Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1912-09-19
Socialism and
Religion
BY Thomas Clancy

When anti Socialists talk of "free
love- when they speak of breaking
up the family and destroying the
home," they forget that the wives,
sweethearts. mothers and sisters of So
cislists would be victims of this sys-
tenn Of "free-love;" Socialist families
would be broken up and Socialist
homes destroyed. Socialists are not
stupid enough nor rash enough to
wish condition like this on them
selves or to help in the slightest to
bring about such a condition. If So
cialism were what our Catholic oppOn-
ents say it is, Socialists would them
selves vigorously oppose it.
The average Catholic workingman
knows that these objections must be
without foundation. What perplexes
him most is the assertion, frequently
made by Catholic churchmen, that So
cialism is irreligious and materialis-
tic. SO far as Socialists know, Karl
Marx, who formulated Socialism, was
free thinker. He professed no par
ticular religion, although he had been
brought up a Christian. But this fact
was also true of Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and
other illustrious American patriots.
The Declaration of Independence
and the Constitution are both Goddess,
and the commonwealth founded upon
them is Goddess, if by Goddess is
meant the making of religion a priv
ate matter. That is what Socialism
does. That is all it does. The Rom
an Catholic church has thriven and
prospered under the completely secular
and "Godless' institutions of Ameri-
ca. This cannot be said of the church
in countries where she has been bound
up with the state by concordats.
Socialists differ religiously the same
as men of other parties. There are
some uubelievers among them, just as
there are in other organizations. If,
however, it could be proven that every
Socialist in America is an atheist, the
justice or the necessity for Socialism
need not suffer with Americans. There
is nothing in the history or spirit of
American institutions which says that
any religious belief or the lack of any
religious belief, deter mines the merit
or fault of man. s political or econ
omic principles.
We of today in America accept
gratefully the results of the magnifi.
cent labor of Jefferson, Franklin and
Paine in behalf of human freedom
without accepting their agnosticism.
Most Socialists accept the political and
economical principles of Karl Marx
without sharing his religious beliefs
or lack of beliefs.
1t is well known that Thomas A. Ed
ison. the inventor, is an unbellever.
This fact does not destroy the mechan-
ical excellence or worth of his numer-
Gus inventions. President Taft is
Unitarian, Unitarians do not accept
the divinity of Christ, yet Taft is pop
ular with Catholics, The late Bob
Ingersoll was not only the most fam
GUS American agnostic, but one of the
most prominent members of the Re-
publican party
When that great engineering feat
the construction of the Panama canal
was begun. it is not on record that
the government started operations
with prayer. Socialists are about
ready to start another engineering feat
"a feat of social engineering the -
gng and roofing up of Social E
tice. 1t is material task liky
cleaning and has nothing W
to do with religion, just as
ging of the Panama canal hat
to do with religion.
We are going to use the
States government to accomL
task for us just as the gover
being used to dig the canal.
the canal is intended as
route to the Pacific coast, Sd
will bring a shorter route to
industrial relations and social
Socialism is not against religi
cannot be against religion. Sod
is political and economic. Sod
want to extend the function 0.
ernment to provide employment
cry citizen. They want to Civ
man an ironclad, constitutional
antee, the principal provision OF
will be his inalienable right to
They want his right to work t,
legal right-a citizens right
pay he gets for the work he dc
by an exact social jus
To make this last paragraph per
ly plaiu-the Socialists want 10
the "rakeoff' that industry now p =
to idle capitalists and grafters. WST
want them to work for whatever they
get. We want them to do useful, nec-
essary work.