(August 28, 2010 at 4:06 pm)AngryBiker Wrote: Atheists, and the un-American Criminal Liberties Union in particular, seem to spend a great deal of time and energy fighting things like recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and public prayer.Justice David Souter concluded that "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion." in the 1994 Supreme Court Case Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet.
Will somebody please tell me where in the Constitution it states that there shall be freedom FROM religion? I don't get it. The Constitution simply states that Congress shall establish no State religion.
Source: Board_of_Education_of_Kiryas_Joel_Village_School_District_v._Grumet
The Pledge of Allegiance mentioning God is a violation since it contains a religious concept over a non-religious one (and by the way, the original pledge wasn't a violation...Congress added "under God" in the 50s). Public prayer (as in prayer at official public meetings) is a violation since it promotes one religion over another (as well as over irreligion).
The constitution has to be interpreted, and the Supreme Court has interpreted it to mean that not only can Congress establish a state religion, but that the government cannot hold one religion over another, or religion in general over irreligion.
If atheists and the ACLU were actually trying to impose their beliefs on others, we wouldn't be getting rid of religious prayers; we'd be forcing people to use our own. We aren't asking people to pledge allegiance to "science, reason, & skepticism", and we aren't asking schools to teach that God doesn't exist. All we are asking is for public offices to keep out of the "God" debate; and that applies to atheists just as much as it does to the religious.
