Supreme Court Declines to Hear Three Cases on Religion in Schools
"Religious use and student-led prayer seem to be okay, but Bible reading in class isn't. What does the Supreme Court really think about public religion?"
Ted Olsen | posted 6/01/2001 12:00AM
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So, given all these decisions, what does the Supreme Court really think about religion? Weblog has discussed at length recent newspaper editorials on the subject, but missed a great column by the ChicagoTribune's Steve Chapman. Liberals decried the Good News decision, conservatives decried last year's football prayer decision. "How can one Supreme Court be the target of such different indictments?" he asks.
Simple: by taking seriously the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Sometimes people forget that it contains not one but two commands concerning religion. One guarantees religious freedom. The other forbids government sponsorship of religion. … The Supreme Court has done an admirable job of negotiating the slippery path of neutrality. That, of course, is why it finds itself abused by people who think the government has a duty to bring us all the blessings of faith or an obligation to protect us from religious zealotry. The court hasn't spawned critics on either side of the divide because it's been getting things wrong, but because it's been getting things right.
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