% of the total US population.
Other Christians are at 50.9%.

If we allow religious beliefs to be what results in the law of the land then we will have a case where the majority is forcing their religiously motivated values on the rest. So what are a few things that the majority of religiously motivated people in America could agree on?

  • Close businesses on Sunday mornings.
  • Ban alcohol sales on Sundays.
  • Force sporting events to air after 2:00 pm on Sunday.
  • Prohibit the manufacture and distribution of pornographic materials.
  • Prohibit homosexual behavior.
  • Remove the teaching of evolution from high school biology classes.
  • Allow teachers to lead prayers in schools.

If you are fine with that then I ask, what happens when those demographics change? Let’s look at the tyranny of the majority that can come from some other groups reaching a critical mass:

  • Catholics – banning birth control.
  • Muslims – instituting Sharia law.
  • Buddhists – mandatory vegetarianism.
  • Jews – mandatory kosher and Sabbath observance.

If you think I’m being a little alarmist here, let’s just look at a few countries which are not secular and what they currently have on their books:

  • Canada and the UK – voluntary Sharia law courts as an alternative to civil courts.
  • The United Kingdom – Anglican Bishops holding legislative seats by nature of their church position.
  • Ireland – Priests accused of sex crimes facing ecclesiastical courts instead of criminal courts.
  • The Muslim World Iran and Saudi Arabia – Sharia law: loosing a hand for theft, death for homosexuality, adultery, and apostasy, and honor killings having either no prosecution or minimal sentence for just a few examples.

In that first example, due to the lack of a secular government, religious minorities get to have their religion gain legal authority.

The US Constitution has providing the “Blessings of Liberty” as a stated goal. All religions have their “thou shalt nots.” There is no way that we can have the blessings of liberty if we let people’s thou shalt nots enter our laws or our courts. In the pluralistic society we have today, secularism is more relevant than it ever was.

Edited at 6:19 PM MDT on Sept 22, 2010.

8 Comments


  1. Sharia law: loosing a hand for theft,

    death for homosexuality, well the turcoman's and algerian's have the greek problem for 200 or 300 years predilection for boys
    and the death penalty do not arise
    whaabits are a big % in arabia but are a small % in islam wahaabit yi yi

    adultery, and apostasy,

    and honor killings are tribal…
    hundred years ago americans kill the adulterous woman or the former slaves ……having either no prosecution or minimal sentence

    i'm wrong about everything?


  2. and the lynch law for theft
    is a little better hanging for the theft of one horse yes
    loosing a hand ….horrible barbarious


  3. Jagga,

    Thank you for calling me on my inaccurate over generalization of the Muslim world. I have updated the post narrowing the Muslim world down to just Iran and Saudi Arabia.

    The only documented case of an American being executed for adultery was Mary Latham in the 1640s the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This actually supports my argument since Massachusetts was a Puritan theocracy.

    Yes, honor killings are found in many tribes, but they aren't very well supported in countries that aren't deeply (and generally officially) religious.

    As far as the lynching of blacks in the century after the Civil War, that had nothing to do with religion or secularism, it was the product of ignorant racism.

    There is a reason why the American Frontier in the 19th Century is referred to as the Wild West, it was crazy and barbaric. Executing horse thieves is horribly barbaric. That doesn't change the fact that chopping off hands is also barbaric.

    If I misunderstood something, please clarify.

    Thanks,
    Dustin


  4. no and i give you plenty of reduction of your life expectancy already


  5. How so?


  6. How so?


  7. no and i give you plenty of reduction of your life expectancy already


  8. How so?

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