Jamaica now is not a secular state. We open our Parliament with prayers, and we require that all our children in school pray several times each day; we teach religious education to our children in school; in court witnesses swear on the Bible, and we swear all our politicians into office in the same manner; certain religious holy days are exempt from work, such as the Sabbath (Jewish or Christian), Christmas, Good Friday and Ash Wednesday.

Our laws are based on Judaeo-Christian ethics, on the Ten Commandments found in the Judaeo-Christian Bible. Crimes include, for example, blasphemy, cursing, perjury, stealing, using false weights, lying, libel, adultery, murder, and so on. Our society holds up as ideals the Christian family (one woman - one husband; one man - one wife), solid parenting, honesty and discipline. Until now, there has been broad consensus on the foundations on which our young democracy is based.

There are moves afoot to change all this and to turn Jamaica into a secular state, based on freedom for members of society to do whatever they feel is right. Questions are being asked here in Jamaica: in Islam men are allowed to have as many as four wives; should not Jamaican law allow men to have as many wives as they wish? Should not believers in Islam be allowed to have their quota of four wives under Jamaican law? What about religious freedom and tolerance? Why should Christianity (which allows only one wife) impose its will on society, instead of Islam (which allows four wives)?

Redefining the family

In some countries, there are moves to define the family in different ways: in addition to one man, one woman and children, a family may be defined (they say) as two women and children, or two men and children. Questions are being asked here in Jamaica: why should Christianity be allowed to impose its 'way' on the rest of society? If two men want to get married and call themselves 'a family', and adopt children, why shouldn't they be allowed to? Why shouldn't we teach this to our children as 'normal', a lifestyle every bit as good and acceptable as one man, one woman and children? Should we not allow our children to choose the lifestyle they wish, and to educate them about their options? Teach them from primary school that when they reach puberty they have the option to have sex with men or women, and to marry a man or a woman. And why not marry both a man and a woman at the same time? What is wrong with that!

The real agenda of the people asking these questions is to abandon Christianity as the basis on which our society is built. The next step will be to ban prayer in Parliament and in Government schools, and to ban the teaching of religion in state-funded schools. Then Christmas will cease to be a public holiday. Then gay marriages will be given legal status.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not a gay-basher. I believe that if people wish to pursue that kind of lifestyle, they should be free to do so without fear of being beaten or abused. I believe that homophobic people who perpetrate or encourage violence against homosexuals should be arrested, taken before a court of law, tried and punished. But that does not mean that I would wish homosexuals to have the right to teach my child at school, or to be a coach of my child's sport's team, or take my child on a weekend scout or guide camp. Should no discrimination be allowed, then gay teachers would have a right to take any school to court which refused to employ them. Similarly, I would wish that the school my child goes to would practice discrimination against incompetent teachers.

If what our society lacks to move forward is the correct set of values and attitudes, then let us discuss what those values and attitudes should be, and come to some consensus. Sneaking in corrupt values and attitudes through the back door under the guise of 'freedom' is no way to go about it.