#separation of church and state

[liberalsarecool]

Conservative churches exploit their tax-free status.

[canadianabroadvery]

[rejectingrepublicans]

[socialjusticeinamerica]

“Portraying Johnson as just a pious Christian causes the public to overlook the way he manipulates Christianity to exert power.”

MAGA Mike Johnson folks, he’ll be Speaker of the Portraying Johnson as just a pious Christian causes the public to overlook the way he manipulates Christianity to exert power. House of Representatives until you get off the couch and vote Democratic all the way down the ballot.

Spread the news. Organize locally. Attend protests and other events. Become an activist and volunteer. Post to news sites, radio and tv sites, and post to websites in Republican districts. Make calls, send letters, and emails. Be heard.

[fiddlestickstwo]

The phrase many Americans use to describe religious freedom, “separation of church and state” is not found in either the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. In 1802 Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury, Connecticut Baptist Convention in which he presented his views on the relationship between religion and the role of the state in the new nation. Basing his views on the establishment clause of the First Amendment which said that there should be “no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” Jefferson stated that there must be a “wall of separation” that clearly limited the involvement of religious denominations and religious leaders in matters related to national governance.

Jefferson, like many other of the early leaders of the United States, was committed to what is commonly called a secular state, in which citizens can openly hold religious beliefs and participate in religious services, but not seek to influence the direction of the state on matters of national policy. It is important to note that the words God, Jesus, and Christianity are not mentioned in the Constitution as evidence that the writers of this basic governing document wanted to put up a strong wall of separation.

[contemplatingoutlander]

A Trump judge sends Southwest Airlines to right-wing reeducation camp

Ruth Marcus does an excellent job of pointing out how another Trump appointed judge (from Texas) is stomping on the Constitution when it comes to the separation of church and state. The judge in this case doesn't seem to understand the difference between people being allowed to hold religious beliefs and religious people harassing others who don't share their religious beliefs. The article is well worth reading. Here are some excerpts:

Another day, another extremist ruling by another extremist Trump judge, and this decision — from Texas, no surprise — is straight out of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The judge held lawyers for Southwest Airlines in contempt of court for their actions in a religious-discrimination case brought by a former flight attendant and ordered them to undergo “religious liberty training.” And not just any instruction, but training conducted by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative group that litigates against same-sex marriage, transgender rights and abortion rights. [emphasis added] The issue arises from a lawsuit filed by Charlene Carter, a flight attendant for more than 20 years and a longtime antagonist of the Southwest flight attendants union. In 2017, after union members attended the Women’s March under a “Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants” banner, Carter sent Facebook messages to the union president containing graphic antiabortion messages.

[See more under the cut.]

“This is what you supported during your Paid Leave with others at the Women’s MARCH in DC …. You truly are Despicable in so many ways,” Carter wrote in one message accompanying a video of an aborted fetus. After the union president complained, Southwest fired Carter, saying her conduct “crossed the boundaries of acceptable behavior,” was “inappropriate, harassing, and offensive,” and “did not adhere to Southwest policies and guidelines.” An arbitrator found that Southwest had just cause for the firing. Carter, represented by the National Right to Work Committee, sued, claiming Southwest and the union violated her rights under federal labor laws and Title VII. The federal job-bias law bars employers from discriminating on the basis of religion, and Carter claimed she was dismissed because of her sincerely held religious beliefs against abortion. [...] The scary part is what came next. [U.S. District Judge Brantley] Starr instructed the airline to “inform Southwest Flight Attendants that, under Title VII, [Southwest] may not discriminate against Southwest flight attendants for their religious practices and beliefs.” Instead, Southwest said in a message to staff that the court “ordered us to inform you that Southwest does not discriminate against our Employees for their religious practices and beliefs.” This sent Starr into orbit.... “In the universe we live in — the one where words mean something — Southwest’s notice didn’t come close to complying with the Court’s order,” Starr said. “To make matters worse,” he said, Southwest had circulated a memo about the decision to its employees repeating its view that Carter’s conduct was unacceptable and emphasizing the need for civility. “Southwest’s speech and actions toward employees demonstrate a chronic failure to understand the role of federal protections for religious freedom,” Starr decreed. He proceeded to order three Southwest lawyers to undergo eight hours of religious-liberty training — a move he described as “the least restrictive means of achieving compliance with the Court’s order.” Luckily, Starr observed, “there are esteemed nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to preserving free speech and religious freedom.” [...] Adjectives fail me here. This is not even close to normal.... the notion of subjecting lawyers to a reeducation campaign by the likes of the ADF is tantamount to creating a government-endorsed thought police. Imagine the uproar — and I’m not suggesting these groups are in any way comparable — if a liberal-leaning federal judge ordered instruction on women’s rights (those are constitutionally protected, too) by Planned Parenthood. [...] This is the alarming legacy that former president Donald Trump has left us — a skewed bench that he would augment if reelected. The Trump judges seem to be competing among themselves for who can engage in the greatest overreach. [...] Conservatives are quick to balk at anything resembling the order that Starr issued when they disagree with the underlying principle. [...] I need no excuses for calling this what it is: a reeducation program — outrageous, unconstitutional and an abuse of judicial authority. [emphasis added]

[randyite]

The Never-ending "War on Christmas"

[odinsblog]

Yeah same. In less than 6 weeks I’ve seen Roe v Wade overturned, the paper thin separation between Church & State destroyed, Miranda rights eviscerated, legal rights for people facing capital punishment destroyed, voting rights curb stomped, open carry forced down people’s throats after multiple mass shootings, and I know I’m forgetting a lot of stuff, but it feels like I’ve lived years in the past few weeks. The great American experiment feels like a fail.

[sordidamok]

MTG claims that God is telling Americans to do what MTG wants Americans to do. No surprise there.

[bigdadskypilot]

“Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book...”

― Dwight D. Eisenhower

Republicans today are the antithesis of what they once were. They bear no resemblance to Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, or Dwight Eisenhower. They are not erudite like William F. Buckley. They are identified by the horrible things they stand for: hate, fear, and violence. They wrap themselves in flags and clutch bibles, while displaying the honor and loyalty of neither. Any dedication to the principles upon which this nation was founded demands full and complete opposition to them. If that’s what makes me a “liberal.” Then so be it.

[canadianabroadvery]

[traumamakesmefunnier]

Hot Take: The world, especially the United States, coddles religious people, specifically christians. A lot of laws have been passed that really dont pass the whole operation of church and state test. Its dumb that churches dont pay taxes, its dumb that they are exempt from shit, its dumb that they make laws that hurt people because its against their specific religion. it makes me so fucking mad. Its dumb that they have so much power over laws and the country as a whole. the fuck happened to separation of church and state? I think its bullshit that lawmakers are passing laws and making their campaigns all about “christian family values” and outlawing abortion because their religion says abortion is wrong, and i hate it when i get told by people that im going to hell for being gay, and i hate it when assholes say that “transgenderism” needs to be completely eradicated. its bullshit and i hate it.

I dont hate christians. Most of my family is christian. But fuck it hurts so much when a large percentage of the largest group on the planet thinks you are going to burn for eternity in the name of “love”. I dont hate people who believe in some sort of god. It can be comforting to believe that death isnt the end. Go ahead and go to church and pray, do what you want. But i will not sit by and watch a group that says they are about love hurt billions of people.

[sher-ee]

Hear him out.

“Church and State”

[socialjusticeinamerica]

MAGA Mike is coming for us. On tape calling abortion an American holocaust, ending lgbt rights, and doing away with the separation of church and state.

You better get out and vote for Biden and all the other Dems on the ticket or we’re going to be living in a nightmare dystopian fascist police state. We need to spread the word and get others out to vote.

[allhailthe70shousewife]

Okay, this is REALLY important. Trump is hogging up so much GOP donor money that local GOP candidates are starving. The upcoming presidential election is an opportunity to really punish republicans IF YOU KIDS ALL VOTE. So please register and vote!!! We need you💙

[contemplatingoutlander]

"What influence, in fact, have ecclesiastical establishments had on society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the civil authority; on many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny; in no instance have they been the guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wish to subvert the public liberty may have found an established clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted to secure and perpetuate it, needs them not." --James Madison,  Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments (1785)

This is an excellent article by Timothy J. Sabo. It is a long article, but well worth reading. Sabo refutes all the claims by "Christian" nationalists that the Constitution was "inspired by God," and that the Founders wrote the Constitution based on a Christian understanding of God's will.

The BIGGER Lie is the misconception that the U.S. Constitution was “inspired by God.” Let me paint the picture for you. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness — that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” You know these words, right? They are NOT in the U.S. Constitution. They are from the Declaration of Independence. [...] The Founders had their own faith-based beliefs which varied greatly, but they did not incorporate those beliefs into the U.S. Constitution. While the Declaration of Independence strives to connect us with a Creator who guarantees “unalienable rights,” the Constitution never mentions either. [...] The Founders wrote a lot about liberty, and equality, but those were words meant for them — the white men who would rule the nation. These were concepts that were never supposed to come to fruition for those “undeserving” souls: the indigenous tribes, African slaves, and women.

Sabo goes on to show just how much the Founders believed "liberty, and equality" didn't apply to indigenous people, Blacks, and women--and how the "Christians" back then used the Bible to justify slavery, second class citizenship for women, and the right to conquer the "savages" who inhabited the land.

Sabo also refutes the idea that "unalienable rights" come from the Biblical God:

"When we compare the Word of God to the Laws of Man, the most interesting fact we find is that the God of the Bible never mentions any “unalienable rights.” Instead of granting Man rights, God laid out commandments for Man to follow; quite a big difference from what God demands and what the American government granted."

As further proof that the Founders did not consider the U.S. to be founded as a Christian nation, Sabo points to the 1796 U.S. Senate ratified Treaty of Tripoli, which states in Article 11:

If the Constitution — the foundational legal document of the nation — was inspired by God, why then are the Founders, just five years after ratification, stating that the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion?

Read the article for more debunks regarding the right-wing "Christian" nationalist belief that the U.S. Constitution was inspired by God and that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation. But here's one last thought from Sabo:

The Founders were not “inspired by God” when writing the new Constitution. The truth is they were “inspired to keep God out of it.” What if America, the great nation “created by God for Christians” was created by men who decided to keep God out of the foundation of the nation? What if those Founders were not “inspired by God,” but instead were inspired to keep God out of the business of the government entirely?

_______________ *NOTE: The 100 million excess indigenous deaths in the Americas is an estimate. According to D. M. Smith (2017), some modern estimates can be as low as 70 million, although Smith estimated 175 million excess indigenous deaths in the Western Hemisphere from 1492 – 1900. Smith also estimated 13 million excess indigenous deaths from 1492 – present in the lands that now constitute the U.S. & Puerto Rico. All images (before edits) via source Thanks to @wtfnameisavailable for a comment on this post that led me to the above article by Timothy J. Sabo.