American history has proved that “freedom of religion” isn’t exactly as cut-and-dry as our Founders may or may not have intended. Countless episodes, especially that in the realms of politics and education, have redefined again and again what is appropriate in terms of the way religion is to be, for lack of a better word, handled.
It’s been 85 years since the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial which brought evolution to the forefront in the public school system and for the first time questioned the teaching of God and Creation in public schools. But in those 85 years, grounds of what is politically correct are just as sketchy as they are in Washington D.C. as they were in rural Tennessee.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs has voiced a concern that has commanded the attention of policy development on a national level, including that of President Obama himself.
In summary, the group seeks, in their own terminology, to put an end to the “American foreign policy [that] is handicapped by a narrow, ill-informed and ‘uncompromising Western secularism’ that feeds religious extremism, threatens traditional cultures and fails to encourage religious groups that promote peace and human rights,” according to Michelle Boorstein’s article “’God gap’ impedes US foreign policy, task force says,” in The Washington Post.
The “God gap” referenced in the title is the idea that “God,” or religion in general, has simply been removed from the equation of policy-making of “secular fundamentalists” who’s supposed school of thought has held an overwhelming influence in Congress for decades. Despite the fact that so many foreign nations, both the friends and enemies of American security, are total, albeit unofficially-labeled theocracies, foreign policy agents have turned a seemingly blind eye to such affairs, or so the accusations of interests groups like the Chicago Council would claim.
However, even the most zealous crusader of religious priority couldn’t admit that DC hasn’t made multiple efforts in somewhat recent history to try and integrate religious concerns into both national and international policy. In 1998, the incidentally titled International Religious Freedom Act was passed by Congress with what would seem like exactly such intentions. Recently, President Obama’s administration would also like to claim that they have addressed religious concerns in foreign policy, stating that “this issue has senior-level attention.”
Unfortunately, such efforts both past and present are not enough. I believe what the Chicago Council is petitioning is an absolutely critical component of American government.
Even the most radical atheist would have difficulty demonizing the group’s intentions, the likes of which include the engagement and support of local religious groups that support human rights and community building.
Although the government has been careful to not upset the American public with the use of “God” in education and politics, religion is something that simply cannot be ignored on a global level.
It is groups like the Chicago Council that keep democracy healthily in check, and provide a religious awakening to a sleeping, purposefully ignorant nation.