Freedom From Religion
The so-called “freedom of religion,” which is supposedly protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (emphasis mine)
is also, quite clearly the freedom FROM religion, if that is what the individual seeks.
A recent Time article, Can Atheists Be Parents? explains that:
“Judge Camarata denied [a couple's right to adopt a] child because of their lack of belief in a Supreme Being. Despite the Burkes’ “high moral and ethical standards,” he said, the New Jersey state constitution declares that “no person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience.” Despite Eleanor Katherine’s tender years, he continued, “the child should have the freedom to worship as she sees fit, and not be influenced by prospective parents who do not believe in a Supreme Being.”
This is the kind of arrogant, pea-brained shit that makes sense to people who have so thoroughly deluded themselves that they continue to believe patently ridiculous fairy tales well into their “adult” years. Of course, most religious people will say that this is just a case of a religious extremist taking an extreme position, but no, these are exactly the kind of conclusions that you must reach if you actually buy into this crap.
And just as a bonus thought of the day, should we be surprised that the leviathan state, which takes upon itself the task of “caring for” people from cradle to grave, could possibly reach such conclusions? We should not be the least bit surprised. It, likewise, is the natural, predictable result of government.
It is time we, as a people, grew up and stopped believing in the two most deadly ideas in history: the cult of the state and the cult of god.
August 25th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
And just came across this gem. Stefan Molyneux on Christianity:
“The belief that a cosmic Jewish zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you eat his flesh, drink his blood, and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree.”
August 25th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Did you see Justin’s correction/addenda? Turns out it was from 1970. I believe it was pretty quickly overturned. Still bad, but not As bad.
August 25th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
The opposite should be true as well then: a child allowed to make his or her own choice about whether they believe in a Almighty God. Regardless of what I believe, seems like a pretty obvious double standard.
August 25th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Ha. I did not see the date. My bad. The fact that it did happen is still just as infuriating and just as telling is the fact that it is not entirely surprising that it could happen today. And of course, Dez is correct that it is just as outrageous, regardless of what your particular beliefs happen to be.