The debate about changes in the constitution for the
Commonwealth of The Bahamas that will provide equality for
all is most refreshing. However, there are loud voices who
are trying to push the “Christian agenda.” They feel that
it is imperative that the country be considered a “Christian
nation” and they want the constitution to reflect this. I
am a deeply devout Christian but I do not support the idea
that there should be any national or governmental policy,
law, or constitutional item that will require the country to
be Christian.
In 2011, I wrote an article entitled “I am Happy We Are Not a
Christian
Nation” when I explained my views about being a
secular government is better that being a Christian
government (or nation). Here is what I said: “A secular
state is a concept of secularism, whereby a state or country
purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion,
supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state
also claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of
religion, and claims to avoid preferential treatment for a
citizen from a particular religion/non-religion over other
religions/non-religion. Secular states do not have a state
religion or equivalent, although the absence of a state
religion does not guarantee that a state is secular.” If
by constitution The Bahamas were Christian, then there would
be policies and laws in place dictating the way each citizen
should live, thus restricting freedom of religion and
speech. This is the case in the Islamic states today where
each citizen is required to abide by Islamic beliefs or face
a penalty.”
I further explained that “many Christians who are fed up with the
social ills in society are being misled to think that the
government must provide some spiritual guidance for the
people. They are also saying that since we profess to be a
‘Christian nation,’ we should have no alcohol saloons,
illegal drugs, strip joints, pornography channels, dance
halls, etc. While I do wish these were not in our country,
the real problem is not the presence of these things but the
inability for Christian leaders to promote godly Christian
living, and to teach personal censorship instead of national
censorship.”
The drive to have a national constitution to be a spiritual
document is not new.
In
1863 in the United States of America, John Alexander, a
local attorney, delivered a paper on the topic "Religion in
the Nation" at the Xenia Conference with the arguments that
the constitution should be change to reflect the nation
being a “Christian nation.” He proposed the following
amendment to the preamble (amendment in italics): “We,
the People of the United States recognizing
the being and attributes of Almighty God, the Divine
Authority of the Holy Scriptures, the law of God as the
paramount rule, and Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior and Lord
of all, in order to form a more perfect union,
establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for
the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to
ourselves and to our posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.”
What if this amendment did
pass? It would have made the United States like other
nations where religious leaders are head of state and a
specific religion governs the country. Ironically, these are
the countries where religious freedom dose not exist or is
limited. I want to live in a country where there is total
religious freedom. Far too many Christians do not
understand the meaning of and the scope of religious
freedom. “Religious
freedom is the notion that people of religion (Christian or
non-Christian) can freely partake of the practices of their
religion without opposition (privately or publically).
A secular government promotes religious freedom (every
religion) and also the freedom not to have religion—atheism.
Christians
believe that God made every human being with the freedom to
choose. That is the freedom to choose or not to choose even
the One (God) who gave us the freedom to choose. Therefore,
any faith/religion should be allowed to function in a free
country. This proposes a challenge to Christians because it
is all about numbers. The larger the number of
non-Christians the less powerful and influential are the
Christians. Hence, the Christian leaders, thinking that
“Christian voices” should be the most powerful and the ones
to follow, insists that the “Christian way” is the only way
for the nation. While this might sound plausible, the
Christian Church must not require government to have
policies that excludes other faiths or non-faiths.
The
constitution is not a code of moral standards. It is not a
document to provide a prescription for social ills. It is
a documents allowing all peoples of all faith and non-faiths
to live and grown in harmoniously in the same country. I
want a constitution that will allow me the freedom to live
as a Christian and practice all my beliefs. At the same
time the constitution will allow another person not to
believe in God or anything religious. This is freedom.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Barrington H. Brennen marriage and family
therapist. Send your questions or comments to
info@soencouragement.org
or write to P.O. Box CB-11045, Nassau, The Bahamas, or call
1-242-327-1980.
