Interesting Student Speech/Religion Case in UK

[Hamilton02 at aol.com]

I agree with Steve.  In fact, the increasing diversity of religious  
believers in the United States makes civility in shared spaces more important  than 
ever.  In the absence of civility and respect, we could be back  where we were 
at the founding with the Congregationalists/Puritans in  Massachusetts turning 
their religious judgments into violence against  nonconforming believers and 
the Quakers in Pennsylvania refusing to permit  non-believers to hold positions 
of public office (among other nontolerant  attitudes at the time of the 
founding and framing).  
 
With respect to the exchange in Rosenberger between Justice Souter  and 
Michael McConnell, I'm not sure what Rick means about a "knockout."   His clients 
may have won the case 5-4, but he did not persuade Justice  Souter.  In some 
ways, I thought the attempt to equate proselytization and  persuasion diminished 
the religious content of the proselytizing message and  thereby took the 
discourse away from factual realities.  
 
For the person engaging in proselytization, the stakes are high, and those  
stakes are communicated to the recipient. The content of the speech is about  
ultimate and transcendental values.  For the person on the receiving  end of 
uninvited proselytization, the not-too-subtle judgmental message is that  the 
speaker has the keys to salvation and the listener is going to hell unless  
he/she follows the speaker's exhortations.  Thus, in many  circumstances, 
proselytization can cross the boundary between civility and  rudeness, especially when 
the proselytizers assume that the end (salvation)  justifies the means 
(rudeness).  So while Michael's riposte was good  courtroom banter, I think it was 
not ultimately on  point.        
 
Marci
 
In a message dated 2/21/2009 9:39:57 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
stevenjamar at gmail.com writes:

I think  teaching tolerance and the limits of civil behavior in public   
settings is something we should do more of, not less of.  I  think  
having limits on condemning others to hell is not a  particular  
intrusive limit for a public school  setting.





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