AUSTIN - Gov. Greg Abbott, continuing his plunge into a range of religious debates, is backing the display of crosses on sheriff’s department vehicles in a West Texas county. In this instance, Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson has allowed his deputies to put the outline of a small cross on their patrol vehicles’ rear windows, according to the district attorney for the area including the county. The sheriff’s move was criticized by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Its attorney, Sam Grover, called it “inappropriate and unconstitutional for a government entity to display a Latin cross on its property because it conveys a preference by the Sheriff’s Office—and by extension, Brewster County—for religion over nonreligion and Christianity over all minority faiths.”…. The governor, who had supported the “In God We Trust” motto, also backs the crosses in Brewster County, said Abbott spokesman John Wittman…. “The Constitution demands respect for religious expression rather than hostility towards it and Governor Abbott fully supports Sheriff Dodson’s decision to allow his deputies to display the Cross on their patrol vehicles,” Wittman said by email
OK, so I realize this is Texas we’re talking about, where everything is bigger and more self-righteously hyper-Christian. And we all know that Gov. Greg Abbott has never met an opportunity to pander to the Texas Taliban that he’d willingly pass up.
I’ve written many a time about the critical importance of the separation of Church and State, which is once again under siege from the Rabid Religious Right. This country was founded by those who firmly believed in the importance of secular governance, understanding their forebears fled religious tyranny in their native England. You’d think that those responsible for said governance would recognize that mixing religion and politics is a recipe for the very sort of tyranny people like Gov. Abbott purport to live in mortal fear of. Yet there he is, weighing in on a clear-cut example of abrogating the separation of Church and State.
Christian crosses on sheriff’s department vehicles may not seem like a big deal…if you’re a committed Christian. But what if you’re not? What if you happen to follow a different faith tradition…or consider yourself good without God? A reasonable person might look at the crosses and see them as an official endorsement of the majority religion…which it absolutely is. It might also leave one believing government is endorsing Christianity, thus making their faith makes “less than” and them less worthy of equal protection under the rule of law.
As someone who considers themselves good without God, I view Christian crosses on law enforcement vehicles- or any other officially sanctioned religious imagery- as a very clear unmistakable message affording preferential treatment to those who follow the majority religion. That may not be the reality, but government has a responsibility to represent and protect ALL citizens. Sending a message that might indicate some to be more equal than others is not safeguarding freedom; it’s telling non-Christians that in the eyes of government they’re “less than.”
District Attorney Rod Ponton in December asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for his legal opinion on whether “the mere display of a cross” on a patrol vehicle “violates the First Amendment.”
The sheriff’s office “responds to all issues, calls, and citizens without regard to religion or belief,” Ponton emphasized.
Paxton earlier issued a legal opinion supporting the Childress Police Department’s display of “In God We Trust” on its patrol vehicles, saying the department would prevail in a court battle on the issue.
Ponton can certainly argue that the sheriff’s department “responds to all issues, calls, and citizens without regard to religion or belief,” and that may well be true, but what about the message sent to those citizens of Brewster County who aren’t Christians? What about the separation of Church and State and the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment? What about the Treaty of Tripoli and Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists, which make it clear that America is NOT a Christian nation?
Being committed to the majority religion doesn’t mean having the authority to install your God as everyone’s government. While Christian crosses may not (yet) represent the combination of God and government, it’s the first step down a very slippery slope. Imagine the hue and cry that would undoubtedly result from a local mosque asking that a Muslim symbol also be put on patrol cars. The wailing and gnashing of teeth would resonate far and wide…yet the installation of Christian cross is deemed perfectly acceptable?
The Freedom from Religion Foundation is spot on. Religious symbols have no place in governance that’s officially secular, if for no other reason than they can be interpreted as official preference for those who profess the majority religion. Government represents ALL citizens; how can a non-Christian not feel slighted by what could only be interpreted as official endorsement of the majority religion? Gov. Abbott, as a former Texas Attorney General, and Ken Paxton, the current A.G., should be ashamed of themselves for ignoring the clear violation of the Constitution represented by the crosses in a shameless attempt to ponder to the Texas Taliban.
Texans- ALL Texans- deserve better. America deserves better than to be incrementally turned into a Conservative Christian theocracy. If that isn’t a recipe for tyranny, I have no idea what would be.
