| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"• Ninure Saunders" |
| Date: |
30 Jun 2005 09:08:40 AM |
| Object: |
(!) The Supreme Court got it right on religion |
(!) The Supreme Court got it right on religion
by David Batstone
This week the Supreme Court issued two controversial judgments on the
display of religious monuments in public places. The two 5-4 rulings
allowed the Ten Commandments to remain as part of an exhibit of monuments
on the grounds of the Texas statehouse but barred postings of the same
biblical text in two Kentucky courthouses.
The Supreme Court baffles me at the moment. At least the unpredictability
of its judgments makes for highly suspenseful drama. Regardless, the
majority opinion got it right this week. I readily admit to my detractors
that we are dealing in shades of gray here. What I would like to draw
attention to is the intention behind each decision.
The justices clearly affirmed the valuable contribution that religion
makes to civic life. The Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the
Texas Capitol is one of 17 monuments and 21 historical markers that adorn
a public park that envelopes the Capitol. Symbolically, the exhibit
celebrates that religion has shaped American history and merits a place
smack-dab in the middle of the public square.
"Of course, the Ten Commandments are religious," Chief Justice Rehnquist
noted in his comments bolstering the majority opinion. He then added the
linchpin: "Simply having religious content or promoting a message
consistent with a religious doctrine does not run afoul of the
Establishment Clause."
Some secularists are bent on stripping the role of religion in public
life, of course. But they are dead wrong when they take the "separation of
church and state" to mean that people of faith should keep their religious
sentiments hidden away in the privacy of a closet in their home.
No Christian, Jew, Muslim, or other person of faith should feel coerced to
suppress their faith in the workplace, at the social security
administration office, or at school. Get over it, secularists, "G--" has
never been a taboo subject in American society and never will be. People
are free to show up in public wearing their faith on their sleeves.
The Supreme Court ruling against the Kentucky monuments had a quite
different intention. In Kentucky, monuments displaying the Ten
Commandments were posted alone by orders of county governments. They added
secular documents only after a suit was filed - evidence that the
government's motivation was religious, the Court said.
The key question in each case hinged on whether the display of religious
monuments violates the First Amendment's prohibition against an official
"establishment" of religion. The state, in other words, cannot identify
itself with a particular religion. American legal tradition thereby
protects the integrity of citizens to pursue their own religious
traditions without the interference of the state.
Many Christian conservatives interpreted the Kentucky decision as yet
another _expression of hostility to their faith, and a deviation from the
intent of the Constitution's framers. They operate under the assumption
that "America is a Christian nation." But they are as wrongheaded as the
secularists. I, for one, don't want the government to start speaking for
God or claiming God's blessing, even if it is my faith tradition being
referenced. Why would any devout Christian or Jew want a county courthouse
to equate its application of law to the deep moral justice that the Ten
Commandments demands?
In sum, the intention of the Court's decision was to undergird the free
_expression of religion, yet prevent the association of the state with a
sole religion. Lest we lose ourselves in the application of law to these
two particular cases, can we at least come to agreement regarding the
importance of this distinction for American civic life?
Pax Christi,
• Ninure Saunders aka Rainbow Christian
Jesus is my Shepherd and He knows I'm Gay
http://Ninure-Saunders.tk
My Yahoo Group
http://Ninure.tk
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
http://www.MCCchurch.org
The Bible Site - help provide free scripture
http://www.thebiblesite.org
To send e-mail, remove nohate from address
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| User: "AR" |
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| Title: Re: (!) The Supreme Court got it right on religion |
30 Jun 2005 10:55:39 PM |
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I am a non-believer and I don't have any problem with the Supreme
Court decision just as the display of the Ten Commandants didn't
bother me. What does bother me are the religious freaks that don't
understand the ruling.
We had a stand alone Ten Commandants monument in our city park that had
to be removed. Right after the ruling I saw a nut on TV praising the
decision because it meant they could move the monument back to the
park. This guy is so blinded by his religious zeal that he doesn't
have a clue as to what the Texas ruling really means.
One of the things I don't like about the Ten Commandants displays is
that all I have seen are the Protestant Commandants, no Catholic or
Jewish Commandants. I suspect they don't like it either but are
afraid to speak up because how could a religious person be against the
Ten Commandments?
We are a nation of many faiths and beliefs and the Ten Commandants are
a Christian thing. Where we really need to do is focus our energy in
recognizing our diversity and raise monuments to mankind.
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