Virginia's List of "Approved" Religions

Government involvement in religion leads to favoritism - the government expressing the idea that some religions are "better" than others. That's something which the separation of church and state is supposed to prevent, but conservative and evangelicals simply don't see it. Currently, officials in Chesterfield County, Virginia, have created a list of officially approved religions which may issue prayers - anyone not on the list need not apply. Where will all of this go?

Charles Haynes writes in an editorial on First Amendment Center:

The day a court orders Chesterfield County to add a Wiccan priestess to the prayer list will be the last day of prayer at a board meeting. The moment tax dollars are sent to a drug-abuse program run by an unpopular religious group, public outcry will push Congress to put more safeguards on “charitable choice” initiatives. And when the Ten Commandments in the courthouse are surrounded by other scriptures or statements from humanists and atheists, we’ll hear a clamor to get the state out of the religion business.

Conservative and evangelical Christians have demonstrated quite clearly that they are staunch supporters of the separation of church and state when their religious beliefs do not receive favored government status. If other religions are treated equally, they no longer want taxpayer dollars to be spent on religion. When they can't have the advantage, they suddenly want the government to be neutral.

Read More:

• Secularism 101
• Separation of Church and State 101