Posted on 09/22/2005 10:17:45 AM PDT by inkling
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
– First Amendment, U.S. Constitution
As demonstrated in the first entry in our Bill of Rights, Americans are a religious people with a history steeped in faith. The first act of the Continental Congress called for prayer. President Lincoln enacted a day of prayer and fasting, and President Truman created an annual National Day of Prayer. The constitutions of all 50 states directly recognize and honor God in some way.
The First Amendment is a major recognition of these values. The amendment guarantees every American freedom of religion; however, the American Civil Liberties Union is aggressively twisting it inside out to force the government to restrict religious expression.
Big surprise.
Despite promoting itself as a great defender of individual rights, the ACLU is the foremost religious censor in America. This column only affords enough space to mention but a few of the innumerable examples of the ACLU's anti-religious zealotry. But they are enough to illustrate the lengths to which the ACLU will go to attempt to impose this foolhardy agenda on America.
In the late 1960s, plaques bearing non-sectarian passages from Psalms were privately donated and installed at Grand Canyon National Park. (Even if you haven't heard of this story, you can probably guess where this is heading.) An ACLU paralegal "discovered" the three-decades-old plaques and e-mailed the National Park Service to demand an explanation. This simple correspondence so rattled the Park Service that they removed the plaques without a legal fight.
In effect, one e-mail from a leftist legal group caused a governmental agency to restrict the free exercise of religion. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund assured the Park Service that the plaques did not violate the Constitution. To the contrary, the plaques are a form of expression that the Constitution guarantees. Thankfully, the Park Service allowed the plaques back in – at least for the time being.
In another alarming example, the ACLU joined a suit against Catholic Charities, demanding that the organization provide contraception coverage in any group prescription-drug program offered to its employees. Since the teachings of the Catholic Church prohibit the use of such contraceptives, the ACLU was demanding that the state force the group to violate the tenets of its founding faith.
Sadly, the Supreme Court of California agreed with the ACLU's reasoning that since Catholic Charities employs and ministers to non-Catholics, it was not allowed to faithfully follow Catholic doctrine. Another ACLU body blow designed to subvert religious freedom.
Yeshiva University, a conservative Jewish institution, did not allow two lesbians to live in married student housing since it was forbidden by their faith's teachings. The ACLU and other activist groups sued the private institution, bringing it all the way to the New York Court of Appeals.
Attorney Harvey Blitz, who supported Yeshiva in the case, rightfully stated that accommodating same-sex couples in this manner would amount to a "promotion of the gay and lesbian lifestyle," which is "inconsistent with Orthodox Jewish principles."
Despite the obvious meaning of the First Amendment, the court sided with the ACLU and against traditional religious beliefs. Yeshiva was forced to act contrary to its religious beliefs and house same-sex couples as if they were married.
This dramatic erosion of religious liberty is the result of the ACLU's deliberate, incremental strategy. The group often starts its attacks against cash-strapped organizations or legally unsophisticated governmental agencies. Many times, a forceful letter from a big-firm ACLU lawyer is enough to cause an administrator to restrict the public expression of religion.
Even if the embattled organization is sympathetic to a believer's plight, officials often determine it isn't worth the hassle or considerable expense to fight the ACLU in a protracted battle. When people do stand their constitutionally protected ground, the ACLU often finds judges and courts likely to support their leftist legal interpretations. And every successful case serves as a precedent for the next.
The ACLU's destructive assault on the religious heritage of this nation must be challenged – and vigorously. We as a people must stand our ground to protect our constitutionally guaranteed right to freely practice our religion in public and private.
When we do, the true colors of the ACLU are often exposed for the world to see. Frustrated at his lack of success in getting a school board in Tangipahoa Parish, La., to refrain from opening its meetings with prayer, the ACLU of Louisiana's executive director Joe Cook desperately described the members of the board this way: "They believe that they answer to a higher power, in my opinion, which is the kind of thinking that you had with the people who flew the airplanes into the buildings in this country, and the people who did the kind of things in London."
Such outlandish comments reveal how the ACLU truly feels about those who acknowledge a higher power than themselves in this country. This kind of thinking is being – and must continue to be – exposed. Because if their legal snowball is allowed to continue unchallenged, the First Amendment won't be worth the parchment on which our Founding Fathers paid so dearly to write.
Alan Sears, a former federal prosecutor in the Reagan administration, is president and CEO of the Alliance Defense Fund, America's largest legal alliance defending religious liberty through strategy, training, funding and litigation. He is co-author with Craig Osten of the new book "The ACLU vs. America: Exposing the Agenda to Redefine Moral Values."
Sadly, the Supreme Court of California agreed with the ACLU's reasoning that since Catholic Charities employs and ministers to non-Catholics, it was not allowed to faithfully follow Catholic doctrine. Another ACLU body blow designed to subvert religious freedom.
Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
The old Christians = islamic terrorists because they all believe in some kind of religion argument.
For a comparison:
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It is a nice sounding theory that when you separate the Christian Church from the state, you get stability, but it does not pass the common sense test.
For instance, I know it is the first words out of any atheist mouth when you try to talk with them about Jesus, “Explain the Inquisition," and “Look how evil the church was!" and "Look what they did in the name of Jesus!"
It is true that about 500 years ago, Christian fanatics killed about 10,000 people over a 100 year time period (about 100/year) in the name of the Roman Catholic church. It is a shame on the record of an organization that claims to be promoting the ministry of Christ.
Now compare this record to the example of the countries that have officially done away with religion. To the countries that have outright banned religion and imprisoned those who try to practice it (the ultimate test of the theory of separation of church and state).
Yes, I am talking about Communist countries. In the Communist Manifesto, Engel and Marx declared, "Communism abolishes all religion." In my father's lifetime, the numbers of people that officially atheist countries have murdered in the name of no-religion is staggering; the USSR slaughtered 20 million, China slaughtered 10 million, Communist Cambodia slaughtered 2 million, Communist North Korea has/continues to murder untold numbers, Communist Cuba has/continues to murder untold numbers, the list goes on.
The grand total is at least over 50 million dead in the last 80-year time span (over 600,000/year). Even comparing the worst time of "Christian Persecution" to an average time of a just one country that has officially and forcefully separated church and state, the conclusion is obvious: Christianity has a huge calming influence on government.
By 2banana
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The same National Park Service that is fighting to keep the crescent memorial?
Ironically, the ACLU's war on chr*stianity (which is based on a cult of "otherness" and not on Judaism) is always interpreted by the "palaeos" as an essentially "Talmudic" campaign being coordinated by aged pious Chassidic rabbis, even though the ACLU has spent four years defending Arabs and moslems and regards the Israeli flag as an instrument of torture.
"They believe that they answer to a higher power, in my opinion, which is the kind of thinking that you had with the people who flew the airplanes into the buildings in this country, and the people who did the kind of things in London"
Our founders cited belief in a higher power as reason for founding our country...it was seen as religious duty to defy tyrranny that would keep the people from folling their God!
Ping for the list
Reminds me of what happened in Louisville, Kentucky a few years ago. A proposed gay rights (employment protection) ordinance was going to be introduced in the city, once again. Its opponents argued that this afforded special, unneeded protection for gays and lesbians; its proponents referred to it as the "fairness" ordinance. Not long before the vote, a woman who worked for a local Baptist charity organization was outed as a lesbian. The Baptist charity fired her, saying that her sexuality was incompatible with their moral beliefs. As it happens, this charity operated under city contracts. The resulting controversy led to the passage of the gay rights ordinance. Ironically, the ordinance included a provision allowing religious organizations to discriminate on the basis of sexuality -- so the lesbian that had been fired wouldn't have been protected by the ordinance.
My tagline used to say:"If our nation be destroyed, it would be from the judiciary." ~ Thomas JeffersonBINGO!! If you follow these lawsuits it is always some leftist judge that agrees with the ACLU. This truly is
All About The JudgesLooks like Judge Roberts will be confirmed. Need need another strong conservative to replace Sandy and then, maybe, we can start taking our country back from the commies.
We can't take it back if we are unwilling to fight for it. Can't have our sons and daughters do all the dirty work in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, etc., while we whine and moan. Time to fight folks--past time.
later read/ping.
Great analysis. I'll remember to use this in my arguments! Thanks for that! :D
See Leftwing Word Games & Religious Freedom.
William Flax
INTSUM
Ping
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