So we ARE a Christian Nation!

The House on Tuesday passed a resolution 847 that while not explicitly saying we are a Christian Nation, sure implies it. It includes implications that:

• Christianity is the primary religion of the country and the world


• Acknowledges the importance of Christianity, but not others.


• Recognizes that Christianity had a lot to do with the founding of this nation

It is ridiculous that the house feels compelled to even deal with such a resolution let alone that it would pass one thereby slapping every other religion and the non-religious in the country (and world) in their collective face.

I'm appalled and I feel like it is one more step towards making this country a Theocracy.

BIHI presenting The Rise of Christian Nationalism.

The Boulder International Humanist Institute is putting on a great event in a couple of weeks. The full title is: Secular America under Siege – The Rise of Christian Nationalism. If you are anywhere near Boulder, CO, you should make a point of going to this event. Michell's and Damon's books are excellent!

Here is the BIHI announcement

On Tuesday, May 22nd, BIHI and the AHA present an evening with Michelle Goldberg and Damon Linker entitled, “Secular America under Siege – The Rise of Christian Nationalism.” If you value preserving the separation between Church and State, you won’t want to miss this! The event includes discussion and book signing by both speakers. Location is the Glenn Miller Ballroom at the UMC at CU, corner of Broadway and Euclid in Boulder. Tickets are $7.00 in advance and $10.00 at the door. Students and faculty free with ID. Online ticket purchasing and parking information is at www.bihi.info. For general questions, call Gordon Gamm at (303) 543-9166.

Michelle Goldberg, a senior political reporter for Salon, has been covering the intersection of politics and ideology for years. In her book, Kingdom Coming, she demonstrates how an increasingly bellicose fundamentalism is gaining traction throughout our national life, taking us on a tour of the right-wing evangelical culture that is buoyed by Republican political patronage. With her trenchant interviews and the telling testimonies of the people behind this movement, Goldberg gains access into the hearts and minds of citizens who are striving to change our nation into a Christian nation run according to their interpretation of scripture.

Damon Linker, author of The Theocons, is intimately familiar with the rise of the “theoconservatives.” His experience working in the center of the theocon world as an editor of its flagship journal, First Things, led to his resolve to write a critical history of the movement. The Bush administration’s overt religiosity represents the triumph of an ideological movement that for the past several decades has devoted itself to fashioning a theocratic governing philosophy for the U.S. and has actively sought to roll back the division of church and state in American life.

Boulder International Humanist Institute seeks to build a more humane society by asserting that values and public policy choices should be based on the most beneficial human consequences and not on faith or ideology. BIHI is not concerned with the proof of the existence or non-existence of God, but how one's God belief or disbelief affects their values and public policy decisions. BIHI’s niche in the Humanist world is to challenge both traditional religious values which are based on unquestionable supernatural sources, as well as those “create your own reality” values emphasized in new age religion. The organization’s Web site can be found at www.bihi.info

The American Humanist Association (www.americanhumanist.org) is the oldest and largest Humanist organization in the nation. The AHA is dedicated to ensuring a voice for those with a positive outlook, based on reason and experience, which embraces all of humanity.

Go here for more information and to buy tickets on-line.

Separation of Church and State

Blogswarm is sponsoring a blog promotion about separation of church and state. This isn’t exactly on-topic for this blog, but it is an incredibly important topic. There are active organizations in this country who are trying to undermine the bedrock American stance on separation of church and state. If they succeed, our ability to believe as we want will evaporate. We will become a Christian Nation, which is exactly what they are after.

The most prominent recent successful actions undermining separation of church and state is the faith-based initiative President Bush has put in place and the politicizing of the judicial system. The first is using millions of dollars of taxpayer money to promote Christian values without the checks-and-balances the secular system has in place. The second is an attempt to institute faith-based laws by overloading the judicial system with judges who base their decisions on the Bible instead of the Constitution and rational thought.

If you doubt any of this, try reading any of the following books:

Michelle Goldberg, Kingdom Coming
Damon Linker, Theocons
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

Or read through some of the material at any of the following:

The Interfaith Alliance Foundation
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
The First Freedom First Foundation
The American Humanist Association