One Nation Under God The United States of America is a country founded on religious principles and freedoms. Protestants escaping religious persecution in England came to the new world and planted the seeds of what would grow into a world superpower. The Native Americans, whose ancestors had been the first men to live there, became nothing but second class citizens. They were forced into slavery whilst dying by the thousands from disease brought by the white man. The pilgrims’ quest for religious freedom had brought ruin to an entire culture. Though it was the greatest, this genocide was not the last injustice done by religious organization in the new world. The framers of the United States constitution granted the right to freedom of religion among others. But all rights are limited; they cannot be exercised if they infringe upon another’s rights. Furthermore, despite claims of separation of church and state Christianity continues to take precedent over the rights and liberties of many citizens. Today one of the chief injustices regarding religion in America is tax exemptions for religious organizations. Proponents of tax exemption for religious organizations claim that there is no breach of separation of church and state. This claim is made on the grounds that by not taxing religious organizations they are not affiliating with them; therefore separation of church and state is attained. This logic is flawed to an unbelievable extent. The government electing not to tax religious organizations is not separation, but clear cut favoritism. Regular nonprofit organizations receiving tax exemptions are subject to IRS scrutiny and must file a detailed 990 statement cataloguing where the money has been spent (Taxthechurches 1). For religious organizations this requirement is waived, opening up a myriad of problems associated with this lack of supervision. Some churches do use their tax exempt status for the benefit of others, such as serving meals to the poor. (Thomgate 1) However churches are also able to purchase land claiming it to be for worship, when in actuality it might be used as a residence for a church official. Even hotels, farms, and parking lots have been granted religious tax exemption. Tax exemptions for religious organizations are routinely abused. In Hardenburgh, New York, 235 of the 239 property owners were granted religious tax exemption because the properties were made into branches of the Universal Life Church; a questionable mail order church service (Taxthechurches 2).This is plain and simple tax evasion using religion as a loophole. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the tax exemption of churches in Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York by a vote of 8-1. Walz, a self-described Christian who did not belong to any church and owned real estate in Richmond County, N.Y., sued the tax committee over property tax exemption for churches. Walz claimed he and other taxpayers were forced to indirectly subsidize churches. The majority decision, written by Chief Justice Burger, held that the tax exempt status granted to all houses of worship is the same privilege given to other nonprofit organizations. The only one opposed was Justice Douglas who strongly dissented, saying: "one of the best ways to 'establish' one or more religions is to subsidize them, which a tax exemption does." Douglas rejected the idea that it would be "disruptive of traditional state practices" to end the arrangement. "A tax exemption is a subsidy" he wrote. Douglas noted that James Madison, primary architect of the Constitution, famously objected in his Memorial and Remonstrance to any citizen being compelled to contribute even "three pence" to support a church. (Tax Exemption of Churches - Freedom From Religion Foundation 1) Common sense dictates that taxpayers’ indirectly subsidizing religion is fundamentally wrong, yet the United States Supreme Court united in an almost unanimous decision against this logic, highlighting a lack of objective and impartial judging in the highest level of our court system based on religious affiliation. The Catholic Church is notorious for its corruption and avarice. For hundreds of years it has plundered the wealth of society, turning a profit off of people’s fear of death. Despite a drastic decrease in its wealth and influence in modern times, the Catholic Church remains a powerful force, and its corruption has remained present to this day.Monsignor Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst from Limburg was known as the “Bishop of Bling”. Tebartz-van Elst spent lavishly renovating his residence, including a reported $20,000 on a bathtub and $620,000 on artwork. He was asked to resign by Pope Francis (Frizell 1). This kind of graft is commonplace in the Catholic Church.
Another example of immorality committed by established religion is the assertion of creationists in our public education system. Biblical creationists believe that the world was created by god about 4000 years ago. They believe that god flooded the world, and that Noah saved humanity on an ark. This worldview has been proven incorrect in countless different ways by scientists. Carbon dating is a scientific method used to determine the age of organic materials. Carbon dating is done by measuring the decay of certain isotopes in materials. Since isotopes decay at a routine pace they can be used to determine the age of an organic material. Carbon-14 is the radioactive isotope used in carbon dating. Carbon-14 decays with a half life of 5730 years, making it ideal for determining the age of ancient materials.(Carbon Dating) Having found countless samples to be tens of thousands of year’s old, carbon dating completely refutes the possibility of a 4000 year old planet. Yet despite scientific proof to the contrary, creationists still push for access to public schools curriculums. Many children are not taught basic world principles such as evolution based on religious grounds. They grow up with fundamentally incorrect views on the world because they were taught by their parents, who went through the exact same problem. This kind of ignorant cyclical indoctrination seen in racist groups like the Klu Klux Klan should not be present in today’s modern education system.
During a publicized debate with young-earth creationist Ken Ham, Bill Nye made many of his views and concerns public. Ken argued that the term science has been hijacked by secularists. “There is experimental or observational science, as we call it, that's using the scientific method of observation, measurement, and experiment and testing… When you are talking about the past, we like to call it origins- or historical-science.” (Ham 1) Bill Nye considers it of paramount importance to build a scientifically literate society. He believes this begins with children, in our school system. “Here’s my concern: what keeps the United States ahead, what makes the United States a world leader, is our technology, innovation, our new ideas. If we continue to eschew science, eschew the process, and try to divide our science into observational science and historical science, we won't move forward and embrace natural laws, we will not make discoveries, we will not invent and innovate and stay ahead.” (Nye 2). Bill Nye’s argument lies in the fact that we as humans do not know everything about the universe. While Ken Ham looks to the Bible as an answer to the questions that remain obscure to mankind’s limited knowledge, Bill Nye calls upon the scientific community to illuminate the truth for the world to see.
In history class children are taught that kings, politicians, and conquerors change the world. It is in science class that the secret history of the world is revealed. Thousands of years ago primeval man lived in the dark. They lived cold and in fear until a spark lit man’s path. Fire, the wheel, it was mans technological advancements that pulled them from obscurity. Yet it did not end there. The course of history has been set by a handful of scientists and inventors who in their tireless pursuit of answers make discoveries that change the way we interact with natural laws.
Considered the gateway between medieval times and modern history, the renaissance is characterized by its humanist movements. Humanism subtly began moving focus from god, and toward the individual (Perry 1). It was during this time period that greek and roman advancements in math and science resurfaced, advancements that had been oppressed by the supreme reign of the Catholic Church for thousands of years. After the fall of the Roman Empire the once great nation fizzled into small independent holds. The people were content to toil in their fields, never leaving or discovering the wonders of the world. They were content because of a promise, a grand promise that would put them in the kingdom of heaven after their days working the fields were done. This became a dark age for science. Logic and innovation was heresy. Free thinking was suppressed for thousands of years until the renaissance revived it. This kind of intellectual oppression cannot be permitted to repeat itself. Children must be educated to the best of their ability, not left in the dark because of the beliefs of a parent. Accurate, balanced sex education includes information about contraception and condoms. It is a basic human right of our nation’s youth. Sex education helps young people reduce their risk of negative, life altering results, such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. It is also a core public health principle that receives strong endorsement from mainstream medical associations, public health and educational organizations, and above all, parents. Yet, federal policy makers have provided large amounts of funding for abstinence-only education. These are programs that ignore basic human rights and the fundamental public health and good. Abstinence-only programs are designed to prevent teens and all unmarried people from engaging in any kind of sexual activity. The federal government has gone so far as to specify that these programs must be exclusively for the promotion of abstinence outside of marriage and that they must not advocate contraceptive use or even discuss contraceptive methods, other than to emphasize their failure rates. Since 1998, over $1.5 billion in state and federal funds has been allocated for these abstinence-only education programs. (Advocatesforyouth 1) This turns sex education into an issue about public health as well as financial security. Advocates for abstinence only programs claim that condoms are not effective in preventing either unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV; therefore they should not be taught in schools. This is simply false. Studies have shown that a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant within one year is less than three percent that when a couple uses condoms consistently and no other form of birth control. Because some couples that use condoms use them either incorrectly or not every time, the average risk of becoming pregnant within one year is 15 percent. A warm prospect compared to an 85 percent chance of becoming pregnant within one year when couples use no protection a woman. (Advocatesforyouth 1) Proponents of these ineffective abstinence-only programs are largely advocating them based on their religious principles, which casts a little more than ashadow of doubt on their legitimacy. These programs do little to nothing to benefit those who participate in them, and furthermore harm the common good of society by withholding the basic right to knowledge of contraceptives to the public. Some religious leaders have harbored deep and unwarranted hate for homosexuals among their followers. They organized a fight for rights to be refused to fellow citizens. If their wishes were fulfilled homosexuals being denied their right to marriage would essentially become a form of second class citizen. We would be left with a country reliving problems we struggled for decades to overcome. While those who opposed African American’s and women’s suffrage did so based on ethnocentric cultural beliefs of superiority, this hate and discrimination toward the homosexual community is largely rooted in religious beliefs. We've always counted people out of America, refusing to see past our prejudices and honor our true national creed. Women, African-Americans, gays, political and ethnic minorities have been dismissed from the majority's idea of who "we" are.
Religion is constantly placed at the forefront of society. It overpowers both the rights of the individual and the spirit of individuality itself. established religion has historically brainwashed entire populations, plundering the wealth of society and giving it to their corrupt zealots. Since its founding Christianity has had a track record of oppressing the expansion of knowledge, from the Middle Ages, to evolution, and even birth control. Conservative by nature, established religion does not want society to move forward. This makes it a notable detriment to society. Yet the United states government does nothing to remedy this, instead making religion a keystone in supposedly secular government. The biggest violation of separation of church and state is the routine, thoughtless, mixing of religion with politics. It becomes apparent during elections when candidates scramble to appeal to as many demographics as possible. They display their spiritual fitness and oneness with god as a prerequisite to lead secular government. When politicians invoke God's blessings on the nation, preach the centrality of faith to Americanism or advertise their personal religion to attract certain voters, they implicitly exclude millions of differently believing Americans from nationalistic unity. When presidents boast of consulting heaven for professional advice, above the good counsel of their fellow citizens, when our representatives automatically endorse cliches that Americans, by definition, should "trust in God," are "one nation under God" they're singing the anthem of theocracy and division, not democracy and equality. You can sing one or the other, but not both.

Works Cited
Nye, Bill, and Ken Ham. Transcript of Ken Ham vs Bill Nye Debate. Comp. Bill Browning. Transcript of Ken Ham vs Bill Nye Debate.Web. 11 Jan. 2015.
"The Truth About Abstinence-Only Programs." The Truth About Abstinence-Only Programs. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.
"Tax Exemption of Churches - Freedom From Religion Foundation." Tax Exemption of Churches - Freedom From Religion Foundation. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.
Frizell, Sam. "Pope Francis Fires German ‘Bling Bishop’." Time.com. Time, 26 Mar. 2014 Web. 13 Jan. 2015.
“Taxthechurches” Taxthechurches. Web. 13 Jan. 2015
Thomgate, Steve. "No, We Shouldn't Just Tax All Churches | The Christian Century." The Christian Century. 27 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.
"Carbon Dating." Carbon Dating. Web. 13 Jan. 2015.
Perry, M. Humanities in the Western Tradition, Ch. 13. Web. 13 Jan. 2015