MOVING FROM SECULARISM TO ATHEISM AS A STATE RELIGION

MOVING FROM SECULARISM TO ATHEISM AS A STATE RELIGION

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

America was founded as a religious haven for Europeans persecuted for their religious beliefs.  What many of the first settlers wanted was freedom to practice their religion without repercussions from the government. Our nation has been a beacon of religious freedom throughout the world for the past three centuries.

Our founders were God-fearing men. They convened all their political functions with a prayer. References to God are in full view inside and outside our historical government buildings. The personal and official authors spoke openly concerning the Supreme Being. The first amendment to the Constitution states that all people have the freedom to practice religion equally and openly under the law. There is no wall of separation between church and the federal government mentioned in the Constitution, nor is there any disallowing the freedom to discuss or practice Christianity or any other religion. There is a direct prohibition against establishing a national religion.

In our post 1960 progressive, secular revolution a frontal attack has been unleashed on Christianity. Recently in the United States we have seen a spectacular rise in atheism and a repression of anything Christian. Public prayer has practically become an illegal act. A prayer no longer introduces most government meetings. Mentioning God in a commencement ceremony has become shockingly controversial national news.

Ministers and pastors are being intimidated by the IRS as to what they can say. The military has removed references to God from their training manuals. Military chaplains are not allowed to counsel using Biblical references. Atheist “chaplains” have been established and given the same rights by our military as those religiously trained.

 “Freedom from religion” is really repression of Christianity. Some are calling atheism the new secular religion. The federal government’s promoting of atheism and significantly limiting Christianity is approaching the violation of our First Amendment rights. The belief in no God signals that government alone thinks it has the power to create a plentiful, peaceful and just world. This is promoting allegiance and reverence for an all-powerful government, which has been an essential element in all communist and fascist dictatorships.

Antonio Gramsci, a prominent Italian communist intellectual, noted in the 1920s that Christian moral values had to be undermined and eliminated for communism to take root with the people. It is for this reason; communist nations eventually deny citizens the opportunity to practice Christianity openly. Christianity had to be repressed for the state to replace it as the ultimate force of what is good and bad for the people.

Currently the freedom to express and practice Christianity worldwide is under attack. The United States is silent about hundreds of thousands of Christians being persecuted and killed in the Middle East and Africa. The United States has contributed little military assistance, humanitarian aid and no verbal outrage against the atrocities that have happened.

Atheists are targeting the symbol of Christianity, the cross, across the nation. Crosses that have been present for decades in national parks are being forcefully removed. Even crosses in cemeteries and roadside shrines are being called discriminatory against non-believers. Christmas and Easter have been significantly undermined as religious national holidays. They are currently being referred to as “Happy Holidays” and the “spring holiday.” Even Christ has been removed from Xmas. The nativity displays have been prohibited in public space by often just a single request.

The Affordable Care Act is a nationally imposed health program. It is requiring Christian organizations and businesses with strong Christian convictions to buy services although they oppose it on religious grounds. These services include abortion on demand, contraceptive device distribution and progressive sexual education. It is an obvious ignoring of their First Amendment rights.

Non-spiritual men did not found the USA. They did not seek a society based on a belief in no God. All religions were welcome to lawfully practice the beliefs of their choice, including atheism. The concept of religious freedom was inclusive, not exclusive. The founders were wise men that often called upon God for guidance.

Our progressive national government has no Constitutional right to inhibit Christianity. Neither does it have the right to sanction and facilitate the establishment of the belief in “no God”- atheism, or promote science as a quasi religion. Albert Einstein, one of the most revered scientists in history, and many other prominent scientists, have noted the hand of God in their sophisticated investigations of the inspirationally beautiful interconnections of the universe.

A vigorous free nation does not attempt to control the speech and thoughts and beliefs of its people. A so-called “secular society” whose national government suppresses Christianity or imposes any one religion on its people, is not secular. It is either a theocracy or a totalitarian government.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.