Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Religion
Related: About this forumChildren on Christian or Secular swings?
By Martin E. Marty | 3 hours ago
Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley is a grabbing lawsuit name for those of us who do sightings of religion in American public life. It features in a story in The Kansas City Star. The suit has to do with whether children playing on swings and merry-go-rounds on the playground of a Christian day school in Columbia, Missouri, are engaging in religion-related activities, which are protected by law but in this case could present a problem for the American tradition(s) of church-and-state relations. The lookers-on who watch for tough cases on the U.S. Supreme Courts docket predict that this parochial issue, and the Courts decision about it, will have an enduring influence on how government relates to religion.
These little swingers take their place on the regular merry-go-round of Court agendas. One year they, their schools, their practices, and their counterparts nationally are the subjects of decisions which appear to be religious and, on the next go-around, appear to be secular. Picture yourself as a judge who must deal with issues of this sort, as detailed in Rick Montgomerys story in the Star. I myself am a product of parish-related (a term I like better than parochial) education of the Lutheran brand; our own parish, St. Luke Lutheran in Chicago, supports an academy; and I can testify to the quality of education in many such schools as well as to the pervasive influence of faith in the teaching and formation of children. So, whats the problem?
Sightings has dealt with these issues as early as April 17, 2001, when we cited Walter Berns. He was a conservative constitutional scholar who regularly pointed out that a republic like ourswhose Constitution says, in the First Amendment, that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereofmust locate religious institutions as legally subordinate to the state. If not, wed live in a theocracy, however benign it may seem to be. Berns knew that saying things like that did not settle the matter. The Founders, he noted, solved the religion problem by not solving the religious problem, which is why we still have to debate it each year.
The Columbia, Missouri, case involves a Lutheran parishs day school, whose stewards want state-supported funds to pay for a minor but safety-enhancing resurfacing of the schools playground. The American Civil Liberties Union argues, and lower courts have agreed, that subsidizing the upkeep of such a playground violates the canons of separation of church and state, because everything that happens on the schools premises is religious or religion-related. The Alliance Defending Freedom disagrees, and says that play and playground at schools like Trinity Lutheran are not a religious activity and site, even by extension. They are recess-related.
http://religionnews.com/2016/10/25/children-on-christian-or-secular-swings/
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 726 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (3)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Children on Christian or Secular swings? (Original Post)
rug
Oct 2016
OP
Panich52
(5,829 posts)1. Confusion understandable, but it is church property...
I remember playing on Catholic school's playground when we had holiday but they didn't ground was open, no one ever chased us away. That seems the case here. But that could change.
Since it's church property, they could fence it, couldn't they? That would mean upkeep is church responsibility, not taxpayer.
rug
(82,333 posts)2. I think this is one of those cases where litigation is a greater value than common sense.