3052 Church-State Relations: The Next Generation

Barry Lynn, Executive Director, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (biography )
The Rev. Tom Goldsmith, First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City

John Hurley, Director of Information and Public Witness, UUA, said that it was a particular “personal honor” to introduce these two speakers. Hurley introduced Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (biography ), by noting that Lynn’s June column in the publication “Church and State” in June addressed an important issue: the use by the religious right of lawsuits to bring the U.S. closer to their dream of a theocracy. Lynn, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ who Hurley said is often “accused of being a Unitarian Universalist.” Hurley then introduced the second speaker, the Rev. Tom Goldsmith, minister of First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City, which with the ACLU has used a lawsuit to try to open a street in Salt Lake City to free speech – with a recent development in the case.

Goldsmith began by saying that his church’s mission was clear: it includes keeping religious freedom in Salt Lake City, “the only official theocracy in America.” Mormonism, he continued, is not just a religion but a cultural tour de force. As a result of the UU church’s lawsuit, he continued, “we have become a household word that engenders either hate or relief.” Protestors recently attempted to shout down a Sunday service – until the youth group took hot chocolate out to them and tried to engage them in conversation.

The basics of the case are that the city sold the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormon Church) a downtown square on Main Street that connects commercial and residential neighborhoods. The church converted it to a plaza under church control, limiting speech, proselytizing, and literature distribution to that approved by the church.

First Unitarian filed a lawsuit in response, on the basis of violation of the 1st and 14th Amendments, preferring one religion over another, blurring the separation of civil and religious power, and giving the impression of endorsing one religion over another. The Mormon Church, however, instead of the city, became defendants. Goldsmith said, “It makes you want to reach for a slingshot.” In Utah, Goldsmith continued, “democracy has been denied oxygen to survive.” The Mormon Church, he said, has as a goal that all affairs should be under the direction of religious leaders – including civic affairs.

Soon after the ACLU discovered that the city had retained an easement on the property that was sold, and thus the 1st Amendment applied, First Unitarian voted unanimously to become plaintiffs in a lawsuit if a free speech arose. And soon a case did arise – when a student was escorted from the square by Mormon security guards for wearing a t-shirt that said “I am for 10% beer and 3.2% tithing.”

The first court decision, which found for First Unitarian’s position, was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Mormon Church, which then also began a public relations campaign depicting themselves as a persecuted people, which, according to Goldsmith, divided the city in bitterness.

Earlier in June, the non-Mormon mayor of Salt Lake City relinquished the easement in exchange for two acres of land in an impoverished section of town, and this exchange was approved by the city council. Goldsmith said, “The Mormon Church always gets what it wants.” Later in June, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear the appeal, and let stand the decision of the 10th Circuit Court, but with the easement relinquished, the decision is essentially moot. Further action, Goldsmith said, is yet to be determined. Nevertheless, with the Supreme Court decision, “the First Amendment was upheld in Utah, and the Mormon Church had to pay $200,000 in legal costs to the ACLU.”

Goldsmith pointed to a positive impact of the lawsuit: now, “First Unitarian is synonymous with civil and religious liberties.” The lawsuit on the Main Street Plaza, he believes, will be seen in the future as a turning point in Salt Lake City.

Barry Lynn began his part of the program by saying that he rarely answers the hate mail he receives, but “if people write and combine vulgarity with bad spelling, it will be corrected.” The good news on church-state relations, he said, is that contributions to such religious right organizations as Focus on the Family are declining and layoffs are fairly common. The bad news, he continued, is that the religious right is running the country. Today, “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is occupied by someone who believes he was selected by God.” By saying that he’d only appoint judges who “believe that law is God-given,” he is essentially applying a religious test for judges – something expressly forbidden in the Constitution.

He detailed some current church-state issues, the “smorgasbord of bad ideas,” that face the nation:

• HR 99, to designate “God Bless America” as a “national hymn”
• Efforts to post the Ten Commandments in all public buildings, called the “Ten Commandments Defense Act” – though avoiding mention of which version of the Ten Commandments would be used
• HR235, the House of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, which, Lynn said, would essentially remove from the income tax code the prohibition on churches to engage in partisan politics. This change would apply only to religious groups, not to other non-profits. It was written by TV preacher Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice. Lynn described this as a “shocking bill” that would be “turning the house of God into a cog in a political machine” – “downright blasphemous.”
• Proposing a voucher program in Washington, DC diverting $45 million from the public schools – against the opposition of 90% of voters in a recent referendum, the non-voting Congressional delegate from the District (which has no voting Senators or Representatives in Congress), and most of the school board.
• A constitutional amendment to overturn decisions prohibiting mandatory school prayer, this time also “protecting” the Pledge of Allegiance. This proposal has 150 sponsors already in the House.
• Faith-based initiatives, which Lynn described at this time as “more of a vision than a plan.” No bills have passed with explicit plans, but some officials have nevertheless put plans into action anyway. Lynn cited “design flaws” in these programs:
  • Contractors and grantees can hire by faith tests -- Lynn cited a Georgia faith-based program subsidized 40% by the state, which says “we don’t hire Jews,” and said that “in America, you should have to pay for your own bigotry.”
  • Some faith-based programs may be the only alternative, resulting in undue pressure to participate. He cited an Iowa prison program where participation in a Bible study program – with no secular equivalent – results in gaining special privileges, including having a key to one’s own cell.
  • Lynn questioned whether all faiths would be treated the same. He noted a spokesperson who said “wiccans would not be humane enough providers” and thus wouldn’t be considered, and President Bush, during the presidential election campaign, specifically cited the Nation of Islam as being ineligible.

Lynn also urged those attending to read Scalia’s “ridiculous” dissent in the recent Lawrence v. Texas Supreme Court decision, noting that he could, however, agree with this: “It is clear … that the Court has taken sides in the culture war.”

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