Americans need to be keenly aware of what Baptists in Texas are attempting to suggest and enact from the Texas State Government. In what is a radical departure from Baptist protocol, an editor of a Baptist splinter group in Texas has called for state funding of religion. Baptists used to champion the cause that government should not prop up religion. Baptists in early New England did not want to pay taxes that went to supporting religious doctrines they did not agree with. Things are changing, unless Americans and Texans put a stop to this effort immediately.
Gary Ledbetter, editor of the news magazine for Southern Baptists of Texas, a group that left traditional Baptist work in the state, has a new view of Baptist life. Gary wants the state to give money for church ministries and that money be used to discriminate against other faiths in hiring practices. He also sees nothing wrong with the state funds being used to win converts.
Writing in the December 31, 2008 issue of Southern Baptist Texan, Gary fears the new president will reverse a practice instigated by current President Bush. President Obama has stated he plans to continue ‘Faith Based Initiatives’ however the new President must put a stop to the fanatical religious right in their attempts to control government and the private lives of American citizens.
Given the erratic and unpredictable behavior of the Republican Texas Machine and current governor Rick Perry, who knows what could happen.
Most people know most of the money handed out by Catholic Charities comes from the government. Many denominational social programs have government funding. These groups practice a separation of ministries. They historically have not used state funds to promote their faith or discriminate in hiring. Bush and his administration promised to allow this. Unlike Catholic ministries, these Baptist want to use taxpayers’ money to further their own political agendas and proselytize the public with hate, fear, intolerance and bigotry. It was not that long ago that psychologist James Dobson of Focus on the Family to get the State of Florida to pass a law officially soliciting funds for Dobson’s organization.
For decades churches vehemently refused help from the government, they wanted to keep their tax exempt status for non-profit organizations. Today, the right wing, religious right churches thumb their noses at that same government by breaking the tax law in preaching politics from their pulpits. Unfortunately the IRS does not seem to mind churches breaking the law, but they allow other corporate villains in the U.S. to hide their money in foreign bank accounts and do nothing about that either, while hard working every day Americans have to pay the tab for these criminals. Is America really ready for churches to continue their agenda?
If this door is open what is to say a terrorists group, under the name of ‘Baptist’ can get government funding? What government agency gets to determine which ‘churches’ get funding and which do not. Do we really want the government to decide what is ‘good’ religion and what is ‘bad’ religion?
Do Americans really want their taxes to pay for Texas Baptists, James Dobson, Fred Phelps, John Hagee, Pat Robertson, and other hate mongering religious groups?
I agree with Thomas Jefferson who said "The way to see religion is to shut the eye of reason"
"I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another."
The First Amendment To The U.S. Constitution: states ""Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ."
The Supreme Court has forged a three-part "Lemon test" (Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971) to determine if a law is permissible under the First-Amendment religion clauses.
- A law must have a secular purpose.
- It must have a primary effect which neither advances nor inhibits religion.
- It must avoid excessive entanglement of church and state.
Additionally, the First Amendment goes in detail as it deals with "Congress. States cannot make their own religious policies.
Under the "due process" clause of the 14th Amendment (ratified in 1868), the entire Bill of Rights applies to the states. No governor, mayor, sheriff, public school employee, or other public official may violate the human rights embodied in the Constitution. The government at all levels must respect the separation of church and state. Most state constitutions, in fact, contain language that is even stricter than the First Amendment, prohibiting the state from setting up a ministry, using tax dollars to promote religion, or interfering with freedom of conscience.