wfn.org | Churches Oppose Amendment on School Prayer

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

CONTACT:  Joretta Purdue, Washington, D.C. (202) 546-8722	  March
5, 1998	{132} 
 
Religious leaders voice objections
to proposed amendment on prayer

	WASHINGTON (UMNS) -- State-sponsored school prayer was opposed
in statements issued here by United Methodist and National Council of
Churches executives.
The written statements were distributed March 3. The next day, the House
Judiciary Committee approved the so-called Religious Freedom Amendment
to the Constitution by a 16-11 vote. The amendment now goes to the full
House of Representatives for a vote.
School prayer is one key area addressed by the amendment. Critics fear
the measure also could have broader implications, including blurring the
lines separating church and state.
The United Methodist Board of Church and Society strongly opposes
constitutional amendments that would promote state-sponsored school
prayer, said the Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett, general secretary of the
board.
	"At best, this amendment is unnecessary as it calls for
religious liberties that are already clearly part of our everyday
lives," Fassett said. "At worse, this resolution threatens the very
religious liberties it proposes to strengthen."
	Speaking for the NCC, of which the United Methodist Church is a
member, the Rev. Oliver Thomas, special counsel for religious and civil
liberties, asked Congress to leave the First Amendment alone.
	"The truth, of course, is that students already can pray --
vocally or silently, alone or in groups -- as long as they do not
disrupt the classroom or infringe upon the rights of others," he said.
"They may read their Bibles, form religious clubs, express religious
viewpoints and even share their faith as long as they do not harass or
intimidate their classmates."
	"Forcing state-controlled prayer into the public schools
violates the rights of children whose families are practicing members of
minority religions," Fassett said, "and it is in clear opposition to the
Social Principles of the United Methodist Church."
	He quoted those principles saying, "The state should not use its
authority to promote particular religious beliefs (including atheism)
nor should it require prayer or worship in the public schools, but it
should leave students free to practice their own religious convictions."
	Thomas asserted that the proposed legislation has a financial
side as well.
	"If it is passed," he said, "Bob Jones University (a Bible
college in Greenville, S.C.) would be entitled to the same public
funding as the University of South Carolina; Jerry Falwell's 'Old Time
Gospel Hour' to the same tax support as National Public Radio."
	Thomas maintained that most religious bodies are against the
amendment proposed by U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla. -- including
Istook's own affiliation, the Mormon Church. 
	Fassett urged that "this misplaced fervor in the name of school
prayer" not be allowed to distract from the work of feeding the hungry,
clothing the naked, housing the homeless, caring for the sick and
freeing the oppressed.
	A statement from Istook, issued after the committee approved the
resolution on March 4, declared, "It very explicitly does not permit
government establishment of religion."
He further said, "The proposed amendment also will force the courts to
stop misusing the language in the First Amendment, thus ignoring
American's religious freedoms."
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