[quote author="skek" date=1226735222]I actually think that's where we are. Abortion is legal, with some limited restrictions that vary state by state. Yet, that's the most important issue -- literally a life or death issue -- to many/most religious conservatives.</blockquote>
As is the death penalty. If one were to follow Catholic theology, there would be no abortion, no birth control, and no death penalty. And yet the strict Catholics join in with the conservative Protestants for political purposes. You know what they say about politics and bedfellows.
<blockquote>Not only that, but as a fairly religious society, we've actually permitted the systematic removal of nearly any religious reference or concept from the public sphere -- for example, the generic reference to "God" in the pledge of allegiance. I think we've gone too far in that direction, but reasonable minds can disagree.</blockquote>
Quick history lesson. There was no reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance originally. It was only placed there when the Knights of Columbus lobbied for it in or around 1956. So that was actually a successful affirmative effort to put God into the public sphere.
My favorite recent story is the city in South Carolina that opened up each of its city council meetings with a prayer by a local pastor or citizen, each of whom would apply to give the prayer. Well, a local Wiccan woman applied and (you see this coming, right?) was turned down. Um, yeah, so much for the day to day effectiveness of the anti-establishment clause.
(If my Google-fu is good today, I'll post the link.)
<strong>Edit:</strong> Ah, my recitation of the facts was off. Here you go (and a<a href="http://pacer.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinion.pdf/032069.P.pdf"> link to the oh so liberal 4th Circuit's* opinion finding in favor of the Wiccan</a>):
<blockquote>First, the court found that "Town Council meetings always open with prayer," that the Mayor and all Council Members are Christian, and that Council Member John Broom "often" leads the prayer. The court further found that this prayer "frequently refers to Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ or Savior in the opening or closing portion" of the prayer.
. . .
During the prayers, the court found that "citizens attending the meetings customarily stand and bow their heads." The record also contains uncontroverted evidence that residents of the Town participated in the prayers by saying "amen" at the end.
Wiccan faith (an earth-based religion reconstructed from ancient Pagan beliefs), has regularly attended Council meetings since 1999. At trial, the Town Council conceded that Wynne "had a legitimate purpose for attending" these meetings "unrelated to her religion."
. . .
Finally, at a Council meeting in late 2000, Wynne objected to the Town Council?s practice of referring to "Jesus," "Christ," or "Jesus Christ" in its prayers. As an alternative, she "proposed that the prayer?s references be limited to ?God?" or, instead, "that members of different religions be invited to give prayers." The district court found that Mayor Starnes responded at the meeting "to the effect that: ?This is the way we?ve always done things and we?re not going to change.?"
Prior to the next Council meeting in February 2001, Council Member Barbara Hilton posted a message on the Town?s website addressing Wynne?s "request of alternative prayer," stating that she felt "it was imperative that we act[ ] quickly and decisively to Ms. Wynne?s request" at the next meeting, and urging the Town?s citizens to "call your council members and mayor with your opinions on this." Subsequently, several Christian ministers drafted letter resolutions on behalf of their members expressing support for continuance of a "Christian" prayer at Council meetings and "opposition to allowing an alternative prayer to a professed ?witch,?" and numerous citizens signed a petition urging the Council to "not stop praying to our God in heaven!" At the February meeting, the church ministers and members presented the letters and petitions to the Town Council. Many church members and ministers attended that meeting ? the record indicates that about 100 citizens were in attendance, as opposed to the usual "five or six," ? and "hallelujahs," as well as "amens," were heard from the citizens following Broom?s delivery of the Christian prayer. Wynne again asked for an "alternative" nonsectarian prayer, and the Town Council again refused her request, announcing that it would adhere to its customary prayer.
Wynne continued to attend Town Council meetings but, she testified, "it began to get hard." When she refused to stand during the Christian invocation, she heard a voice, which she believed was Councilman Broom?s, state, "Well, I guess some people aren?t going
to participate." Her fellow citizens then told Wynne she "wasn?t wanted," and that she "should leave town"; they accused her of being a "Satanist," and threatened that she "could possibly be burned out." Wynne felt "very, very uncomfortable" and "a little scar[ed]."
Moreover, the district court found that Wynne?s "efforts to participate in Town Council?s meetings as a member of the public [were] adversely affected by her refusal to accept the Christian prayer tradition." At one Council meeting, the Council would not permit Wynne to participate after arriving a few minutes late to avoid the prayer, even though "she had signed up to speak at the meeting, and was listed on the agenda." More generally, Wynne testified that the Council limited her allotted speaking time, "ostracized" her, and "treated [her] differently" than other members of the community. She explained that she did not believe the Mayor took her seriously, and that he attempted to intimidate her. </blockquote>
*For those that don't know, that's a joke. The 4th Circuit is generally considered to be the most conservative/right circuit in the nation.
