"It is assumed in such a “democratic” view that if all religion, culture,
and thought are banned, we will have left nothing but people with no
reason to agree or disagree with each other about anything. A people
unable or incapable of talking about anything important soon becomes a
vapid and empty people who have nothing much to stand for, whose only
god is that there is no god. If nothing is true, why bother? This
theory, coming largely from Hobbes, explains much of the anti-religion
bias that we now see in Europe and America. The First Amendment’s
freedom of religion has been transformed into a “freedom” of private
world views. A religion that claims to be true is itself the chief
threat to domestic peace, particularly if it maintains the sanctity of
all human life. The only way for religion to survive and flourish is to
follow the Muslim model of using violence and state power to protect a
particular religion from any outside influence."
--James V. Schall, S.J., who served as a professor at Georgetown
University for thirty-five years, is one of the most prolific Catholic
writers in America. His most recent books are The Mind That Is Catholic and The Modern Age.
