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In this photo released on Jan. 31, 2014 by a militant website, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, women in niqabs - enveloping black robes and veils that leaves only the eyes visible - sew niqabs, which are required for women in Islamic State-held territory, in a factory in Mosul, Iraq. (Militant website via AP)

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Jones

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The U.S. Constitution rests squarely on a secular basis; its Preamble states: “We the people of the United States…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” This is in sharp contrast to the government of our mother country where church and state are heavily intertwined. In 1953, at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, she was anointed with holy oils on her head, hands and heart by the Archbishop of Canterbury. She promised to maintain the “Laws of God” and the “Protestant Reformed Religion.”

Earlier English theorists such as Robert Filmer had held that government was ordained of God; he defended “the divine right of kings.” John Locke (1632-1704) attacked those writings, he saw that God’s word was always subject to human interpretation. Locke wrote: “Revelation must be judged by reason.” The Constitution’s creators were heavily influenced by Locke. English and European history had illustrated that many contending parties could believe themselves to be ordained of God. Indeed James Madison, the Father of the U.S. Constitution, noted: “Torrents of blood have been spilt in the old world, by vain attempts of the secular arm, to extinguish Religious discord, by proscribing all differences in Religious opinion.” Madison realized religious fervor could always threaten liberties and republican government, as religious leaders would try to use government to advance their purposes. He insisted on an absolute separation of church and state.

The concern over the church and state connection was a factor in delaying Utah’s statehood. Article IV section 4 of the U.S. Constitution says that each State shall have a republican form of government. An 1880s commission found “A republican form of government has not existence in Utah, the church being supreme over all…” Washington’s leaders of the time agreed with Idaho governor Caleb West who opposed Utah statehood because “Utah has a theocratic government while other states and territories have republican governments.” Eventually the work of some groups and Robert Baskin, who was a Salt Lake mayor and a Utah Supreme Court justice, diminished Utah’s theocratic tendencies and it gained statehood.

In fact, theocracies, left to themselves, tend to become totalitarian states. Pre-Revolutionary colonial America illustrates this. Almost from the founding of Virginia the Anglican Church was a part of the state. It had the power to levy taxes, punish heresy, compel church attendance and take the property of critics and dissenters. After the Revolution began (1775-1783) it was difficult to support a church whose official head was the King of England. Maryland law of 1649 made denying the divinity of Christ a capital offense. In Massachusetts, God-fearing men hanged women, young and old, who were suspected of being witches. Fortunately, with the expansion of commerce, colonialist associations broadened and a scientific spirit grew, as religious dogmas lost their hold. Commerce and liberty expanded and religious power slowly declined as it was denied some of the governmental support it previously had enjoyed.

The tendency for theocracies to become totalitarian can also be seen in the Middle East today. Saudi Arabia, a staunch U.S. ally, is a theocracy. Apostasy from Islam can carry the death penalty. It is a totalitarian society.

U.S. policymakers have completely underestimated the evils of religion. Of course, there are countless positive contributions religion has made to civilization. But when religious and civil authority are closely linked, liberties vanish. Middle East history repeatedly shows that when secular- (non-religious) based governments decline and fall, religious forces and sometimes religious governments rise to fill the vacuum. Afghanistan and Iraq, the two nations where U.S. troops have been most heavily involved and incurred the greatest casualties, illustrate this.

Afghanistan had a secular government from 1978 until 1992. This government attempted to modernize the country by promoting literacy and outlawing child marriage and exchanging women for money. Naturally, tribal patriarchs felt that was a threat to their power and privileges; highly educated women might have more status than they did. They attacked that government and civil war followed. The U.S. helped religious fundamentalism prevail; it gave Stinger missiles to the religious fundamentalists which enabled them to down eight passenger planes. The U.S. lavished so much money on the fundamentalist side that an Islamic newspaper noted a number of times that the U.S. seemed poised to fight to the very last drop of Afghanistan blood. After Sept. 11, the U.S. invaded that nation, largely to undo the work it earlier had fostered.

In 2003, the U.S. destroyed the secular government of Iraq. Then shortly after, Iraq was badly infected with extreme fundamentalism which previously had scarcely existed. Today, major Iraqi cities are controlled by the Islamic State.

The U.S. favored toppling the secular government of Libya. The Islamic State is now more powerful there than ever. The U.S. favors toppling the secular government of Syria. The Islamic State has unprecedented power there. Since it is likely that secular governments will be replaced by religious fundamentalist ones, policymakers should be very cautious before they support the destruction of a secular government. Clearly, the costs of destroying a secular government are very high, but the benefits are doubtful.

Rick Jones lives in West Haven.