Religion in the American Public Square

Abstract

"Once upon a time, the diverse town of Jersey City, New Jersey marked Christmas, Hanukah, Ramadan, and the Hindu New Year with public pronouncements, signs, parades, and displays at City Hall. The celebrations ended after the city was sued, and lost, on the grounds that its official acknowledgment of these holidays violated the Constitution (Snow). As Muslims, should we have agreed with the city or with the court? [2] The First Amendment states that government may not make laws "respecting an establishment of religion." There is controversy over whether those words, known as the "Establishment Clause," should be interpreted to mean that government may not promote one religion over another, or to mean that belief in God should be stripped from official expression altogether ("expression" is meant in the broad sense, from the use of language to the way public money is spent). Court decisions in recent years have tended to favor the latter interpretation. [3] As we see with the Jersey City example, the question of which position should prevail is not simply theoretical; whether or not the pendulum of judicial interpretation eventually swings toward accommodation of religious expression will have a broad effect on Americans of all faiths, including Muslims. Some of the issues in the news that flow directly from this question are government funding of faith-based social service organizations, the presence of student-initiated religion in public schools, school vouchers, and the display of religious material on or by government facilities. [4] The legal arguments of both camps have been laid out elsewhere, so rather than address them, we shall instead attempt to locate between the two a position that best reflects Islam's values and priorities."(pg 1)