It was until recent times that the United States could have been called a Christian country. It was not that Christianity was the only religion, but rather it was the force which created the morals by which people interact. Every government has morals which underpin the laws of the country. Sometimes these morals are fear, as in Iraq before the invasion. The laws of the United States are based upon the morality of the Jewish and Christian religions.
The idea that the government could not establish a Church is not saying that religion has no place in government. It is a job for religion to maintain moral order, and in that respect it overlaps with the role of government. Let us all be honest, government is all about morals. Morals are what make laws acceptable to people. There is no such thing as a government that does not have morals. They may be what I would call bad morals, but they have their moral none the less.
What we have in today’s separation of Church and State movement is a set of morals that are based upon Secular Humanism. While not necessarily having a notion of a god, secular humanism is basically a religion. In the same respect as most atheists are religious.
In the case of the San Diego Cross we have a few people whom the cross offends and want it removed. The cross is not only the symbol of our risen Savior but is also a symbol of our common heritage. In the case of the San Diego Cross it is also a piece of what should be considered public artwork. In many respects that cross is no different from the artwork that is part of many of public works in the United States. I do not like some of that artwork, but I am not about to go to court to have it removed.
Now we have a number of judges in the United States who want to substitute their own morals for the common morals of the people. In most case the morals they want to impose are the morals of secular humanist. They often frame it in the idea of the separation of Church and State, as if this were something which was without religion. Separation of Church and State is an idea which goes back to the early day of the United States, but it is not part of the Constitution. Nevertheless, today it is acceptable for judges to use one religion, Secular Humanism, to suppress the cultural expression of another group of people, who are Christian.
Why this discussion on an Anglican Christian’s blog. There is a most discouraging post by the Dean of the Cathedral of the Diocese of San Diego (ECUSA). In that piece he suggests that the cross be removed and put on a Christian College campus. This is victory for those who hate Christianity.
Crosses like those in San Diego are a reflection of culture. San Diego like much of the southwestern United States can be viewed as a Roman Catholic town. There is no question that the Roman Catholic Church is very much as part of the history and culture of San Diego. Why should people have to suppress their culture just because that culture is based in the Christian religion? Why would a leader of ECUSA want to run up a white flag and surrender to the forces of a small group of people whose goal is to stop the expression of Christianity and Christian culture in the marketplace of idea? Dean you have some explaining to do in my mind.
