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Brent Batten: Schools should not endorse any religion
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Pray for guidance.
Pray for wisdom.
Pray that the Collier County School Board doesn't spend a lot of time debating who should lead prayers before meetings.
The prayer-before-meetings debate is one of those exercises — like Confederate flags on T-shirts — that comes up every so often, generates a lot of heat and not much light, and does nothing to better students' education.
The easiest solution is to simply do away with the traditional invocation. A moment of silence at the onset of a meeting would allow board members a chance to seek direction from on high in the manner they see fit.
Individuals who seek to interject religion into a governing body such as a School Board serve no purpose, other than perhaps satisfying a belief that it is their duty to spread the faith.
Distributing the invocation among different religions, as School Board Chairman Steve Donovan plans to do, doesn't change the fact that while members are free to hold their own views, the board as a whole holds no religious affiliation.
Government bodies in general could save themselves a ton of headaches, and cost trial attorneys a ton of money, if they would cease the invoking of the almighty in their official capacities.
While the nation has roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition, religious doctrine ought not todictate public policy. God's law coincides nicely with man's law in many instances, but not universally.
God may command us not to covet our neighbor's wife, but if the state sets out to enforce that, there'd be more people in jail than out. Conversely, the state's imposition of speed limits serves an obvious public interest but is not addressed in the scriptures.
Does God care if I can't drive 55?
We are all free to trust in God as individuals, but as a republic our faith ought to be placed in our system, our elected leaders and in ourselves.
The fact is some citizens — responsible, productive, valued citizens — not only do not trust in God, they don't even believe in Him. A motto on coins, a phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance, a prayer at the beginning of a meeting, all run counter to that individual's right to dual status as both an American and a non-believer.
To the extent that representatives reflect their constituencies, a devout electorate ensures a government mindful of the basic tenets of morality that have served this country well. Public displays of piety among the governing class do nothing to further guarantee that adherence.
People of faith have expressed concerns that religion is being legislated out of American life.
The First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution guarantees free exercise of religion and any effort to diminish that freedom ought to be vigorously opposed. But the Constitution also bans government from establishing a religion.
An official prayer to open government proceedings amounts to an endorsement of religion. Alternating religions limits the appearance of favoritism but still violates the concept. So can we expect government bodies, manned by politicians seeking votes, to leave religion to the individual?
Not a prayer.
E-mail Brent Batten at bebatten@naplesnews.com
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