Our Secular Challenge

by Kerby Anderson: America has a new national religion, and it is the religion of secularism. At least that is the thesis of Dr. Herbert London (president of the Hudson Institute) in his book, America's Secular Challenge. He believes that the undermining of the Judeo-Christian tradition in America is hurting our society. And he also believes our reflexive belief in relativism has handicapped our ability to thwart the inroads of fanaticism, which is demonstrated by our lack of resolve in confronting radical Islam.

There are many signs of this. We see opposition to traditional religion. We see the rise of multiculturalism and cultural relativism. And we see a belief in scientific rationality as the ultimate arbiter of human value. When he was on my radio program, we talked about Allan Bloom's observation in his book, The Closing of the American Mind, that students in universities believe in relativism. And this emphasis on tolerance and openness in the public schools today is essentially indistinguishable from indifference.

Secularism today demands a "naked public square" a term borrowed from Richard John Neuhaus (who also endorses the book). Our public square must be stripped of any religious values lest anyone be offended. Recently one of my co-hosts talked about a cross in the desert (actually in the Mojave National Preserve) that had to be covered up. The cross stood without incident for 70 years as a memorial to fallen service members, but now might be torn down.

London's book is especially relevant in light of our current economic crisis, brought on in part by greed. He points out that "a culture willing to accept the accumulation of wealth as its greatest good will ultimately destroy itself." Markets need moral values. He reminds us (as did my one of my professors at Georgetown University) that Adam Smith not only wrote The Wealth of Nations but also wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments. The father of the free enterprise system also understood the importance of moral values. We are witnessing the rise of a secular national religion, and we are the worse for it. I'm Kerby Anderson, and that's my point of view.

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