Guest Post by Morbo
The results are in from the “Idiotic State Legislator of the Week” contest, and the winner is (drum roll, please)…Sen. Parley Hellewell of Orem, Utah!
This Republican lawmaker recently had a bright idea: Bring prayer back to public schools! Teach the Bible in class! It can all be done through a state law.
I hate to break it to the guy, but someone has to. So here’s a newsflash, dude: The Supreme Court says that stuff is unconstitutional. You can’t overturn them with a state law.
Nevertheless, Hellewell felt compelled to hold a hearing on the matter. According to the Deseret News, Hellewell, pined for the way things used to be in America and condemned recent trends, such as secular government.
“They are all things that are made up, just like the separation of church and state was made up,” Hellewell said. And then there’s this gem: “When you don’t allow prayer in schools, we’re letting a minority religion — atheism — rule.”
Reported the News:
Instead of focusing on the rights of the minority by prohibiting prayer, he would prefer to grant the majority the right to pray publicly without forcing the minority to join.”
The right wing relies on this argument a lot. Here’s what’s wrong with it: Kids will feel pressured to take part anyway. And those who don’t will have to single themselves out and possibly open themselves up to ridicule and abuse. You know little Timmy who doesn’t want to say someone else’s prayers? The right wing’s answer is that he can just go stand in the hall. I know the other kids will be cool with that. After all, what first grader doesn’t love being singled out and made to feel different by his peers?
How ironic this is going on in Utah. Doesn’t this boob understand that outside of his own state and parts of Nevada, his religion is considered a freak show by far-right bigots? Fundamentalist Protestants see Mormons as nothing but big fat targets for evangelism. The prayers to be recited in Spartanburg, S.C., will not likely refer to the Angel Moroni, and I also wouldn’t look for any readings from the Book of Mormon to kick off the school day.
Hellewell invited Fred Gedicks, a Brigham Young University law professor, to speak on the topic of church-state separation during the hearing. I’m not sure why, because Gedicks, a fellow Mormon, didn’t boost Hellewell’s cause much.
The News reported that Gedicks talked about his experiences living in Macon, Ga., where, he said, the majority evangelical Christians spoke of Mormons “like we sacrificed cats in the basement.” His children, he said, would have been sitting ducks in school were it not for the First Amendment..
Added Gedicks, “I was glad that in public society … they did not have to defend their religion.”
Gedicks then pointed out that many religious people really want to see more religion in government — as long as it’s their religion. “It’s not that people just want to have a religious ceremony, they want the government’s stamp of approval,” he said. “They want their religious ceremony to be the official ceremony.”
Amen. It’s good to know that not everyone in Utah has been out in the sun too long.