Ross: Supreme Court must address the issue of Church vs. State
Mar 7, 2023, 7:24 AM | Updated: 9:21 am
Church vs. State continues to be a contentious issue in America. (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
On Monday 聽decided NOT to hear arguments about a government-sponsored prayer vigil.
The prayer vigil in question took place in Ocala, Fla., back in 2014 and was organized by Ocala city officials 鈥� in response to a series of drive-by shootings.聽Not only did the police chief sign a letter encouraging residents to attend the vigil, but the event was led by two chaplains in police uniform!
And so, a couple of atheists sued, saying the event amounted to an establishment of religion.
I was disappointed to see the court pass on this case because, at some point, this court needs to tackle the undertow created by its abortion decision.
The growing movement to define America as a Christian nation.
The latest Pew Research poll shows 60% of Americans think the founders intended this to be a Christian nation, and 45% of Americans still believe it SHOULD be.
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And I see only one way to see who鈥檚 right: To test the boundaries.
In those areas of the country where it鈥檚 popular to mix church and state 鈥� try it out. Try to solve problems with state-sponsored religious programs.
But since it鈥檚 public money 鈥� as taxpayers we would insist on gathering the data.聽We have to be able to compare the results between the religious states and the less-religious states.
And the experiment should apply to every issue 鈥� from school violence to homelessness to traffic congestion to preventing football injuries.
And I say the religious states should not hold back 鈥� assign specific social problems to specific denominations 鈥� even specific congregations!聽Then set the deadlines, do the audits, and collect the results.
That would generate a lot of data and a LOT of lawsuits.聽But that鈥檚 exactly what it will take.
From the beginning of time, we human beings have argued over the power of religion to solve problems.
Well, it鈥檚 time to find out once and for all what thousands of years of religious conflict have been unable to determine 鈥� which religion actually works.
And I can think of no better forum for that than this current Supreme Court.
Listen to Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien weekday mornings from 5 鈥� 9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the聽podcast here.
