The First Amendment says two things about the exercise of religion; let’s not put them in conflict.
This spring a flurry of events thrust the church-state issue front and center on the national scene. The Supreme Court allowed public funds for Pawtucket’s crèche. The Court’s Grove City College decision dealt with direct federal aid to students in a religious school.
Also President Reagan addressed the National Association of Evangelicals in Columbus to plead for greater support for moral and religious values in our nation. The U.S. Senate spent the greater part of a week debating an amendment to permit nonprescribed prayers in public schools. And Congress is now considering a bill to allow religious as well as nonreligious special interest groups to have “equal access” to public schools.
