A Rant on Religion, Adoption, and Forcing Personal Beliefs
Posted on | January 5, 2008 |
Category: family, life, parenting, religion
Tags: adoption > athiesm > Judge William Camarata > pantheism > religion > Superior Court Judge William Camarata
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It seems that I overlooked the year listed on this article. Time has it dated as Dec. 07, 1970. Researching has found some that say this was from the 70’s, and some that say it is an error on Time and is current. As it’s nearly midnight and I’m ready for bed I’m not digging any further. However, despite when this case happened there are still people today who would applaud this kind of hatred.
I found a link over at momolague to a news story that made my blood boil. Can Atheists Be Parents?
Here’s the short and skinny. A couple want to adopt. Father is athiest mother is pantheist. They adopted one child, got a little grief over religion, started a court action because of the grief and got waved through to adopt their son. Now they are adopting a little girl. Second verse, same as the first. Except this time it is a judge saying they are unfit parents because they aren’t religious. Or, specifically aren’t religious in a way that he deems acceptable.
In an extraordinary decision, Judge Camarata denied the Burkes’ right to the child because of their lack of belief in a Supreme Being. Despite the Burkes’ “high moral and ethical standards,” he said, the New Jersey state constitution declares that “no person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience.” Despite Eleanor Katherine’s tender years, he continued, “the child should have the freedom to worship as she sees fit, and not be influenced by prospective parents who do not believe in a Supreme Being.”
Right, because parents who are religious (read: Christian) always let their children worship “in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience” or ever influence their children. Oh no, it’s only those dirty athiests who would ever force their children into a single religion. And never mind the fact that the mother is a panthiest and so the children would get some sort of religious influence there. Nope, that doesn’t count.
If I roll my eyes any harder they may pop out of my skull.
This smells horribly of the same crap that the “war on Christmas” and “attack on the believers” rolls around in. You know, teach Christianity 365 days a year and it’s all good. Teach something else one day and suddenly you’re attacking the poor Christians who are always so persecuted and downtrodden. Say “Merry Christmas” to everyone you meet and you’re fine. Say “Happy Holidays” because, you know, there are some other holidays in there too and maybe I want them to be happy as well, and I’m suddenly part of the plot to destroy Christmas and remove all traces of it from the world.
Kind of like the five year old who throws a fit and screams “you don’t love me” when he’s not the center of attention.
But can athiests adopt children. Oh sure, if they want to raise more godless heathens hell bent on tearing apart the biblical rights of the Christians. Because some how athiests being allowed to adopt will do just that.
Perhaps I’m just a little concerned about ongoing assault on those who do believe by those who don’t. While I may not have problem with atheists raising godless children, why do we have to bow to atheists who don’t want to see any expression of our faith? (in comments here)
Oh yes, I can see how allowing a child to stay with the only family she’s known, the ones who love her and wants her, and doing so without swinging religon over their heads is clearly bowing down to the athiests. I mean, if we don’t force every adoptive couple to agree to raise their children according to someone else’s believes how on earth could the Christians have any expression of faith? The only way is to force everyone else to follow the same rules as you. Because if even one person chooses something different a hole in the space-time continuum will open up and suck out every piece of your belief system in a matter of seconds.
Tags: religion, adoption, athiesm, pantheism, Superior Court Judge William Camarata, Judge William Camarata
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9 Responses to “A Rant on Religion, Adoption, and Forcing Personal Beliefs”
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January 5th, 2008 @ 10:48 am
I’m laughing so hard. You and I got so pissed over this article, we both posted on it!!!! Classic!
January 5th, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
I was thinking of you when I wrote that (hoping I didn’t sound as mad as I was feeling)! How funny that you saw the same article and wrote a post too!
January 5th, 2008 @ 1:06 pm
It is people like that that give Christians a bad name.
January 5th, 2008 @ 3:58 pm
For the record, this article was published in 1970. The New Jersey Supreme Court overturned the decision in 1971.
January 5th, 2008 @ 5:36 pm
When we went through our adoption process, we felt that our religious or sexual preference was not the business of the state but we had to sign papers saying that we weren’t gay or bisexual and the topic of religion played a big part in our homestudy. There was a lot that we didn’t tell them and sometimes we told them what they wanted to hear. Maybe if they loosened up a little there wouldn’t be so many kids in foster care.
I thought the article was recent…is it from 1970?
January 6th, 2008 @ 11:49 am
Thank you for stopping by my site! I think I’ve found a kindred spirit.
This is a great post! I wish more people out there would write about these issues (including me, hrm)!
The whole “we’re under attack by atheists” bit really bugs me. How in the WORLD can these people feel threatened by such a small population? Insecurity, I guess.
January 15th, 2008 @ 3:35 am
Wonderful post! It’s too bad that everyone can’t just respect each others right to worship as they choose or to be free from worship if they so choose.
Jen’s last blog post..Ohio Black Dog is One of a Kind
January 19th, 2008 @ 8:38 pm
The way of the truth would be spoken of abusively. It was foretold!
June 12th, 2008 @ 9:16 am
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