Thursday, October 30, 2008
A duty to protect religious freedom
From the RoundTable blog
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H. Morgan Griffith
Griffith is majority leader of the Virginia House of Delegates. He represents the 8th District, which includes the city of Salem and part of Roanoke County.
In a column appearing in The Roanoke Times, the Rev. Nelson Harris, Roanoke's former mayor, asserted that I had launched "personal attacks on Gov. Tim Kaine" (Don't play politics with prayer," Oct. 10). Contrary to Harris' claims, there was nothing personal about my criticism of a misguided directive by the Kaine administration that brought about the resignation of more than one-third of the Virginia State Police troopers serving voluntarily as chaplains for the force.
The dispute over the administration's directive that state police chaplains cease mentioning "Jesus" or "Christ" publicly is not a personal conflict. It is instead a very real and profound disagreement over free religious expression, preserving First Amendment rights, and the direction taken by the administration on these essential freedoms.
It is disappointing to see the Kaine administration and its allies cynically attempt to transform a legitimate and important policy dispute into a personal one by contending that I was attacking the governor's faith. It is also disappointing that they enlisted Harris in their effort to obfuscate the matter. But in these hyper-partisan times, perhaps nobody should be surprised that the administration would attempt to deflect legitimate criticism of a controversial policy by suggesting the dispute was personal.
Harris makes one point with which I concur, stating that this "should be discussed rationally and respectfully." But a rational and respectful discussion was rejected by the administration when it summarily directed the chaplains to stop referencing "Jesus" or "Christ" in public forums. Further, attempts by Del. Bill Carrico to engage the governor's office in a discussion about the directive that resulted in the resignations were rebuffed.
Had the chaplains not relinquished their duties out of principle and reached out for assistance, we might not know of this attack on the free expression of religion. Prior to my issuing a news release to inform the public of the administration's actions, there was no public discourse on a unilateral decision that resulted in these dedicated individuals of faith ending their voluntary service as chaplains. That the administration's response to my informing the public of this controversy was to claim that Kaine was being attacked personally speaks volumes.
The Kaine administration has offered several different responses to this controversy, just one of which was to claim that bringing it up amounted to a personal attack on the governor and his faith. They have not, however, been the least bit interested in any discussion of the directive or the manner in which it was originally issued.
The facts are that the administration, using a narrowly written decision on legislative prayer issued by a three-judge panel (not the full court) of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, issued a policy that restricted free religious expression by all government employees. And when that directive was orally delivered to the chaplains (no written policy was presented), they were specifically and exclusively instructed not to use "Jesus" or "Christ" in prayer.
The plight of the chaplains rightly concerns all Virginians who care about free religious expression and the role of religion in American life. The administration's concerted efforts to squelch any discussion and prevent the examination of its actions cannot be met with quiet acquiescence, Harris's support of the policy notwithstanding. For me, remaining vigilant in support of free religious expression for all is not an option, but a duty.
