Madison rep looks to change faith-healing law

Looks like faith-healing is going to take a hit in this legislative session. Well, not necessarily. All that’s happening is that Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison) is seeking to amend a current provision of the law that exempts parents who choose to heal their kids through prayer from prosecution when, ya know, the prayer thing doesn’t work out. It looks like Berceau would like the new law to strongly suggest that parents consider supplementing God’s word with a western medical technique or two, at least if they want to be found not guilty of reckless homicide if by chance God isn’t listening.

The controversy of course stems from the recent conviction of Leilani Neumann for reckless manslaughter, after Neumann chose not to treat her 11 year old diabetic daughter, who later died.

What’s interesting about this issue is how it brings American religious contradictions so forcefully into the political dialogue. The vast majority of Americans refer to themselves as believers, and a smaller but still significant portion believe in a variety of other…hmmm…what’s the word…”old school” aspects of religion – that the Bible is the literal word of God, creationism, that God is vengeful during this life. Because of this, religion is very rarely challenged in public and traditional religious beliefes are not only considered acceptable but are largely seen as crucial in maintaining a good life of having God on your side. However, American faith is only so strong against the overwhelming pleasures and logic that American secularism is based on. Hence, it is hard to find somebody on the UW campus who will discuss religion openly without an appropriate prompt – a tragedy among family or friends, a huge life obstacle, etc. Therefore, as much as people are open to the idea of praying for a sick child, the evidence against accepting it as the only cure are too strong for what is essentially a secular society covered by a gilded layer of Christianity. Though ridiculed as Bible-thumping trite, the slogan “What would Jesus do?” represents a question that very few Americans ask themselves on a daily basis. This is of course displayed by the fact that most Christian Americans lead lives that contradict Jesus’s teachings by the hour – lending money, for instance.

This provision will get through the legislature with some Republican opposition but thankfully, will not be stalled. This will close another chapter in Wisconsin’s ongoing march into the 21st century. With God’s grace, as well as the grace of western medicine, we will never look back.