Written by Don ByrdWhile we wait to find out if federal courts will find a Ten Commandments display at the Oklahoma Capitol constitutional or not, groups are lining up to include their own monuments alongside it if it is allowed. Most recently a group claiming to represent a “Satanic” church in New York has unveiled its proposed statue.
Meanwhile, in a story that strangely feels related to me, a newly elected New York Town Council member who claims to be a member of the farcical Pastafarian religion, whose deity is the Flying Spaghetti Monster, was sworn in wearing a colander on his head. He called it a “statement of religious freedom.”
Written by Don ByrdOne reason among many to oppose government displays that are overtly religious, even during the holidays, is because the appearance of religious endorsement by the government marginalizes those who don’t share in the beliefs. In recent years, those marginalized citizens have adopted a new tactic, akin to: “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” Adherents of minority faiths and proponents of atheism are asking for equal space to spread their own message alongside the rest.
In Florida, that means a “Festivus” pole (from a holiday celebration invented by writers of the TV show Seinfeld), made of empty beer cans, has joined the Nativity Scene and other religious displays at the state capitol in Tallahassee.
Written by Don ByrdA Ten Commandments monument displayed on the Oklahoma State Capitol Grounds is the subject of a new church-state lawsuit filed by the ACLU. The monument was put in place last year with private funding, following legislation in 2009.
Written by Don ByrdA Ten Commandments monument will stay on the courthouse lawn in West Virginia’s Wyoming County, despite the ACLU’s concern that it violates the separation of church and state. Not to worry, says County Prosecutor Michael Cochrane.
Written by Don ByrdIf you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. That’s the new strategy of a group of atheists who object on church-state grounds to Ten Commandments monuments on public land. The New York Times today profiles the effort, which recently erected its first atheist monument in Starke, Florida.
