Christianity's Contamination

MANIFESTO

Item:

A federal judge on Monday ruled that Enfield High School and Enrico Fermi High School will not be able to hold their graduations at First Cathedral, culminating a months-long debate over whether it is unconstitutional to host students' ceremonies at the mega-church.

I blogged about this issue before, and while I was a bit ambivalent about it then, I'm now finding I agree with the judge's decision, but not necessarily for the reason she gave, which is that

"By choosing to hold graduations at First Cathedral, Enfield schools sends the message that it is closely linked with First Cathedral and its religious mission, that it favors the religious over the irreligious and that it prefers Christians over those that subscribe to other faiths, or no faith at all. In addition to the character of the forum, the history and context of the decision to hold the graduations at First Cathedral also support the conclusion that, in doing so, Enfield Public Schools has endorsed religion."

If Judge Hall had come right out and said what the ACLU lawyer did, that "comparable secular facilities are available," the decision might've made a bit more sense, but so be it. I still think it's a bad idea to pay any money for a graduation venue since Enfield's Board of Education has already cut programs and sports and is laying off seventy employees, including 39 teachers.

Not surprisingly,

Vincent McCarthy, lead counsel for Enfield's public schools and senior Northeast counsel for the American Center for Law & Justice, said he will seek "an expedited appeal to the 2nd Circuit in New York."

UPDATE — It occurs to me that the theory of people being proselytized if they're just inside a church is akin to the terrific (and utterly ridiculous) portion of Red, White, and Screwed wherein Lewis Black outlines the dangers of gay marriage:

Maybe there's a group of gay bandidos. They travel from village to dell. And as night falls, they travel to that cul-de-sac, where only one house stands. And in the window, you see a family, just sitting down to their evening meal. And these queers... these queers... don their black hoods, and matching pumps, very tasteful. Sneak up to the house ever so slightly, open the door, and start... FUCKING EACH OTHER IN THE ASS! AND ANOTHER AMERICAN FAMILY... IS DESTROYED!