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Friday, August 4, 2023

Offsite Post: ‘There Is No Such Thing As Religious Neutrality’

 

The 20th-century conservative writer Irving Babbitt once remarked, ‘When studied with any degree of thoroughness, the economic problem will be found to run into the political problem, the political problem into the philosophical problem, and the philosophical problem itself to be almost indissolubly bound up at last with the religious problem’ (quoted in Russell Kirk, The Conservative Mind, 7th edn., Regnery, Washington, D.C., 2001, p. 424).

Furthermore, Professor Richard Weaver in his book Visions of Order made the point that every society will have some kind of ultimate religious principle at its center that molds and shapes the culture of that society.

In the South in general, and in Louisiana in particular, many might think that Christianity is that ultimate religious principle, but at the moment we are not so sure.  Consider the following statements from lawmakers in Louisiana’s Legislature:

Rep. Dodie Horton, speaking of her bill to outlaw discussion of sexual orientation and/or gender identity in classrooms, said, ‘This is not against anyone’s lifestyle, at all. It’s about protecting the children in the classroom from an adult sharing their lifestyle preference, that’s all this is.’

Rep. Garofalo added similar words:  ‘Chalmette Representative Ray Garofalo supported the bill and said teachers should only be teaching the basics, reading, writing, and arithmetic.

‘ “What we’ve seen over the last few years is there are activist teachers in our classrooms trying to indoctrinate our students into a political way of thinking. It’s not right and it’s not fair to the students,” said Garofalo.’

Regarding her bill to add ‘In God We Trust’ to public school classrooms, Rep. Horton provided these comments:

‘Haughton Representative Dodie Horton says it’s not pushing religion on anyone

‘ “That is our motto. That’s who we are and that’s what it’s saying. I think it’s important for our children to see it and not just walk passed it and not even know it’s there. So that’s my goal.” ’

If Christianity were at the heart of these proposed laws, the statements of these lawmakers would have been different.  Rep. Horton would have said of her bill banning inappropriate sexual discussions from classrooms that she is firmly against the LGBT lifestyle, that it is harmful to those who engage in it (physically and spiritually), and that she wants children to know that they are made in the image and likeness of the Holy Trinity Who created them.  Likewise, Rep. Garofalo would not be against ‘indoctrination’ of students as such, but would insist instead that they be taught correct doctrine so that they will have the proper foundation to learn and understand the basics of education (read this essay for a good discussion of that last point).

On her bill putting the motto ‘In God We Trust’ in classrooms, Rep. Horton would not shy away from ‘pushing religion’ on those in the public schools; she would have enthusiastically embraced the idea, defending Christianity as the highest good that the children, teachers, secretaries, etc., could come in contact with.

The agnostic attitude of these two representatives, which is symptomatic of much of the Right, is why the Left has had much more success in the culture wars than conservatives.  For the Left is unabashedly pushing a religious program, while the Right counters only with empty talk of respect for all points of view, for free dialogue, etc.  But something will always triumph over nothing:  That is why the Left’s actual religious doctrines (as erroneous and evil as they are – euthanasia, abortion, unfettered drug use, pornography for kids, LGBT rights, satanic school clubs) are trampling the Right’s vacuous pluralistic agnosticism.  It is why Leftist radicals like Obama, Bernie Sanders, and AOC get more traction than milquetoast characters of the Right like Rich Lowry and Paul Ryan (Christopher Ferrara’s book Liberty, the God That Failed has some good passages on this subject).

 . . .

The rest is at https://thehayride.com/2023/05/garlington-there-is-no-such-thing-as-religious-neutrality/.

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!

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