Lawyer Fights Injection of Religion in Public Life

Edwin Kagin credits 12 years of Sunday schooling for giving him an expert's knowledge of the Bible.

He credits the same schooling -- along with the from-the-pulpit condemnations of his father -- for introducing him to humanistic philosophers such as Bertrand Russell and Voltaire.

And he credits Answers in Genesis, the Bible-based creationist movement, for reigniting his anti-religion fervor. That in turn has led to his becoming a sought-after speaker, author and political candidate for those who believe religion -- particularly Christianity -- has gained too prominent a place in public life.

On Friday, the lawyer who once ran for the state Supreme Court, traveled from his Union home to Minneapolis to address the newly formed Secular Students Alliance at the University of Minnesota. He speaks tonight on the topic ''When Religion Becomes Treason: the American Religious Civil War.''

Kagin's views are in stark contrast to his upbringing in Frankfort in a family of preachers and ministers. His father, also named Edwin Kagin, served as a Presbyterian minister in Ludlow in the 1950s.

''People ask me how I know the Bible so well,'' Kagin, 59, said this week. ''I tell them it w as from 12 years of perfect church and Sunday school attendance.

''People ask me why I turned against religion, and I tell them 12 years of perfect church and Sunday school attendance.''

A lawyer by trade, Kagin always has led an activist's life. His legal work has included an unsuccessful challenge of Kentucky's statutory rape laws and a lawsuit against a church school for expelling an eighth-grader because she had sex.

He once represented a woman in prison who tried to force Kentucky to pay for her abortion; when it refused, Kagin threatened to sue the state for child support.

He sued judges in Kenton and Campbell counties to stop them from sending divorced parents to classes given by Catholic Social Services. The American Civil Liberties Union reached a settlement in which the judges also would recommend classes at Beech Acres in Cincinnati, which is nonsectarian.

''He's an honorable fellow who believes what he's doing is right,'' said former Kenton Circuit Judge Ray Lape, who came up with the plan that Kagin objected to because of its ties to the Catholic Church.

''I think he's a strict constitutionalist. He's a very bright man. He challenges the system to be what it ought to be.''

Religion, lawsuits and the legal profession aren't the only things Kagin gets revved up for. Sometimes he takes on more esoteric matters.

He once was a member of the Greater Cincinnati Donder Society, which argues that the correct name of Santa's seventh reindeer is Donder. The always-contrary Kagin, however, champions the Donner theory, which says that Donner and Blitzen were named to represent thunder and lightning in German.

He's a self-described liberal who also is a member of the National Rifle Association and a licensed weapons instructor. He notes that his mother was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and that he is eligible for membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Still, it's religion and its place in public life that get Kagin going. ''I'm fascinated by religion as a phenomenon,'' he said. ''But the history of it has been pretty bleak. Most religions are primarily interested in power. They make saints out of lunatics and miracles out of delusions.''

To some, Kagin's denunciations of Christianity aren't surprising. ''He certainly doesn' t come across as respecting us in a public forum,'' said Mike Zovath, general manager of Answers in Genesis.

''All of his statements in the public hearings came across as being very anti-Christian, and that's in keeping with his evolutionary views.''

Kagin's war of words with Answers in Genesis began when he realized -- to his horror and surprise -- that some people still believe in the biblical theory of creation. That belief takes the story of Genesis literally: God created the world in seven days some 6,000 years ago.

It directly contradicts the more widely accepted theory of evolution, which states that the world is billions of years old and life gradually evolved over time.

When Answers in Genesis proposed a creationist museum near Big Bone Lick State Park in rural Boone County near Kagin's home, Kagin and his wife, Helen, led the fight against it.

What started out as a land-use battle quickly turned into an argument of religion vs. science. And, while it wasn't Kagin's first foray into the dispute, it opened the path for him to become more involved with a humanist society called the Free Inquiry Group.

He took time out from his activism in 1998 to run against Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Donald Wintersheimer. He lost that race and immediately returned to the culture wars.

One of his proudest achievements is Camp Quest, a summer camp he describes as being for the children of secular humanists. In addition to the usual camping activities, children collect fossils and visit a Native American archaeological site.

It's the first residential secular humanist camp in the country, Kagin boasts. Just because the children and others don't believe in the Christian idea of God doesn't mean they cannot appreciate nature, he said.

''This does not mean there's no supernatural or there is no God,'' Kagin said. ''I prefer the term 'wonder.'

''There's adventure and discovery. I think the true nature of the universe is far more mysterious and beautiful and wondrous than the primitive myths that people created for some things they don't understand.''

Camp Quest also led indirectly to Kagin's running for the state Senate this spring. Originally, the camp was held on grounds owned by the Northern Kentucky Baptist Association.

But the church group, offended that Camp Quest was run by those who don't believe in God, later sought exemption from a state law requiring that if it opened its campgrounds to the public, it could not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion.

The law -- along with a number of other bills sought by Christians, including the posting of t he Ten Commandments in classrooms -- passed the General Assembly. Kagin was appalled, particularly when state Rep. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, the body's only Jewish member, was asked by another legislator whether she had been saved by Jesus Christ.

''That's when I realized a true threat to our freedom does exist,'' he said.

Kagin said he expects to file a lawsuit against the church exemption to the state civil rights law. And, although he lost in the May Democratic primary to John Stephenson, Kagin was thrilled that he got 33 percent of the vote without any money or advertising.

It proved, he said, that a large number of people agree with him that America should remain a secular country, instead of one dominated by Christianity.

''It's organized religion I'm opposed to,'' he said.

''Ethics and morals are based on consequences. It doesn't take the Ten Commandments to discover that killing people is not a good thing.''