A
few weeks ago, on November 7, 2013, a meeting was held of the Town
Board. They have those meetings regularly as the governing body of
the town in Greece, New York. I guess it's not unusual that they
should do so, and it's not worthy of special notice. On the agenda,
however, was a “Moment of Prayer,” which was given by the
Reverend Frank Falletta. That's worthy of comment.
According
to the First Amendment to our Constitution,
“Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion …”
and
while that might simply seem to apply to the nation's Congress, the
Fourteenth Amendment states
“No State shall make or enforce any
law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of
the United States...”
so
it's clear that that the prohibition is not one solely applying to
the Federal Government.
Does
this apply to local governments as well? I don't know. My prejudice
would be that even though this is not spelled out explicitly, it
does. But that's an issue for wiser minds than mine, and, as I had
learned a day earlier, the practice in Greece regarding prayers
opening public meetings, was a question that the Supreme Court was
considering this term. Many – and not just atheists – consider
this to be an intrusion of religion on the citizenry contrary to the
Bill of Rights.
Different
groups have different objections to the practice which, in this case,
involves the presentation of clearly Christian prayers as an
intrinsic part of a governmental meeting. It is likely that the
original intent of the First Amendment related to the protection of
the people from the imposition of a particular doctrine as a state
religion – a protection of the population
from
a specific
religioni
– but over the years it came to be understood also as a protection
of our various religions
from state influences. There is no belief system to which they are
required to conform.
The
current construction, however, is that instead of protecting the
population from a specific state religion, the government should have
nothing whatever to do with religion or any religious practice. It
should “protect” the people from religion.ii
Although some exceptions are made – like the military chaplaincy,
religious mottoes on our currency and in the Pledge of Allegiance,
and tax exemptions for religious institutions – by and large we
have banished religion from the “public square.” It's simply
not a matter for public discussion. And anyone who considers what
someone else views as a religious teaching when evaluating any aspect
of our society is engaging in an unconstitutional practice. We see
as sacred the “wall of separation between church and state” of
which Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1802.iii
iv
And a colleague of his, George Washington, wrote “We
should be very cautious of violating the Rights of Conscience in
others,” and “religious
controversies are always productive of more acrimony and
irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause.”
Well,
I believe President Washington's latter statement – if it is
understood to refer not to the theological differences between
members of different sects, but to the vituperative behavior which
occurs when a non-believer meets a believer. But I also wonder how
his view relates to other “Rights of Conscience,” the
controversies, for example, between liberals and conservatives which
are “always productive of [extreme] acrimony and irreconcilable
hatred,” or those who favor and those who oppose the death
penalty.v
One
of the main issues in any such discussion is a definition of
“religion.” It's not possible to be sure what the Founding
Fathers meant by the term, but in all likelihood they were referring
to “organized” religion, a system of beliefs centered on a deity.
By and large, most people at that time didn't question the existence
of G-d, although they may have disagreed on Hisvi
nature and the ways to serve Him.
The
first definition in the Random House Dictionary, however, refers to
the term's spiritual and divine natures without mentioning G-d.vii
I'm more interested in the second, though, which characterizes
religion as “a specific
fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a
number of persons or sects.”
As
such, the definition includes atheists as well as church members.
Most of them do not argue about the issue of beliefs,viii
even if they deny the existence of any deity or of existence after
death.
And
that appears to be the current issue: is there or isn't there a G-d?
Opinions based on the concept that there is no deity are legitimate,
but a corollary is that no spiritual feelings can be discussed or
used as the basis of constitutional arguments. So, according to that
perspective, if you accept the constitutional view probably held by
those who wrote the Constitution, you had better be careful what you
say. There are many who would bar you from using such ideas as a
basis for political or legal positions, or for the public practice of
your religion. Certainly the display of religious symbols on public
property is considered a blasphemy on the secular religion we
practice. The individual who argues a point that may be supported by
religious teaching – even if his motives have nothing to do with
any religious view – is viewed as a fanatic, and there are many who
argue that he is not entitled to use his First Amendment rights
irrespective both of his
intent and that of our founding document's authors. They wrote
“Congress shall make
no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ...”
That, however, appears to relate only to the use of speech educated
by the secular religion we observe, not by any other faith.
The
reality is that America is a Christian nation. I'm not a Christian
and there are times when I'm offended by its flaunting and its
display. But as long as it is not imposed on me and I am free to
practice my own religion in the way I consider appropriate, I can
live with reality. I can ignore public prayers like those in Greece
or even argue for equal time for members of other religions. Perhaps
town meetings, like school classrooms, should be deemed off-limits
for prayers, because there are captive audiences present, but it
seems to me that the suppression of other opinions simply because
they reflect, or are coincidentally consistent with, religious
doctrines, contravenes the First Amendment rather than promotes it.
So the Justices will
evaluate the arguments and rule on the glory that is Greece. Was
Reverend Falletta violating the Constitution?
Next episode: “Time
And Again” – Slow down. You
go too fast.
i Indeed,
those who reject any divinity believe that the population should be
shielded from any
manifestation of religion. They do not accept the idea that there
can be “non-denominational” prayers, though this would be a
satisfactory solution for many of those who oppose the
“establishment of [a state] religion” by the government.
ii Free
choice is accepted. Indeed, “choice” is the watchword of our
times. We worship it. A democratic society like ours is a staunch
believer in such a position. In certain areas it is the law of the
land – like abortion and the exercise of majority rule. But it is
lionized, primarily when it concerns sexual mores, and the expression
of favorable opinions regarding any practice that is considered
unacceptable in the Bible – whether it is abortion, suicide,
homosexuality, ritual slaughter, or other similar matters. Those
ideas are praiseworthy, but views supporting religious practices are
not tolerated well. (It is hard
not to wonder how a secular government that enforces its views on the
religious differs from a religious government that enforces its
beliefs on the secular.)
iii It
was in a letter to the Danbury
Baptist Association and ended, “I reciprocate your kind prayers
for the protection and blessing of the common Father and creator of
man ...” He was not opposed to private expressions of belief.
iv Also
of interest is President Jefferson's reluctance to declare a
Thanksgiving. While as Governor of Virginia he promoted a
day of Thanksgiving and Prayer, yet as President, in
a letter to Reverend
Samuel Miller on January 23, 1808 he wrote,
“I
consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the
Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their
doctrines, discipline, or exercises...”
Most Americans now would see Thanksgiving as a secular holiday, but
that was not his view.
vi Its(?)
Assigning a sex (gender?) to G-d is obviously inappropriate, even
though it makes the discussion easier.
vii The
Random House Dictionary of the English Language (The Unabridged
Edition), 1967, New York. Page 1212.
viii Actually,
they usually proclaim their beliefs loudly and proudly. They
consider it as a lack
of belief, but in reality it is only a lack of belief in a deity.
They firmly believe in His absence. And they have a strong belief
in “good,” which they claim characterizes all their positions,
and is achieveable by human means alone.
ix Or
concluded. Depending on what the losing side chooses to do, and
what variations on the case they can bring before the Court.