“Community Columnist” Michael Schrader

(About the dangers of fundamentalism)

Written 22 May 2015

I have read many commentaries over the past year or so lamenting the loss of religion in our daily lives. Religion, after all, is what made this country great. Religion is what gives us moral fiber. Without religion in our lives, this country is doomed.

A recent poll showed that secularism is on the rise, with more Americans identifying as belonging to no particular religion than at any time in our history. Naturally, many editorialists have used this as proof of our national decay. After all, the narrative goes, without religion, how do we know what is right from wrong? To support this argument, they delve into two topics that strike at the heart of individualism and liberty – abortion and same sex marriage. According to the narrative, these two things are proof positive of the moral decay of the United States and the need for religion. How did we get into such a decadent state? Banning school prayer. Once we took religion out of daily life, the decline was inevitable, and abortion, same sex marriage, and secularism are the results.

I had a conversation with a member of the clergy the other day and was told, in no uncertain terms, that my soul is going straight to heck. My crime? Why, I am divorced and remarried, and according to the sacred texts, that is considered adultery. During this conversation I ascertained that this member of the clergy, the one who condemned me for being divorced and remarried, was Republican, the party that worships Ronald Reagan, who, like me, was divorced and remarried. Seems rather hypocritical, doesn’t it?

Of course, the rank hypocrisy is not limited to this one example. In Missouri, the Speaker of the House, who advocated an anti-abortion, anti-gay “family values” agenda, had to resign in disgrace after the media revealed his inappropriate relationship with an intern. His defenders have argued not to throw “the baby out with the bathwater” because he is a good, religious man who made a “mistake”, it was a heterosexual relationship so it is okay, and the young woman was of legal age. So adultery is okay, but divorce somehow is not. A star of a popular “family values” reality show has been revealed to be a serial child molester involving members of his own family, but yet the show went on and this man made the circuit (and a nice income) as the epitome of what is right about this country – conservative, religious, and putting family values above all else. Perhaps I am just a bit jaded and cynical, but molesting multiple young females in your family is not the kind of values I want. Yet somehow this is better and more wholesome than two people of the same gender wanting to marry.

There is a reason why more and more people are turning away from religion – disgust. It is repugnant to have a religion turn a blind eye to members of its clergy molesting innocent children. It is repugnant to have so-called religious people being forgiven for heinous acts such as child molestation and allowed to live their lives while at the exact same time others are being thrown in jail forever for the exact same crime. It is repugnant to have those who want to legislate morality for the rest of us fail to live up to their own standards. It is repugnant for a network and others to profit from a show featuring a child molester.

For those who long for a religious utopia, there is such a place. In this place, anything that is considered blasphemous is destroyed. The people in this place must live their lives in accordance with the sacred text. Homosexuality, for example, is considered deviant behavior and is not allowed. Prayer is mandatory. Religion is taught in schools. Sounds great, doesn’t it? This religious utopia is the most serious threat to civilization as we know it – Islamic State.

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