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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (613263)	5/27/2011 11:59:54 AM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1582287

A class teaching say Spanish, in a religious school, does not become a class teaching religion because the class room happens to have a cross in it. If that was objectionable (its not unconstitutional, see below, but one can object to it anyway), classrooms without crosses could exist. Requiring no religious pictures or figures or messages anywhere on the premise is totally unnecessary. In any case actually teaching religion wouldn't be unconstitutional in a government sourced voucher paid school, as long as the parents or the student are making the decision for the schooling. GI Bill money can constitutionally be used for attending a seminary, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cards can be used to buy food formed in to religiously based shapes or containing religious messages, Social Security money can go to religious donations. There is no constitutional requirement that money that came from the government not be used for religiously connected purposes. If the government is directly spending the money and controls how its is spent, then having it go to a seminary or a mosque or a Hindu temple would be a violation of the establishment clause. In a less direct way if the government forbade school voucher money, or GI bill money, or Social Security Payments, or SNAP cards etc. from being used for secular purposes it would also violate the establishment clause, but letting people choose to use money from the government for religious purposes does not. And it doesn't have to be cash from the government, it also applies to government subsidies that are restricted in their purpose like SNAP/food stamps and the GI Bill, or to school vouchers.