State churches that use government power to support themselves and force their views on persons of other fai ths undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of the church tends to make the clergy unrespons ive to the people and leads to corruption within religion.
— Thomas Jefferson, in a speech to the Virginia Baptists, 1808
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This god should be offensive to believers and non-believers alike. To believers, the god of ceremonial deism is little more than a cheerleader for national policies and goals. It is a god whose chief function is to remind other nations, “We’re number one!” This god provides a balm for all of a nation’s policy matters, even the ones that turn out to be misguided. In many ways, it is a god created in man’s image.
For non-believers this god is a constant reminder – as close as the nickel in your pocket – that there is something wrong with you. After all, real Americans believe in god, this one god in which our nation declares collective trust. Indeed, our nation is under this god. The message is not subtle: It is a natural, good and wise thing to honor this god. This god looms over you whether you acknowledge it or not and is linked to your status as an American citizen. If you choose not to honor this god, you are sending the message that you’re not quite as good as the rest of the nation. In short, atheists may say they love their country, but they are to be constantly reminded that it doesn’t love them back.
This is the “tradition” Scalia would have us honor. This is the practice he has spent 28 years defending. This is his vision of the proper interplay between religion and government.
All of that is bad enough, but the real tragedy is that he seems to sincerely believe it’s good for both institutions.
Everyone’s God Is No One’s God: Antonin Scalia And The Scourge Of ‘Ceremonial Deism’ | ACS
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