Church and state, oil and water
Religion can be a dangerous thing, especially when evil men co-opt the revelations of the Deity for their own corrupt ends. It is for this reason that democracy and liberty cannot exist without the complete separation of church and state.
This is not a radical concept, it has been common knowledge at least since the Enlightenment, when Europe began to emerge from the centuries of darkness forcibly imposed by the Roman Church. From the Caesars who claimed to be Gods to the Popes who claimed to speak for him, Rome provides us with but one lesson of the dangers of politicized religion. From the (un)holy Inquisition to the priestly perverts of more modern scandals, to the terrorists of 9/11, the danger of politicized religion to freedom and liberty cannot be overstated.
In the darker corners on the human imagination, we find extreme examples, the ones that dominate the headlines, such as Jim Jones, Mullah Omar, and the Wacko from Waco, but these are just the tip of the iceberg. If we truly care about liberty and the blessings that democracy offers, we must be more vigilant in guarding against less obvious examples of fanaticism. We also must be vigilant in guarding against our own prejudices and hatreds. The support given to Eric Rudolph, a known murderer, by professed Christians is but one example. Professing Christ while following Barabbas will not get you to heaven, no matter what your preacher says (see the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 15). Here the scripture teaches us of a popular (but evil) leader who “committed murder in the insurrection.”
Many centuries ago, the Cherokee learned the danger of corrupt religious leaders in a most tragic way. In ancient times, Cherokee society was (as was Europe at the same time) ruled by a Priesthood who wielded absolute power. When this Priesthood began to abuse the people, the Cherokee revolted and removed the priests from their positions of power and influence. At the same time, they also instituted a tradition of absolute liberty of the individual and of democratic governance. This tradition remained until the arrival of colonial powers who brought with them a new corrupt religion.
Corruption of religious leaders is not unique to any one religious’ tradition. We have seen murderous mobs of Hindus in India, Buddhists in Myanmar, and of course Islamic terrorism has dominated the news cycle for the better part of two decades. And of course, we cannot forget the Witch Trials of Salem and the imposition by Massachusetts Bay Colony of a ten-pound sterling bounty on the scalps of Indian boys and girls under the age of twelve years.
These atrocities were committed by self-professed “good Christians” who supposedly came to the new world in search of religious freedom but were unwilling to extend the same freedom to anyone else.
It is important here to remember that there is no such thing as a democratic theocracy. Liberty is incompatible with political religiosity. Liberty depends on each member of society to defend the rights of every other member of society. Especially those with whom they disagree. Political religion is not capable of this sort of tolerance. We find this fact repeated over and over throughout history.
Preachers used religion to justify slavery. Later, preachers affiliated with the Klan and with the White Citizens Councils used religion to justify the lynching of both men and women, preaching their racist rhetoric while still claiming to be “good Christians.” The truth of course it that they were neither good nor were they Christian, but they were able to lead astray many gullible people. We see the same thing happening today. And it is this that we must guard against. The average person is not evil, but they can be led astray by evil leaders and evil preachers.
After the experience with a corrupt Priesthood, the Cherokee resolved to leave religious belief and practice up to the individual. This is still largely held to this day among Cherokee people, traditional ones at least, because it is wisdom born of hard experience. Hard experience worth learning from. Worth learning from because freedom of thought is the freedom upon which all others depend.
The final thought is this, if you do not defend the liberty of another, you forgo liberty for yourself. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but judgment is certain. The old proverb is as true today as ever, “never trust a politician who tells you how to pray, or a preacher who tells you how to vote.”