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October 20, 2009

Forum: Speaking for (or against) God

By STEVEN FRANCIS

A recent "Inside the First Amendment" column concluded, "thanks to the First Amendment, any American is free to speak for God."

The Constitution's free speech and free exercise clauses were intended to allow public speech for, or against, God. Thomas Jefferson defended such speech, saying it made no difference whether his neighbor believed in 20 gods or no god, because "it (speech) neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket."

The truth of that statement may become a culture-war casualty, true only in principle. In practice, the liberty to freely speak out on matters of faith is being threatened by anti-Christian groups on one hand and government-sponsored political correctness on the other.

Anti-Christian groups, such as gay anarchist "Bash Back," have adopted a strategy of creating disruptions by yelling, banging pots and setting off fire alarms during worship. The Lansing chapter of Bash Back reportedly targeted Mount Hope Church because of the church's publicly-expressed Christian views on marriage and homosexual behavior. The group's ultimate goal appears to be intimidating into silence all public expression of opposition, including biblically-based opposition from the pulpit.

On another front, many public schools repress students' liberty to express religiously-based views on subjects of homosexuality and abortion. Students wearing shirts bearing Bible quotes condemning homosexuality have been sent home and otherwise disciplined by administrators for what school officials consider potentially disruptive speech.

Student expression in support of gay orientation has generally been allowed, which is the appropriate stance, one that should be extended to those on the other side of the issue. Other schools single out student-led religious groups, denying them the use of meeting rooms while providing them to others.

A long line of cases against these policies has established that such restraint of religious-based speech and assembly is unconstitutional. But too many schools continue the practices.

Speech codes that prohibit, as "hate speech," public statements against homosexuality and abortion are common at colleges. Administrators claim such expression might subjectively make another person fearful, or are deemed "offensive" or discriminatory in presenting only one side of the issue.

These codes are regularly challenged in court, and just as regularly defeated as unconstitutional restraints on freedom of speech and religion. In the past year, Wayne State University agreed to cease such unconstitutional censorship.

If wearing a T-shirt bearing a Bible verse, passing out anti-abortion literature, or student-led Bible study are forms of "speaking for God," then the statement "any American is free to speak for God" is far less true today than ever before.

Jefferson may have been prophetic in leaving out of his statement the one Christian God, for that seems to be the only God for whom, and about whom, civic speech is at great risk. The freedom to publicly speak about, for, or against, any and all conceptions of God or gods must be carefully protected against slow erosion through threats of violence by militant groups, government-imposed speech codes, and anti-religious, mainly anti-Christian, regulations in educational and civic settings.

About the author: Steven Francis is an adjunct professor of political science at Grand Valley State University, an Elk Rapids village trustee and an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal alliance defending the First Amendment.

About the forum: The forum is a periodic column of opinion written by Record-Eagle readers in their areas of interest or expertise. Submissions of 500 words or less may be made by e-mailing letters@record-eagle.com. Please include biographical information and a photo.

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