For years I have denounced the stranglehold which the Christian religious right has on the Republican Party. If continuous first amendment violations were not the accepted policy of GOP politicians, the subjects of abortion and same-sex marriage would not have become issues for the voting public. Fortunately, Christian religions are experiencing a decline in new members as millennials and other young Americans refuse to accept the instructions of other men. A single bonifide religion is gaining ground in America; the Islamic faith.

On Saturday the Prime Minister of Ireland announced the results of a vote to repeal the world’s most egregious ban on abortion in the free world. It was so important to the people that some citizens of Ireland spent money and time to fly home from their present residence to cast their ballot. This was a rejection of the control enjoyed by the Catholic Church for generations.

“What we have seen today really is a culmination of a quiet revolution that’s been taking place in Ireland for the past 10 or 20 years,” Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said at a counting center in Dublin before the results of Friday’s vote were released, giving an early indication of the final outcome.

The final tally was a landslide victory for a woman’s right to choose. Today the United States stands alone in support of a century’s old Puritanical belief that a fetus is more valuable than the life of a woman forced to endure an unwanted pregnancy. Republicans continue their war on women. Christian voters are a higher priority than our nation’s more than 160 million women.

Organized religion has become a political force in America, which violates the principles of our founding fathers. Christian leaders are now tantamount to leaders of cults. They demand that their followers obey every instruction regardless of how ludicrous it may be. Free thought is not acceptable.

Finally, I thank the good people of Ireland who believe in the rights of women and all individuals. By rejecting the attempt of a single religion to control their lives, they have declared that every person’s beliefs take precedence over any religion or organization. While Americans are losing theirs, the Irish people have once again expressed their support of democracy.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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