Humanist Blasphemy Laws and Freedom of Religion in America

There is a widespread belief and assertion that the United States has complete freedom of religion, with no established religion or church. To that end, the First Amendment to the Constitution is often cited: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." It is nowhere near as true as people think that it is.

In some countries, there are blasphemy laws, laws that criminalize speech that supposedly attacks the official religion of that nation. A recent case from Pakistan has been widely publicized. We are also seeing the rise of laws forbidding the criticism of Islam in historically-Christian countries, such as Great Britain.

It is true that the United States has no such blasphemy laws. Does that mean that religious speech is protected in America? While we aren't as far down the road as Great Britain, religious freedom is not what it used to be in the United States.

There is an unstated, unofficial, but established religion in the United States, called variously "humanism," "secularism," "materialism." It is protected by the courts, with all competing religious speech and symbols sterilized from the public forum. Since that state religious doesn't have a god, the courts have not considered it a violation of the First Amendment. However, its opposition has been considered such, as crosses have been removed from property paid for with the tax money of Christians. Now, the First Amendment no longer protects Christians from the government, but rather excludes Christians from public life.

My point here is that America, in spite of its public image, certainly has a form of blasphemy laws of its own. They aren't laws that protect religion, or churches, or God Himself, but rather protect the humanist religion which has been quietly imposed on American society, and is now empowered to silence any opposition to its dominance.