Via Atrios, I see that Missouri is considering whether to simply chuck the Constitution altogether:
Missouri legislators in Jefferson City considered a bill that would name Christianity the state's official "majority" religion.
House Concurrent Resolution 13 has is pending in the state legislature.
Many Missouri residents had not heard about the bill until Thursday.
Karen Aroesty of the Anti-defamation league, along with other watch-groups, began a letter writing and email campaign to stop the resolution.
The resolution would recognize "a Christian god," and it would not protect minority religions, but "protect the majority's right to express their religious beliefs.
The resolution also recognizes that, "a greater power exists," and only Christianity receives what the resolution calls, "justified recognition."
Man! How many things are wrong with this idea? Let me count the ways!
In the first place, is there a distinction between being the "official majority religion" versus being simply the "official religion"? It seems not. After all, if the resolution is only recognizing a fact (namely, that there are more Christians in Missouri than members of other faiths), then the resolution is superfluous on its face. There either are or aren't more Christians, regardless of what the resolution says.
Second, and related, what on earth does it mean to be an official majority religion? Does that mean that if, one day in the future, there are in fact more Muslims in Missouri than Christians, that Christianity would still be the official majority religion? Again, an absurd implication of the bill.
Third, what policy implications are there to being the "official majority religion." If this bill is anything other than unconstitutional, than there can be absolutely no policy implications as a result of this piece of legislation. If you craft policy on the basis of this idea of an "official majority religion" it becomes de facto as well as de jure an establishment of religion. And if there are no policy implications, than the bill is simply a waste of time anyway.
Fourth, what the heck is "justified recognition"? I mean, sure, it's nice to that there willing to allow other faiths to practice their religion and all, but it seems to be on the basis of an unjustified recognition! In other words, "we know you're a bunch of pagans and terrorists, but we'll let you worship here because that's just the kind of guys we are." Again, to say that any particular religion is granted "justified" as opposed to "unjustified" religion amounts to an establishment of religion, it creates a category of religious discrimination that would allow the state to impose additional burdens on non-Christian religions, as well as provide a basis for curtailing the religious liberty of anybody who does not cleave to the "justified" religion of the state.
Are non-Christian religions going to have to register with the state in order to be recognized? If not, how can we know whether or not they are an acceptable presence in light of the state's "official" majority religion? And what of sects that consider themselves Christians but are considered cults by many adherents of "official" Christianity (Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.?). Are their beliefs granted "justified recognition," or is it only the beliefs of "orthodox," Chalcedonian, Trinitarian Christians? We need to know these things!
What dismays me about this, and all other attempts to impose these ridiculous kinds of religious authoritarianism is their blatant flouting of the tradition of religious freedom that goes past Thomas Jefferson, to John Locke, and even to John Milton, each of whom recognized the dangers of allowing the state to set the boundaries of religious truth. It's the total ignorance of history, theology, and political philosophy that leads to these kinds of abject stupidity, and yet rather than cure the problem by educating these morons better as to their own history, we unleash them as legislators, hell-bent on no agenda except the destruction of religious liberty and sensible pluralism in this country.
As Jefferson said well, "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just."
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