Church and State

          Here is an excerpt from and link to an excellent blog by Jonathon Turley.  Now to discuss the issue.  (Pics available at the site.)

Kuwait Passes Law Making Cursing of Muhammad A Death Penalty Offense by jonathanturley

Kuwait's parliament has passed the latest law limiting speech in the name of religion. The bill makes it a death penalty offense to curse God or the Prophet Muhammad or his wives.

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jonathanturley | 1, May 4, 2012 at 9:56 am | Categories: Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion | URL: http://wp.me/p6sYP-cDY

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As you can see, it is illegal and a capital offense to blaspheme.  This is difficult for those who believe in separation of Church and State to understand, but quite clear as to why the doctrine of separation of church and state started in the first place.  However, we do need to limit ourselves to our own country to understand any of this.

As the primaries here clearly showed, a sizeable proportion of this country does not believe in separation of church and state.  In fact, perhaps we should go back to Leviticus were it not for the fact that most ACLU attorneys could find loopholes in the Ten Commandments.  We are fortunate that they could.

The first question on this entire issue is how do we know what is blasphemy in the first place.  It all rather reminds me of the famous distinction between Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy:  “Orthodoxy is my doxy, heterodoxy is another’s doxy.”   That still tells us little.

Perhaps we should consult a man of religion.  The problem is in deciding who is a man of religion. 

Let us say that I am not a man of religion, although I think I am.  Thoreau once said that taking a morning swim every day in Walden Pond was the only religious thing he did and that he was the better for it.  In that sense, broadly interpreted, I am religious.  But that is clearly not within the purview of this particular issue.

So, I had once been advised to consult a man of religion.  Now there is a good idea.  Perhaps I should ask the Pope?  Well, the problem is that since I am not considered a man of religion, my own definition of who is a man of religion is invalid.  So now what?

The entire question is reduced to a matter of faith.  But whose faith?  That is a question of doxy again and we once more wind up confused.

Anybody who finds what is going on in Kuwait should learn from it that we have an enormous stake in maintaining the division and separation of church and state.  Our lives depend on it.