I know I am a little late on this one, I saw it on the news and meant to say something about it here, but I forgot. So last week, in Springfield Illinois we had a group come to the state capitol and place a sign that said:
“At the time of the winter solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is just myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”
So, what’s my problem with this? Well the winter solstice is a very holy holiday for some, it’s called Yule. It celebrates the earth goddess going to sleep for the winter. The holiday is marked by things you would recognize, such as the christmas tree, carols, holly, mistletoe, and a whole plethora of others. What this group is promoting is not only false, but in my opinion is actionable. They are misrepresenting a valid religious holiday for their own ends, and they might want to be careful who they offend.
The other problem I have with this is here we have another group that is misrepresenting our Constitution. It would surprise a lot of people to know that the words ‘separation of church and state’ doesn’t exist in the Constitution. I have discussed this before, and I have a link for you to check it out. It has just grown so pervasive today that you can almost anyone and they will tell you that they firmly believe that those words are actually in our laws somewhere. This group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, is like the ACLU, quick to bring suit against anyone that does anything that violates their mythical law. It’s kinda funny actually, they rant and rile against people who want to spread their religious views to others, by spreading their anti-religious views. Pot meet kettle anyone?
I wrote them an email asking them to stop using the holiday of Yule for their own anti-religion agenda, we will see what they say. I believe their misrepresenting of that holiday may continue to promote ignorance and hate, and if I am not mistaken it could even be actionable if they continue the practice.