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Michigan mayor bans atheist City Hall display to not upset Christian ‘Prayer Station’
A Michigan mayor who says that he believes in freedom of religion has refused to allow atheists to set up a so-called “Reason Station” inside City Hall, saying it could upset Christians visiting the nearby “Prayer Station.”
According to the Detroit Free Press, Warren resident Douglas Marshall proposed the “Reason Station” to promote separation of church and state, and to tell people about using free thought, reason and logic.
But Warren Mayor Jim Fouts rejected the display for a period of one year because of Marshall’s affiliation with a group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation. In a letter to Marshall, Fouts explained that the Freedom From Religion Foundation was not protected under the First Amendment’s Establishment clause because atheism was not a religion.
...
“I do view this a violation of my free speech rights,” Marshall noted. “It seems to me that the mayor allows free speech in the atrium as long as he agrees with the speech… If he doesn’t, he denies speech he doesn’t agree with in the atrium.”
WJBK reported that the city of Warren has approved the “Prayer Station,” a Ramadan Display, a Nativity scene and a Day of Prayer — but nothing for atheists.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/17/michigan-mayor-bans-atheist-city-hall-display-to-not-upset-christian-prayer-station/
According to the Detroit Free Press, Warren resident Douglas Marshall proposed the “Reason Station” to promote separation of church and state, and to tell people about using free thought, reason and logic.
But Warren Mayor Jim Fouts rejected the display for a period of one year because of Marshall’s affiliation with a group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation. In a letter to Marshall, Fouts explained that the Freedom From Religion Foundation was not protected under the First Amendment’s Establishment clause because atheism was not a religion.
...
“I do view this a violation of my free speech rights,” Marshall noted. “It seems to me that the mayor allows free speech in the atrium as long as he agrees with the speech… If he doesn’t, he denies speech he doesn’t agree with in the atrium.”
WJBK reported that the city of Warren has approved the “Prayer Station,” a Ramadan Display, a Nativity scene and a Day of Prayer — but nothing for atheists.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/17/michigan-mayor-bans-atheist-city-hall-display-to-not-upset-christian-prayer-station/
8 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Don't they have church for that?
