I’m completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.
- George Carlin
In most of America, the separation of Church and State is accepted as part of the Constitution and therefore something worthy of respect and obedience. After all, many Americans understand and accept that this country was founded by those fleeing religious tyranny and persection in their native England. Sadly, those who don’t get it prove time and again that those who don’t know history really ARE condemned to repeat it.
In Texas, Christianity is more than merely a religion. It’s a ticket to (and a prerequisite for) a role in public life. It’s actually illegal for an atheist to hold public office in the Lone Star State. The patently unconstitutional nature of such a law is hardly a matter of concern for most folks in God’s Country (and if Texas is “God’s Country,” He/She is a truly spiteful, mean-spirited Deity with a wicked sense of humor). Anyone wishing to run for elected office in Texas must be prepared to loudly and frequently proclaim their devotion to Jesus Christ…or at least the nativist, racist, homophobic flavor Texans prefer.
The separation of Church and State is collectively viewed by Texas’ good, God-fearing Christian patriots to be a plot to destroy America fomented by losers and Liberals. Even the state’s public edumication system revolves around the idea that public schools should be taxpayer-funded subsidiaries of Christian churches (As any REAL Texan can tell you, the 2nd Amendment was handed down to Man by God His Own Self).
In places like Washington state, the respect for the separation of Church and State means that football coaches can’t organize public prayers on football fields after games. In Texas, Football Jesus is an honored and revered part of One Star State culture. This is a Christian nation, so OF COURSE their should be public displays of prayer ad hyper-religiosity before, during, and after high school football games. It’s what Christians do, amiright??
Back in 2012 the cheerleaders at Kountze ISD filed suit to be able to put Bible verses on run-through banners at football games. The cheerleaders ultimately emerged victorious when the district changed its policy to allow the banners and the case was dismissed.
However, the matter is now before the State Supreme Court because the revised policy effectively allows the district to control what the banners say and disassociates the cheerleaders from their personal expressions of faith. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has a problem with that.
“Let’s not forget that our country was founded on the very concept of religious freedom,” Paxton offers in his brief filed late last month. “When our fundamental rights are threatened, we have an obligation to defend them - and I stand with the students and parents at Kountze High School who are committed to move forward in this important fight.”
A reasonable person possessed of even the barest shred of knowledge regarding the Constitution would understand how patently absurd Paxton’s position is. The Kountze High School case isn’t about fundamental rights; it’s about a taxpayer-funded educational institution advancing the interests of the majority religion. If you even for a moment believe the same courtesy would be afforded to Buddhists, Hindus, or Satanists, ad infinitum, ad nauseum…well, you live in a fantasy world of your own creation, amigo. Hopefully, the voices in your head know your name by now.
“This important fight,” as Paxton refers to it, has nothing to do with religious freedom. It’s about taxpayer resources being used to proselytize…a more clear violation of the separation of Church and State would be hard to find. Public schools are taxpayer-funded institutions, NOT wholly-owned subsidiaries of Christian churches. The mission of public schools is to educate children and prepare them to succeed as adults in an increasingly competitive world. It’s not to assist in creating the next generation of reliable, obedient, and reflexively Conservative Christian soldiers.
If you want your children to be indoctrinated, you’re free to send them to private schools that will fill their brains with whatever manner of hyper-religious intolerance suits your prejudice. Professing the majority religion doesn’t mean having the right to use tax dollars to force those beliefs upon all- including those who happen not to believe as you do.
Despite what former Texas Pastor/Governor Rick Perry once said, freedom OF religion absolutely means freedom FROM religion…and that freedom starts in our public schools. No one is telling cheerleaders, players, students, faculty, and/or staff they can’t pray. What the separation of Church and State IS telling them is that they cannot engage in religious activities on public school property. If they want to pray, they’re certainly free to do so- as long as it’s done off school grounds.
Let’s not forget that what Attorney General Paxton calls “religious freedom” applies equally to ALL- not just Christians. The “important fight” he should be fighting as Attorney General is for the rights of ALL to appropriately practice their religion (or not) in a manner that conforms to the Constitutional separation of Church and State. Or does he really only care about the Constitution insofar as it can be used to further his political ambitions?
As if I even need to answer that question….
