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One of the pleasures about being a Catholic is the treasure of theology. It enables people of faith to know that the understanding of Jesus Christ handed down in an unbroken line from the Apostles precludes reincarnation. Jesus died once and for all: no second life is necessary. If, as Dostoevsky mused, much has gone awry since the first Ascension Thursday, it is the fault of we who follow him.
Atheists like to take credit for having invented secularism; they did – in Europe. Secularism in the U.S., on the other hand, is derivative of a high tolerance for all organized religion and a preference for no particular one. The minds of the Founding Fathers on this one have been explored by so many experts (Jon Meacham is one) that it should be unnecessary to restate it. Seen from the full perspective of its historic beginnings within American exceptionalism, modern secularism is godmother of civil religion rather than the brainchild of atheism.
In high school, the Jesuits taught me that to find a principled answer to any question, it had to be stood on its head. So, before responding about Islamic law, we ought to ask first if U.S. law should make room for Christian teachings?
Volumes have been written about the meaning of “religion” and “spirituality:” In Barack Obama’s campaign both are clearly at work.
Obama is a religious person, having committed to the Christian faith as an adult and chosen to accept religion in ways that had not been part of his upbringing. As a child, he had seen free-thinkers and Muslims as members of his family, so joining the Afro-centric Trinity Church of Christ in Chicago during his 20s was his own choice. That is his religion. His spirituality is another matter.
What Islam Really Says About Violence, Rights and Other Religions
Gomaa, Fadlallah, Mubarak, Khan, Siddiqi, Ellison, others | On Faith
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