Anti-Prayer Laws Imposed in the Bible Belt
The attack on religious freedom is no new story, however, it continues to spread into new locations, including rural areas of the Bible belt, such as Dublin, Georgia. It was in this small town that on August 10th, literally hundreds of citizens rallied in support of their right to pray at the Dublin Mall.
Todd Starnes of Fox News explained it like this, “It’s not uncommon for shopping malls to have rules of conduct. Some places ban saggy pants. Others won’t let you ask people for money. But a mall in Georgia may have one of the most unusual rules — they won’t let shoppers pray – not even over their meals.”
It’s Freedom Of Religion, Not Freedom From Religion
According to All About History,”Separation of church and state” is a common metaphor that is well recognized. Equally well recognized is the metaphorical meaning of the church staying out of the state’s business and the state staying out of the church’s business. Because of the very common usage of the ‘separation of church and state phrase,’ most people incorrectly think the phrase is in the constitution.
The phrase ‘wall of separation between the church and the state’ was originally coined by Thomas Jefferson in a letter to the Danbury Baptists on January 1, 1802. His purpose in this letter was to assuage the fears of the Danbury, Connecticut Baptists, and so he told them that this wall had been erected to protect them. The metaphor was used exclusively to keep the state out of the church’s business, not to keep the church out of the state’s business.
The constitution states, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’ Both the free exercise clause and the establishment clause place restrictions on the government concerning laws they pass or interfering with religion. No restrictions are placed on religions except perhaps that a religious denomination cannot become the state religion.’ As you can see, the Constitution does not advocate restricting anyone from praying, or any other form of expressing religion (as long as it does not include killing or maiming.)
US and States Governments Breaking the Law
By restricting anyone from praying, preaching, or observing any religious practice that does not cause physical harm to any persons or animals, the United States and State governments are breaking the law. To enact any such rules or laws is in complete rebellion of the Constitution which these governments have sworn to uphold. And yet Security Guards at the Dublin Mall recently told a group of shoppers that they were not allowed to pray at the mall.
According to American News, “The mall manager verified that prayer is not allowed at the mall because this is private property,” one of the women in the group claimed. “I said, ‘Sir, are you saying that people who eat in the food court can’t bow their heads and pray.’ ‘No ma’am.’ That’s exactly what he said.”
Other Bible Belt States Fighting for Religious Rights
Georgia isn’t the only “Bible Belt” state to be fighting for its freedom of religion. A new law in North Carolina clarifies the rights of the state’s students to “engage in prayer and religious activity in school.” Governor Pat McCrory signed this law in June to be effective this school term. The law also gives school faculty and workers the rights to express their religion as well. When a student led prayer is occurring, teachers are allowed to bow their heads and pray along, for example.
A law such as this actually supports the Constitution, since it basically restates what was already put in place years ago. An advocacy group by the name of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, however, has sent the state of North Carolina a warning letter from Washington DC, falsely informing the state that it has broken the First Amendment with this law. “Ultimately the state legislature is acting in a manner that creates huge legal and financial risks for school districts,” says Greg Lipper, senior litigation counsel for Americans United. (US News)
In another Southern state, school prayer is under attack as well. Seminole County Florida’s football team knelt to pray for an injured player, and soon had the Freedom From Religion Foundation all up in a tizzy. According to WKMG Local 6, “Freedom from Religion Foundation consists mostly atheist parents, and the group is looking into allegations that a chaplain led the players in prayer. The group said it received at least one complaint after the game at Seminole High School in Sanford last week.
A Seminole County Schools representative told Local 6 that students are allowed to pray, but coaches and employees are not allowed to lead them. The school denies accusations that a chaplain prayed with the team.” In another Florida County, Orange County, the school district has replaced football chaplains with “life coaches” who can “no longer open the Bible, talk about the Bible, talk about God or pray with the team in any capacity.” (Fox News)
In Texas, “Parents and students gathered again Thursday to pray and proclaim their support for religious plaques outside Mountain Peak and Longbranch Elementary schools in Midlothian. The rally was supposed to be across the street from the Midlothian ISD administrative building, but it was moved to the stadium because close to 200 people showed up. The supporters waved signs with messages like ‘Keep Christ in Our Schools, Bring Back the Plaques’ and ‘Hey FFRF, Our God is Bigger than Your Lawyers.’ That’s in reference to the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which sent a demand letter to the district saying the displays are unconstitutional.” (Fox News)
It Isn’t Hopeless
For many, the fight for their religious freedom and rights seems a hopeless one. The words of the Constitution and Thomas Jefferson’s letter have been so skewed and misinterpreted that right the opposite of what was meant is accepted. Although it is, indeed, and uphill fight, it is not hopeless. With more and more people fighting for their religious freedom, and more media coverage of governments denying citizens their religious rights, some establishments may back down.
After hundreds rallied against the Dublin Mall, for example, the owners, MCK Properties, stated to the press, “The mall first and foremost has no issues or objection whatsoever with anyone of any religion denomination privately and quietly praying over there food before they eat or showing devotion towards their religion of choice provided it does not impose itself on others or take away from the overall shopping experience. The information might have been not communicated properly and we’ve certainly handled that internally with our management and we apologize for that.” This came after over 300 people showed up at the Dublin Mall to have a Prayer Rally in support of their right to pray. Never give up, for “as long as there’s breath, there’s hope.”
