About two weeks ago, I wrote:

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The Founding Fathers rejected religious influence in the formation of the
ideals that were to govern the United States for the same reason that I continue
to do now: its inevitable slide into dogmatism and intolerance. No religion is
safe from those urges, and every religion eventually gives in to them, simply
because excessive piety is fundamentally incompatible with doubt and reasoned
thought.

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Last week at this time, I was in Cambridge, MA, at Harvard for a one-day
symposium on evolutionary biology.

Today, members from the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, KS are in
Cambridge, picketing city hall, decrying Massachussett's legalization of gay marriage,
condemning all of those associated with the process to eternal damnation. On
their web page, they write:

"To every lover of Arminian lies -- believing and preaching that God loves
every individual of mankind -- we say, You are going to Hell! Period! End of
discussion! God's decree sending you to Hell is irreversible! Hypocrites! How can
ye escape the damnation of Hell?!"

     -- http://www.godhatesfags.com/main/manifesto.html

None of this comes close to the lessons that I absorbed from Christianity
during my childhood, but it seems to be the core of the sentiments that underlies
so much of the red state/blue state divide that exists in the United States
today.

Does it matter? In one sense, no. These people are just a bunch of
narrow-minded, poorly-educated bigots. Their contributions to society will never be more
than minimal, even under the best of circumstances.

But in another sense, it matters a great deal. Basic research is the process
by which high-tech jobs are created -- something everyone on this list seems
to want -- and yet the United State's fundamental research is being
increasingly conducted by people who have no association with Christianity at all,
although Christians represent 86% of the population of the United States. Many
American researchers are not American citizens, and if they are religious, they
tend to be Hindus, Buddists, Jews or Confucianists.

Not thinking is easy. Invoking God to justify your non-thought is even
easier. Easier yet is condemning to hell everyone who doesn't agree with you. But
it's a wholly destructive process. It produces nothing, nor does it make life
better for anyone. But what is particularly discouraging is that it seems to be
an accelerating trend in American life.

Wirt Atmar

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