Amazing Greece

                                                                                                                      

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 His^vi 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?

To be continued.^ix

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.

v       Or circumcision.

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.