Vet Nov Testamentum. Alongside a Bible, these are the words inscribed onto the seal of Princeton University; from Latin, the phrase translates to “Old and New Testaments”. Yet Princeton endorses neither the Old or the New Testaments, and they have no role in the lives of many of its students. Furthermore, our unofficial motto, “In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity”, is much more applicable to our university than the official “Dei Sub Numine Viget”, which translates to “under the protection of God she flourishes”. Despite the symbolic nature of these phrases, the presence of religion in university-wide mottos and symbols is rather troubling, especially considering that more than 58% of first-year students say they are “not at all religious” or “not very religious”, according to the Daily Princetonian’s annual Frosh Survey. Their presence recalls fundamental questions upon which our university and our society have not come to an agreement: what is the place of religion in a secular University, and in a secular country at large? What are the dangers when religion oversteps its boundaries? For me, such symbols serve as a reminder of the ubiquity and pervasiveness of religion at Princeton and in the United States, which I believe pose a serious and growing danger to the democratic ideals of our nation.
Our country does not endorse any official religion; the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. Yet instead of the phrase “E Pluribus Unum”, which emphasizes the importance of both unity and diversity in America, our nation’s official motto is the remarkably unsecular and unrepresentative “In God we trust”. The Pledge of Allegiance, which 47 states require students in public schools to proclaim, describes America as a nation “under God”. And the 501 (c) (3) tax exempt statuses of many religious institutions act as direct government subsidies that further religion. How can a government that “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” insert God into so many aspects of American society and life, and more importantly, why has it done so?
Many of these religious phrases did not actually originate in any deeply-rooted American “tradition”; in fact, most of these references to God were thrust into American culture during the Cold War. In the course of its rivalry with the Soviet Union, the United States became possessed by an anti-Communist fervor. The Communist Party of the United States of America was banned, and basic American freedoms were routinely suppressed in order to crush the supposed Communist ‘threat’. As anti-Soviet sentiment grew in America, anything that the USSR did was suddenly deemed to be “un-American”, and anything the USSR stood against became an American virtue. Such was the case with religion; the USSR’s atheism meant that many Americans started to see religious belief as inherent to patriotism. And so “In God we trust” became our motto, and “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance. This ill-conceived decision to let anti-Soviet sentiment define what it meant to be American set our country on the exceedingly religious path that it remains on today.
Furthermore, in disregard of the long-standing American doctrine of “separation of Church and State”, U.S. presidents are sworn into the nation’s highest office saying “so help me God” with their hand on a Bible. Why has such preferential treatment of a religious text been normalized into our presidential inaugurations? Article VI of the Constitution guarantees that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States”, yet our presidents still voluntarily take one anyway. Yes, many presidents are deeply religious, and they strongly believe in the Bible; even so, why should their personal faith be such an integral part of a national tradition? Why should they be sworn into office on a book that has personal significance to them, yet means nothing to the 120 million non-Christians in America? The United States was not built on top of the Bible, it was built on our Constitution, which would be a far more emblematic and inclusive document for presidents, senators, and representatives to use when taking their oaths of office. In fact, not every president has used a religious text in their inauguration; for example, John Quincy Adams was sworn into office using a lawbook, and Theodore Roosevelt even decided to omit the “so help me God” from the end of his oath. There is obviously nothing wrong with American officials being religious, but their religion should never be allowed to stand in the way of impartiality, or cause them to lose sight of the secular country they govern. Starting presidential terms with a show of faith sends a poor message; presidents are supposed to represent every American, and the presence of the Bible in inaugurations is completely at odds with this objective.
Still, some may argue that the presence of religious language and symbols in national traditions is insignificant and does not constitute religious overreach. But even when symbolic, such encroachments can do real harm to our country and empower those who have a theocratic vision for America. Such “symbolic” violations of the separation of Church and State can be interpreted by some as confirmation that America is meant to be a Christian nation. As an example, the practice of taking oaths of office using a Bible has fueled the ludicrous belief that non-Christians should be barred from participating in American politics. Roy Moore, a Republican who nearly won the 2017 Alabama Senate race, wrote an article claiming that Muslims should not be allowed in Congress. Moore’s spokesperson, Ted Crockett, later went on to falsely state that “[y]ou have to swear on a Bible to be an elected official in the United States of America.” Such rhetoric shows precisely why religious symbolism in our government is a problem: symbols send messages. Connecting religious texts to public office and government feeds the dangerous idea that our government should favor one religion over another, and serves to embolden those who oppose secularity outright.
But America’s religion problem goes far, far beyond symbols. According to a recent Pew Research poll, 45% of Americans think America “should be a Christian nation”. Allow that to sink in for a moment; 45% of the nation thinks Christianity should hold a special status above that of other religions, and that there is something inherently Christian about America. Of course, such a declaration would go directly against the First Amendment to the Constitution. Evidently, 45% of Americans are either unaware of the First Amendment, or they simply want to get rid of it; I do not know which is more alarming. In reality, declaring America a “Christian nation” would be one of the most un-American things conceivable. It would constitute a clear and complete violation of core American principles, and would be the end of religious freedom in our nation. The fact that nearly half of Americans want to remove these basic guarantees of impartiality that have long defined our political system should be a wake up call: we are headed toward a theocratic cliff.
These anti-democratic ideals are a key component of a larger ideology which has experienced a meteoric rise over the last few years, and which can be summed up by four words on a red hat: “Make America Great Again”. In typical ultranationalist fashion, Trump and his supporters have an extremely narrow vision of what America should be, and of which Americans belong here. With announcements like “[I am] calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on”, Trump has made it abundantly clear that he views certain religions as more “American” than others, and certain Americans as less deserving of fair treatment under the law.
In fact, the Republican Party has often weaponized religion for the sake of gaining political power, mixing a Christian outlook into its platform in order to satisfy its evangelical base, and to entice more moderate Christian voters into supporting conservative positions on crucial issues such as abortion rights. Over the last few decades Republicans have successfully tied anti-abortion movements to religiosity, which attracts Christians to anti-abortion stances as well as energizing voters who have been led to see pro-choice legislation as an attack on Christianity itself. Even Republican politicians who don’t personally believe that the Bible prohibits abortion are usually more than willing to spread such beliefs among their base, thereby portraying a fundamentally secular issue as a religious one instead. The consequences of this sort of politics are obvious; Republicans have been attempting to force their personal spiritual perspectives, and the highly-debatable idea that “life begins at conception”, onto women around the nation.
Religious bias in our institutions presents a grave danger to our country. The truth is that one of America’s greatest assets is our diversity of thought, the fact that we have many religions, and that many of us are able to openly have no religion. Neither Christianity nor atheism are (or ever have been) American values, but secularity is. As such, American officials must ensure that their own religious views never lead them to violate the separation of Church and State, or to favor one religion over another. Religion is incredibly important to many Americans, and there is nothing wrong with that; however, religion must not be given special or preferential treatment in American mottos, schools, ceremonies, or in the Supreme Court. It is essential we remember that America is inherently secular, and that religion cannot, for the sake of our democracy, be allowed to proliferate throughout our government and into our official traditions. This country was established on the idea that we, out of many, are one; if we are to honor and preserve that idea’s place in our political system, we must stand united against the theocratic ultranationalism peddled by the far-right and show that religious overreach has no place in America.
Be First to Comment