Via Religion Clause, The Reality Church of Olympia was denied in its effort to include a baptism ceremony in a picnic event to be held in a public park. On the grounds that Washington's State Constitution prohibits the use of public resources for worship service, the state refused the permit request.
Acting [General Administration] director Jane Rushford issued the final decision late Friday afternoon, which came after consultations with lawyers in the Attorney General’s Office and with the Governor’s Office. In a letter to Terry, she did not mention the U.S. Constitutional rights cited by Terry but did quote the state constitution’s first article, saying, “No public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction, or the support of any religious establishment.”
Rushford went on to draw a distinction between speech and the exercise of religion: “A baptism ceremony is a form of religious exercise and worship, and as such it would violate Article 1 Section 11 to authorize the use of state property for this use.”
