Interesting perspective..."The First Amendment does not say that in every and all respects there shall be a separation of Church and State. Rather, it studiously defines the manner, the specific ways, in which there shall be no concert or union or dependency one on the other. That is the common sense on the matter. Otherwise the state and religion would be aliens to each other--hostile, suspicious, and even unfriendly. Municipalities would not be permitted to render police or fire protection to religious groups. Policemen who helped parishioners into their places of worship would violate the Constitution. Prayers in our legislative halls; the appeals to the Almighty in the messages of the Chief Executive; the proclamation making Thanksgiving Day a holiday; "so help me God" in our court room oaths--these and all other references to the Almighty that run through our laws, our public rituals, our ceremonies, would be flouting the First Amendment. A fastidious atheist or agnostic could even object to the supplication with which the court opens each session: "God save the United States and this Honorable Court--Justice William O. Douglas; Zorach vs Clausen (343 U.S. 306) an atheist, and anti religious Justice-1952."
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 23:59:53 +0000
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