From: grimlok@hubcap.clemson.edu (Mike Percy)
Subject: Re: Limiting religious speech
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 16:08:15 GMT

aultj@rpi.edu (Jim Ault) writes:


>Ok, here's a question for anti-censorship people:

>How many of you are dismayed at the recent Supreme Court ruling in
>Lee v. Weisman, which held prayer at graduation ceremonies
>unconstitutional?   If this isn't stifling free speech, what is? 

>Let's all raise our voices and demand that this be overturned.

This is not censorship.  This is the government making an effort to not
promote (or appear to promote) one religion (or a similarly small number of
religions) over all others.  Note that this does not bar anyone from
praying at a graduation ceremony, mearly prevents them from doing so in
such a way that as an agent of the government (teacher, priniciple,
etc.) from endorsing a particular religion.

While I'll agree that it may seem farsical at an extreme, consider the
ramifications (I'll even ignore the extreme ramifications of allowing
the country to disolve into a theocracy).  As a nation, we encompass
dozens of religions and hundreds more denominations within the religions,
not to mention the fractions within those denomination.  As citizens, we
expect the freedom to practice our religions, and some concept of
"fairness" from the government vis our religious choices.  By this I
mean that if the government holds out tax benifits to one church or
religion, then all religions and churches should get the same treatment.

So, if we are to have prayer at the behest and control of the
government, it had better be done fairly.  Any prayers must be
universally acceptable to all the represented religions or each religion
should be represented with its own prayers.  Current
"non-denominational" prayers are overwhelmingly Christian and the person
giving such benedictions often ends it with "In Christ's name we pray..."
Muslims, Jews, Hindi, Buddhists, Taoists, Satanist, etc. are all
excluded from such prayers.  But they are all expected to stand quietly,
heads bowed in seeming agreement with the religious experience being
thrust upon them.

I suspect that nearly every single person seeking the reestablishment of
school prayer is a Cristian and expects prayers in school to be
Christian prayers (but they're likely willing to bend to allow the
prayers to be non-sectarian prayers).  Since in the USA Christians as a
whole hold a majority it seems likely that this would be the case.  But
other religions are growing fast here, and these Cristians must consider
what they will be doing when Islam is the majority religion and prayers
are all Islamic-based.  Or what they'd do if the government tried to be
fair and provide a rotating schedule of prayers which included Hare
Krishna chants and Satanic prayers along with Talmud recitations and
Koran verse.  I think they'd scream bloody murder.

Religion belongs in the home and the church and the individual.  The
last thing we need is a theocracy running our country.  Welcome to Iran.

Mike Percy             | grimlok@hubcap.clemson.edu  | I don't know about
Sr. Systems Analyst    | mspercy@clemson.clemson.edu | your brain, but mine
Info. Sys. Development | mspercy@clemson.BITNET      | is really...bossy.
Clemson University     | (803) 656-3780              | (Laurie Anderson)
Xref: sparky alt.censorship:7005 alt.society.civil-liberty:5587 misc.legal:16141 rec.arts.fine:605