What If They Threw A War On Religion & Nobody Came?
Sorry, Santorum-lovers — Religion Dispatch‘s Sarah Posner is right: when it comes to the so-called ‘war on religion’ there’s no ‘there’ there.
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I’VE HAD ENOUGH!
In this Holy War on Religion, of Religion, and by Religion – I SURRENDER!
‘Cause I’m a lover, not a fighter.
Instead…I’m gonna start my OWN religion, and get in on the good stuff: tax exemptions, and lots of taxpayer money to do what I want, all in the name of religious liberty. AWESOME!
Hey NEWT -wanna join? We’re gonna have open marriages and multiple wives and all SORTS of neat stuff that you’re just gonna love! But don’t you worry Newt: we’ll have no – I repeat – NO nasty stoning of adulterers in OUR religion. None of that stuff. I Promise! As for SANTORUM, he just LOVES to tell other people how they should live. He’ll make us a REAL fine preacher-man. In fact, if he joins we’ll make him Saint Santorum….AND fix his Google search results! As for Mr. Obama, it’s obvious that we’ll need to (severely) demonize him, even further than now! Last but not least: MITT and RON. Hmmm… Hey, I know. Just for you two guys and the rest of the 1%: we’ll insist on NO TAXES AT ALL for our members…AND human sacrifice of illegal aliens. Tear out their hearts! Televise it live! WHAT A COUNTRY!
By the way,
the fact that Mitt Romney’s DAD was born in Mexico is quite relevant here. The reason is that Mitt’s Mormon GRAND-dad LEFT the United States and went to Mexico in the 1880‘s because laws against polygamy were passed in the U.S.; And being a Mormon back then, Mitt’s grand-dad just wanted to keep his multiple wives. Hey, who wouldn’t? Therefore, IF we follow the “logic” of the people crying crocodile tears about a non-existent “war on religion”, THEN the U.S. should have allowed polygamy back then (and religious racial discrimination, and who knows what else) – just because a particular religion claimed it as their cherished belief. GIVE ME A BREAK! Or better yet… give me a TAX-break…for my new religion!
Seriously: The bottom line is that absolutely NO ONE is coming into our Churches or places of worship and telling believers what to believe…..or forcing them to use contraception. BUT If the Bishops (and other denominations) want to continue running businesses outside of their places of worship…businesses that employ millions of people of varying faiths -or no “faith” at all- THEN they must play by the same rules and rights that other workers live by and enjoy (especially if their businesses use our tax dollars, and skip paying taxes, in the process). If the Jehovah’s Witnesses church hires me, can they alter my health insurance to exclude blood transfusions? Even worse- what if they operated a hospital by their “rules”?
This is not a “war on religion”. Never was. However, it IS a war BY some religions… on women and men who simply want to plan their families, to control their futures, to keep their jobs, and to have health insurance that allows them to do that. The churches (or the IRS) need to decide whether these churches are going to be political organizations proclaiming partisan politics from the pulpit…or….tax-exempt places of WORSHIP. Not both.
p. s. I come from a religious background. I know that their are many good people out there in various faiths (AND outside of those faiths)…many good people searching for answers, searching for community, searching for a way….in this all-too-harsh world. There’s only one thing I can say to you: think for yourself, be yourself, trust yourself. Don’t just accept something because it comes from a “voice of authority”. For ultimately YOU are responsible for your life, and how you try to live it. That’s why you have a conscience: to choose, not just to follow….
I’m just curious, if this isn’t a war on religion, what would a war on religion look like? Is it even a real thing? You have people being told that if they don’t do what they are told and violate their religious convictions, they will be fined. What will happen if they refuse to pay the fine? If the use of force (by either side) is on the table at all – no matter how far down the line – it is a war. Isn’t it?
I’ve been back and forth across the internet searching for some argument, some justification for Obama’s actions, but have only become more confused. Now I’m told that just because Obama has professed faith in one religion, he can’t possibly be at war with another religion.
Huh? Does nobody remember 9/11? Does nobody remember the thirty-year war in Europe? The crusades? The puritans in England? Anything in Palestine? All of recorded history?
They don’t have to provide contraception. They are not being forced to provide contraception. They just can’t take federal money if they want to deny contraception coverage for their employees. If they truly want to take a stand on this issue, then just don’t take the federal money! But Obama even compromised with them on this, he changed things so that the religiously-affiliated businesses don’t even have to provide contaceptive coverage, a private insurer has to. But that isn’t enough! They’re still complaining! This is not a war on religion. The government is saying that you can’t deny your employees TOTALLY LEGAL contraceptive coverage IF YOU ARE GOING TO TAKE TAXPAYER MONEY. IF TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING TO KEEP YOU RUNNING, YOU CAN’T DENY THOSE SAME TAXPAYERS HEALTH COVERAGE WHICH IS TOTALLY LEGAL IN THIS COUNTRY. Does that make sense?