The wall that unites us

AS 2005 DRAWS to a close and Americans ponder "the good and the bad" and what resolutions to make in the new year, I wonder: Did any of us insult our parents? If so, according to the Torah, death by stoning is the decree. Women, did you wear pants last year? If so, according to the Torah, death by stoning is your decree too.

You don't need to be a Reform Jew to realize that these ancient laws are beyond the pale. Among them is the infamous \o7ayin tachat ayin\f7 -- an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. To modern Western culture, this is simply barbarism.

Yet last spring, jurors in Colorado consulted this section of the Bible in deciding whether to put a man to death. When the state Supreme Court reviewed the case, it overturned the execution, ruling that one may not consult a religious text in administering American justice.

What happened there symbolizes the brewing storm that threatens to change the nature of our Constitution -- a full-force attempt to bring down the wall separating church from state. As Americans, we cannot afford to be guilty of the sin of silence, guilty of the sin of indifference, guilty of the sin of secret complicity of the neutral -- because our country's democratic soul is at stake.

This is not about Republicans or Democrats. Instead, this crisis is about how one religious tradition is flexing its enormous financial strength, people power and political influence to turn our country into a "Christian nation," where one and only one interpretation of the Christian Bible will be the fundamental basis for American law.

We've all heard about the rise of the evangelical movement and about some of the excesses of its leaders. For instance, the Rev. Jerry Falwell claimed that Ellen DeGeneres played a role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina because she was the host of the Emmy Awards ceremony preceding both events. I only wish the situation was just comical. But when we realize how this movement has saturated the fabric of American culture, we cannot -- we must not -- remain indifferent to its effect on us, to our neighbors of other faiths and to the essence of what still makes this country a beacon of democracy to the world.

In America's "torah" -- the Constitution -- the 1st Amendment states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...."