Kansas Under Brownback - A Culture of Faith is Necessary to be a Free Society

With all the 'Imagining' going on in Topeka right now, I'd like to imagine Kansas under Sam Brownback. Brownback recently had a commentary published in CNS news (bringing a political balance against the liberal media) titled "A Culture of Faith is Necessary to be a Free Society".

Knowing that Brownback is a creationist, thinks the location of 'In God We Trust' on our money is an important issue and is a member of 'The Family' is one thing. But with his recent letter it really drives the point home that I don't know what we should expect with him in the driver's seat for the State of Kansas.

Reading Brownback's letter is like reading a post from an anti-atheist blogger trying to remain politically correct.

“American Becoming Less Christian, Less Religious,” blared the headlines. In this season of Easter, this news is something for us to ponder.

I would contend that these are worrisome trends—and not just for those who practice their faith.

Senator, America becoming less Christian is not a worrisome trend. America has been changing since the country began. The Constitution is a secular, godless document and being secular is part of what has made us strong. I'm glad that Brownback didn't pull out the 'Christian Nation" statement. In what he wrote it was implied just enough to appease the religious and avoid bothering the non-Christians.

A society based solely on reason, without any reference to transcendent faith, has been tried and has utterly failed. In the 20th century, we witnessed this with both National Socialism and atheistic communism—colossal and bloody failures based on the ideal of human reason freed from the shackles and superstitions of religious faith. Purely secular societies have grave difficulties, because they close man in on himself instead of opening him up to transcendental truth.

This paragraph could have easily have been posted on CJOnline. He avoids the direct attacks and name calling that can occur on CJ but all the basics are there. He sarcastically uses the phrase "freed from the shackles and superstitions of religious faith". It would be nice for us to have a politician that realize that phrase is a true assessment of religion in today's society. How can any intelligent person view a literal interpretation of the Bible as anything but superstition?

There are present day examples as well. In many parts of Europe, attempts are being made to create a totally secular society. They have purged faith from the public square, and they are suffering for it. Many European countries are facing an extreme demographic crisis with birth rates far below replacement levels, resulting in stagnant economies and social security systems strained to the breaking point. It again calls to mind John Adams’ point that a culture of faith is necessary to sustain a free society. It is a cautionary tale for America: we cannot abandon our faith and expect to flourish.

Using statistics to make a point just doesn't work well unless you have a solid argument. The only argument he has against atheist countries in Europe is a low birth rate? Really? He had to avoid the statistics showing that those countries are better by almost every objective standard. The Scandinavian countries are the least religious in Europe and are also more prosperous, have less crime and are the "most happy" than the more religious countries of the world.

There is now abundant social science data pointing to a correlation between a falloff in religious practice and a host of disturbing trends. Low religious practice in families is correlated to poor academic performance for children, more behavioral problems, poorer quality of parent-child relationships, higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse, lower rates of marriage, and higher rates of non-marital sexual activity, including cohabitation. While family breakdown in the United States is less advanced than it is in many European countries, it is becoming increasingly clear that unless our families and communities are strong, government will be required to step into the breach to address the social problems that result.

I would really like to know where Brownback is finding his "abundant social science data". While not scientific, the children of atheist parents I know have outstanding academic performance, have good parent-child relationships, no behavior or addiction problems. And heaven forbid :) that there be non-marital sexual activity and cohabitation. I would expect that there is plenty of non-marital sexual activity and cohabitation amongst the religious. At least the non-religious are pro birth control.

To walk away from God is to walk away from our future. Hope comes in the knowledge that there is something far bigger and far greater than ourselves in which to invest our lives, our souls and our sacred honor.

This ending to his letter bothers me just as much, if not more, than the rest. With a potential Governor that says "To walk away from God is to walk away from our future" there's no telling what kinds of legislation he would want to promote. Personal beliefs are personal beliefs but from the statements that Brownback makes it appears that he would not just keep those beliefs private.

For anyone that wants to read Brownback's whole letter, here is a link to the story on the cns website: http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=46441#