"Christian" Skating Time

[Paul Finkelman]

Bookstore would not be a "public accommodation" the way a skating rink 
might be; in addition, isn't there a context issue here;  might be 
factual matter for a judge or jury to determine.  But, living surrounded 
by many people who in fact use "Christian" to exclude others and who are 
openly hostile to those of us who are not Christian, I have a sense that 
Christian skate time migth be very different than Polish Sausage night 
at the ball park. Again, I do no imagine anyone trying to convert you to 
be Polish; since I live in a world where I regularly face unwanted and 
offensive intrusions on my life by people who want to convert me, I 
perhaps see the Christian skate night as far less innocuous than Polish 
night. 

The other difference, of course, is that one IS religious and the other 
is not. It was not "Catholic night" at the ball park and I bet there 
were few priests bringing their sunday school class in for "Polish 
Catholic" night. 

Steve Sanders wrote:

> Quoting Paul Finkelman <paul-finkelman at utulsa.edu>:
>
>> Isn't there a difference between holding an "ethnic theme" -- food, 
>> music, etc.at the ball park  -- and having an event that implies 
>> people of only one religion are welcome?  Hard to imagine what the 
>> food and music would be of a Christian Theme night at the ball park 
>> or the skating rink?
>
>
> Amy Grant and tuna casserole, perhaps?
>
> Seriously, Paul, I'm not sure I really see the difference.  Both are 
> designed to celebrate the identities and cultures of particular 
> groups.  If someone not in that group wants to feel it excludes them, 
> it's hard to know what to do, assuming that there is no actual effort 
> by the private entity to exclude in violation of the civil rights law.
>
> While I suspect that the Christian Skating Time crowd would not be my 
> idea of a fun time, I'm hard pressed to understand why the rink 
> management isn't within its rights to offer it -- again, providing 
> they are not actually excluding non-Christians.  I wouldn't feel 
> particularly welcome shopping Hollister, Victoria's Secret, or Hip Hop 
> Closet, but that standing alone doesn't mean I could accuse them of 
> age, gender, or race discrimination.
>
>> It doesn't take much of an imagination to understand that the ball 
>> park "theme" is about celebrating and ethnic culture, and the 
>> "Christian skate" is about creating a climate of exclusivity based on 
>> belief.
>
>
> By this logic, wouldn't it be illegal to run a Christian book store?
>
>> I doubt anyone at Comisky Park was asked about their "Polish beliefs" 
>> or anyone tried to convert them to "become Polish."
>
>
> True, the worst they would have faced was being accosted by drunks 
> wearing "Kiss Me, I'm Polish" t-shirts.
>
> Steve Sanders
> 7th Circuit US Court of Appeals
> _______________________________________________
> To post, send message to Religionlaw at lists.ucla.edu
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see 
> http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/religionlaw
>
> Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as 
> private.  Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are 
> posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can 
> (rightly or wrongly) forward the messages to others.



-- 
Paul Finkelman
Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law
University of Tulsa College of Law
3120 East 4th Place
Tulsa, OK  74105

918-631-3706 (voice)		
918-631-2194 (fax)

Paul-Finkelman at utulsa.edu



After July 21, 2006 my address will be

Paul Finkelman
President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
Albany Law School
80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, New York   12208

518-445-3386 (office)
518-605-0296 (cell)

pfinkelman at albanylaw.edu