Governor Huckabee’s claim is breathtaking. I can say that because I have to confess that I’ve given in to the temptation of that kind of thinking.
In the 1970s I ministered in a suburban parish where I was, among other things, youth minister with a couple hundred teenagers in my charge. In a prosperous community, these kids didn’t lack for opportunities, and I was jealous of how filled their calendars were. My program—and church time in general—was usually not the great priority.
Conventional church life was then helped by a state law. Believe it or not, Maryland still had blue laws strictly regulating what stores could open on Sundays. A convenience store and a gas station were the only visible distractions in that small community. The mall, one town over, was shuttered, and we had at least a fighting chance for people’s “Sabbath” attention.
But what Caesar gave, Caesar taketh away. Suddenly, the blue laws were overturned, the mall opened, and we lost a little prop for our offerings. At almost the same time, the local soccer league caught on and decided to switch the “select” games to Sundays. I didn’t take this blow lying down. I tracked down the league officials and called on them. “Funny,” they said. “You’re the first minister to complain. We moved the games because the rabbis asked us to.” I convened a local clergy meeting and we cut a deal—half the games Saturdays, the other half Sundays.
Small stuff compared to the Mr. Huckabee’s suggestion that we trifle with the constitution. I admit I wanted protection for my religion from outside my little religious world. Today, my passion to reach as many people as possible with our message is undimmed. But I’ve grown out of the desire for enshrining religious privilege in the law. If what we have to say is useful, we will be heard in the marketplace of ideas.
In this country, we are remarkably free of restraint to practice our faith. Truly dedicated religious people will rely on what they believe to be divine strength. Anyway, who gets to define what “God’s standards” are? I want to do my work with our people in such a way that the old song will be true, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
If we have faith in our faith, that’s breathtaking enough. We shouldn’t need civil law to make our point. The really faithful position is make common cause with those who want to keep a real and robust boundary between church and state.
Please e-mail On Faith if you'd like to receive an email notification when On Faith sends out a new question.
Email Me | Del.icio.us | Digg | Facebook
