|
Pagan Institute Report
on
Civic Religion
Under construction!
No
Frames
|
|
Supreme Court Splits the Difference on Religious Monuments
in
Public Space
By Christa Landon
June 27, 2005
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today on two cases involving
displays of the Ten Commandments.
While many have argued that ANY religious symbols on public
grounds represent a governmental endorsement of a particular
religion, the Supreme Court is making a distinction based on the
context in which they are displayed.
Thus, in
Van Orden v. Perry,
a 6-foot Ten Commandments monument may remain on the grounds of
the Texas state Capitol, because it is positioned among other
religious and historical displays. In a 5-4 decision, the
Supreme Court ruled that TAKEN AS A WHOLE, the inclusion of the
Ten Commandments was part of a tribute to the nation's religious
and legal heritage. Such pluralistic displays do not
constitute government endorsement of a specific religion. (Read
the decision.)
However, in
McCreary County v. ACLU,
the Supremes ruled 5-4 that the display of the Ten
Commandments inside the Kentucky courthouses
did imply government endorsement of
religion.
(Read
the decision.)
Some Historical Commentary
Because these Supreme Court decisions are so close, and matters
of the intent and context of the
displays were critical, we can
expect MORE rather than less legal wrestling over when such
displays on government property are appropriate. Also, for
the next 3 years all appointments to the Supreme Court are
expected to be made to suit Christian Dominionists, and the
health and age of the current Justices dictate that more than
one will be appointed during that time.
Because our historically Protestant-dominated country has a
growing percentage of non-Christians, many Christians feel
threatened and are highly motivated to use their present
majority status to marginalize and intimidate religious
minorities.
One way the various sects unified was to define themselves
against an outgroup. Two centuries ago, none of the
Christian sects could achieve majority status in the US, and so
they had to settle for tolerating freedom of religion for all.
Protestant sects learned to be more tolerant of their
differences, so they could be a majority vs. the Roman
Catholics. The Roman Catholics used to bear the brunt of
this. Less than 50 years ago, it was doubted than a Roman
Catholic could ever be elected President.
By the 80's even the Moody Bible Radio stopped arguing that
Roman Catholics weren't Christians, because they were allies on
the abortion issue and on most creedal issues. Anti-Semiticism
had became unfashionable during WWII, because we were at war
against the NAZIs. Now, Orthodox and Conservative Jews are
also being included in some alliances with the RRR over abortion
issues. Pat Robertson is now extolling our Judeo-Christian
heritage.
Decades ago, this was going on at the Divinity School at the
University of Chicago, where "ethical
Monotheism" was touted as
having all religious and moral virtues, since academic standards
prevented the use of the term "Judeo-Christian."
And guess who is left outside this virtuous circle?
Paul Tillich's belief that nature-based religions were
inherently inclined to NAZISM was deeply ingrained there.
I was the first out of the broomcloset Pagan at the Divinity
School, and so was under continual demands to answer for the
NAZI phenomenon. Even in that relatively enlightened
community, it was a struggle to teach faculty that "blood and
land" nationalism really plays little role in modern American
Paganism, and our transracial, transcultural worship and
theology are diametrically opposed to racial and ethnic supremacism.
The increasing pluralism of the US means that EITHER Muslims,
Jews and all other religious minorities will form a coalition to
protect religious diversity against Christian Dominionists OR a
new alliance of Radical Monotheists (Jews, Christians, and
Muslims) against all other religious minorities in the US will
form.
The latter could be VERY DANGEROUS to the liberties of remaining
minority faiths.
We may yet have to buy and remove the many Neo-Classical statues
which adorn our public spaces, if we wish to preserve them from
the iconoclasts (literally, the idol-smashers).
© 2005
Christa Landon
|
|
Press
Release from Pagans United
Call
for Circle Ritual, Intitiation, & Naming Ceremonies in the US Capitol Building
Date: June 24, 2004
Contact: Laura (800-688-9876,
administration@pagansunited.com
2612 Adams St. Two Rivers, WI 54241 )
Reverend Moon of the Unification Church
was recently crowned as the Messiah by United States
Congressmen.
We at Pagans United would like to remind our officials that the
United States is not
defined as belonging to any one religion,
but is the center of religious freedom. Those involved
with
the
ceremony where in violation of the Separation of Church and
State clause and should be
reminded by
citizens that all
religions are protected by the Federal Government.
To confirm the life-affirming values of all American
earth-religion practitioners, and to affirm the
American value
of freedom of religion, Pagans United
http://pagansunited.com
would like to
encourage Pagans and those
of other minority faiths to urge their elected officials to host
a ritual
initiation and naming ceremony in our nation's capitol.
We request that we are given equal time
and
recognition to hold
the naming and initiation ceremony. Furthermore, We request that
if
Congress
cannot, in good faith, participate in the requested
ritual, that those involved with the
crowning of
Rev.
Moon be
sanctioned and removed from office for violating the basic
tenets of
American law.
"The participation in the crowning of Rev. Moon as the
Messiah showed the blatant disregard
that United States
officials hold for those of minority faiths and for the
Separation of Church
and State clause of the First Amendment of
the Constitution. Congress should be held fully responsible for
their actions and should be made to rectify the situation."
-----Laura Wandrie, Founder and President,
Pagans
United (June 24,
2004)
"If there is any fixed star in our
constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or
petty,
can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics,
nationalism, religion, or other matters of
opinion or
force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein."
-----Justice Robert Jackson, in the opinion
for the
court,
West
Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624
(1943)
"The "establishment of religion" clause of
the First Amendment means at least this: Neither a
state nor
the
Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws
which aid one
religion, aid all religions, or prefer one
religion over another., Neither can force nor influence a
person
to go to or to
remain away from church against his will or force
him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No
person
can be punished for entertaining or professing religious
beliefs
or disbeliefs, for church
attendance or nonattendance. No tax in
any amount, large or
small, can be levied to support any
religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be
called, or whatever form they may adopt to
teach or practice
religion.
Neither a state nor the
Federal Government can, openly
or secretly,
participate in the affairs of any religious
organizations or groups or vice versa. In the words of
Jefferson, the clause against
establishment of religion by law
was intended to erect "a wall of
separation between
church
and state."
-----Justice Hugo Black, in the opinion for
the court,
Everson v.
Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
We urge you to get involved by emailing, calling, or writing
your elected officials with your support
of the request put
forth by Pagans United.
You may find your US Senator's contact information at...
http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm
You may find your US Representative's contact information
at...
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.html
See related articles here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61932-2004Jun22.html
(requires registration)
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/7477-Sun_Myung_Moon_Crowned_King_Of_America_At_U.S._Senate_Building.html
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/06/25/2003176443
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/06/290588.shtml
|
|
|
|
Fargo Christian activist Martin Wishnatsky wants the University of North Dakota Law School to help him sue to remove
the statue of the Greek Goddess Themis from the top of the the
Grand Forks County Courthouse.
Wishnatsky uses a legal argument similar to the one used to try
to remove a display of the Ten Commandments in Fargo. He is also
an anti-abortion activist and a public supporter of the Fargo
Ten Commandments display.
The statue of Themis, Greek goddess of law and public assembly,
is a traditional symbol at U.S. courthouses. She appears
blindfolded but otherwise much as she was depicted in ancient
times, holding the scales of justice. She has stood there
for 90 years. It is not known whether anyone has actually
worshipped Themis in the presence of this statue. This is
the first known complaint.
"As a Christian, I find such representations of pagan
religious figures in public places very distressing,"
Wishnatsky wrote to Professor Laura Rovner,
"Unfortunately, I do not possess the
expertise properly to research the pagan religious origins of
the Themis statue and to present the facts demonstrating its
roots in heathen worship," Wishnatsky wrote Rovner. "I
request the assistance of the clinical education program in
developing a lawsuit on the same basis as that granted to the
atheistic North Dakota State University professors to bring suit
against the city of Fargo over the Ten Commandments
monument."
Rovner had no immediate comment on Wishnatsky's letter, saying
she had just received it. She heads a new program at UND's law
school, the Civil Rights and Disabilities Project, which has
taken as clients the opponents of the Fargo display. They say
the Ten Commandments display is an unconstitutional violation of
the separation of church and state. This new suit may
merely be a novel way to harass opposing counsel, although
iconoclasm, the destruction of religious art, has a long history
in Christianity.
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem ruled that the law school was
within its right to assign faculty and staff to assist in the
Fargo Ten Commandments case. Stenehjem ruled the law school was
within its rights to take on the case. Last Summer, Rovner made her case for law school
involvement in the Fargo Ten Commandments suit in a letter to the
Grand Forks Herald. "One need not be an atheist to believe
that it is inappropriate for government to make adherence to
religion relevant in any way to a persons standing in the
political community."
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2003/11/01/news/state/sta03.txt |
Ok,
you can't make this stuff up...
By
Michael C. Urban
Ft.
Worth, Texas:
A woman recently petitioned city officials to
have a statue of a
panther removed from the
front of the government administration
building. The woman claimed that the statue of the
sleeping
panther was too "paganistically feline"
and
"sinister". She suggested that the
statue be replaced
by a statue of a cow.
Comment:
Hmm... Guess she never heard of Hinduism. |
|
-
Virginia Statute regarding Freedom of Religion, by Thomas
Jefferson
-
Bill of Rights, (primarily by) James Madison
|
|
Academic Resources |
|
Links |
|
Back to Legal Rights Hub |
|
Created June 26, 2005
|