Attack of the Theocrats!: How the Religious Right Harms Us All—and What We Can Do About It
“They knew the European past from which so many Americans had escaped, and they crafted a document of immunization against any such future. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In other words, while individuals are free to practice any religion they choose,the United States shall never be a theocracy.
That first clause of the Bill of Rights, precious First Amendment to the greatest constitutional document ever enacted, is...—or ought to be—the envy of the world. My own country is still nominally a theocracy, with twenty-six unelected bishops sitting, ex officio, in Parliament; and with the head of state synonymous with head of the Church of England and constitutionally forbidden to be a Roman Catholic (let alone a Muslim or a Jew). To this day, the Catholic-Protestant divide poisons Northern Ireland and, in miniature, Glasgow on a soccer Saturday—indeed, during the rest of the week too, for Glaswegians well understand the coded meaning of “what school did you go to?”MoreLess
That first clause of the Bill of Rights, precious First Amendment to the greatest constitutional document ever enacted, is...—or ought to be—the envy of the world. My own country is still nominally a theocracy, with twenty-six unelected bishops sitting, ex officio, in Parliament; and with the head of state synonymous with head of the Church of England and constitutionally forbidden to be a Roman Catholic (let alone a Muslim or a Jew). To this day, the Catholic-Protestant divide poisons Northern Ireland and, in miniature, Glasgow on a soccer Saturday—indeed, during the rest of the week too, for Glaswegians well understand the coded meaning of “what school did you go to?”MoreLess
Read book Attack of the Theocrats!: How the Religious Right Harms Us All—and What We Can Do About It for free
Write Review:
Guest
Read Also
8 / 10
User Reviews: