For the past two weeks, the “Wall of Separation” has been exploring the connection between separation of church and state and democracy.
It’s an important issue – but there’s more to it than you might think at first.
When Americans envision democracy, they conjure up images of people voting and invoke concepts like the majority having the right to decide elections.
Indeed, that idea of “one person, one vote,” is a central tenet of democracy. And it’s one that is under attack by Christian Nationalist groups that, in the wake of the 2020 election, have increasingly backed voter disenfranchisement laws.
But democracy means more than simply voting. Democracy also means enshrining concepts like justice, fairness and equality. It means a shared civic life where we strive to live alongside our neighbors in peace, even if we don’t always see eye to eye. It means we accept our neighbors’ right to live their lives as they see fit, as long as their choices don’t harm others or take away anyone else’s rights.
Democracy also means we accept the notion of a common good. Certain institutions, such as public schools, public libraries, parks, community centers, etc., serve us all. Everyone contributes to their existence, and our society as a whole benefits. The key idea here is that these institutions provide a societal, not individual, benefit. It’s why childless people pay taxes to support public schools, and all of us pay taxes to support programs even though we don’t personally use these things. It’s not about you – it’s about all of us; it’s about the type of society we wish to live in, one that expects much from its citizens even as it provides for the general welfare.
This idea of democracy, of a state that uplifts a shared sense of civic virtue, is increasingly under attack by Christian Nationalists. They assail its most visible manifestations, public schools and libraries, but they also seek to destabilize the very ideas behind it.
These past two weeks, we have chronicled how Christian Nationalists labor to deny the millions of Americans who disagree with them a voice in politics. That is alarming enough. But the ongoing attempts by Christian Nationalist groups to undermine America’s civic foundations are even more evidence – if any was needed – of their appalling preference for theocracy over democracy.
It’s also all the impetus we need to oppose them. When you fight Christian Nationalist attempts to undermine democracy, you aren’t just supporting the right to vote; you’re also strengthening the bonds that bind us together as a nation.
