October 26, 2005

[UPDATE] How dominionists and the HSLDA are using the HoNDA bill to build a christian army
by Liza Sabater

[UPDATE : Shortened the title (hats off to The Daou Report) and corrected mispelling of the Home School Legal Defense Association's acronym.]

The Journal of Religion and Society is published by the Creighton University, a Catholic Jesuit University located in Omaha Nebraska. The journal is described as "a cross-disciplinary, electronic journal published by the Rabbi Myer and Dorothy Kripke Center". The journal just published Gregory S. Paul's paper, Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look; a look at how the United States theistic social values may well be the reason for the growing rates of murders and suicides in the country; distinguishing it as the most violent of the developed countries.

Journal of Religion and Society | Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look || Despite a significant decline from a recent peak in the 1980s (Rosenfeld), the U.S. is the only prosperous democracy that retains high homicide rates, making it a strong outlier in this regard (Beeghley; Doyle, 2000). Similarly, theistic Portugal also has rates of homicides well above the secular developed democracy norm. Mass student murders in schools are rare, and have subsided somewhat since the 1990s, but the U.S. has experienced many more (National School Safety Center) than all the secular developed democracies combined. Other prosperous democracies do not significantly exceed the U.S. in rates of nonviolent and in non-lethal violent crime (Beeghley; Farrington and Langan; Neapoletan), and are often lower in this regard. The United States exhibits typical rates of youth suicide (WHO), which show little if any correlation with theistic factors in the prosperous democracies (Figure 3). The positive correlation between pro-theistic factors and juvenile mortality is remarkable, especially regarding absolute belief, and even prayer (Figure 4). Life spans tend to decrease as rates of religiosity rise (Figure 5), especially as a function of absolute belief. Denmark is the only exception. Unlike questionable small-scale epidemiological studies by Harris et al. and Koenig and Larson, higher rates of religious affiliation, attendance, and prayer do not result in lower juvenile-adult mortality rates on a cross-national basis. (Emphasis mine)

Mr. Paul used data from sources like the UN's Development Programme, World Health Organization, International Social Survey Program, Gallup and other mainstream research sources. Which is why the study resonates when it states that secular societies are closer to the 'utopia' of 'a culture of life' than the United States.

If the data showed that the U.S. enjoyed higher rates of societal health than the more secular, pro-evolution democracies, then the opinion that popular belief in a creator is strongly beneficial to national cultures would be supported. Although they are by no means utopias, the populations of secular democracies are clearly able to govern themselves and maintain societal cohesion. Indeed, the data examined in this study demonstrates that only the more secular, pro-evolution democracies have, for the first time in history, come closest to achieving practical “cultures of life” that feature low rates of lethal crime, juvenile-adult mortality, sex related dysfunction, and even abortion. The least theistic secular developed democracies such as Japan, France, and Scandinavia have been most successful in these regards. The non-religious, pro-evolution democracies contradict the dictum that a society cannot enjoy good conditions unless most citizens ardently believe in a moral creator. The widely held fear that a Godless citizenry must experience societal disaster is therefore refuted. Contradicting these conclusions requires demonstrating a positive link between theism and societal conditions in the first world with a similarly large body of data - a doubtful possibility in view of the observable trends.

This is incredibly important in view of what dominionists in this country are trying to push as new legislation through the back doors of Capitol Hill.

As a member of several national e-mail lists for homeschoolers I have been hearing of the Homeschool Non-Discrimination Act [House Version] [Senate version] for about two years.

This piece of legislation is being pushed by the Home School Legal Defense Association, a controversial organization in the homeschool movement. So controversial is the HSLDA that one of the best outlines of its reconstructionist and dominionist roots is found in non-other than the Free Republic website. There they reprinted a fantastic article written by Mary McCarthy, one of the most outspoken adversaries of HSDLA and one of the independent education activists I have come admire in my journeys as a homeschooling mother. The article is a must read to get the context of why theism in this country does not only beget violence but encourages it in the guise of military enrollment. In the article re-printed at Free Republic, McCarthy closes with these thoughts :

RECONSTRUCTION THEOLOGY AND HOME EDUCATION [Rushdoony, HSLDA, Gary North] || As homeschoolers we must be careful when examining the religious motivations of our fellow homeschoolers not to attach labels which may not be appropriate. However, it would be more honest of HSLDA and others to define their belief status when placing themselves in positions of moral authority over homeschoolers, who are perhaps of a other, contrary, beliefs.

HSLDA was founded by Michael Farris who, to put it succintly, is the Ralph Reed of the Christian Reconstructionist/Dominionis education movement. Although Michael Farris claims he is but just a Baptist minister, he has signed the 1986 document that launched the dominionist movement, "A MANIFESTO : For The Christian Church". The document is a 'declaration and a convenant' in which the signators "believe America can be turned around and once again function as a Christian nation as it did in its earlier years" and outline why and how they're putting in place their call to action with wisdome such as article #13:

13. The Need for Confrontation: We affirm that in a life where there exists "the world, the flesh and the devil," there is need for living confrontation over matters of falsehood and unrighteousness in the Church and in the world. It is impossible for any group of people to live truly biblically obedient lives without applying to each other regular confrontation, exhortation, rebuke and church discipline. Church discipline must be an on-going part of any congregation that chooses truly to live according to the Bible.

This idea of confronting unrighteousness is fundamental to the dominionists' agenda for educating the next wave of christian leaders. Michael Farris left HSLDA to found Patrick Henry College to raise the Joshua generation and prepare them to take over the land.

Which is why the HoNDA bill should not come as a surprise.

For over 20 years HSDLA has been sounding the alarm of discrimination and persecution of homeschoolers all across the country. Actually, not all homeschoolers --because HSDLA would never vouch for unschoolers or atheist. Their battle plan has been to work from every locality, every state and all the way up to the Hill to ensure the extremists' unfettered right to choose how to educate their children.

Yes, fundies believe in the right to choose as long they are the ones doing the choosing.

One way of doing it has been through bills pushed across municipalities and state senates that were allegedly intended to clarify or legalize homeschooling. The most recent strategy though is to claim homeschoolers are discriminated in the military due to the fact there is no federal definition of or mandate over homeschooling.

Why is this a strategy and not a legal palliative? It gives the HSLDA, a faith-based organization with strong roots in the Reconstructionist and Dominionist movement the opportunity to write themselves into the law as the vouchsavers of homeschoolers across the nation :

SEC. 10. RECRUITMENT AND ENLISTMENT OF HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENTS IN THE ARMED FORCES.

(a) Home-Schooled Students- Chapter 31 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 503 the following new section:

Sec. 503a. Recruitment and enlistment of home-schooled students

(a) Policy on Recruitment and Enlistment- The Secretary concerned shall prescribe a policy for the recruitment and enlistment of home-schooled students. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the polices prescribed under this section apply, to the extent practicable, uniformly across the armed forces

[ ... ]

(3) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with a copy of the graduate's transcript for all secondary school grades completed which--

[...]

(5) The graduate has provided the Secretary concerned with a third-party verification letter of the graduate's home-school status by the Home School Legal Defense Association or a State or county home-school association or organization.'.

Valerie Bonham Moon did a major fisking of this legislation at her Military Homeschoolers website. Go first to her shredding of the 2003 version then head over to her obliteration of the current bill.

HSDLA is not only trying to write itself into the law as the arbitrers of homeschooling. The HSDLA already has a pact with the Army to at least tap into the allegedly ignored market of homeschoolers for Army recruits. You can see their advertisement on the US Army recruitment's website.

As Mary McCarthy has pointed out on a recent post about the subject, this alliance begs many questions, especially in view of Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin's entanglement with the Southern Baptist Convention's FAITH program. Last year the Pentagon's senior military intelligence official was found to have broken at least three internal regulations for his advocacy of the SBC's campaign to "find a group of men who are warriors of FAITH" by giving pastors "unprecedented access" to Fort Bragg, including "including heavily secured areas, a Special Forces demonstration with live ammunition, and a visit to the 'Shoot House' to learn how Special Forces attack the enemy inside buildings". All for the sake of building the country's "spiritual army".

In God vs. the Gavel, Marci Hamilton chastises politicians and public figures alike for failing to engage in an honest and objective debate about how religious extremists are causing harm to the country's "social" and "spiritual" capital. Last year, this was probably the main issue that arose from the presidential elections.

The attitude of writers like David Brooks is to wish away topics like abortion because they are too divisive. But the battle between theism and secularism is what is at the core of the abortion debate. So is gay marriage, health care, public education. Theism vs. secularism has blatantly permeated the present Supreme Court nominations of John Roberts and Harriet Miers and if Lt. Gen. Boykin's actions are any indication, even our foreign policy could be discussed on those terms.

The United States come to attack, harm and kill as nation in the name of god. What Gregory Paul reminds us --with data and statistics-- is that this is no spiritual war. This is our own very earthly expression of hell.

See also:
The Military Homeschooler -- featuring homeschooling information for
American military families around the world

HR 3753/ S 1691-Homeschool NonDiscrimination Act 2005

More Information about HSLDA

Home Education Magazine: The oldest and most informative homeschooling magazine.

Mary Griffith - A Homeschooler Is a Homeschooler Is a Homeschooler . . .

RollingStone.com || The Crusaders

The Covert Kingdom by Joe Bageant

The Public Eye : Website of Political Research Associates || The Rutherford Institute

The New Yorker: GOD AND COUNTRY

Posted by Liza Sabater in Abortion, Christian Fundamentalism, Culture of Life, Dominionism, Dominionists, Evangelical, Extremists, Harriet Miers, Homeschooling, John Roberts, Law, Military, National Security, Religion, Reproductive Rights, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Theocracy, Theocrats, Violence, War
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Found inOctober 26, 2005 11:26 AM

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