Can a cathedral be a secular hall?
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- November
- 18
Is it okay for public schools to rent out a big Christian church for commencement ceremonies?
The ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State don’t think so.
They’ve asked the Enfield (Conn.) public schools to stop holding graduation at The First Cathedral in Bloomfield, Conn. (north of Hartford), a 120,000-square-foot church that “is steeped in Christian symbols and iconography,” according to an ACLU release.
The ALCU has also reached out to four other public high schools in Connecticut that rent out the First Cathedral: East Hartford High School, South Windsor High School, Windsor High School and the Metropolitan Learning Center Magnet School.
Many high schools have trouble finding facilities large enough for their graduations. These days, many schools limited the number of relatives each student can bring.
So it’s understandable that the First Cathedral is in demand. The church’s website has a whole page on renting the place.
So what’s the ALCU’s beef?
Daniel Mach, Director of Litigation at the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, says: “In our constitutional system, public schools should not be in the business of embracing particular faiths or religious viewpoints. The graduation ceremony is a significant event in the lives of students and their families, and no one should feel like a second-class participant during this important celebration.”
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 1:50 pm by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
Then what happens when the Pope or another religious figure uses Yankee Stadium for a Mass? Is that inappropriate use of a secular venue?
This typifies what is wrong with America today. How the ACLU makes the jump from a high school having a graduation ceremony in a hall beig enough to accomodate them as “embracing a faith” is absolutely insane. Apparently the representative from the ACLU does not have a good command of English. To embrace something means to adopt it. How being in a buidling that is a Church leads one to the conclusion that you have adopted that religion is in my plain English assinine!