5.08.2008
The ACLU, South Carolina, and Religious Minorities
As I have reported previously on this blog, South Carolina is quickly becoming one of the "hot zones" in battles over church and state. You had Wiccan Darla Wynne's victory over sectarian prayer in Great Falls, the ongoing plan by conservative Christians to legislate around that judgment, and a controversial "I Believe" specialty license plate created solely for Christians about to be approved. So it is troubling to hear that the local chapter of the ACLU has become so dysfunctional that the national organization has swooped in to take over.
"If there is one state that can ill afford an ineffective chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union it arguably is South Carolina ... in recent years [the SC ACLU chapter] been hampered by ideological squabbling among its board members, staff leadership turnover, lackluster membership and fundraising numbers and a virtually nonexistent media presence. Aware of the problems for some time, the national ACLU board has decided to step in and try to right the ship. The decision made national news."
The only comfort here is that with the national ACLU board "driving", we may see a revitalized ACLU chapter in South Carolina, and greater resources being poured into the looming legal battles developing in the state. Over the years the ACLU has been an important resource for modern Pagans seeking redress against discriminatory or unconstitutional policies and practices. Without the ACLU, and similar organizations like Americans United and the FFRF, many of the seminal legal cases that have helped establish precedents and decisions favoring the growth and free exercise of modern Paganism in America may not have happened.
Of course modern Pagans and church-state separation organizations don't always see eye to eye. In New York, the town board of Greece is defending its sectarian prayer policy by making the opening prayers inclusive of all faiths. This has allowed a local Wiccan to deliver a sectarian Pagan prayer before a recent board meeting.
"In just a few seconds' time during the April Town Board meeting, Jennifer Zarpentine made Greece history. Zarpentine, a Wiccan, delivered the first-ever pagan prayer to open a meeting of the Greece Town Board. Her hands raised to the sky, she called upon Greek deities Athena and Apollo to 'help the board make the right informed decisions for the benefit and greater good of the community.' A small cadre of her friends and coven members in the audience chimed in 'so mote it be.'"
Americans United, who recently helped win the veteran Pentacle case, is suing the town board in order to force it to switch to nonsectarian prayer (or no prayer at all). A move Wiccan Jennifer Zarpentine disapproves of.
"Zarpentine said she was pleased by the opportunity to pray at the meeting. 'I thought the invocation went well,' she said. 'The board was respectful;, they all bowed their heads.' As far as the lawsuit goes, Zarpentine said the town isn't being discriminatory. 'They are including everybody,' she said. 'They asked me.'"
Which illustrates a point where there is some divergence between groups like the ACLU and modern Pagans. Most modern Pagans are fine with religious expression so long as there is full and consistent inclusion. While the AU, and similar organizations, take a harder line of enforcing nonsectarian or nothing.
"We're glad to see that the (Town Board) is now cognizant of the diversity of the community, and it's too bad it took a lawsuit to get them to see the light ... While the Wiccan prayer will likely be more inclusive than prayers offered in the past, that doesn't change that what we want is for the town to adopt a policy that prayer-givers offer nonsectarian prayers."
Despite these differences, our faith groups have generally experienced a net gain in allying ourselves with church-state separation advocacy organizations. This will most likely continue until modern Pagan organizations gather sufficient fiscal and political power to form their own legal advocacy groups. Even then, I don't foresee a day where Pagans will be unhappy with the ACLU or AU fighting to keep religion out of politics in America. A truly democratic and secular country is one where the religious minority doesn't have to fear outright discrimination or persecution.
Labels: ACLU, AU, discrimination, law, litigation, New York, Paganism, prayer, Religious Freedom, South Carolina, Wicca
4.25.2008
South Carolina Attempts to Bypass Prayer Restrictions
A hot-button issue in conflicts concerning the separation of church and state is sectarian prayer before a governmental body. Since Darla Wynne's final legal victory in 2005 forcing the South Carolina town of Great Falls to abandon sectarian prayers to Jesus, conservative Christian opponents in the state have been looking for a way around the ruling. Last year, with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, state legislators introduced a "Public Prayer and Invocation Act". A law designed to circumvent sectarian restrictions, and make it harder for litigation against sectarian prayer to win.
"It becomes clear from reading the bill that its authors are trying to navigate the legal waters created by two cases involving Wiccans and public prayers: Darla Wynne (a resident of South Carolina who won her case against Great Falls) and Cynthia Simpson (a Virginia resident who ultimately lost hers). In other words, they are trying to bring back prayers to Jesus at government meetings without the lawsuits ... if this bill becomes law, the Darla Wynnes of this world can't sue the local city council for exclusively praying to Jesus without bringing litigation against the entire state. Its clear that the authors are hoping that their emphasis on context will win over content (ie Jesus), and in turn create a legal fog of what can or can't be allowed."
Now that bill has made it through the South Carolina senate, and is heading to the house.
"The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill that would allow prayers before public meetings. In 2001, a Wiccan priestess sued the town of Great Falls, claiming it violated the separation between church and state when "Jesus Christ" was used in prayer. The town lost the lawsuit. This legislation says public bodies can adopt policies to let members take turns giving an invocation, elect a chaplain, or create a pool of speakers from faith groups to offer the prayer. The bill also calls for the state attorney general to defend public bodies if they face constitutional challenges. The public prayer bill now heads to the House."
Since the Republican party in the South Carolina House of Representatives has a commanding 22-member majority, it seems very likely this bill will soon head to governor Mark Sanford's desk. Sanford, while occasionally displaying a libertarian streak, tends to make conservative Christians happy and is likely to sign the bill into law. If this happens, the resulting legal mess could take decades to untangle, all to the benefit of Christians wanting to re-introduce sectarian prayers to Jesus.
"It intentionally gives no direction on whether a prayer can mention a deity, instead suggesting boards seek local legal advice on that. "I think this might actually add to the constitutional confusion," said professor Josie Brown of the University of South Carolina Law School."
In short, South Carolina is trying to undo Darla Wynne's victory, reinstate Christian prayer through a legal fog, and make it extremely difficult for litigation to be brought against a local legislative body (since any such case would instantly be taken up by the state). This is all part of a larger plan instituted by Christian conservative groups to chip away at the legal victories won by religious minorities and secular groups in the last thirty years.
Student speech "protection" laws, ordinances banning psychics, attempts to dominate chaplaincy positions (in prisons and the military), arbitrary laws concerning animal sacrifice, a rigorous defense of evangelists who cross the line, battles over public religious displays, and the enshrinement of Christianity as the official faith of America all point to a larger trend of fighting and rolling back advances religious minorities have made in the name of their "religious freedom". Killing real religious freedom and full access of all faiths to the public square with a thousand tiny cuts instead of single mighty stroke.
Labels: Alliance Defense Fund, Christianity, Darla Wynne, law, litigation, Paganism, prayer, Religious Freedom, South Carolina
4.24.2008
National Day of Prayer vs. May Day!
"Perhaps it's just as well that you won't be here tomorrow, to be offended by the sight of our May Day celebrations here." - Lord Summerisle, "The Wicker Man"
Next week, thanks to a quirk of the calendar, one of the biggest religious festivals within modern Paganism will coincide with the yearly National Day of Prayer. The National Day of Prayer, in theory a time for all Americans of faith to unite and pray (in their own manner) for the well-being of the country, has long been co-opted by conservative Christian evangelicals who operate a "task force". This group (essentially run by Focus on The Family) runs the bulk of NDP events, and excludes non-Christians from active participation.
"The National Day of Prayer Task Force was a creation of the National Prayer Committee for the expressed purpose of organizing and promoting prayer observances conforming to a Judeo-Christian system of values. People with other theological and philosophical views are, of course, free to organize and participate in activities that are consistent with their own beliefs. This diversity is what Congress intended when it designated the Day of Prayer, not that every faith and creed would be homogenized, but that all who sought to pray for this nation would be encouraged to do so in any way deemed appropriate. It is that broad invitation to the American people that led, in our case, to the creation of the Task Force and the Judeo-Christian principles on which it is based."
Sounds reasonable, right? Can't the non-Christians throw their own party? The problem is that the NDPTF bills itself as the "official" site for the National Day of Prayer, and attacks any governor who won't support their efforts with an official proclamation. In addition, Christian coordinators who attempt to throw an inclusive event under the NDPTF auspices are barred from running future events. So JewsOnFirst is calling for citizens to lobby their governors to shun the NDPTF, and either not issue a proclamation, or issue an inclusive statement that doesn't empower such a narrow view of acceptable public prayer (or crib talking points from Focus on the Family).
"The National Day of Prayer has been hijacked! What began in 1952 as President Truman's declaration of a National Prayer Day for all Americans is now excluding and dividing us on religious lines. The "Task Force" excludes Jews, Muslims, Catholics and even mainline Christians from participation in the events it coordinates around the country. Many of those events are staged in government venues with elected officials, in a deliberate affront to the separation of church and state."
You can find contact information for your governor, here. You can find a sample telephone script and sample letter on the inclusive prayer day site. You can also find a listing of proclamations already issued.
Let's hear it for inclusive prayer!
While I encourage my readers to participate in this call for inclusiveness, I think the fact that the National Day of Prayer falls on May Day/Beltane is far too good an opportunity to pass up! If there is a NDP event being held at your state capitol, why not take a gaggle of Pagans and Heathens in their best May-finery? Or why not hold an event as near as possible to the "official" NDPTF-organized shin-dig? Imagine May-poles and hobby-horses prancing while the evangelicals studiously pray against gay marriage. If the NDPTF is given a government building to hold their meeting, demand one for a really inclusive gathering! Invite anyone who'll show up! Pray to your assorted gods and goddesses!
We're a deeply religious people.
If all else fails, hold a procession past the capitol reminding the lawmakers that a "National Day of Prayer" includes all faiths, not just the ones with the political clout to co-opt it for their own ends. When a prayer event hijacked by conservative Christians falls on May Day, who knows what could happen!
Labels: Beltane, Focus on the Family, JewsOnFirst, May Day, National Day of Prayer, Paganism, politics, prayer, Religion
3.25.2008
More Church-State Issues (With a Wiccan Twist)
The town of Greece in New York is the latest flash-point in battles over the separation of Church and State. There, due to predominately Christian prayers (all but two since 2004 were explicitly Christian) said before the Greece Town Board meeting, Americans United is bringing litigation to force them to switch to non-sectarian opening prayers.
"Americans United sued the Greece, N.Y., Town Board and its supervisor, John Auberger, on behalf of two local residents who object to government-sponsored religious activities that favor one faith over others. The lawsuit alleges that almost all of the board’s opening prayers are explicitly Christian, and that since 2004, only a single non-Christian has been invited to deliver the opening prayer."
Stepping into the ring to do battle with Americans United is the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal organization.
"The case is a matter of religious freedom, said Joel Oster, senior litigation counsel for Alliance Defense Fund. The Arizona-based nonprofit Christian group litigates court cases involving religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and traditional family values. 'The town of Greece is following a long-standing tradition established by our founding fathers, and that is to pray before events and ask for divine guidance,' he said. 'The town is just following in line with the great history and tradition of America.'"
Of course that "long-standing tradition" seems to have omitted non-Christians almost completely. The town, sensing their problem, scurries to become as inclusive as possible. How do you do that? You invite a Wiccan, obviously.
"[Greece deputy town supervisor Jeff] McCann said the town has long used a list of worship services published in a local newspaper to extend invitations to local clergy for the meetings. The list offers little diversity, he said, and the town has had difficulty locating people from nontraditional faiths who may not have a physical church building they attend. "Now that the issue has gotten some publicity, we've had people call up and say they have an interest in delivering a prayer," he said, adding that nonclergy, the nonreligious and anyone else who wishes to speak the pre-meeting prayer is welcome. "If a private person wants to come and say a prayer, they can come and do it." Indeed, he said, next month's Wiccan prayer was initiated by local resident Jennifer Zarpentine, who called town offices to ask whether she would be welcome at a meeting."
You would think that regular announcements at meetings, or perhaps a small ad in the local newspaper, would have helped flush out some non-Christian prayer-leaders before this whole mess started. Because now, inviting a Wiccan won't be enough to stop litigation.
"We're glad to see that the (Town Board) is now cognizant of the diversity of the community, and it's too bad it took a lawsuit to get them to see the light ... While the Wiccan prayer will likely be more inclusive than prayers offered in the past, that doesn't change that what we want is for the town to adopt a policy that prayer-givers offer nonsectarian prayers."
Unfortunately for the town of Greece, the law isn't on their side. Several Supreme Court and Circuit Court rulings, including a prominent case involving a Wiccan, all point towards a requirement for non-sectarian prayer by legislative bodies. So if don't want sectarian prayers to leave your city council or town board, you better become radically inclusive now, or else you'll end up with enforced non-sectarian prayer and (most likely) a hefty legal bill.
Labels: Alliance Defense Fund, AU, Christianity, law, litigation, New York, prayer, Wicca
8.03.2007
Update on Hindu Prayer Controversy
Rather than going away, the incident involving the first Hindu to give the opening prayer before the Senate seems to be picking up stream. US Hindu groups have demanded that Presidential candidates respond to the incident (none have at this point), and that demand is now being echoed by the Baptist Join Committee for Religious Liberty and by professor of religion Melissa Rogers.
"Let me also say that the presidential candidates should address this issue for reasons that go beyond the notion of common decency. They should address this situation because it gets at a fundamental constitutional and ethical matter -- whether we believe that the government must treat all religions equally."
The Washinton Post's "On Faith" blog has posed a question on the issue to its panel of religious leaders, academics, and experts. From these panelists I'm particularly fond of Chester Gillis' answer.
"Granted that the vast majority of Americans believe in God, we have only officially been "One Nation under God" since June 14, 1954, when President Eisenhower signed the law adding these words to the Pledge of Allegiance (which itself was written in 1892), so the notion of a nation of believers is relatively recent in our history. If we are going to give religion a place in public life, then it should not just be one religion. We are a nation of many religions. Just as the military employs chaplains from a variety of religions, so, too, representatives of these religions should have equal opportunities to offer public prayer. Those Americans who say "give me that old time religion" simply need to recall that Hinduism - truly an old time religion - predates Judaism and Christianity."
Rajan Zed also gives his take on this subject as a guest On Faith panelist.
"All of us are looking for the truth. Dialogue brings us mutual enrichment. We may learn from each other as we are headed in the same direction. We should at least cooperate in the common causes of peace, human development, love, and respect for others."
Finally, the Indian press (which has been reporting this story with great interest) notes that the Rev. Rajan Zed was given a heroes welcome upon return to his home in Nevada.
"Rajan Zed, whose historic first Hindu prayer in the American Senate early this month faced protests from the visitors' gallery, was honoured in Nevada. Various religious and community leaders came together on Wednesday and honoured Zed for his "selfless service" in bringing different communities together ... Zed, who is the director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple in Reno, Nevada, was garlanded by Reverend Gene Savoy Jr., president of Nevada Clergy Association. He was presented with a plaque by Rabbi Myra on behalf of the interfaith community of northern Nevada, which said, 'The interfaith clergy and leaders of northern Nevada proudly recognise and honour this unprecedented achievement.'"
Will any of the candidates speak up on this issue? Which future leader (if any) will present themselves as concerned about the rights of minority religions in America? Millions of "other" voters await a sign.
Labels: Hinduism, On Faith, politics, Polytheism, prayer, Presidential election, Religion, Senate
7.13.2007
The Limits of Christian Tolerance
Yesterday in the Senate chambers, three Christian protesters shouted down a Hindu chaplain before being forcibly removed by the Capitol police. This was the first time the daily prayer that opens Senate proceedings was said by a Hindu (the House of Representatives had a Hindu chaplain open their session in 2000).
"...two women and one man were arrested and charged with causing a disruption in the public gallery of the Senate. The three started shouting when guest Chaplain Rajan Zed, a Hindu from Nevada, began his prayer. They shouted 'No Lord but Jesus Christ' and 'There's only one true God,' and used the term 'abomination.'"
The protesters, who are members of Operation Save America (apparently there were no fetal Americans in peril at that particular moment), have the full backing of their organizations director the Rev. Flip Benham who chastised the Senators for not imitating Christ by acting like rude jerks.
"Not one Senator had the backbone to stand as our Founding Fathers stood. They stood on the Gospel of Jesus Christ! There were three in the audience with the courage to stand and proclaim, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' They were immediately removed from the chambers, arrested, and are in jail now. God bless those who stand for Jesus as we know that He stands for them."
One can only wonder which Founding Fathers he means, the Deists? The Freemasons? Thomas Jefferson certainly stood by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but only after he edited out all the supernatural elements and "errors". But that doesn't stop certain conservative Christian "historians" from putting forth anti-polytheist interpretations of religious freedom in America.
"The Hindu prayer was also questioned by a Christian historian who maintained that since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto 'One Nation Under God.' ... 'In Hindu (sic), you have not one God, but many, many, many, many, many gods,' the Christian historian David Barton maintained. 'And certainly that was never in the minds of those who did the Constitution, did the Declaration [of Independence] when they talked about Creator - that's not one that fits here because we don't know which creator we're talking about within the Hindu religion.'"
Sadly, instead of stepping up and blasting these religious bigots, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (who had invited Chaplain Rajan Zed) gave some flat platitudes about Hinduism and peace.
"I think it speaks well of our country that someone representing the faith of about a billion people comes here and can speak in communication with our heavenly father regarding peace,"
Which I think proves a point that politicians today are more concerned with not alienating Christian voters (even Christians voters who would never vote Democratic), than they are with standing up for the principles our country was founded on. You can be sure that any of our Presidential candidates running for office now will be more than willing to throw non-Christian faiths under the bus the minute they risk losing a bit of popularity in the polls. Sadly it looks like we aren't ready to fully welcome non-monotheist expressions of faith into our political system.
Labels: Hinduism, Operation Save America, politics, Polytheism, prayer, Senate
5.08.2007
Praying to the Hindu God(s)
On Monday, the notions of public religion in America got a bit broader. The Nevada State Senate opened its session with a prayer to the divine led by a Hindu.
"History was made when the Senate of the US state of Nevada opened its session with chanting of Hindu prayers for the first time since it was established in 1864. Director of Interfaith Relations of the Hindu Temple of Northern Nevada Rajan Zed chanted the prayers to open the session on Monday. Wearing saffron robes, 'rudraksh' necklace and traditional sandal paste 'tilak' on the forehead, Zed began with a hymn from the Rig Veda. "I open my prayer with an invocation to the divine, whatever it may be and however we may conceive it"...President of the Senate, Lieutenant Governor Brian K. Krolicki, introduced Rajan Zed and all Senators stood up as he started chanting the prayer."
Nevada now joins the U.S. House of Representatives who had a Hindu chaplain open their session in 2000, and the Minnesota Senate who has had a Hindu perform opening prayers on more than one occasion. During the prayer, Rajan Zed remarked on the groundbreaking nature of the event.
"Today is a glorious day for all Nevadans and historical day for us when opening prayers from ancient Hindu scriptures are being read in this great hall of democracy,"
What makes this event (and others like it) so groundbreaking is that these Hindu prayers to a divine power implicitly include polytheistic conceptions of god.
"Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has no datable beginning but some scholars put it around 3,000 BCE. It has no founder, no one authoritative figure, no one deity worshipped by all, and no single prophet or holy book."
So while it may seem innocuous to some, there is something inherently radical about a public prayer that welcomes such a broad variety of belief and worship. One hopes that we can only hear more prayers of this sort in the future.
Labels: Hinduism, Polytheism, prayer
4.28.2007
Fighting For (Christian) Prayer
South Carolina is making the news for a bill focusing on public prayer that has been advanced in its Senate. The South Carolina Public Invocation Act, originally introduced by Republican Senator Chip Campsen (with guidance by the ultra-conservative Alliance Defense Fund
"The legislation now headed to the Senate Judiciary Committee gives local governments three possibilities for legal prayer: Elect a chaplain, let each member of the board pray on a rotating basis, or invite local religious leaders to put their name on a list to pray and schedule them on a first-come, first-serve basis."
It becomes clear from reading the bill that its authors are trying to navigate the legal waters created by two cases involving Wiccans and public prayers: Darla Wynne (a resident of South Carolina who won her case against Great Falls) and Cynthia Simpson (a Virginia resident who ultimately lost hers). In other words, they are trying to bring back prayers to Jesus at government meetings without the lawsuits.
"'The content of the prayer is not important as long as it's not used to proselytize,' said Mike Johnson, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, a national group that aims to defend the First Amendment. 'Don't come to the podium and make an altar call.' ... Sen. Larry Martin, a co-sponsor of the South Carolina Public Invocation Act, said he hopes the measure prevents school boards and city and county councils from receiving "blanket demands of, 'If you pray, I'll sue you.'" ... "Too often they're browbeaten and intimidated, and they throw their hands in the air," [Chip] Campsen said. 'Little towns don't have the legal staff we have.'"
In short, if this bill becomes law, the Darla Wynnes of this world can't sue the local city council for exclusively praying to Jesus without bringing litigation against the entire state. Its clear that the authors are hoping that their emphasis on context will win over content (ie Jesus), and in turn create a legal fog of what can or can't be allowed.
"Joyce Cheeks, interim director of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina, opposed the measure as the state government sanctioning and supporting prayers before public meetings. The bill also directs the attorney general's office to keep up with court cases that could add to or change the possibilities. It intentionally gives no direction on whether a prayer can mention a deity, instead suggesting boards seek local legal advice on that. "I think this might actually add to the constitutional confusion," said professor Josie Brown of the University of South Carolina Law School."
It seems pretty obvious that this move isn't to secure religious "rights" for all citizens, but to allow a predominately conservative Christian state to keep invoking Jesus before meetings. The press in this case seem to be uncritical about assertions that the ACLU wants to eliminate public prayer, when instead its been well-established that they are asking for non-sectarian prayers (or no prayers at all if such a compromise can't be reached). One wonders, if this bill becomes law, how long before Great Falls uses the new blanket protection to destroy everything Darla Wynne endured and worked for.
If you live in a town where the vast majority are Christians, public invocations of Jesus before any public event don't have to be "altar calls" to establish a quasi-official hierarchy of belief. How seriously do you think a Buddhist, Wiccan, Hindu, or Muslim will be taken at a government meeting that asks for the guidance and blessing of Jesus?
* You may remember the Alliance Defense Fund as the group who is representing The Street Preachers' Fellowship in a suit against Grand Rapids Michigan after they were ordered to stop harassing a local Pagan gathering.
Labels: Alliance Defense Fund, Chip Campsen, Cynthia Simpson, Darla Wynne, law, Paganism, prayer, South Carolina, Wicca
