Legislation: The Year of The Bible

So Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) wants to see legislation passed that would commemorate 2010 as "The Year of the Bible" in the United States. Not surprisingly, a wide range of folks are up in arms about it.

It might surprise you, then, that as an atheist, my question is, "what's the big deal?"

Honestly, I've never been a big fan of religion creeping into the realm of government. One of the main reasons Europeans migrated to the New World in the first place was to escape from under the thumb of government-sanctioned religion. Many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were deists and humanists, including Thomas Jefferson. So when it comes to intertwining faith and government, I prefer to "keep everything in its place".

The thing is, though, that much of the history of the United States is founded on Christianity, like it or not. It hasn't always been pretty, of course - all one has to do is point to the Salem witch trials to understand that the Bible hasn't always been used for the greater good. And although few would be excited about admitting it, the principles of slavery have their roots in Biblical passages.

Designating a "Year of the Bible" would just commemorate both the good and bad that has come from the long courtship between church and state.

As far as I'm concerned, passing this legislation would just be an open admittance of all of the ways the United States has been influenced by the Bible - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

And let's face it - what impact will the legislation really have on our day to day lives? Designating a "Year of the Bible" isn't going to convert anyone to Christianity any more than National Poet's Day (Aug. 22) is going to inspire folks to bust out in iambic pentameter. It's not going to shut down a single Islamic Mosque, Jewish synagogue, or Buddhist temple.

It's just not important enough to get riled up about. I say let Mr. Broun have his way, so we can focus on more pressing issues, like healthcare, unemployment, and international relations. It's kind of like when you've got a major group project to get done, and your boss wants to implement a policy of only using blue paper clips. You might prefer red paper clips (or, gods forbid, staples), but you let the boss have his blue paper clips just to get him out of the way.

While the right-wingers are off patting themselves on the back for making 2010 the "Year of the Bible", I'll be off doing what I always do - trying to make the world a little better than when I found it.