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Secular USA

Introduction

The United States of America (USA) (a Wikipedia link) is a country in North America with a population of over 342 million. It is bordered to the north by Canada, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by Mexico, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. It has 50 states, of which 48 are on the mainland. The states of Alaska and Hawaii are to the west of the mainland, with Hawaii being an island in the northern part of the Pacific ocean. The capital is Washington, D.C.

The country is officially a secular republic under a constitution which created a separation of powers among legislative, executive and judicial branches. It has a president with executive authority, and a congress composed of a house of representatives and a senate. Federalism grants substantial autonomy to the 50 states.

History

  • Pre-Columbian: Indigenous groups lived throughout the land for thousands of years before European contact.
  • Colonization (1500s–1760s): European powers (mainly Great Britain) established colonies on the Atlantic coast.
  • Revolution and independence (1775–1783): The thirteen colonies fought the American Revolutionary War and formed the United States of America.
  • Expansion and division (1780s–1860s): The nation expanded to the west. Conflicts over slavery led to the American Civil War (1861–1865).
  • Industrialization to superpower (1865–1945): The country grew to be an industrial giant and fought in the two World Wars.
  • Cold war and civil rights (1945–1991): The U.S. competed globally with the Soviet Union while citizens fought for equal rights.
  • Modern era (1991–present): The U.S. thrives in the digital age, however global conflicts and economic changes continue to affect it.

Current day

Religion in the USA (a Wikipedia link) is as follows (as of 2024):

  • Christianity: 69.0%
    • Protestantism: 44.8%
    • Catholicism: 21.8%
    • Other Christian: 2.4%
  • No religion: 21.4%
  • Other responses/no answer: 5.6%
  • Judaism: 2.2%
  • Other: 2.0%

The number of citizens not professing a religion has been rising, from 6% in 1991 to about 29% in 2021. Religious affiliation varies widely across the states, with the highest levels found in the south and south-east states.

The First Amendment guarantees the free exercise of religion and forbids Congress from passing laws respecting its establishment.

Issues

Unfortunately, the intrusion into society of religion is a bit of a bottomless pit in the U.S.

It is supposed to be a secular society (i.e. religion playing no part in government and institutions), however there is a group of citizens who are determined to impose their brand of religion on the country. That has been happening for a long time, however, perhaps due to the declining numbers of religious citizens, the attempt to inject religion into daily life is becoming more desperate by those involved.

A favorite argument is that the U.S. was founded on the basis of Judeo-Christian principles. That is of course nonsense, and of course not a single proponent of that concept can define a single on of those principles. The U.S. Constitution is a secular document and it makes no reference to jesus, the bible, or Judeo-Christian values in any way. On the contrary, it explicitly prohibits a religious test as a means to hold public office (article 6).

Founders of the country were actually influenced by Enlightenment adherents such as John Locke, and therefore they believed in things like: liberty, reason, natural rights, and the separation of the church and state.

The Treaty of Tripoli (1797) was ratified by a unanimous Senate and signed by the President (John Adams), and explicitly stated that the government of the USA was not, in any way, founded on the Christian religion.

By definition, the foundational US laws and values contradict biblical laws (such as the ten commandments), because they protect freedom of speech and the right to worship (or not worship) one or more deities, and on any day that suits the worshiper.

The Establishment Clause of the first amendment was specifically designed precisely to stop the government from endorsing (establishing) a state religion.

It’s weird that the phrase “in god we trust” was added to the currency (in 1938 to all coins and in 1957 to paper money), however it should be noted that those are late additions and were not present at the time of foundation.

There is a push in some states to have the ten commandments displayed in prominent public locations (e.g. outside of courthouses and libraries) as well as in classrooms. And “some states” is the key because the responsibility for those actions comes down to a state-by-state basis. The insidious method for trying to inject such things into public lives is to claim (no matter how ridiculous it sounds) that they are somehow part of the historical fabric of the country.

The push for a public display of Christian symbolism is a desperate and last-ditched reaction to the falling numbers of religious people in the U.S. For a start, about 30% of the population not believing in Christianity means that just over 100 million people who don’t believe in such nonsense would be required to view the symbolism. Secondly, the people pushing for the overt display, never give pause to consider that equal rights should flow to other religions. Somehow, they just know that theirs is the only religion (despite its many flaws) worthy of such consideration.

The really scary part about the insane push for a more religious society in the U.S. is that those pushing the hardest seem to be the ones who most often get exposed and caught out for acting in ways that are furthest from the religious principles they profess need to apply to others. For example, via acts of greed, adultery, theft and lying.

There are continual debates regarding prayer, religious displays, and the contents of school teaching programs (e.g. evolution versus creationism) in public education. Additionally, there are many controversies about taxpayer funds being spent on religious schools, charities, or other faith-based services.

Additionally, the most devout U.S. states (mainly located in the South) regularly rank lowest on the state academic achievement ratings, such as: graduation rates, college entrance and National Assessment of Education Progress mathematics and reading scores.

Also at stake (due to pressure from religious groups) are social issues such as: access to abortion and other medical services (such as family planning), and LGBTQ+ rights such as marriage equality, anti-discrimination protections, and gender-affirming care.

Unfortunately, the religious groups in the U.S. have managed to instill in the general population the notion that being an atheist (or even just non-religious) is a heinous crime perpetrated by little more than an amoral monster. Despite it being specifically banned by the constitution, it is close to impossible for a non-religious candidate to be elected to office (especially in some states). Hopefully that will start to change in the decades to come.

Secular and atheist groups

You’d think that one of the biggest secular democracies in the world would not have much need for secular and humanist advocacy groups. Sadly, you’d be wrong. Here are some. Unless stated otherwise, links are to the organisation web sites.

Forum

Regarding this forum, remember:

  • this is a place to help others, so please be polite,
  • that we’re trying to reduce the effects of religion in this society,
  • that participants may have been badly affected by religion,
  • to respect the privacy of everyone (including yourself),
  • the law.

If your motives or actions are otherwise, you will need to find another venue.

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