“It’s entirely possible that the commissioner wishes to become a public martyr of sorts for Christianity, a celebrity upon whom religious sympathizers can bestow admiration and encouragement,” wrote Monica Miller, a lawyer at the American Humanist Association who represents the plaintiffs in their pending suit against the board over the prayers…. “If that’s the case, and if she therefore ignores both the court and this warning,” Miller said, “she will no doubt get her wish.”
This isn’t a story about religious persecution. It IS a story about the appropriateness (or lack of same) of expressing one’s religious beliefs in a secular forum where people of many faiths come together. No one is advocating that Robin Frazier be denied her Constitutional right to her clearly hyper-Christian beliefs. Far from it.
This is about Frazier’s belief that she has the absolute right to express her religious beliefs in her role as an elected public official. In such a role, she represents those of many faiths, including many who no doubt profess to follow no faith tradition. By insisting on her “right” to pray publicly prior to public meetings, Frazier is essentially forcing her beliefs upon her constituents. Christians may have no problem with Frazier’s prayers, but they should recognize the legal reality that American governance is officially secular. Those who follow different (or no) faith traditions would certainly be within their rights to take offense at Frazier’s arrogant display of religiosity in a public forum.
Despite Frazier’s insistence on her “rights,” she would do well to remember the very basic and very American tenet of separation of Church and State. As decreed by the Founding Fathers, America is NOT a Christian nation. It’s a secular nation in which an 80% majority self-identify as Christian. That’s a significant- and not very subtle- distinction. American governance is secular, and the Treaty of Tripoli- approved by the Senate in 1797- confirms this:
As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
The Treaty of Tripoli represents the U.S. Government confirming that the American system of governance is neither founded nor predicated upon Christianity. This means the same rights accrue to an American regardless of whatever their religious beliefs and/or practices may (or may not) be. The alternative would mean being a very short step away from being a theocracy…which seems to be what Frazier would prefer to represent.
A day after a federal judge barred Carroll County commissioners from invoking Jesus Christ in their pre-meeting prayers, Commissioner Robin B. Frazier did just that — twice — saying she was willing to go to jail for her beliefs.
“That is an infringement on my First Amendment rights of free speech, and I think it is a wrong ruling,” said Frazier, before starting a prayer that included the line, “Let thy blessings guide this day and forever, through Jesus Christ.”
Frazier has no cause or reason to feel persecuted, and being willing to go to jail for her beliefs is as arrogant as it is absurd. No one has proposed that she be denied her right to believe as she sees fit. What she fails (or refuses) to understand is that her position as an elected public official means that she represents ALL of her constituents, some of which don’t share her religious beliefs and may well feel excluded by her very public insistence on her “right” to pray.
There’s an appropriate time and place for one to give voice to their religious beliefs. A public meeting of an organ of government is neither. Despite Frazier’s feeble claim, there is no 1st Amendment right to pray during a governmental function. If she’s going to stand up for what she feels are her rights, she’d be well-advised to reacquaint herself with the secular nature of American governance.
The Founding Fathers understood that the admixture of religion and government to be a recipe for disaster. History has certainly borne that out. Would that Robin Frazier possessed (or at least recognized and understood) the wisdom behind the separation of Church and State. If she’s willing (and/or stupid enough) to go to jail in some sort of misguided attempt at martyrdom, then let her. Perhaps while she’s behind bars she could read up on the true nature of American governance.
