On Faith
Alfred Bloom
Buddhists back wall
between church and stateOnce again the issue of separation of church and state and the meaning of the United States as a secular nation has come to the fore in our courts. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the decision made by a three-judge panel last summer declaring that the phrase "under God" is unconstitutional.
However, the present ban on the recitation of the pledge in public schools has been put on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court decides the issue.
The phrase was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. At that time in the struggle against communism, President Eisenhower supported the addition. Previous generations of soldiers and citizens had expressed their devotion to country without it.
In response to the court's decision and the outcry of opposition to it, primarily from the dominant Christian community, the Shin Buddhist Honpa Hongwanji Lay Association passed a resolution supporting the court's decision. The resolution adopted at the 41st annual convention last September was reported and affirmed at the denomination's Legislative Assembly in February.
The members expressed their belief that the American democratic ideal has permitted more than 2,000 different religious faiths and denominations to flourish, as well as enabling people of no religious commitment to pursue their lives freely.
In fact, despite the centrality of religious faith in every area of American life, it is the principle of separation of church and state and its fundamental secular character that ensures the freedom of each person to follow the faith of their choice.
While our society is secular, it is not godless. American secularism is based on diversity, it is not militant or anti-religious.
Our secularism is a considered principle to keep government neutral in matters of faith while permitting faiths to flourish and propagate as they will. The state does not favor a particular faith in practice or by implication.
The disagreements concerning this principle come from clarifying the implications and applications of the principle. Fortunately, we are dealing with the fine points. We all rely on our courts to make fair judgments. Buddhists, therefore, affirm and strongly support the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which were wisely created by our Founding Fathers to secure the rights of all peoples and not merely those of the privileged few.
Buddhism itself is not a religion of compulsion. The Buddha shared his teaching with all seekers and never imposed it on anyone.
Shinran, the founder of the Shin Buddhist denomination, believed in the complete equality of all people based on Amida Buddha's unconditional compassion.
He experienced persecution from the prevailing religious establishment of his time and taught that we should love our enemies, while seeking justice for himself and others. It is a matter of principle for Shin Buddhists to oppose any weakening of the wall separating church and state.
Alfred Bloom, professor emeritus in the University of Hawaii Religion Department, is an ordained minister of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission and a member of the Hawaii Association of International Buddhists.
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