Fourth of July: Freedom of or freedom from?



(Photo by Jeffrey M Dean)

Although the Fourth of July has traditionally been more about the Declaration of Independence than about the United States Constitution - “freedom” is definitely the order of the day.  That usually means “freedom of  (speech, assembly, etc.)”  But where religion is concerned, it sometimes means freedom from…

Atheists have long felt like the forgotten minority in America.  With omnipresent songs such as God Bless America, a Declaration of Independence that speaks about “Nature’s God” and a “Creator,” a Pledge of Allegiance that refers to “one nation under God” –

what’s an atheist, or even an agnostic, to do?

In a word:  Protest…

The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), which bills itself as “the largest freethought association in North America” has this motto on its website:  Protecting the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state.  Slogans such as “With soap, baptism is a good thing” are also prominently displayed.  There are two quizzes – one a biblical one (with questions that sometimes emphasize less-than-ethical-sounding aspects of biblical stories), the other a church-and-state one (with questions such as this:  How many times does the Declaration of Independence refer to Christianity or Jesus?).

The FFRF has utilized America’s legal system in order to protest what it considers to be violations of church-

and-state separation.  Wikipedia reports that the FFRF has won a case against the Indiana Family and Social

Services (successfully challenging the creation of a $60,000 Baptist-minister chaplaincy at the IFSS).  The FFRF has also succeeded at legally “ending certain types of Bible instruction in public schools.”  Legal cases that the FFRF has not been successful with include the “challenge of faith-based programs at the Federal Bureau of Prisons” and an April 2011 “challenge to the National Day of Prayer.”

Although some might deem aspects of the FFRF material to be edgy or disrespectful, these challenges to the status quo nevertheless provide an important check-and-balance.  And isn’t that what American freedom is inherently about?

Resources

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

http://www.ffrf.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_From_Religion_Foundation

Copyright July 4, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved