C'mon, it's a history lesson
I hope the Neptune Township Committee doesn't waste more time in its discussion of whether the township is allowed to provide funding toward the Black History Month celebration because its theme is "African-American Contributions to Praise and Worship."
It seems a committeewoman was concerned that allowing public money to fund anything with "worship" in the title would be stepping over the boundaries of separation of church and state. C'mon. It's not like they're espousing a particular religion, or planning services or prayer sessions. It's a lesson in history.
Do we exclude references to religion when we teach about the Crusades? Do we cut out the religious base of the Pilgrims in U.S. History class? Do we ignore the Spanish Inquisition? (Although that always reminds me more of the Mel Brooks version in "History of the World Part I.")
The committee should simply consider it part of our country's history. As in Black History Month. I think it's a perfectly appropriate theme.
It seems a committeewoman was concerned that allowing public money to fund anything with "worship" in the title would be stepping over the boundaries of separation of church and state. C'mon. It's not like they're espousing a particular religion, or planning services or prayer sessions. It's a lesson in history.
Do we exclude references to religion when we teach about the Crusades? Do we cut out the religious base of the Pilgrims in U.S. History class? Do we ignore the Spanish Inquisition? (Although that always reminds me more of the Mel Brooks version in "History of the World Part I.")
The committee should simply consider it part of our country's history. As in Black History Month. I think it's a perfectly appropriate theme.
1 Comments:
The First Amendment prohibits Congress (or the States) from establishing a religion. The words "separation of church and state" do not appear anywhere in the Constitution.
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