State has no authority in religion

State has no authority in religion

(My Clovis News Journal column for October 5, 2012)

Recently I saw some people around here get very upset over what they saw as an attack on their Freedom of Religion at government-sponsored sporting events.

I saw it somewhat differently.

Religious freedom is a condition necessary for liberty. As long as you practice your religion, or absence thereof, without attacking any innocent person, without coercion, and without violating the property of others, no one should be able to use government force to interfere. Not exactly freedom from religion, but from religious coercion. Simply being exposed to someone else's religion can't harm you.

No part of the government has the authority- and certainly not the right- to meddle in your non-coercive religious practices.

A harder thing for many religious people to accept, but just as critical, is the necessity of not permitting government to incorporate anyone's particular religious ideas into its official policies or promote them at its events. This is a de facto endorsement that can only muddy the waters.

No government money should ever go toward religious displays of any kind, nor should any government money be used to oppose any privately-funded religious display. If you are accepting "tax" money, or using government facilities, you must avoid promoting religion at your event. If you don't like that then you should make certain to remove yourself from the position of using government. However, even at government events, any individuals who are not there in any "official" capacity nor any position of leadership can still practice religion.

The incorporation of religion into "law"- such as Sharia Law or prohibition or sex laws- is the first step down a dangerous slope. This gives religion State power and gives the State religious authority. Few people worry about this issue, or even notice, as long as the religion they follow is the one being promoted or incorporated, but as soon as they get a whiff of someone else's religion having the same influence on government, the hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth begin.

By all means weigh any government actions according to your faith, but be careful to not let your faith be soiled by association with government, neither controlling it or being controlled by it, and don't let it be imposed on others by "law", nor force anyone else to pay for it through the use of their "tax" money.

Any government which is able to promote your religion today will be able to suppress your religion tomorrow. Freedom of religion is a double-edged sword. Be careful how you swing it, because that backstroke can cut you deeply.


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