First, the sample is too small to infer anything about the prevalence of seculars in society. However, I agree there are thousands, on the basis of other data. The real sticking point is that the sampling is too small to generalize about the number who feel oppressed.
I do not think that society should do the utmost to ensure that religion is a neutral social value. I think that there should not be gross discrimination, by statute, in employment, in regulatory determinations, and so forth. I think that society, the more comprehensive, less formal thing out of which governments and institutions arise, should be a "marketplace of ideas", and that if more people incline to religion, it will be, of necessity, reflected in social practices. I think there should be sensitivity to the concerns of the secular, in certain instances, but not in all, since the majority has concerns too. For example, I support banning prayer from regular school exercises, but I do not support banning a non- sectarian benediction from commencement. I support banning a solitary posting of the Ten Commandments on a schoolhouse wall, but I support posting an array of "wise sayings" from various sources, religious and secular, along with the Ten Commandments. I support a ban on discriminatory conditions for enrollment in a official school organization, but favor the right of a private organization, like the Boy Scouts, to establish conditions of membership. I hope that suffices to indicate what I think...... |
