Reaffirm faith in First Amendment

Fresno Bee

Posted at 12:00 AM on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010

By Andrew Fiala

http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/02/19/1829121/andrew-fiala-reaffirm-faith-in.html

There is a storm brewing in California's Bible Belt. An instructor at Fresno City College is accused of advocating religion in his classes. A marijuana distributor claims that God wants him to sell marijuana. And the Fresno City Council is accused of violating the Constitution by beginning meetings with prayer. All of this transpired in the same week!

The Central Valley Alliance of Skeptics and Atheists claimed that by beginning its sessions with prayer, the Fresno City Council is "endorsing not only religion over nonreligion, but also Christianity over other faiths."

Council member Larry Westerlund replied that opening public meetings with prayer "is part of the very fabric of our nation."

Meanwhile, when Rick Morse was arrested for running a medical marijuana dispensary, he claimed that he was on a mission from God. And his son Brandon Morse said, "This is not the first time someone has been wrongfully imprisoned for their faith."

Finally, the ACLU claimed that at Fresno City College, and instructor "presented Bible passages as 'empirical' evidence that life begins at conception" and "repeatedly referenced the Bible and used it as a teaching tool." The ACLU argues that while the instructor is "free to talk about his religious beliefs outside of the classroom, Fresno City College has an obligation to protect its students from religious indoctrination and anti-gay bias presented as science or fact."

These three cases remind us that religion is a double (or triple) edged sword. Some view it as central to the fabric of the nation. Others worry that it can be used as cover to disseminate falsehoods in the classroom. Others appeal to religion in defense of alternative medicines and lifestyles. While still others want to keep religion out of public discourse entirely.

This is difficult because religion can be used and interpreted in a variety of ways. Consider -- to cite a more alarming example -- the case of Scott Roeder, who was recently convicted of murdering Kansas abortion doctor, George Tiller.

The doctor was a religious man: He was shot in the head while serving as an usher in his church on Sunday morning. At the same time, Roeder argued that he was doing God's will in carrying out the assassination.

Thank God that the tumult in Fresno has not resulted in violence of this sort. Or perhaps we'd actually better thank the First Amendment.

The First Amendment states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech." This tolerant principle means that we are free to argue about religion without the risk of being killed or imprisoned by a theocratic government.

We should never take this freedom for granted. It has not always been thus. Socrates was killed for his unorthodox religious views. The same is true of Jesus. And the Church silenced Galileo. For most of human history, violence was used to defend orthodox faith. And in some parts of the world, this remains true.

It is true that in Fresno you might get locked up if you think that God wants you to sell marijuana. But you do not thereby forfeit all of your rights; and the government does not have the right to kill you -- as happened to both Socrates and Jesus.

Freedom of religion is a remarkable and fragile development in human history. But freedom is never absolute. It is limited in a variety of ways.

These cases remind us to think carefully about when and how we want to limit freedom. Should religious freedom include the freedom to use and distribute marijuana? Does religious freedom mean that Christian professors should be allowed to profess their point of view in the classroom? And does the City Council impinge upon religious freedom when it appears to advocate a religious point of view in its opening ceremonies?

There are no easy answers here. We need to acknowledge our diversity: It's not going away. And we should aim for as much liberty as we can get. But we also need to recognize that there are limits to liberty. A starting point might be to reaffirm our mutual faith in the First Amendment.