# I need articles arguing in favor of allowing creches in public buildings **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 12, 2016, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-articles-arguing-in-favor-of-allowing-creches-in-public-buildings/771578 "2016-11-12T03:01:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-articles-arguing-in-favor-of-allowing-creches-in-public-buildings/771578/1 "2016-11-12T03:01:42Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-articles-arguing-in-favor-of-allowing-creches-in-public-buildings/771578/2 "2016-11-12T03:04:52Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-articles-arguing-in-favor-of-allowing-creches-in-public-buildings/771578/3 "2016-11-12T04:24:09Z")
Here’s a possible direction that may help you – Search for Lynch v. Donnelly, e.g. [{{meta.fullTitle}}](https://www.oyez.org/cases/1983/82-1256) > [@](#): > > 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.” ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-articles-arguing-in-favor-of-allowing-creches-in-public-buildings/771578/4 "2016-11-12T06:19:34Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-articles-arguing-in-favor-of-allowing-creches-in-public-buildings/771578/5 "2016-11-12T17:35:13Z")
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](https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/the-separation-of-church-and-state/)** > > \[et\_pb\_section fb\_built=”1″ \_builder\_version=”3.0.47″\]\[et\_pb\_row \_builder\_version=”3.0.48″ background\_size=”initial” background\_position=”top\_left” background\_repeat=”repeat”\]\[et\_pb\_column type=”4\_4″ \_builder\_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off”... 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](https://www.lc.org) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-articles-arguing-in-favor-of-allowing-creches-in-public-buildings/771578/6 "2016-11-12T18:08:18Z")
Let’s move this over to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-articles-arguing-in-favor-of-allowing-creches-in-public-buildings/771578/7 "2016-11-12T19:33:12Z")
Interesting user name / thread title, by the way. 🙂