Dr. Herb Silverman is the Founder of the Secular Coalition for America, the Founder of the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry, and the Founder of the Atheist/Humanist Alliance student group at the College of Charleston. He authored Complex variables (1975), Candidate Without a Prayer: An Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist in the Bible Belt (2012) and An Atheist Stranger in a Strange Religious Land: Selected Writings from the Bible Belt (2017). He co-authored The Fundamentals of Extremism: The Christian Right in America (2003) with Kimberley Blaker and Edward S. Buckner, Complex Variables with Applications (2007) with Saminathan Ponnusamy, and Short Reflections on Secularism (2019).
Here we talk about the American Constitution.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When
we look at the well-made human document called the American
Constitution, some questions arise for the freethought community, potentially,
or, at least, some in it. What parts before amendments best exemplify
freethought and secularism? What amendments improve upon the original document
in terms of the specific content of secularism and the freethinking ability of
individual citizens?
Dr. Herb Silverman: The framers of the United
States Constitution wanted no part of the religious intolerance, holy wars, and
bloodshed they saw in Europe. In declaring
independence from England, Americans also rejected the claim by kings, crowned
by bishops, that they had been vested with a God-given authority to rule
through “divine right.”
The
U.S. framers wisely established the first government in history to separate religion
and government. They formed a secularnation whose authority
rests with “We the People” (the first three words of the U.S.
Constitution) and not with “Thou the Deity.” They created a
Constitution in which the government acknowledged no gods, the better to ensure
freedom of conscience. We the people are free to
worship one, many, or no gods. As Thomas Jefferson said, “It does me no injury
for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my
pocket nor breaks my leg.”
There are only two references to religion in the U.S. Constitution,
and both are exclusionary. One is in Article 6: “No religious test shall
ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the
United States.” I know Article 6 quite well. When I discovered in 1990 that our
South Carolina state constitution prohibited atheists from holding public
office, an obvious violation of Article 6, I challenged that provision in the
state constitution by running for governor as “the candidate without a prayer.”
In 1997 I won a unanimous decision in the South Carolina Supreme Court,
invalidating the unconstitutional provision and recognizing that atheists have the
right to hold public office in South Carolina.
The other exclusionary mention of religion is in the First
Amendment to the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This
guarantees the right to practice any religion or no religion. The federal
government cannot favor one religion over another, or believers over
non-believers. No one’s religious liberty is threatened when the wall of
separation between religion and government is kept strong.
As wonderful as the U.S. Constitution is, no American would call
it an infallible document, as some claim about the Bible. The framers
understood the need for future changes in the Constitution, and set forth
mechanisms for change through amendments. Scientific and humanistic advances
make it desirable to incorporate new information and adjust our worldview and
behavior. The Constitution condoned slavery until the 13th Amendment
ended it in 1865. Women were not granted the right to vote until 1920 when the
19th Amendment passed. On the other hand, the unamended Bible
written by misogynistic men condones slavery. You will also not
find any support in the Bible for respecting people who have different or no religious beliefs.
While the U.S. federal government was never considered to be a Christian nation, initially there was no
prohibition against states establishing their own state churches. Some early
state constitutions limited public office to Christians—or even to the correct Christian denomination. Such
provisions represented a more intolerant time in our history. States with
government-favored religions gradually began moving toward separating religion
and government. The 14th Amendment, passed in 1868, ended
state-sponsored religion.
Those who claim the United States is a Christian nation need to
read the Constitution. You will not find the words Christian, Jesus, or God in
it. Our framers were careful and thoughtful writers. Had they wanted a
Christian nation, it seems highly unlikely that they would somehow have
forgotten to include their Christian intentions in the supreme law of the land.
In 1797, the Treaty of Tripoli was ratified unanimously by the
United States Senate. This trade treaty stated in part: “The government of the
United States is notin any sense
founded on the Christian religion.” I wonder what part of “not” those who
believe we are a Christian nation don’t understand.
Nevertheless, Christian-nation advocates continually try chipping
away the “secular,” often with symbols like “In God We Trust” and “One Nation
Under God.” They also try to legislate the posting of the Ten Commandments on
public buildings. Most
Americans believe that the Ten Commandments are among the finest guidelines for
a virtuous life. Interestingly, hardly anyone can actually state them all. So I
will, along with my commentary.
The First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,”
conflicts with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that guarantees
freedom of religion—the right to worship one, several, or no gods. The next
three Commandments (no graven images, not taking God’s name in vain, keeping
the Sabbath day holy) refer to specific kinds of worship directed toward a God
who punishes several generations of children if their fathers do not worship
appropriately. These first four commandments are religious edicts that have
nothing to do with moral or ethical behavior. They describe how to worship and
pay homage to a jealous and vindictive God.
The Fifth Commandment, about honoring parents, should not be so
unconditional as to condone child abuse. There is no commandment about parents
honoring their children or treating them humanely.
The next four commandments (proscriptions against murder,
adultery, stealing, and lying) obviously have merit, and existed in cultures
long before these commandments appeared in Exodus 20. Yet even these are open to
interpretation. Is abortion murder? What about euthanasia? War? Capital
punishment? Reasonable people can disagree and respect other opinions, unless
convinced they are acting as God’s messenger.
The Tenth Commandment, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house,
wife, slaves, ox, donkey, or any other property,” condones slavery and treating
women as property.
The Ten Commandments, meant to
be the cornerstone of an ethical and moral life, are notable for what they
omit. Why not condemn slavery,
racism, sexual assault, child and spouse abuse, and torture? Most people could
come up with a better set of rules to live by.
I propose a simple solution that
both honors our democratic principles and reminds us of the curbs on
governmental abuse of power. Why don’t we display our American Bill of Rights
on public buildings? We would still be posting ten, and we Americans can all
support and celebrate these ten. Or can we?
Jacobsen:
Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Dr. Silverman.
Photo by John Bakator on Unsplash
