wyndhy,
Thank you. I shall consider your decision to move consideration of the purported religious agenda of the Black Jack City Council towards Mr. Loving and Ms. Shelltrack to the hypothetical as resolution of the original dispute.
I trust you will not take it amiss if I revert to form and use data to substantiate a few details in this post. I'll try to not overdo it.
The tenor of your comments suggests to me that you would find the writings of James Madison appealing. As a staunch separationist, you may find some of his
quotes engaging.
As for legislation with roots in religion, there is much of it, not all of which are bad. Here are examples from the
Koran and the
Bible (verses 13 & 1).
Some contemporary history may call into question some assumptions about what happened when.
The federal government's Defense of Marriage Act affirmed that states are not required to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in another state. Congress passed DOMA in 1996 during the Clinton Administration.
During GWB’s administration, Vermont became the first state in the U.S. to allow same-sex couples the rights and benefits of marriage. Vermont calls them civil unions, rather than marriage. California's State Assembly passed a domestic partnership law to provide similar benefits, but it stops short of homosexual marriage. Massachusetts became the first state in America to legally permit homosexual marriage.
As for the general impression that George W. Bush is unusual in his avowed religious perspectives - a disturbing aberration, why has the hand God played in Woodrow Wilson’s idealism and Harry Truman’s Cold War crusade been so easily forgotten? Surely you are aware of the religious sentiments of Jimmy Carter?
In 1911, a year before he entered the White House, Wilson (the son and grandson of Presbyterian ministers) declared that the U.S. was born a Christian nation “to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture”. He also referred to the “Covenant (a carefully selected biblical word) of the League of Nations”.
After FDR’s death in 1945, Harry Truman took the oath of office on a closed bible, but in his 1949 inauguration, it was opened to the Ten Commandments. Twice, in 1947 and the early 1950s, he enlisted the aid of the Vatican to combat and contain communism. Here is the conclusion of his 1949 inaugural address”… Steadfast in our faith in the Almighty we will advance toward a world where man’s freedom is secure. To that end we will devote our strength, our resources, and our firmness of resolve. With God’s help, the future of mankind will be assured in a world of justice, harmony and peace”.
Who do these statements, and foreign policy initiatives from previous presidents remind you of?
There are three tests employed by Federal judges to measure a law against the Establishment Clause. Chief Justice Burger's 1971 opinion for the Court in
Lemon v. Kurtzman, contains them. These tests are, of course, not inviolate, nor are all always applied.
Religion is not ethnicity. Religion is also not as lethal as the policies realized by Nazi Germany (20 million), the Soviet Union during the late 1930s (8 – 9 million) and the People’s Republic of China (14 million).