Ceremonial Deism is a remarkably stupid doctrine. It’s not up to the government to decide what is meaningful to people, or what particular theology any given utterance connotes. Almost no religious statement is truly without some underlying theology, and certianly not when exposed to the diversity of human belief and interpretation.
The name is probably the stupidest thing of all: practically an oxymoron for many Deists who all had their own idiosyncratic philosophies, their own conception and names for God, and few of which would consider their beliefs to be in any way ceremonialable (to mangle a word).
Student-led prayers at graduations or other public ceremonies, public mention of God and religious references including those made by elected officials, equal access to public facilities by religious groups, and voluntary inclusion of the phrase “under God” in the Pledge all stay. Because none of them constitute an establishment of religion by the State.
Sorry, Shodan, I ain’t buyin’ it. And based on minty green’s comments in this thread about some “facts” you posted, I ain’t buyin’ anything else you say, either.
Shodan, I’d like to repeat my question because I honestly don’t know how you’d answer it.
If students at a local high school graduation invoked the Wiccan Lord and Lady and that was the only mention of religion during the ceremony, would you support that as firmly as you would students invoking Jesus (throw in God the Father and the Holy Spirit if you like)?
The reason I ask is it seems to me that all too often the people who most ardently support prayer in schools support only their particular form of prayer in schools.