Friday, December 7, 2007

Religious Oppression in the US

In some public institutions (meaning, funded by taxpayers), there is great fear of lawsuits brought by the ACLU. If the ACLU wins, the institution sued must pay their legal expenses, but conversely, if the ACLU loses, they are not tapped for the expenses incurred by fighting their suits. This has led to policies that either prohibit, restrict, or denigrate the display of any sort of outward sign of Christianity in the workplace. The ACLU argument is that this violates the Establishment clause of the First Amendment, which reads "Congress shall make no law regarding the establishment of religion..."

Sooner or later, though, the tables WILL get turned, as the St. Thomas More Law Center, the Institute for Justice, or some Protestant or Evangelical public interest law firm, files suit on behalf of a believer, using the Free Exercise clause. It follows the Establishment clause: "...or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

I'm just waiting to see who does it first. But if the suit is brought to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, my bet would be on the judge dismissing it with prejudice.

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