40 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read for champions of separation of church and state., October 24, 2011
This review is from: Attack of the Theocrats! How the Religious Right Harms Us All- —and What We Can Do About It (Hardcover)
Sean Faircloth provides an extremely perceptive and timely analysis of the assault of religious fundamentalists on one of the most important precepts of the U.S. Constitution, the First Amendment bar against the government's establishment of religion. Both James Madison, the principal author of the amendment, and Thomas Jefferson, an early proponent of such a concept, interpreted this language to mean complete separation of church and state. Of all the precepts of our Constitution, none was more original nor more profound in the shaping of our government and our country.
However, in the past several decades, Christian fundamentalists - who make up less than a quarter of the American populace - have managed to subvert the intent of this great concept. Faircloth demonstrates how this subversion is not simply about nativity scenes or Ten Commandment plaques in public spaces. It is about life and death for pregnant women, proper health care for innocent children, education grounded in reality and science, and the path of the U.S. that will result in progress or stagnation.
After clearly describing the on-going threat of religious fundamentalism, Faircloth then provides a plan for non-theists to regain the high road of the Founding Fathers' separation of church and state. As opposed to the exclusivity of fundamentalism, it is a plan that is inclusive. Persons of religious faith, who also recognize the dangers of rigid fundamentalism, and who recognize the virtues of keeping government and religion completely separate, are welcome as much as secularists, humanists, agnostics, atheists, and free-thinkers.
Faircloth recognizes that there is already a groundswell in the younger demographic toward secularism - a recent poll reveals that 25% of those under age 30 do not affiliate with any religious group (compared with 7% of those over 65). Moreover, from just 1990 to today, the number of persons who don't affiliate with any religious group has increased from 7% to 17%. Faircloth makes a very cogent argument that it is a propitious time for secularists and church/state separatists to come out of the closet and to carry forward the sublime concept advocated by Madison and Jefferson. To that end, the plan in his book is a must read.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Secularly Sound, November 25, 2011
This review is from: Attack of the Theocrats! How the Religious Right Harms Us All- —and What We Can Do About It (Hardcover)
Attack of the Theocrats: How the Religious Right Harms Us All - and What We Can Do About It by Sean Faircloth
"Attack of the Theocrats" is the brief yet effective book on how the religious right has used their political clout to cause harm to the rest of us. Sean Faircloth's interesting secular manifesto is a product of an interesting background that includes: his formal education as a lawyer, his years as a politician serving five terms in the Maine Legislature, his leadership and vision led to the creation of a children's museum in Maine, executive director of the Secular Coalition of America, and most recently director of strategy and policy for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. This 168-page book is composed of ten chapters: 1. Introduction: The Crumbled Wall between Church and State, 2. Our Secular Heritage: One Nation under the Constitution, 3. Religious Bias in Law Harms Us All, 4. Genital Morality vs. Real Morality, 5. Two American Traditions: Religious Huckster and Secular Innovators, 6. The Theocrats (aka the Fundamentalist Fifty), 7. The Secularists, 8. Secularism - Born Again, 9. Our Secular Decade: A Strategic Plan, and 10. A Vision of a Secular America.
Positives:
1. Well written, engaging prose.
2. Great defense of secular principles.
3. Insightful, eye-opening accounts on how religion harms us. Accounts involving dangers to our children are most troubling.
4. Thought-provoking quotes, "Fundamentalists tell us to fear the specter of special rights for gay citizens, though of course gay Americans aren't after special rights - merely equal rights. The irony is that special rights actually do exist in this country - for religious groups."
5. The special rights of religious groups in detail.
6. American exceptionalism in proper perspective.
7. A brief look at our Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson a personal favorite.
8. A look at how fundamentalists obtained political clout.
9. How tax money to religious organizations violate our Constitution's central principles.
10. Many great examples of how religious bias hurts us all. Great stuff!
11. Interesting court ruling decisions.
12. Religiously motivated policies that focus on sex. Sexual morality discussed.
13. Amusing stories. My favorite, the story of radio station KLUE.
14. Politicians and religion, such a dangerous mix.
15. The chapter on the Fundamentalist Fifty is priceless and disturbing.
16. Congressman Stark.
17. In defense of America as it was designed, a secular, constitutional Republic.
18. Secular strategy and vision in detail including the Ten Guiding Principles of a Secular America.
19. An inspirational plea for action.
20. A brief discussion on how secular societies around the world flourish.
21. A brief discussion about the ten groups that today form the Secular Coalition.
22. A bibliography.
Negatives:
1. A couple of mistakes of little consequence. As an example, Governor Sanford from SC was canoodling with a woman from Argentina not Brazil.
2. No notes or links.
3. The book may be a little preachy in the latter chapters.
4. The book's focus is on recent history and the future of secularism in America. For more in depth look at the history of secularism, I highly recommend Susan Jacoby's masterpiece, "Freethinkers".
5. I really didn't like the cover. A serious and inspirational topic deserved better.
In summary, I enjoyed this book. Sean Faircloth makes an inspirational plea to defend our secular Constitution. The book is thought-provoking, enlightening, and makes sound arguments based on reason. I recommend this book.
Further recommendations: "
Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism" by Susan Jacoby, "
Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment" by Phil Zuckerman, "
A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present" by Howard Zinn, "
Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson" by Jennifer Hecht, "
American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America" by Chris Hedges, "
Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party..." by Max Blumenthal, and "
The Conservative Assault on the Constitution" by Erwin Chemerinsky.
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26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Motivational Kick in the Pants, November 4, 2011
This review is from: Attack of the Theocrats! How the Religious Right Harms Us All- —and What We Can Do About It (Hardcover)
If you've never seen the harm in having religious bias driving our laws- read this book.
If you HAVE seen the harm in having religious bias driving our laws, but thought there was nothing you could do about it- read this book.
Sean Faircloth's Attack of the Theocrats is the perfect introduction to show people the unexpected flood unleashed once cracks start to form in the dam between church and state. While not condemning religion nor religious people themselves, Faircloth does a convincing job of explaining why allowing religious institutions special treatment and bringing faith-based laws into our government cause far greater harm than good. From exempting religious daycare centers from basic child-safety regulations, to allowing tax dollars to fund programs that studies repeatedly show are ineffective (but that religious ideology supports), he highlights many of the dangers and injustices that allowing even a seemingly small amount of bias unleashes.
But he does not end the book on a sour note. The second half is a call to stand up, speak out, and not only defend against the theocratic onslaught, but to overtake it and restore our government back to its secular roots. He introduces a realistic plan that is sure to drive and empower anyone with the passion to take on its challenge.
If you've been looking for something that's not only informative, but motivational as well, pick up this book. It might just be the most important thing an American can read today.
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