this was the editorial in our local, reichwing fishwrap this morning. would love to hear some views here--keep in mind that focus on the family is right up the street, as is new life--and we still have the scandal of the fundies trying to force everyone at the air force academy to be fundies
BUDDHISM: SORRY, IT'S JUST A RELIGION
Why the faithful say they're not religious
Buddhists want to build a sprawling center, a mega temple of sorts, outside of Colorado Springs. The center would house private retreats and meditation courses. The group has raised some 80 percent of the $825,000 it needs to buy land and get started. It could open in the summer of 2009.
It's a great idea. Colorado Springs is nothing if not a military town and a hub for religion and athletics. It's the home of mega churches galore, and hosts the world renowned Focus on the Family. More religion means more Colorado Springs and that can only be good. County planners should do nothing to impede progress on the Buddhist center. It's religion, so everyone should get out of the way.
In some other Colorado cities and counties, places more known for Buddhism and hostility to religion, planners have tripped up plans for Buddhist mega centers. A major center near the Springs would attract new residents, lead to growth, and further diversify the city in a positive way.
The only troubling aspect involves a growing misconception among some Buddhist faithful that goes like this: "Buddhism is not a religion."
"A religion means coming back to a paradise lost," said Lama Ole Nydahl, a Buddhist quoted in Saturday's Gazette story about the growth of Buddhism in Colorado Springs. "Buddhism says we never lost it. It was always there. And now we are finding it."
That's nice, but it doesn't make Buddhism something other than religion. Buddhism falls squarely into any definition of religion from any credible source. That's why the communists ejected it from Tibet. It's a set of beliefs. It's a philosophy and set of values people live by. It's a practice. It involves leaders and icons, such as the Dalai Lama, monks and Buddha himself.
More and more, however, followers of religions that aren't traditional in the United States are declaring their disciplines nonreligious. There's a reason for it.
Public schools throughout the country are bringing yoga sessions into their curriculums. Some enlightened parents, who've complained that yoga is a deeply spiritual Hindu tradition, have been told that Hinduism isn't religion and the mantras have been secularized. Imagine secularizing rosary prayers and forcing public school children to recite them with beads in hand.
About.com, a Web site that claims expertise on all matters, wants us to believe that Hinduism isn't religion. The site's Hindu entry says: "Hinduism is a way of life, a dharma. Dharma does not mean religion. It is the law that governs all action."
Sure, and the Halekha, the collective body of Jewish law that governs all action of observant Jews, isn't religious. And the New Testament, a book that governs all actions of some Christian fundamentalists, isn't religion. Oh, and About.com isn't really a Web site. No, it's something far different.
Some adherents to Buddhism, Hinduism and a growing slate of new-age religions want to parade their beliefs as non-religious for a very simple reason: religion is under attack in the United States. Through ignorant and malicious misrepresentations of the First Amendment, anti-religion activists are challenging the free speech rights of religious people, using artificial constructs that say the law protects us from hearing and seeing religion. Even in Christian-friendly El Paso County a valedictorian was told by public school administrators to apologize for thanking Jesus in her graduation speech.
Groups such as the ACLU and the Freedom From Religion Foundation work tirelessly to scour religious expression from public, arguing the Constitution protects us from having to hear annoying or controversial beliefs. In fact, the Constitution protects religious expression and only forbids laws that would force people to accept a particular belief.
And what's included in religion, by law? Almost anything involving belief. A federal court even ruled "atheism" is a religion, freeing a prison inmate to hold study sessions similar to the Bible studies other inmates held.
It's easy to understand why some new Buddhists wants society to exempt them from the label of "religion," which would tag them for exclusion and abuse. If it's not a religion, their children can say "Buddha" at graduation. Nobody will try to ban their favorite speakers from the Air Force Academy with a fabricated law called "separation of church and state." But it's a religion, by any measure imaginable. It's a religion that should be welcomed with open arms by Colorado Springs. And it's a religion that should stand tall, helping to defend the religious freedoms of all.
http://www.gazette.com/opinion/religion_36024___article.html/buddhism_religious.html