Monday, February 27, 2006

Separation of state and atheism

The Madison based Freedom From Religion Foundation its ongoing effort to create a world in which its members will be free from ever having their presuppositions challenged has complained to UW Chancellor John Wiley about student funds going to the Madison campus' Roman Catholic Foundation. It calls on Chancellor Wiley to honor the "wall of separation" between church and state.

He better not. The Supreme Court has held that universities who disadvantage student religious, as opposed to secular, organizations are acting unconstitutionally, even if this means they must fund pervasively religious communication. Since the religious communication in question is that of an independent student group, and not the state, there is no Establishment Clause problem with allocating student fees to the group.

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