Ten Commandments, With a Twist

When local governments try to get around the requirement not to endorse or support any particular religions, the consequences can go far beyond what they intended. First they decided to sell off the land under displays like Ten Commandments monuments or crosses, despite the fact that the surrounding land remained public. This was supposed to allow the government to avoid responsibility for the display. Then governments started talking about selling land specifically so that groups could erect religious displays - a logical extension of the above. Now they are faced with unsavory groups who want the same privilege - and they can't say "no."

The South Idaho Press reports:

The [Westboro Baptist Church, of Topeka, Kansas] wants to purchase a three-foot by four-foot section of the courthouse and place a six-foot granite monument with a bronze plaque inscribed with a picture of the late Matthew Shepard: "Matthew Shepard, entered hell October 12, 1998 at age 21, in defiance of god's solemn warning: 'Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.'"

When commissioner Dan Stapelman heard about the Baptist Church request he was not surprised. "Monday I said that if we make a decision to go with one, we will have to make a decision for every group weird or otherwise that ask for a spot on the court house," he said. Stapelman does not believe it is legal to sell any part of the courthouse lawn. "If it were and we started selling 3x4 foot spots, we would soon have it filled with a menagerie of monuments with all kinds of beliefisims," he said.

Stapleman is right - once you start, you can't arbitrarily stop without discriminating against certain religious beliefs. That, however, is something that they cannot do - regardless of how unpleasant those beliefs might be. Just as they cannot restrict public demonstrations because of the content of the message, they can't choose to sell land to some groups but not others because of the content of the message that the group wants to promote on that land.

Let's be honest here: selling the land in all these cases is an attempt by local government to ensure that there remains a prominent, public display of a religious message without technically violating the law. The purpose is to make sure that there is a government context to the message, otherwise the display would be moved to private land (like a church lawn) which is just as prominent in the community. Now, however, those governments are facing the consequences of their deceptive choices. Good for them.

Read More:

• Separation of Church and State 101
• Religious Right
• Christian Extremism