Some cultural issues never seem to go away. Controversies like abortion, homosexual rights, and the availability of pornography seem to perpetually remain a pile of dry kindling, ready to explode into a conflagration of passionate debate whenever the least little spark hits it.
The concept of "separation between church and state" is also one of those issues. From those who advocate turning America into a theocratic state to those who envision our nation as a religion-free zone -- and everyone in between -- little consensus seems to exist as to where the line should be drawn between religion and government. As a result, government officials often seem quick to err on the side of those who want to ban religion altogether.
Crosses Lopped Off in Memorial Display
In Pennsylvania, for example, the state Department of Transportation collapsed this July -- virtually overnight -- after a group publicized its opposition to the use of crosses as a memorial to transportation workers killed on the job.
Last spring, the Department of Transportation unveiled a memorial to its fallen workers which consisted of 76 small white crosses, each representing an employee killed since 1970. The memorial was displayed in various locations over the next several months.
However, the liberal religious watchdog group Americans United for Separation of Church and State objected. It questioned the constitutionality of the state using crosses, citing court decisions overturning the use of religious symbols in government displays.
According to Associated Press, the threat of legal action was all it took for Pennsylvania officials to back down. The Department of Transportation designed a new display in which the tops of the crosses were cut off and replaced by hard hats, draped with orange and yellow vests.
Religious Expression Banned at Columbine Memorial
The erection of this barrier between religious expression and any locale even remotely connected to government was also evident in a court ruling arising from a shooting tragedy in Littleton, Colorado. A memorial wall was established at Columbine High School, where the massacre of 12 students and one teacher occurred in 1999. The families of those killed were allowed to design tiles for the wall, commemorating their loved ones.
Except, of course, for Christians who chose to include a religious message on their tile. In late June the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a school district policy that said the wall -- because it was on school grounds -- could not include religious symbols or messages. Some of the families of victims had mentioned God in their tiles, and one tile contained the simple message, "Jesus wept."
The appellate court said in its ruling, "By allowing a tile stating 'God is Love,' the district would be obligated to post tiles stating 'God is Hate.'" The court added: "We believe that the district's restriction on religious symbols was reasonably related to its legitimate goal of preventing disruptive religious debate on the school's walls."
Apparently, in the court's mind, any idea or emotion is welcomed on school grounds as long as it has first been scrubbed free of religious sentiment.
Toddler Can Pray in School ... Quietly and Alone
A more positive outcome was gained by Christians who went to court over a case in upstate New York. That controversy began last January when a teacher ordered five-year-old kindergartner Kayla Broadus to stop saying grace over her meal at Dorothy Nolan Elementary School. In the eyes of the school officials, Kayla had violated the U.S. Constitution -- particularly because she had invited three of her classmates to join hands with her as she thanked God for their cupcakes and milk.
Kayla's mother -- after the school refused to apologize to the little girl or admit wrongdoing -- sued in federal court. Following a judge's temporary order in April which allowed Kayla to continue to pray out loud, school officials agreed in June to grant that permission permanently. The only caveat: Kayla can neither disturb others with her praying nor invite others to pray with her.
Tim Wildmon, president of the pro-family American Family Association, says religious freedom seems to no longer be a given in America today. "It is a shame that religious freedom is now something for which Christians often have to fight tooth-and-nail, rather than something which has already been freely granted by the Constitution," he says.
