Americans United for Separation of Church and State: Tax Aid to Religion Harms Faith and Draws Government Into Religious Affairs, Interfaith Coalition Tells Appeals Court
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2008
2:00 PM
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CONTACT: Americans United for Separation of Church and State
(202) 466-3234
Joe Conn
Rob Boston
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Tax Aid to Religion Harms Faith and Draws Government Into Religious Affairs, Interfaith Coalition Tells Appeals Court
Religious, Civil Liberties Organizations Urge Court to Strike Down City Grants to Detroit Houses of Worship
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WASHINGTON, DC - April 17 - Using public funds to repair Detroit houses of worship violates the U.S. Constitution and threatens the independence of religious groups, a coalition of religious and civil liberties groups has told a federal appeals court.
In a friend-of-the-court brief filed today, seven organizations urged the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule against aid to churches that was distributed by the City of Detroit Downtown Development Authority in 2006.
The money was given to three downtown churches to repair their facades and for landscaping and lighting upgrades to spruce up sections of the city prior to the Super Bowl. A federal district court said the aid did not advance religion.
Organizations joining on the brief included the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty; American Jewish Committee; Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America; the Hindu American Foundation; Americans United for Separation of Church and State; The Interfaith Alliance Foundation and Americans for Religious Liberty.
“Americans have a long tradition of offering voluntary support to houses of worship,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “Coercing taxpayers to provide this aid is a monumental violation of the right of conscience.”
The legal brief in American Atheists, Inc. v. City of Detroit Downtown Development Authority argues that government aid to religion usually ends up doing more harm than good.
“The lessons of history are compelling: Governmental aid to construct and maintain houses of worship degrades religion and distorts government,” asserts the brief.
The brief goes on to argue, “[T]he grant recipients here are not just religiously affiliated: They are full-fledged churches. So the district court’s approval of public funding for repairs would have been especially noxious to those who adopted the First Amendment…. And it would have been equally offensive to those who sought to maintain their cherished religious freedom by ensuring that their houses of worship could never develop an unhealthy dependence on governmental largesse.”
The brief draws extensively on history and cites the works of religious liberty pioneers such as James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Williams and others.
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
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