Government Religious Displays and Substantive Neutrality

[ArtSpitzer at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/31/09 6:02:12 PM, laycockd at umich.edu writes:
> Here's one more way to think about it:  ... the rule that government must 
> be religiously neutral [is] a special protection for religion ....  Government 
> can not try either to coerce you or persuade you to change your views about 
> religion.  That ... is the greatest level of possible protection.
> 

Yes, but it's an entirely hypothetical (and thus unimportant) protection to 
those who are comfortably in the majority, and who therefore can, without 
perceived risk to their own views, seek to get the government to coerce or persuade 
others to change their views.   Isn't that why so many local government 
officials would react to Doug's excellent point with blank stares?   It just 
doesn't relate to their world.

Art Spitzer
ACLU





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