God and Country

It has come to my attention that some theists believe that atheism is unpatriotic, and some even wonder why atheists don't pack up and leave the country.  One commented that atheists are choosing when they want to be American and when they don't.

Since a majority believe that we should have "under God" in the pledge of allegiance, I find this puzzling.  How is this patriotic?  Subordinating our country to the god of the Bible seems to be the exact opposite of patriotism.  As an expression of our patriotism we are to subordinate our republic to God.  That's theocracy not democracy.

But it gets even worse.  Let's take a look at some of the things this god of the Bible has supposedly told his followers to do in the past.  See the last half of the seventeenth chapter of Exodus and I Samuel chapter 15, where these instructions were reiterated and carried out.  This is divinely sanctioned genocide as punishment for a four hundred year old offense.  Are those the values that you want your republic to be based on or subordinate to?

Some say our constitution is based on the Ten Commandments.  I see little similarity between the commandment that we have no other gods besides God, and a constitutional provision that protects freedom of religion.  One forbids the worship of the "wrong" gods, the other protects the right of any individual to worship whichever god or gods he or she chooses.

Incidentally other parts of the Bible explicitly state that the punishment for violation of this commandment should be death.  Granted most Christians see this as no longer being in effect.  It is part of the Old Testament.  This is part of the Bible that is seen as morally instructive for Christians, but the exact role that it plays in Christianity is uncertain.  There are disputes on this.

Traditionally our country is informed by John Locke.  In his letter concerning religious toleration, he states that these instructions are for the Jews in the Holy Land.  They are not to apply to other parts of the world.  Humans have no right to oppress those of other religions, but God does.  God, however, has given no instructions to implement these rules in other places in the world.

However, our constitution goes further than John Locke.  He would not have extended religious freedom to the unreligious.  He said that this wouldn't apply to them, since if someone didn't believe in any gods, this would undermine the oaths on which society was based.  Our constitution states that there will be no religious test for holding office.

I think the issue of whether it would be patriotic to subordinate our country to God would be clearer if we contemplated subordination to other genocidal dictators.  No one would ever take the position that "under Stalin" would be patriotic.

If Christians insist on having "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, then atheists should do their patriotic duty and say "under no god" instead.  This sends a clear message.  If you refuse to recite the pledge people might think that you aren't patriotic.  If you leave out this phrase people might see that you recited the rest of the pledge and simply and assume that you recited the part you don't agree with.  If the Pledge is being recited only by atheists then the omission might be seen as accidental.  By saying "under no god", you make it clear that this is a deliberate act of civil disobedience.  You are refusing to subordinate our republic to the god of the Bible.