I need articles arguing in favor of allowing creches in public buildings

[sweeteviljesus]

My son (13 y.o.) is writing a weekly paper and needs articles for and against allowing creches, menorahs, etc. in government or public buildings. All the articles I found described what current jurisprudence is, rather than an argument in favor of it (we already have one article against), except for one article from the Cato Institute which is over his head. Know of any kid-friendly articles like that?

Thanks,
Rob

[feppytweed]

I can’t think of any objective reasons for a pro stance on this issue. Any such display would likely be disputed by FFRF or required to allow other religions to set up displays beside it, and municipal governments don’t wanna sort all that out.

[SmartAlecCat]

Here’s a possible direction that may help you – Search for Lynch v. Donnelly, e.g. {{meta.fullTitle}}

Did the inclusion of a nativity scene in the city’s display violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?

No. In a 5-to-4 decision, the Court held that notwithstanding the religious significance of the creche, the city had not violated the Establishment Clause. The Court found that the display, viewed in the context of the holiday season, was not a purposeful or surreptitious effort to advocate a particular religious message. The Court found that the display merely depicted the historical origins of the Holiday and had “legitimate secular purposes.” The Court held that the symbols posed no danger of establishing a state church and that it was “far too late in the day to impose a crabbed reading of the [Establishment] Clause on the country.”

[sweeteviljesus]

That decision was more about how in those circumstances, they weren’t violating the establishment clause, but I was looking for a more general argument.

[Northern_Piper]

You could try poking around on the websites of groups which oppose the strict interpretation of church and state.

For example, here’s a posting from Focus on the Family:

The Separation of Church and State

Another place you could try is Liberty Counsel, which is a legal group which acts in these types of cases, and puts summaries of their position up on their web-page:

https://www.lc.org

[Colibri]

Let’s move this over to IMHO.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

[Northern_Piper]

Interesting user name / thread title, by the way.