Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
-First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America
Our government is in the grips of the so-called “Christian Right.” In spite of this, many conservative Christians imagine themselves the victim of some invisible secular humanist movement that wants to destroy God and their rights to practice their religion.
All people should have a right to practice their religion, provided it does not interfere with the rights of others. When a religious belief becomes imposed on others who do not share the same views, then religion becomes an oppressive force. When public Christian prayer is mandated in public schools, those students who are not Christian are forced to sit quietly and listen. In public spaces, where free speech should be protected, one can simply walk away. Students are not free to do so, and no one has the right to impose their views on another in this manner.
Many of these same Christians, if they were the minority and found their children having to sit through non-Christian prayers, would object just as readily as the atheists, and rightly so. Yet the golden rule tells them to do unto others as they would have done to them. They shouldn’t have to sit through prayers they disagree with, so they shouldn’t subject others to it as well.
We should all be free to worship – or not worship – as we see fit. We should not force others to subject themselves to our concept of God.
