Around the states

Church & State, Nov 1999

Religious Leaders Celebrate Role Of Public Schools

The National Council of Churches and Central Conference of American Rabbis have issued a statement announcing strong support for public education.

The Sept. 1 statement, released to coincide with the beginning of the 1999-2000 school year, cites the values of public education, including how it has helped move children beyond poverty and prepared young people for citizenship and public responsibility.

According to the Religion News Service, the Jewish and Christian leaders warned that public schools are "under attack:' citing budget cuts and the ongoing drive to divert funds to private school through vouchers.

"We call upon our leaders of government at all levels, and people of all faiths and backgrounds, to commit themselves to the protection, financial security and continued reform of our public school system," the statement reads.

It went on to emphasize the importance of teachers in the lives of young people. "Teachers, and other school workers, must be afforded the respect that we, as parents, need:' the statement says. "The nation's teachers deserve our thanks and recognition for the critical role they play in the lives of our children."

The statement was signed by Rabbi Charles Kroloff, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and Rabbi Paul Menitoff, executive president of the conference. They were joined by Bishop Craig Anderson, president of the National Council of Churches, and the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, the group's general secretary.

Brooklyn Museum Fights Censorship Bid

A national free speech controversy erupted in September when the Brooklyn Museum of Art opened an exhibit featuring pieces some found objectionable on religious grounds.

The show, titled "Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection:' featured 90 pieces by 42 British artists, including several controversial works. Most attention focused on a painting of the Virgin Mary that includes an element of elephant dung.

New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) has threatened to terminate the museum's lease with the city, cut its city financing and take other measures unless the museum discontinues the exhibition, "What I am saying is that hard-earned public Lax dollars should not be used for what I consider to be-and I think many people in the city consider-a desecration of religion," Giuliani observed on NBC's "Meet the Press."

New York Cardinal John O'Connor joined Giuliani in opposition to the display during a service at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Sept. 27. After praising the work of "city officials," O'Connor suggested that the museum's officials may be motivated by bigotry against Catholics. Ironically, artist Chris Ofili, who created the controversial painting, is himself a Catholic.

Some religious leaders see the issue as one of power. The Rev. Herbert Daughtry, pastor of the House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn, told the Associated Press, "If the mayor wants to protest this artwork as a citizen, it's one thing. But to say, 'I'm going to use the machinery of government to punish you,' it borders on dictatorship."

Museum officials have filed a lawsuit in federal court to protect the museum from punishment by the mayor's office. Attorney Floyd Abrams told The New York Times, "There is no obligation from the city to fund the arts. But the First Amendment says, according to a wide, sustained, continuing body of case law, that the funding process may not be used to coerce institutions such as this to do the bidding of its political leaders."

In the meantime, the threats and complaints against the exhibit seem to have backfired. The show opened as scheduled and welcomed a record crowd of more than 9,200 attendees, each of whom paid $9.75 for admission. Many attendees waited in line for up to 90 minutes.

Mass. Parent Has No Sympathy For The Devil

One of the first things a visitor to Chatham High School's gymnasium will see is a banner that reads, "Welcome to the Home of the Blue Devils." However, that will soon change if one Massachusetts parent has his way.

Richard Porter has appealed to the Chatham School Committee to remove the Blue Devil mascot from the high school. He told the Cape Cod Times that allowing the symbol gives the devil "a road into our children's lives."

"I'm not an evangelist trying to sway people," Porter said. "But I am teaching my kids you stand up for what you believe, and as a Christian, I'm concerned about this." He added that his effort is part of an attempt to protect children from "the great deceiver."

Ann Ashworth, the high school principal, told the Times that she takes Porter's concerns seriously but "has far more important issues" to deal with. She added that she believes the mascot has been used at Chatham High School since it was built in 1962 and thought its use may be related to the Blue Devil mascot used by Duke University in North Carolina.

Similar attempts by Religious Right activists to rid public schools of devil mascots elsewhere have failed. In 1996 three public school students in Ohio filed a federal suit against their high school for using a Blue Devil mascot, a symbol they believed to be satanic. A federal court ruled against the students, and an appeals court upheld that decision.