Re: First Amendment as quoted on this page

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On 10/16/01, Rahman wrote:
> On 10/16/01, cbg wrote:
>> On 10/16/01, Beth wrote:
>>> On 8/25/01, anon wrote:
>>>> If congress can't restrict the expression of religion, how
>>>> is it they can 1)prohibit the display of Nativity scenes
>>>> (just because it is on government property doesn't mean the
>>>> government is endorsing it - it just shows free expression}
>>>> and 2)the saying of "Merry Christmas" on the radio? You can
>>>> only say "Happy Holidays" - "Merry Christmas" is in the
>>>> same category as "f..." That seems a shame. Explain that
>>>> to me legally.
>>>
>>> The Constitution calls for the separation of church and
>>> state. That is the basis for the objections for displaying
>>> religious-themed materials in gov't facilities, prayer in
>>> pubic schools, etc.
>>>
>>> I don't quite know what you're talking about relative to
>>> holiday greetings on the radio, but since radio stations are
>>> not gov't entities, these choices would be a matter of
>>> station policy, not constitutional issues. There are many
>>> people in this country that don't observe Christmas - people
>>> of the Jewish faith, Muslims, Buddists, etc. Perhaps some
>>> radio stations have chosen "happy holidays" to be more
>>> inclusive of all their listeners.
>>
>> Anon, in this area I agree with you, at least so far as the
>> radio/television ads are concerned. For some reason it seems to
>> be okay to say Happy Channukkah (my sincere apologies if I've
>> misspelled it) and to wish everyone a Happy Kwanzaa, but Merry
>> Christmas is forbidden. I'm sure Beth is right that they're
>> trying to be inclusive, but it bothers me too.
>
>
> The U.S. Constitution does NOT call for the seperation of "church
> and State". Further, prayer IS allowed in schools. It becomes
> violative of the first amendment when it is "lead" or "initiated"
> "BY" the school or an extension thereof.
>
> With regard to the government endorsing the term "Merry
> Christmas", this too is not violative of the First Amendment.
> Where are you getting this information from?
>

Re: First Amendment as quoted on this page, 12/15/06, by v.

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