Americans United and the Left...
What They Say vs. What they Mean on Separation of Church and State
(CHART #3)


What they say:

   _No Government Aid to Religion_

What it means:

   This has been the primary vehicle used by AU and the Left for the
creation and sustaining of a virtual monopoly in government education.
Parental choice in education is viewed as "government aid to religion"
and therefore unconstitutional.

   According to AU and the Left, "government aid to religion" is
unconstitutional because it represents a "government establishment of
religion." Such "government aid" includes:

   a. vouchers
   b. tuition tax credits
   c. tax deductions for tuition cost

   By AU's definition, "government aid to religion" includes both direct
and indirect forms. Therefore, if a parent chooses to opt out of public
education on religious grounds and is allowed even a tax deduction for
tuition cost (though the parent receives the tax deduction), this
constitutes "government aid to religion" " the religious school
indirectly benefits because parents are financially enabled to opt out
of public schools. Thus, by defining educational choice programs as
"government aid to religion," and then declaring such "aid" to be
unconstitutional, the end result has been the creation of a virtual
government monopoly in education via economics.

What they say:

   _No Government Endorsement of Religion_

What it means:

   Under this tenet of church/state separation, government must hold to
a position of strict "religious neutrality." Into all areas where
government expands, the church must retreat.

   The primary purpose and effect of this tenet has been to secularize the
educational philosophy of the government schools, eliminating all
acknowledgments of God and all "religious" based teachings.

   This tenet has also worked to keep nativity scenes and other religious
symbols off public (government) property.

   "Religious pluralism" has been the Left's justification for their
efforts to eradicate all traces of Christian influence from American
public life.

What they say:

   _No Religious Coercion by Government_

What it means:

   Because the public schools are state-owned and operated, and because
students are "compelled" to attend, the educational philosophy of the
government schools must be secular or "religiously neutral." Displaying
the Ten Commandments in the classroom, teaching creation as an
explanation of origins and teaching biblically-based moral values all
represent religious coercion and the "indoctrination" of "impressionable
young minds."

   Religious views and values cannot be "coerced" through education nor
legislation. According to AU and the Left, laws against abortion and
sodomy are examples of "government establishments of religion,"
establishing as law the religious views of some while prohibiting by law
the "free exercise" of other's "deeply held religious beliefs." This is
considered by the Left to be "religious coercion" and "religious
tyranny" because it is a direct assault on "freedom of conscience" and
"freedom of expression."

From: St. Louis MetroVoice, May 1995, Vol. 5, No. 5.