Cal Thomas: No Common Sense in Church-State Debate

Cal Thomas | Syndicated columnist | Tuesday, September 24, 2002

Cal Thomas: No Common Sense in Church-State Debate

Here is how bad it is getting in the church-state debate. A Texas school district censured an employee for emailing President Bush’s proclamation for a National Day of Prayer last May to some of her colleagues.

 

The Highland Park independent school district in Dallas had allowed employees to send both private and work-related e-mails provided they did not concern religion.  A threatened lawsuit caused the school district to back off.

 

The Constitution’s first amendment does not discriminate when it comes to religious speech. To my knowledge, no one has been prevented from using God’s name in vain or otherwise disparaging him. Why is it only favorable speech about God that is prohibited and not the other kind?

 

A California school district is teaching about Islam in the classroom, even encouraging students to role-play being a Muslim. I stopped trying to fix government schools a long time ago and this is only one of the reasons.

 

Cal Thomas: No Common Sense in Church-State Debate