"Official" Religion

Utah’s charter member of the Senator for Life Club, Republican Orrin Hatch, recently was quoted as saying that states and municipalities have the right to, can and should, establish official religions. What the He** was he thinking? (On second thought, does Orrin ever think before he speaks?)

Really, Senator?

What if one of the southern states, let’s say Mississippi, establishes the Southern Baptists as the state’s official religion. They could then pass legislation that, for example, dictates mandatory bible study, as they see fit, in school. And they could also mandate prayer, complete with fire and brimstone, before school lunch. How would the thousands of children, whose families are members of The Church of Latter Day Saints in Mississippi, feel about that? Do you think it would make them uncomfortable, or shunned? Think about it, Senator. How would the parents explain it to their children?

In Boston, the school children could be mandated to recite the (Catholic) Rosary before entering high school. Would that have made your children happy, Senator? Would you have been able to explain this to your children?

Senator Hatch, I know you are old enough to remember the terrors of the cold war, when Russia and China banned religion; how many people were persecuted for trying to follow their religious beliefs; and the backlash that was created in many countries because of that persecution. That backlash inserted the words “under God” into the American Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, thank you (?), Joe McCarthy and Richard Nixon.

On a global scale, Senator, you have seen, heard, and rightfully decried the atrocities carried out in the name of state-sanctioned religions around the world. Can you believe, for one moment that would not happen here if we had states and municipalities establishing official religions?

Senator, I am sorry. I am sorry that you feel you have to pander to the religious right in order to raise campaign contributions and get re-elected, and use your “war chest” to fund other people’s campaigns for office.

More importantly, Senator, in the face of the current economic and social stress facing our great country, I am sorry that you want to focus the discussion, not on matters that affect our overall well-being as a country, but on matters that can only divide us further. I expect better from you.

Respectfully,

R.M. “Bob” Hartman- an active voter in Utah.

Comments are welcome, as always.

(City Weekly, December 10, 2015, page 8)