Lately, I’ve been wondering how long it will take for America to shift from a democracy to a theocracy. Hard to imagine this could happen, in a country based on freedom of religion and civil rights, but events such as the anti-gay “protests” on the campus hit close to home. The religious right, Christian involvement in the government and the Republican’s association to Christianity have all started to take their toll on my tolerance for religious beliefs.
Abortion and gay marriage have been two hot topics floating among the legislatures these days, and both have arguments that go well beyond religion – so I can understand and respect some of these arguments. But lately, issues of birth control, divorce, sex education and the push for the ideal family have made me wary of the impact this religious ideology is going to have on our future rights.
Just in our neighboring state of Pennsylvania, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum leads with a Biblical fist and has no concept of the reality that not every American is Christian. The laws he supports and the amendments he backs are based alongside passages from the Bible, stemming from birth control, sex education, his insane lack of reality regarding the family and women’s roles in society. For example, Santorum supported a law that would allow the government to regulate a married couple’s birth control prescriptions. That is to say, he supported the idea that a government had the right to tell a married woman she didn’t have a choice, and if she wanted to have sex with her husband, she’d have to be ready for a baby. His reasoning for the support stems from his belief that birth control is against God’s plan for a family, along with the idea that it leads to promiscuity, adultery and unwed mothers. In his book It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good, Santorum manages to connect character and virtue to Christian fundamentals.
Basically, if you’re not growing up in a Christian, church-going family, you’re on the short end of the stick. Santorum has no concept of virtue outside of “the good Christian.” These fundamentals lead to his decisions as a senator, and Christian fundamentals, while well and good, have no place in the lawmaking of our secular country.
In no way am I knocking Christianity or religion in general. People have the right to believe what they want, practice what they want and pray to whomever they choose. However, when it comes to trying to figure out which laws are practical for today’s society, people have to put aside their religious beliefs and realize that personal beliefs take a back seat to the greater good and understanding of our citizens. Basing laws on religious beliefs leads to a slew of uncomfortable issues. If Christians use politics to promote their beliefs, should Jews use politics to promote laws making it necessary for all food companies to produce Kosher food? Or base laws of a specific state on select passages from the Torah?
Why should I be forced to adhere to laws that have a religious connotation when I don’t necessarily agree with the “belief” the law is based on, even if the majority does? Will I eventually have to start worrying about the government regulating my having sex, my ability to be informed about sex and safety, my ability to think beyond the Church’s vision of society, just because my behavior does not embody a perfect child of God? Who knows.
Common sense and rational arguments, not rules from the Bible, Torah or Quran, should be the basis for the laws we are required to follow as citizens. There is a reason theocracies turn out so many extremists, and a reason why so many people who base their entire lives and laws on beliefs end up isolated. Religion should be used to promote beliefs in places where people choose to follow those beliefs, like a church, temple or mosque. The public forum where laws are created for people of all creeds is not a place for scripture.
Stefanie Williams is a junior English major. She can be reached at swills25@umd.edu.
