February 5, 2009
Washington, DC - President Obama's stimulus plan is being used to restrict the free exercise of religion in public facilities where federal funding is involved Traditional Values Coalition Executive Director Andrea Lafferty charged Tuesday, February 3:
Among the prohibited uses of "greening" funds is the "modernization, renovation or repair" of higher learning facilities where sectarian religious activities or services may be conducted. "The economic crisis is being used as a pretext to curb religious liberty at institutions of higher learning. Religious activity is already scarce at most of our colleges, the Obama people want to make sure it is extinct.
The ultimate impact will be to drive religious activities out of public education altogether. If higher education institutions worry about not getting part of this federal grab bag, they'll simply eject religious activities from their campuses so they can easily get the money.
By rejecting religion, these educators can also avoid costly ACLU lawsuits that will inevitably be filed. This section of the bill should be called the ACLU Full Employment Act since it will be a boon for their anti-Christian litigation.
We are not asking that federal funding be used to construct a church but if a campus ministry wants to hold a Bible study or Mass in the student activity building, we should be encouraging that not punishing a college for permitting it.
But this new administration and its secularist allies in Congress don't accept the First Amendment's protections of religious activity even as they cite the First Amendment to defend all sorts of bizarre and offensive speech and art.
The entire package should be rejected by the Senate. It is pork, not stimulus - and most Americans understand this.
Read TVC's Legislative Alert to Senators: OBAMA SPENDING BILL STIMULATES ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIGOTRY and download the PDF
