The lone voice of “reason” from one of the affected congregation members is in the very last paragraph.  Now that’s a believer I could at least sip tea and chat with.

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The solution to the church’s needs for a meeting space will absolutely be resolved if the congregants simply fast long enough.

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I hope we get to the point soon where our tax payer dollars no longer have to be spent in court to convince the religious that they have to live buy the words of the constitution like everyone else.

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I really don’t get it sometimes.  What is so terrible about religious people keeping religion in their homes, their hearts, and their churches?  Why do they constantly feel that their beliefs must be shared by society, pushed into the public domain?

...and why do they feel they are being attacked when modern society reminds them, quite firmly, that their beliefs need to stay private, not public?

I guess when you are convinced you KNOW the truth, everyone should get on board, whether they believe or not.

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“the Supreme Court ruled that religious organizations must have equal access to public school space for activities like club meetings and religious lessons.”

That seems to me the eminently reasonable and even handed approach to religion by the state. A religious group should have the same rights as any other group - no more, and no less.

I’m periodically appalled at how some posters at Project Reason cheer any injustice as long as it’s directed at the religious.

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dandavis, are you suggesting that this action by the New York courts is an injustice?

I absolutely agree with your comment about a religious group having the same rights as any other group.

In this particular case, it seems to me that religious groups feel they should have special privileges simply BECAUSE they are religious.

Too often lately we see overzealous authorities, worried about litigation, trampling on the rights of our religious citizens, but I don’t see that here.

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It would be cool to see the Christian response to when Muslims want to teach kids their belifs in our public school. How do you think that woud go over?

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JCarr, yes it looks like an injustice to me, particularly the appeals court decision banning after hours worship services in school facilities.

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Dandavis, I’d have to agree with you there.  That shouldn’t be any different from a chess club or atheist group using the facilities for after hours activities.

It is a fine line to walk, however.  Too much, and it is an endorsement for a religion.  Too little, and it can be seen as an injustice and an attack on a religion.

It might be simpler for religious groups to just use facilities that have no governmental or public affiliation.  The religious can engage in their activities to their heart’s content, and the nonreligious don’t have to worry about the possibility of government-sponsored religious activity.

Obviously not a perfect solution, but that’s the nature of compromise…no one is completely happy with the resolution.

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There’s no injustice in declining to permit a church to be conducted in a public school.  How exactly can you make an argument that such a practice is faithful to a separation of church and state?

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Separation of Church and State should not mean that religious people have less right to use public facilities. The criteria for use should be content neutral.

If the Harry Potter Fan Club can sign up for the room, the Presbyterians should be able to as well.

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Nope.  Religion is special.  That’s why it’s separation of church and state and not separation of fiction and state.

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Church services should be held in a church, not a school. If the school has a prayer warriors club or footballers for christ club, those clubs have the same access to school facilities as any other. That is not what this decision is about, though. These are congregations using school facilities for their services because the tightwads don’t want to shoot the lock off of their wallets and build a church for their church. Saying that a church can not conduct its business in a school building is no more unreasonable than saying that Walmart can not set up shop and sell cheap shoes in the school for a couple of hours a week. You could actually make a better case for Walmart than you could for a church, since there is no constitutional prohibition on establishing business. There is no wall of separation Walmart and state.

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