This article was provided exclusively to the New York Analysis of Policy and Government by the distinguished Judge John Wilson (ret.), a former judge of the Criminal Court, New York City.
“Religions Harm People” is the title of a recent article in Verdict, an on-line magazine published by Justia, and from the first two sentences of her article, author Professor Leslie C. Griffin’s position is clear – “You may not want to hear that religions do a lot of harm. But they do.” She then proceeds to attack every position of the Catholic/Christian church that she believes to be anti-LGBTQ, anti-women’s rights, anti-reproductive rights, and in general, ignorant, antiquated and simply not progressive.
Professor Griffin is wrong. In fact, her article exhibits no understanding of the origins of our rights, and our form of government. Instead, Professor Griffin subjects the reader to the full force of her own hatred for those of the Christian faith.
From the outset, Professor Griffin makes a fundamental error with this statement regarding the “Shelter at Home” orders imposed by many states – “harm is apparent in the recent decisions by some churches to hold services even after a state has said it is dangerous for anyone to meet in person. The states passed stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders to keep people safe.” (emphasis added.)
To understand why Professor Griffin is utterly incorrect, it is important to review the wording of both the Declaration of Independence and the First Amendment to our Constitution.
In the Declaration of Independence appear these immortal words – “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights…that to secure these rights Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” Further, under the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
By placing the authority of the State over religious expression, Professor Griffin has forgotten that our individual rights come from God, and not from the State, and that among those rights is the inalienable right to practice our religion as we see fit. Further, the State only exists because it was created by the individual people who hold those rights, and we the people are only governed by our own consent.
These are the bedrock principals of our government, and the foundation of our Constitution. No where is found the phrase, “unless the State decides that religion is harmful, and religious rights must give way to progressive ideals.”
No one questions the right of the State to protect the health and safety of the people. As long ago as 1915, the US Supreme Court stated in Sligh v. Kirkwood, that “the power of the State to . . . prevent the production within its borders of…such articles as would spread disease and pestilence, is well established.”
In fact, where religious practices truly are harmful, the People have empowered the State to halt such practices. New York, for instance, has codified its prohibition of female genital mutilation in Section 130.85 of the Penal Code, and specifically states, “no account shall be taken of the effect on the person on whom such procedure is to be performed of any belief on the part of that or any other person that such procedure is required as a matter of custom or ritual.”
If the urges sent from the price of viagra pills mind to the root of your condition and your age. It is basically linked to the insufficient blood supply to the male viagra prescription reproductivity system during sexual activity . Many individuals without gallbladder have cheapest viagra taken the broad-spectrum antibiotics and painkillers, used alcohol and craved sugars. There are different channels the company has to appoint medical representative for the tadalafil buy direct promotion of the medicine.Showing a respect for the rights of the people that Professor Griffin does not, the Trump Administration issued a set of “guidelines” to the states regarding “the identification of essential critical infrastructure workers during (the) COVID-19 response.” Among those listed as “other community based essential functions” was “Clergy for essential support.”
While these federal guidelines are “advisory in nature,” the US Constitution is not. All the federal COVID-19 response guidelines do is remind the states of what measures can be taken consistent with the law of our land.
Since Clergy are recognized to be “essential support,” the State cannot prevent the people from participation in clerical services. Many States have asked clergy to minister to their congregations on-line or by videoconference, and many religious leaders have voluntarily complied with this request.
However, we have seen a number of tyrannical overreaches of the State encouraged by people with Professor Griffin’s views. California has ordered the closure of all churches, deeming them to be an “unessential service,” while the Mayor of New York, Bill DeBlasio, actually threatened to permanently close churches and synagogues that did not comply with his orders to remain closed.
Some churches are making attempts at maintaining social distancing while still holding church services. Yet in some jurisdictions these efforts have been viewed as a challenge to the State’s authority. In Greenville, Mississippi, the parishioners who attended a “drive-in” church service at the King James Bible Baptist Church were fined $500 – yet, if they had parked in the lot of their local Walmart or liquor store, no fine would have been levied.
In Louisville, Kentucky, Democrat Mayor Greg Fischer misused his police force to harass the parishioners of the On Fire Christian Church, who also chose to hold a “drive-in” service. But Pastor Chuck Salvo did the next best thing to prayer in a situation like this – he hired a lawyer and sued Mayor Fischer.
In a strong victory for religious rights, Federal Judge Justin Walker came down hard on Mayor Fischer. Quoting from the opinion, Judge Walker writes, “On Holy Thursday, an American mayor criminalized the communal celebration of Easter….the mayor’s decision is stunning. And it is ‘beyond all reason’ ‘unconstitutional.’”
No one disputes common sense measures to prevent the spread of a contagious disease. But at the same time, citizens cannot allow their government, in particular their local and state officials, to take their God-given rights away from them under the guise of fighting a pandemic. Indeed, people are afraid of getting sick and dying, or carrying the coronavirus back to our more vulnerable family members. Everyone needs to take appropriate precautions in an effort to halt this illness. However those reasonable efforts need not sacrificing our individual rights to the police powers of our elected leaders.
We must not let ourselves fall into the errors of a Professor Griffin, and either forget or willfully ignore from where our rights originate. If we do, we then believe that the State is our master, instead of being our servant. We let our own prejudices against religion and religious people rule our interpretation of the laws of our land. And most dangerous of all to our freedoms, we encourage petty tyrants at the state and local levels to replace God with the State.
Photograph by David Varenne. (All rights reserved)