Graduation in the church wrong
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June 12, 2003. Brookfield News (Brookfield, Wis.) This weekend, our public high schools will again have their commencements at Elmbrook Church, despite the fact that plenty of secular facilities, including the nearby Waukesha Expo Center, are available. Superintendent Matt Gibson, a member of the church, says this is appropriate because students vote on where commencements will be held and that the church is "just another facility." Although our students are bright, they clearly don't understand First Amendment prohibitions against the government promoting religion. Gibson should know better, but he hides behind the students, saying, "They want the church." Students might vote to eliminate term papers, too, but it's unlikely Gibson would permit it. If the church were just another facility, its 40 acres and lavish santuary would be taxed like other private properties. It operates tax free because it is a religious facility. I was forced to attend my son's commencement at the church last year, and it is filled with the tools and symbols of fundamentalist Christianity, including proselytizing banners, pamphlets, bibles, and crosses. These things might warm the hearts of Christians, but they communicate quite a different message who don't accept the church's doctrine. Namely, that we are going to spend eternity in hell. How's that for unfriendly? The church also teaches that homosexuals are sinful, abortion should be banned, creationism should be taught in the public schools, and wives should be subservient to husbands (Elmbrook's "Top Gun" program is a Promise Keepers affiliate). These are political as well as religious positions. The American Civil Liberties Union, Anti-Defamation League, and the Freedom From Religious Foundation have filed complaints with Gibson, but his response was to spend more than $1,500 on lawyers trying to defend the practice. This, coupled with the approximately $3,500 the district pays the church each year for the commencement also makes me wonder if Gibson's budget consciousness is superseded by his desire to expose potential members to his evangelical church. Some 3,000 will be forced to attend this weekend. Freedom of and from religious is one of America's bedrock principles. By forcing his church upon citizens, Gibson is teaching stuents an incorrect lesson on one of the most important educational days of their lives. Public school commencements should be held in neutral facilities, free of religious and political messaging. The Waukesha Expo Center fills the bill perfectly. Ted Schaar Brookfield |
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