If a church can not be used for a graduation ceremony, then how can they be used as polling locations during elections? A different set of rules maybe?
Just off the top of my head, the Liberty Christian Center at the corner of Albany Avenue and Vine Street is one of the more active polling places in Hartford.
ACLU ? Judge Hall? Please save us .
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7 comments:
The elections always happen in the church hall basements where there are no religious insignia or signs.
That is the best I can do for you. I am not a fan of elections in churches, but that could be the only justification...
I'm not trying to say it shouldn't happen, but shouldn't the same standards apply ?
If First Cathedral is out because of "secular symbols" those same symbols are present at the Liberty Christian Center. Also it is not in the basement there, it is in the main community room on the ground level.
Double standards are all around us, particularly with government policy, and it doesn't stop unless someone challenges it like those three students did.
Personally I agree with you Kevin, having a graduation in a church doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Who knows the judge might even feel the same way but upheld the law as required.
The slippery slope is already happening but it will happen even faster if the court makes ruling in favor of mixing church and state.
Here's another angle...
Besides missing their graduation, those students had no other options but to go to a church. The state and church union in this situation was being forced onto the people.
When you vote you have options as to where you can go to vote.
Thinking about it that's why schools no longer require students to repeat the pledge of allegiance or they can skip the God part. Having options changes things.
(I'll shut up now)
Jeff is correct -- separation of church and state starts where someone challenges something in court. And if they have challenged it in court,it's fair to say they have taken offense at the situation. At that point, since this separation is one of the underpinnings of our society, the court acts to undo the offense. What if it wasn't a church they were having the graduation in? What if it was a mosque? Do you think the parents of all those Christian kids wouldn't be screaming about it, if that were the case? No one would be complaining in Enfield about the courts stepping in then.
Kevin,
Check Rick Green's article about Enfield, it may change your opinion about this.
http://blogs.courant.com/rick_green/2010/06/enfield-politicians-learn-abou.html
It states that "the local school board chair, Gregory Stokes - a pastor himself - worked behind the scenes to engineer a costly, wasteful adventure in constutional law."
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