 | During much of the 20th century, some tyrannical governments viewed organized religions as an enemy. Most of them were communist. Most of them were totalitarian. Most of them have collapsed and been replaced. But the transverse is also evident. Some governments have become extensions of prevalent religions. Even when a wall of separation was erected, fundamental teachings and opinions of the clerics were codified into the laws of the state. Marriage & Liquor When the state usurps the authority to control family relationships, it is a fundamental affront to liberty. Yet almost all "advanced" governments have asserted the power to license marriages and to some degree, parenthood. A license is essentially a permission given by the state. But whoever decided that the state had the moral or constitutional authority to withhold such permission? |
| For several decades of US history, we see that the states have been at war with Mormon groups. When Mormons shared a spouse or entered a covenant with more than one spouse, various states and even federal agencies treated the matter as an insurrection of sorts. The Mormons had to flee several states and create their own civilization on the other side of the Rocky Mountains where their solitude gave them some measure of liberty.  Church fathers declared the moral duty to rid the society of all liquor. Armed with scriptures condemning drunkenness, they outlawed any fermented drinks throughout the states and territories of the land. It was a law enforcement disaster, and it was eventually defeated. But Oklahoma clung to the prohibition three times longer than most other states. |  |
Covenant partnerships have always been a right of mankind. But our organized governments have singled out certain individuals & practices for suppression. Almost all of the suppression was morally justified by religious beliefs, but we eventually turned to sociology and public health concerns for our attempts at legal justification.
 | None of the major world sacred texts forbid cousins from marriage. But that hasn't stopped some organized religions from creating "sins" and imposing bans. Many states in the US now declare it a criminal offense (felony) to marry your cousin. They found some science to project a possible link to mental illness and/or birth defect, but that claim is subject to significant doubt. What if 2 gay men decide to marry? What if they are cousins? What if 3 gay cousins form a covenant partnership? Whose business is it? It's not my civic business at all. Does that make me corrupt? Does that make me apostate? Or does that make me a reformed Jeffersonian American. |
