Perhaps the battle over separati
on of church and state will never end. It’s been going on in the United States for more than 225 years.
As a lifelong student of history, I’ve always thought our beloved Founding Fathers, in crafting the American Constitution, wanted no part of the state recognizing any religion. After all, the colonies had just won independence from England, which was operating under the Anglican Church. Many came to this country to flee that practice.
The thinking of people like Thomas Jefferson was to offer everyone in these new United States the freedom to practice the religion of his or her choice without interference from the government. Jefferson outlined the philosophy of separation of church and state in his “Letter to the Danbury Baptists” and the Constitution, the blueprint of our political system, does not mention God even once.
Obviously, there have been exceptions to government being neutral on religious issues. For example, Americans insisted Mormons give up polygamy in order for Utah to be welcomed into the union.
But the battle between those who want the government to recognize Christianity officially and those who want government to be neutral rages yet today.
Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos has been talking about putting God and prayer back in public schools, as if they had ever left. Yet the “100 Years Ago” part of “Bygone Days” showed there was a weekly Chapel Hour at Wayland schools in 1916.
But there is no law stopping students from saying grace before a meal and praying before a test. The problem arises when someone leads them in prayer.
Public prayer sometimes has been an issue at formal gatherings such as meetings. The Albion Board of Education finally decided on a moment of silence after an epic battle between a Jewish woman and a Southern Baptist w
oman in 1978. State Rep. Michael Callton spearheaded ending prayer altogether before Barry County Board of Commissioners meetings because he is Jewish and felt uncomfortable with the constant use of the phrase, “In Jesus’ name we pray.”
Of all the municipalities I cover, only the Leighton Township Board still begins its meetings with prayer. All others have abandoned the practice.
Most say “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, not understanding that the two words were absent from the original and only added in 1954 by congressional action. Most also don’t understand that “In God We Trust” wasn’t placed on currency until the mid-1950s.
So in some ways, we’ve added official recognition of religion and in others we’ve had it taken away.
The issue still exists in Dorr Township, which had a Nativity scene inside a gazebo at the corner of 142nd Avenue and 18th Street downtown until the property owner terminated the agreement. The township has taken steps to have the gazebo and Nativity reinstated, and as long as it’s on private property I have no objection, nor would the longtime bogeyman, the ACLU.
Not far away, the city of Hastings and Barry County continue to defy critics by placing a nativity on public land, the county courthouse, at public expense every Christmas season. If someone really wanted to get nasty and take them to court, the city and county probably would lose. The ACLU would successfully argue that government cannot officially spend money or have public property used to recognize a religion.
Once again, there would be no problem if a private business had such a display.
That Christmas scene existed all through my 19 years of editorship at the Banner and Reminder and I never complained about it. I didn’t want to end up like Madeline Murray O’Hair and I believed I had enough stress in my life. I had absolutely no interest in waging any kind of “War on Christmas,” no matter how phony it may be.