On Religion And Government

I posted the other day about the state of Washington trying to follow the Constitution regarding religious displays on government property. The state had allowed a christian organization to put up a nativity scene on the grounds of the Legislative Building in Olympia. In order to be constitutionally fair, they also allowed an atheist organization to put up a sign.

It made national news when the atheist sign was stolen, then found in a ditch and re-displayed. But that was only the beginning of Washington's problems. The governor has received over 15,000 phone calls from christians who wanted only a christian display on the government grounds (even though that is unconstitutional). These theocrats are perfectly willing to trash the constitution to further their own religious beliefs.

But the problems didn't stop there. After hearing of the brouhaha created by the competing displays, other groups wanted to put up their own displays. Among the displays requesting space were a Buddhist display, a Festivus display (popularized by the Seinfeld TV series), a "God Hates" display by the Westboro Baptist Church, a display featuring the Flying Spaghetti Monster (pictured above) and a christian goodwill message to atheists, among other display ideas.

The state received more requests than they had space for, so they have now declared a moratorium on any new displays. It looks like the only way out of this mess is to not allow any displays at all on state property next year.

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In other religious/government news, it looks like South Carolina will not be issuing new christian-themed license plates. The state legislature had voted unanimously to issue the plates, even though several members admitted openly that they would not do the same for other religions. The plates contained a cross on a stained glass window and the words "I believe".

Of course, this action made it official that the state of South Carolina had a governmentally-preferred religion -- christianity. But the Americans United for Separation of Church and State didn't think this passed constitutional muster and filed suit on behalf of three ministers, a rabbi, the Hindu American Foundation and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie agreed, and issued an injunction that stops the state from issuing or manufacturing the license plates. She has also ordered the state to remove the plates from the state's web site and tell those who have requested them that the plates will not be available.

Thank goodness there are still judges who follow the Constitution.