From: kadie@cs.uiuc.edu (Carl M. Kadie)
Subject: Re: ACLU/AJC Menorah Police?
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 00:14:40 GMT

sharon@unixland.natick.ma.us (Sharon Machlis Gartenberg) writes:

[...]
>It is the ACLU's position that *no* religious activities and symbols 
>belong on public property -- that goes just as much for menorah lighting,
>which is a religious ceremony, as it does for creches and crosses.
[...]

I believe this is incorrect. The ACLU supports the right of private
individuals to speak freely in public forums such as parks, even
symbolically  What they oppose is special government sponsorship of
religious speech.

- Carl

Here is the ACLU position:

===============================================================
Why does the ACLU oppose religious displays on public property during
the Christmas season?
---

Private citizens or private businesses are fully entitled to commemorate
holidays with religious displays, but when an agency of government
erects displays that symbolize Christian and/or other religions, it is,
in effect, endorsing the particular religions. In two ACLU cases decided
in 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that a nativity scene displayed inside
a Pennsylvania county courthouse violated the Establishment Clause, but
that a Hanukkah menorah displayed outside another government building in
the state was acceptable because the "context" of the display was
secular in that it included other, non-religious symbols. The latter
ruling echoed the court's acceptance in a 1984 case, of religious
displays on public property as long as secular symbols like Santa Claus
and his reindeer are part of the display and its overall intent is
secular. The ACLU disagrees with these decisions. We believe that the
place for religious displays, as with religious events and practices, is
in the private sector -- the home, the religious day school, or each
person's place of worship. Moreover, spirituality is undermined and
religious symbols are trivialized when they are secularized in order to
permit government endorsement.
==========================================================

ANNOTATED REFERENCES

(All these documents are available on-line. Access information follows.)

=================
civil-liberty/church-and-state.aclu
=================
* Church and State -- ACLU Briefing Paper #3

Answers these questions:

Were people free to practice their religious beliefs in colonial times?
Does the phrase "separation of church and state" actually appear in
      the constitution?
Our nation was founded by religious individuals, and some
      manifestations of the religious aspects of our history and culture are
      inevitable. So what does separation mean exactly?
Is prayer in public schools constitutional if it is optional?
Can children pray in school at all?
Why can't schools be required by law to teach the biblical theory of
      the earth's origins-- "creationism"--in addition to teaching evolution?
If students can meet on school grounds in extra-curricular political
      or social groups, can't they also meet in religious groups?
Since religious day schools are educating the children of taxpayers,
      can't the government assist those schools?
Religious facilities sometimes house services like daycare and foster
      care for the general public. Is it constitutional for those programs
      to receive government funds?
Why does the ACLU oppose religious displays on public property during
      the Christmas season?
If the government cannot be involved with religion, does that mean the
      clergy cannot speak out on political issues?
Should the Catholic Church lose its tax exempt status because its
      officials are involved in lobbying against abortion and birth control?
Are members of religious "cults" also protected by the Establishment Clause?
Can individuals whose religious beliefs conflict with certain laws
      receive special consideration from government?

=================
=================

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   gopher gopher.eff.org

These document(s) are also available by anonymous ftp (the preferred
method) and by email. To get the file(s) via ftp, do an anonymous ftp
to ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4), and get file(s):

  pub/academic/civil-liberty/church-and-state.aclu

To get the file(s) by email, send email to archive-server@eff.org.
Include the line(s) (be sure to include the space before the file
name):

send acad-freedom/civil-liberty church-and-state.aclu
-- 
Carl Kadie -- I do not represent any organization; this is just me.
 = kadie@cs.uiuc.edu =
Xref: sparky soc.culture.jewish:24020 soc.culture.arabic:5954