This page includes links to other sites describing crime and law and its relationship to religious belief.
My writings are in black. Plagiarized text is in maroon, sometimes highlighted by me in red.
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Prometheus Books: http://www.prometheusbooks.com/site/groups/religion.html Catalog of its published books re free thought, atheism, agnosticism, church-state separation, and the dangers to society and to individual mental health posed by most religions. Titles (with summary) relevant to crime, law, and psychological health include the following: Deadly Doctrine: Health, Illness, and Christian God-Talk; __ Live from the Gates of Hell: An Insider's Look at the Anti-Abortion Underground; __ Salvation for Sale: An Insider's View of Pat Robertson; __ The Pope's Armada: Unlocking the Secrets of Mysterious and Powerful New Sects in the Church; __ Visions of Reality: What Fundamentalist Schools Teach.
Prometheus Books: http://www.prometheusbooks.com/site/catalog/religion5.html Deadly Doctrine: Health, Illness, and Christian God-Talk, by Wendell W. Watters, M.D., 198 pp, ISBN: 0-87975-782-5.
The Christian religion presents itself as the way to contentment, spiritual health, and salvation. But is this really true? Dr. Wendell Watters offers a powerful argument, based on his many years of clinical experience with individuals, couples, and families, that Christianity's influence actually militates against human development in such vital areas as self-esteem, sexuality, and social interactions. The tragic end result of Christian conditioning is too often antisocial behavior, sexual dysfunction, poor psychological development, anxiety, and even major psychiatric illness. Christian indoctrination is not simply a problem affecting individuals or single families; the noxious effects of its teachings over nearly two millennia pervade society at large, even those who are not Christians, and in ways that seriously undermine human welfare and the quality of life. Christianity's aggressive pronatalist policies have encouraged large families, despite parents' inability to cope either emotionally or financially. With this the Christian church has formulated rigid sexual roles, forbidding all practices not leading directly to conception. By actually promoting sexual ignorance and irresponsibility, Christianity has allowed the proliferation of such social ills as rape, child molestation, and pornography. In the face of so much human suffering resulting from Christian doctrine, it is imperative that health care professionals, recognizing the Christian belief system as an addictive disease, develop a religious status examination to help evaluate how notions about life derived from Christian god-talk compromise individuals' healthy functioning. In failing to determine the role of oppressive religious beliefs in mental illness, physicians and other health care workers actually promote Christianity's continued stranglehold on human happiness and self-fulfillment.
"Dr. Watters covers ground many Christians will find uncomfortable. For that he is to be thanked." Theological Book Review.
Christians vs atheists in prison investigation: http://holysmoke.org/icr-pri.htm The results of the Christians vs atheists in prison investigation.
. . . The Federal Bureau of Prisons does have statistics on religious affiliations of inmates. The following are total number of inmates per religion category: Response Number % ---------------------------- -------- Catholic 29267 39.164% Protestant 26162 35.008% Muslim 5435 7.273% . . . Denise Golumbaski, Research Analyst, Federal Bureau of Prisons . . .
Now, let's just deal with the nasty Christian types, no?
Catholic 29267 39.164% Protestant 26162 35.008% Rasta 1485 1.987% Jewish 1325 1.773% Church of Christ 1303 1.744% Pentecostal 1093 1.463% Jehovah Witness 665 0.890% Adventist 621 0.831% Orthodox 375 0.502% Mormon 298 0.399% Judeo-Christian . . .
Total 62594 83.761% (of the 74731 total responses) Total Known Responses 74731
Not unexpected as a result. Note that atheists, being a moderate proportion of the USA population (about 8-16%) are disproportionately less in the prison populations (0.21%). . . .
The Southeast Michigan Chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation: http://www.atheistalliance.org/michigan/ RELIGION: SOCIETY'S OPPRESSOR.
Historically, religion has been the cause of countless wars, horrendous torture, and murder, and today, these heinous acts still take place in other countries. While Americans no longer fear such religious brutality, there are many other concerns with religion. Dr. Eli S. Chesen says, "Rigid, confined, and stereotyped religious thinking patterns can be directly contributory to emotional instability. Here it takes the form of a health hazard in a psychiatric sense" (27). The repression of feelings, such as anger, pride, and pleasure, and the repression of natural desires, such as sex, or the guilt of having these feelings or desires, may lead to depression, sexual disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or psychosis. Worse yet, it can lead to child molesting, rape, murder, and other violent acts.
Dr. Chesen also notes that a person does not need to be psychotic to feel the adverse effects of religion. Religion can create many situations that lead to unhappiness. In fact, one does not even need to be a believer in religion in order to feel the effects of religion. The effects can come from family and community practices and beliefs (63). Often, the beliefs of the religious person are harmful to others because of the stereotypes they place on homosexuals, single parents, the non-religious, or other religious groups. . . . religious right groups that push to have laws enacted that pertain to living according to their fundamental beliefs. They attempt to pass laws banning sex education in schools, abortion, and birth control for teens. They try to expurgate library materials. . . .
It is often argued that the moral decline in our society is caused by the decline in religion, but statistics reflect just the opposite. An article in U.S. News & World Report said that religion sociologists Roger Finke of Purdue University and Rodney Stark of the University of Washington did a study in 1992. They found the growth in church membership rose "from seventeen percent of the U.S. population in 1776 to over sixty two percent in 1980. The latest figures show sixty eight percent of Americans are members of a church or synagogue" (Sheler 3). This reflection of the tremendous increase in religion over the past two hundred years clearly refutes their argument. Therefore, if there is actually a moral decline, it can only be attributed to an increase in religion or other societal factors. . . .
Another form of religious crime is faith healing, which has become an increasing problem. . . .
Looking back only one hundred years or so, we find studies which reveal higher crime rates among the religious than the nonreligious. In 1892 John Remsberg did research on crime and religion; he found several studies. One study done in England and Wales in 1873, encouraged by Sir John Trelawny, a member of Parliament, found that these prisons had 45,383 Catholics and Protestants to only 379 non-religious. Several years later a study in Ontario prisons found 1,902 Christians and 8 non-religious. Dr. Sanger's "History of Prostitution," found in New York City that 1,909 prostitutes were Protestant or Catholic, while only 91 were non-religious (n.pag.).
The "Report of the United States Commissioner of Education" for 1871 reflected that the areas with more churches had more criminals. . . .
The British Broadcasting company made a major study. They found 'those in England who received the most intensive religious training and for who moral training is most closely tied up with religion -- i.e. the Roman Catholics -- have a delinquency rate two to three times that of the population in general'" . . .
While the negative effects of religion are broad, the causes can be narrowed down into a few areas. The reason religion is often harmful may be because of the literal belief in the Bible. . . .
Psychological and sexual disorders caused by religion are explained by Dr. Robert McAllister, superintendent of Nevada State Hospital, who says that the vow to obedience that the religious person takes "place[s] him in the role of the dependent child. He depends on a superior for every aspect of his life" . . .
The religious cannot take pride in his accomplishments because he sees them as God given accomplishments. He doesn't take responsibility for the negative aspects of his life because he sees it as God's will. . . . sexual disorders . . . oppression of women and spousal abuse are often related to Biblical scriptures. . . .
In conclusion, I contend that religion is harmful to individuals and society as a whole. The negative effects include the oppression of homosexuals, women, minority races, and individuals of other religious or non-religious beliefs. Religion oppresses the religious individual in regards to sexuality, feelings, desires, intellectual growth, and mental health. Religion is related to crime ranging from mass murder and hate crimes to deviant sexual behavior, such as rape and child molesting. A healthy society in our future rests in the hands of those who are free from religion and the religious who are able to distinguish the negative aspects from the positive. The steps outlined above need to be addressed and supported by communities and our government. Change will not take place overnight. In fact, it may take several generations to completely eradicate the negative aspects of religion. But, if a large enough segment of our society is made aware of all these concerns and starts to work on solutions, the harm caused by religion can be diminished.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AT RISK
The Religious Freedom Amendment, which was recently approved by the House Judiciary Committee, is a tremendous threat to religious freedom in the United States. . . .
How can one have freedom of religion without being free from religion, as well? A simple translation of Reed's statement is that Americans should be free to practice religion, but not free not to practice religion. The Christian Coalition has been striving for a theocracy for quite some time, and now they have hopes of succeeding in this endeavor. That is, unless the American people take a stand for what our founding fathers worked so hard for. The Religious Freedom Amendment is blatantly nothing more than an attack on religious freedom. . . .
Of Babies and Bath Water: http://www.skeptictank.org/hs/gp017.htm Why are atheists grossly under represented in the American prison system? . . .
In the next issue 018: "History revisionism Christian style: Denying Adolf Hitler."
What are the words of Adolf Hitler in regards his religious beliefs? What are the explanations of fellow religionists in response to Hitler's religion?
Green Pastures takes a look at the phenomena of the history revisionism which deny Adolf Hitler's religion and explores the explanations offered by fellow religionists for his agenda of genocide. Commentary solicited from a broad spectrum of religionists include the denial that Christian hate groups across the world are in any way Christian organizations. . . .
his eye-witness of how pedophiles are handled by the Christian religion. . . .
almost on a daily basis is an epidemic of child sexual molestation's by Christian priests. The policy of shipping these criminals from one church to the next becomes, in effect (though not, I will be kind, with intention) the creation of a "dating service" for pedophiles.
No atheist organization has this problem. Why? Because atheists are on the whole far more ethical and moral than their theist brothers and sisters. Because atheists don't have huge and financially well-off organizations protecting them. Because atheist organizations don't have a priesthood which actively condones child rape and protects the rapist! . . .
STUDIES: ATHEISTS SUPPLY LESS THAN 1% OF PRISON POPULATIONS by Wayne Aiken, North Carolina Director, AMERICAN ATHEISTS.
Praise the Lord, Pass the Ammo - If teen violence is the question, religion isn't the answer. by Steve Chapman: http://slate.msn.com/Features/godmurder/godmurder.asp
. . . conservatives are claiming to have found a cause without even showing a correlation. Why not? Maybe because they can't. The United States is the most religious of all the industrialized nations. Forty-four percent of Americans attend church once a week, compared with 27 percent in Britain, 21 percent in France, 16 percent in Australia, and 4 percent in Sweden. Yet violent crime is not less common in the United States--it's more common. The murder rate here is six times higher than the rate in Britain, seven times higher than in France, five times higher than in Australia, and five times higher than in Sweden. Japan, where Christianity has almost no adherents, has less violent crime than almost any country. . . .
Crime, Christianity & Early America (part 1 of 2): http://atheism.about.com/religion/atheism/library/weekly/aa090299.htm Crime, Christianity & Early America. A number of my recent articles have been directly or indirectly related to the increasing number of people in America who have been claiming that America would be less violent if religion played a stronger role in the daily lives of its citizens. I have questioned this claim on a number of different levels . . .
As leaders and pundits of the religious right are fond of pointing out, there was a time in America's history when religion did play a greater role in the lives of American citizens. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the role which is commonly assumed. At the time of the American Revolution, only about 14% of the population was "churched," which is to say that only that amount went to church on a regular basis. For private citizens, then, religion did not play as strong a role as modern religious leaders would have us believe.
However, it is nevertheless true that many more of the laws at the time reflected a distinctly Christian bias. . . .
It should be remembered then that when someone today claims that their religion is necessary for the establishment of a moral and peaceful community, they are also calling for their religion to be enforced by the government in the interest of maintaining and stabilizing such a community. . . .
Crime, Christianity & Early America (part 2 of 2): http://atheism.about.com/religion/atheism/library/weekly/aa090299b.htm Courts and Justice. . . .
This is very much where we are now -- is there any reason to return? When people call for a more religious society where laws are more explicitly based upon their religious principles, we have a model of just such a system in our own history. We can examine it and determine whether or not it creates the kind of society we want to have. Do we want sins to be crimes and crimes to be sins? Do we want a justice system which is predicated upon maintaining community cohesion around fundamental religious principles? Do we want a government which is an instrument of God designed to regulate human conduct and keep it in accord with God's will? Was the colonial system of justice, when explicitly religious in nature, an improvement over our own? Did it more effectively prevent crime, maintain peace and establish an orderly community?
I cannot give any answer other than NO to all of the above questions.
AllReaders.com The Way We Never Were American Families and the Nostalgia Trap Discussion: http://www.allreaders.com/Topics/Info_4733.asp The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap by Stephanie Coontz. This fabulous, eye-opening book challenges popular notions of what American families were like in the past. Almost every page has a shock -- whether it's that thousands of children as young as 11 worked in Pennsylvania mines and silk mills in 1900; or there may have been as many as 1 abortion for every 5 live births in the 1850s; that per capita consumption of alcohol was much higher in the 1820s than it is today. . . .
Coontz, a professor of history at Evergreen College, writes: "Whenever people propose that we go back to the traditional family, I always suggest that they pick a ballpark date for the family they have in mind. Once pinned down, they are invariably unwilling to accept the package deal that comes with their chosen model." This excellent, well-researched book shows why."
The Ten Commandments
which ones (part 1 of 2): http://atheism.about.com/religion/atheism/library/weekly/aa070899.htm The
Ten Commandments: which ones? Written: July 08, 1999. As many readers know by now, the US
House of Representatives recently passed a law which included an
amendment permitting the display by government bodies of the
"Ten Commandments" in all government buildings,
including schools. This was a knee-jerk reaction by religious
extremists to the tragedy in Columbine High School, where 13
students were killed by two classmates. The presumption among the self-righteous
politicians and religious leaders is that posting the Decalogue
in schools (and other places) will improve the morality among
people in general and children in particular.
So it becomes reasonable to ask:
What exactly are these "Ten Commandments"?
For the moment, we'll leave aside the obvious fact that it is
absurd for our government to promote a particular set of
religious rules to citizens of all faiths -- doing so makes a
mockery of the principle of religious liberty. . . .
." The problem which Bush and so many others fail to realize is that there is no such "standard version" of the Ten Commandments - something which theologians are painfully aware of. . . .
The Ten Commandments which ones (part 2 of 2): http://atheism.about.com/religion/atheism/library/weekly/aa070899b.htm The Ten Commandments: which ones? Written: July 08, 1999. Catholics and Protestants. . . . So in the end, I really cannot see a way to "choose" what the "real" Ten Commandments are supposed to be. People will definitely be offended if someone else's version of the Ten Commandments is displayed in public buildings - and for our governments to do that cannot be qualified as anything but an infringement of religious liberties. People may not have a right to not be offended, but they do have the right to not have someone else's religious rules dictated to them. And they certainly should be able to expect that their government won't pervert their own religion in the name of public morality or vote-grabbing.
Church, State, and
Crime: http://www.policestudies.eku.edu/POTTER/18Church.html XVIII.
Church, State and Crime
A. Church and State. Gary W.
Potter, Professor, Justice and Police Studies Department,
Eastern Kentucky University.
The First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach. – Justice Hugo Black
Has links to:
. . . Myths Brochure: http://www.au.org/myths.htm Americans United for Separation of Church and State works actively on many fronts. But with all the assaults on religious liberty these days, we can hold the line for church-state separation only if persons such as you join with us. We need your support in this battle. Our forefathers fought, bled and died to keep us from a state church and a church state. We must continue to hold high the torch of liberty they have passed on to us.
In 1962 Madalyn Murray O'Hair Kicked God, the Bible and Prayer Out of Public Schools
. . . And 10 Other Myths About Church and State
"Separation of church and state isn't in the Constitution."
"Separation of church and state is a communist idea."
"Separation of church and state is anti-religion, and only atheists support it."
Misguided clerics and short-sighted politicians sometimes say things like this about the constitutional principle of church-state separation. But a quick review of history demonstrates that these charges just aren't true.
To help Americans be on guard against such distortions, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has compiled a list of the most common myths about separation of church and state along with the facts.
MYTH: Separation of church and state is not in the U.S. Constitution.
FACT: It is true that the literal phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear in the Constitution, but that does not mean the concept isn't there. The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...." . . .
MYTH: Thomas Jefferson's 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptists was a mere courtesy and should not be regarded as important.
FACT: Religious Right activists have tried for decades to make light of Jefferson's "wall of separation" response to the Danbury Baptists, attempting to dismiss it as a hastily written note designed to win the favor of a political constituency. But a glance at the history surrounding the letter shows they are simply wrong.
As church-state scholar Pfeffer points out, Jefferson clearly saw the letter as an opportunity to make a major pronouncement on church and state. . . .
MYTH: Separation of church and state is not an American principle but is found in Article 53 of the constitution of the Soviet Union.
FACT: This lie about separation of church and state-still frequently espoused by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson-is perhaps the most offensive to church-state separationists because it attempts to taint a vital American principle with the brush of communism.
Even a brief review of the facts proves that this statement is nonsense. . . .
MYTH: The United States was founded as a Christian nation.
FACT: Those who make this assertion confuse the founding of the United States as a political unit with the settlement of North America. It is true that a number of the first Europeans to arrive on our shores were religious dissenters who sought freedom to worship. Many of these people believed they were establishing some type of Christian utopia, and many supported religious liberty only for themselves. Most of the early colonies were theocracies where only those who worshipped according to state orthodoxy were welcome.
Following the American Revolution, political leaders began to construct the new U.S. government. Although a minority clung to European notions of church-state union, a general consensus emerged that the new country should steer clear of officially established religion. States with government-favored religions gradually began moving toward separation also. Massachusetts, the last state to maintain an official religion, disestablished its state church in 1833.
During the Constitutional Convention, a minority faction favored some recognition of Christianity in the Constitution. In a report to Maryland lawmakers, delegate Luther Martin asserted that "in a Christian country, it would be at least decent to hold out some distinction between the professors of Christianity and downright infidelity or paganism." His views were rejected, and the Constitution was adopted as a secular document.
MYTH: The Supreme Court has declared that the United States is a Christian nation.
FACT: In the Supreme Court's 1892 Holy Trinity Church v. United States decision Justice David Brewer wrote that "this is a Christian nation." Brewer's statement occurred in dicta, a legal term meaning writing that reflects a judge's personal opinion, not an official court pronouncement that sets legally binding precedent.
Historians debate what Brewer meant by the statement, some claiming that he only intended to acknowledge that Christianity has always been a dominant force in American life. Research by Americans United shows that five years after the Trinity ruling, Brewer himself seemed to step away from it in a case dealing with legalized prostitution in New Orleans.
The New Orleans dispute arose when a Methodist church sought an injunction to bar implementation of a city ordinance allowing prostitution in one zone in the city. The Methodists argued the measure would "destroy the morals, peace and good order of the neighborhood."
Citing the Trinity decision, church officials insisted that the ordinance encouraged prostitution, an activity inconsistent with Christianity "which the Supreme Court of the United States says is the foundation of our government and the civilization which it has produced...."
Writing for a unanimous court, Brewer completely ignored the church's religious argument and upheld the New Orleans law. Brewer's bypass suggests that he did not mean to assert in the Trinity case that the United States should enforce Christianity through its laws.
In any case, the Trinity decision is a legal anomaly that has been cited by the court only once since then. And obviously the opinion of one obscure Supreme Court justice does not amount to an official decree that the United States is a Christian nation. If a Christian republic had been the goal of the framers, that sentiment would have been included in the Constitution.
MYTH: The First Amendment's religion clauses were intended only to prevent the establishment of a national church.
FACT: If all the framers wanted to do was ban a national church, they had plenty of opportunities to state exactly that in the First Amendment. In fact, an early draft of the First Amendment read in part, "The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief, nor shall any national religion be established...." This draft was rejected. Following extensive debate, the language found in the First Amendment today was settled on.
The historical record indicates that the framers wanted the First Amendment to ban not only establishment of a single church but also "multiple establishments," that is, a system by which the government funds many religions on an equal basis. . . .
MYTH: The First Amendment was intended to keep the state from interfering with the church, not to bar religious groups from co-opting the government.
FACT: Jefferson and Madison held an expansive view of the First Amendment, arguing that church-state separation would protect both religion and government.
Madison specifically feared that a small group of powerful churches would join together and seek establishment or special favors from the government. To prevent this from happening, Madison spoke of the desirability of a "multiplicity of sects" that would guard against government favoritism. . . .
MYTH: Madalyn Murray O'Hair, an atheist, single-handedly removed God, the Bible and prayer from public schools in 1962.
FACT: Atheist leader Madalyn Murray O'Hair played no role in the Supreme Court's school prayer decision of 1962.
In the Engel v. Vitale case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 against New York's "Regents' prayer," a "non-denominational" prayer state education officials had composed for public schoolchildren to recite. . . .
MYTH: Ever since prayer was removed from schools, public school performance has declined and social ills have increased.
FACT: This argument is a common fallacy of logic known as post hoc ergo propter hoc, or, the assumption that if two events occur in sequence, that the first must have caused the second. (The phrase is Latin for "after this, therefore on account of this.")
It is true that some indices of school performance have decreased since 1962, but absolutely no evidence exists linking these developments to the school prayer issue. In fact, the drop has been caused by wholly unrelated factors. SAT scores, for example, are lower today simply because more students from a wider variety of socio-economic backgrounds take the test. In the years preceding 1962, the SAT was taken almost exclusively by upper class, well-educated students from wealthy backgrounds. . . .
MYTH: School-sponsored prayer and Bible reading took place in all public schools before 1962.
FACT: Several state supreme courts had already removed government-sponsored school prayer and Bible reading from public schools prior to 1962. . . .
MYTH: The Supreme Court has declared that Secular Humanism is a religion, and Secular Humanism is the established religion of the public schools.
In a footnote to the Supreme Court's 1961 Torcaso v. Watkins decision, Justice Hugo Black wrote, "Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God is Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism, and others." The Torcaso case dealt with religious tests for public office; it had nothing to do with public schools. The justice's comment is far from a finding that humanism is being taught in the schools.
The Supreme Court and lower federal courts have ruled repeatedly that public schools and other government agencies may not establish "a religion of secularism" any more than they can promote any other religious viewpoint. . . .
The constitutional principle of church-state separation has given Americans greater religious freedom than any people in history. It has also given freedom from religion -- something which Canada and the UK, Iran, Afghanistan, and many other countries do not provide.
. . . The Founders intended this nation to be a Christian republic: http://resurgent.virtualave.net/L-christianrepublic.htm Myth: The Founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian republic. Fact: If the Founders had wanted a Christian republic, they would have made one. Summary: If the Founders had intended this to be a Christian Republic, they would not have separated Church and State in the constitution. Besides, many of the founders were Deists or atheists, not Christians; it would have been impossible for them to intend a Christian Republic. . . .
B. Religion and Morality
I could not believe that anyone who had read this book would be so foolish as to proclaim that the Bible in every literal word was the divinely inspired, inerrant word of God. Have these people simply not read the text? Are they hopelessly uninformed? Is there a different Bible? Are they blinded by a combination of ego needs and naivete? – Bishop John Shelby Spong
. . . The basis for all morality comes from the Bible: http://resurgent.virtualave.net/L-morality.htm Myth: The basis for all morality comes from the Bible. Fact: Very little of the Bible's moral code is original. Summary: Both the legal and salvation philosophies of the Old and New Testaments reflect those of the cultures around them, due to much copying and borrowing of laws and ideas. Furthermore, all societies around the world have similar moral and legal codes -- which is certainly not an accident. . . .
. . . there is actually very little law in the Bible -- either Old Testament or New -- that is original. . . .
. . . The Bible is conservative: Myth: http://resurgent.virtualave.net/L-bibleconservative.htm The Bible is conservative. Fact: Using the Bible to support any political ideology is highly problematic. Summary: The New Testament is a liberal's paradise; almost every principle espoused in it is one that liberals -- not conservatives -- espouse today. (The only exceptions are its pronouncements on divorce, sexuality and slavery.) The Old Testament, however, is a conservative haven, filled with pronouncements favoring war, slavery, theocracy, monarchy, wealth accumulation, capital punishment, extreme female submission and more. Interestingly, however, the Old Testament is sexually permissive. Attempting to use the Bible to justify their modern beliefs therefore poses significant challenges to Christian conservatives. . . .
. . . The Bible Forbids Abortion: http://resurgent.virtualave.net/L-bibleatrocities.html Myth: The Bible is morally pure and free from atrocity. Fact: The Bible if filled with countless acts of barbarism and tyranny. Summary: The Bible is filled with countless stories of aggressive warmongering, genocide, pillaging, plundering, wanton destruction, sexual slavery, rape, misogyny, child abuse, homophobia, unfair laws, cruel and unusual punishment, the punishment of innocents, and brutal chattel slavery. God himself authorized all this, as entire chapters of alleged direct quotes from Jehovah show. . . .
We should rely on the best principles of modern moral philosophy, and not archaic and barbaric laws, to inform our moral guidelines.
. . . Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do: http://www.mcwilliams.com/books/aint/104.htm PART I: THE BASIC PREMISE. Personal Morality Versus Governmental Morality. Whether or not legislation is truly moral is often a question of who has the power to define morality. JEROME H. SKOLNICK. . . .
C. Religion and Society
Religion is a superstition that originated in man's mental ability to solve natural phenomena. The Church is an organized institution that has always been a stumbling block to progress. -- Emma Goldman, "What I Believe"
D. Religion and Crime
Who says I am not under the special protection of God? – Adolf Hitler
. . . SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: http://www.mcwilliams.com/books/aint/203.htm Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do. PART II: WHY LAWS AGAINST CONSENSUAL ACTIVITIES ARE NOT A GOOD IDEA. Laws Against Consensual Activities Violate The Separation Of Church And State, Threatening The Freedom Of And From Religion.
The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion. GEORGE WASHINGTON, Treaty of Tripoli, 1796. . . .
The fact that we became a nation and immediately separated church and state—it has saved us from all the misery that has beset mankind with inquisitions, internecine and civil wars, and other assorted ills.
And I say that Your Highnesses ought not to consent that any foreigner does business or sets foot here, except Christian Catholics, since this was the end and the beginning of the enterprise, that it should be for the enhancement and glory of the Christian religion, nor should anyone who is not a good Christian come to these parts.
What a pity, when Christopher Columbus discovered America, that he ever mentioned it. MARGOT ASQUITH
There should be no need for prostitutes (the Rahabites) to harken back to Rahab, the prostitute whom God personally saved when Jericho fell; for gays (the Beloveds) to interpret Scripture to show that Jesus and his disciples were all lovers; for drug users (the Learyans) to say they're using chemicals for mystical and religious experiences—the wine at the last supper and the changing of water to wine at the wedding feast at Cana being just two scriptural examples; for gamblers (the Holy Rollers or Vegasites) to point out that the apostles cast lots to choose a replacement for Judas; for pornographers (the Lovelacians) to claim that God created Adam and Eve without clothing, and that we each came into this world without clothing, so lack of clothing is what God wants; and on and on.
What we have today is a contemporary Inquisition in which 4,000,000 people are arrested each year and 750,000 people are currently in prison for "crimes" that offend the sensibility of highly vocal "religious" people. This situation directly violates the separation of church and state and the religious freedoms guaranteed by United States Constitution.
The people who want to maintain laws based on their religious beliefs are taking their constitutionally guaranteed right of religious freedom too far—they are physically harming the persons and property of others and using the peace officers of this country to enforce their excessive exercise of a sacred constitutional right.
Detailed and excellent history of religion and its bigotry vs secular ethics and eventual establishment of secular Constitution.
. . . WHAT JESUS AND THE BIBLE REALLY SAID - Part B: http://www.mcwilliams.com/books/aint/403b.htm#voice Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do PART IV: SIX CHAPTERS IN SEARCH OF A SHORTER BOOK. WHAT JESUS AND THE BIBLE REALLY SAID ABOUT CONSENSUAL CRIMES. . . .
I am patient with stupidity, but not with those who are proud of it. EDITH SITWELL.
Distrust all men in whom the impulse to punish is powerful. FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE.
Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?. Luke 12:57.
. . . Home: http://www.policestudies.eku.edu/POTTER/fslhome.html Criminal Justice in a Democracy Supplemental Web Readings and Links. Gary W. Potter, Professor, Justice and Police Studies Department, Eastern Kentucky University. Extensive and detailed.
You will never be happy so long as you search for what happiness consists of. You will never live so long as you search for the meaning of life. -- Albert Camus.
End of part 90 of 60 of Religion Page 90.
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You can e-mail me at waynerp@sympatico.ca