Another perversion of the meaning of establishing a church
The constitutional prohibition was written to forbid the government endorsing one particular denomination as the true faith — which was the status of the “established” Church of England in Britain at the time. Nothing like that has ever been contemplated in America
“It would be easy to miss among the yucca and Joshua trees of this vast place — a small plywood box, set back from a gentle curve in a lonesome desert road. It looks like nothing so much as a miniature billboard without a message.
But inside the box is a 6 1/2 -foot white cross, built to honor the war dead of World War I. And because its perch on a prominent outcropping of rock is on federal land, it has been judged to be an unconstitutional display of government favoritism of one religion over another.
Whether the Mojave cross is ever unveiled again — or taken down for good — is up to the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Next week, it will get its first major chance to divine the meaning of the First Amendment command that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
If the court reaches the constitutional issues at hand, all sides agree it could provide clarity to the court’s blurry rules on church-and-state separations. It could also carry important implications for the fate of war memorials around the country that feature religious imagery — the Argonne Cross in Arlington National Cemetery, for instance, or the Memorial Peace Cross in Bladensburg.
The Mojave cross’s protectors, which include veterans groups and the federal government, say the symbol is a historic, secular tribute; its original plaque from the 1930s said it was erected to honor “the dead of all wars.” They argue that Congress has taken the steps to distance itself from any appearance of endorsing a religious display.
But the American Civil Liberties Union, Jewish and Muslim veterans, and others say government actions have only deepened the problem. In an effort to avoid the lower courts’ rulings that it must come down, Congress has designated the site the country’s only official national memorial to the dead of World War I, elevating it to an exclusive group of national treasures that includes the Washington Monument and Mount Rushmore.
Posted by John Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.). For a daily critique of Leftist activities, see DISSECTING LEFTISM. To keep up with attacks on free speech see TONGUE-TIED. Also, don’t forget your daily roundup of pro-environment but anti-Greenie news and commentary at GREENIE WATCH . Email me (John Ray) here
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Posted by JonJayRay on September 29, 2009 9:13 am
» Filed Under 1st Amendment, ACLU, Anti-free speech, Church And State, Communism, Founding Fathers, Government, History, News, Patriotism, Secular Humanism, State Government, States Rights, Supreme Court, The United States of America, U.S. Constitution, Veterans, religion
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One Response to “Another perversion of the meaning of establishing a church”
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The question is if we have 9 Supreme Court Justices who can read and understand the English language.
Establishment of religion is a noun phrase, that I believe just means religious sect, unlike establishing a church.
In other words Congress is not supposed to pass a law favoring any religious sect.
So what is the evidence that Congress has passed a law favoring a religious sect?