Great Place to Donate to

[Isaac]

ACLJ Fires Off Demand Letter to Biden’s DOJ and HUD To Stop Senior Living Centers From Banning Resident Bible Studies | American Center for Law and Justice

Over the past year, the ACLJ has had numerous clients reach out about the unconstitutional banning of Bible studies in senior living centers. It’s outrageous that the religious liberty of many of the most vulnerable in society is under attack. We’ve successfully defended numerous Christians in . . .

aclj.org

This is a great organization to donate money to if you're really making it rain, consider sharing with the ACLJ.

 

[Steve R.]

This is an excellent example of where the First Amendment has been (illegally) contorted by the progressive left and now the US Department of Justice to suppress Christianity under the false assertion that Church and State must be aggressively "separated".

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I previously wrote:

To put it another way, the government cannot pass a law establishing a state religion (theocracy) as has been done in many Islamic countries. Unfortunately, in recent times, this part of the Bill of Rights has been perverted by the progressive left to oppress those who wish to follow Christian cultural practices (such as Christmas) to maliciously assert that those practices would be a violation of the section of the Bill of Rights cited above. Seems to me that Christians practicing Christmas is a "free exercise thereof".

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I would have no qualms about someone running Bible studies at a private-ownership assisted living center where everyone pays out-of-pocket. I would wonder about such studies at a government subsidized assisted-living center, including any that took in Medicare patients. It might still be OK if there were no members of any other religious group living there.

I wonder, though... If other religious groups are represented among the population, would they allow Koran studies and Analects of Confucius studies and Upanishads studies? Would they allow atheist studies to accommodate the non-Christian residents? I see the separation of state and religion as requiring balance... an all-or-nothing-at-all approach. I don't care to suppress Christianity - but I DO care to accommodate my Islamic, Buddhist, and atheist friends.

 

[Isaac]

I would have no qualms about someone running Bible studies at a private-ownership assisted living center where everyone pays out-of-pocket. I would wonder about such studies at a government subsidized assisted-living center, including any that took in Medicare patients. It might still be OK if there were no members of any other religious group living there.

I wonder, though... If other religious groups are represented among the population, would they allow Koran studies and Analects of Confucius studies and Upanishads studies? Would they allow atheist studies to accommodate the non-Christian residents? I see the separation of state and religion as requiring balance... an all-or-nothing-at-all approach. I don't care to suppress Christianity - but I DO care to accommodate my Islamic, Buddhist, and atheist friends.

I completely agree, and I think ACLJ would too. Typically in these cases they bring there actually ARE groups of other colors being allowed but not christians, although I'm not certain that's the specific case here - but yeah, you'd want to allow all of them

 

[Isaac]

typically the problem comes up in schools and universities, which will sometimes allow many faiths to have their clubs but not christians - and that's just plain ole' naughty

 

[DickyP]

Oh what a surprise - double standards!! It's hardly a new problem: back in 1971 when I started at University the Catholic Society and the Jewish Association were banned from the Student Union, but not the Humanist Association or the Islamic Students Group. This was a fiat decision of the Union Committee, soon backed down from after a massive revolt by the student body.

 

[Pat Hartman]

This is a great organization to donate money to if you're really making it rain, consider sharing with the ACLJ.

Funny how the organizations that rate charities call this one a far-right charity but don't call the ACLU a far-left charity. Guess we know who is trustworthy and who isn't.

 

[Pat Hartman]

I would have no qualms about someone running Bible studies at a private-ownership assisted living center where everyone pays out-of-pocket. I would wonder about such studies at a government subsidized assisted-living center, including any that took in Medicare patients. It might still be OK if there were no members of any other religious group living there.

Why does any of that matter even a little bit? Assisted living centers offer activities that the residents request and attend. They even sponsor bridge games. Should poker players be offended or discriminated against? The homes don't pay for these activities, they simply provide space to hold them and publicize them in their activity calendars. If there is any cost, it is born by the people organizing th activity but usually it is all done with volunteers.

When I was in high school, my grandmother was in one of these places. I organized a couple of my friends and every other Thursday afternoon, we went to the home to play cards or board games with the old folks for two hours. It was a hoot.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Why does any of that matter even a little bit?

Mostly because of court cases that say it matters at least a little bit.

 

[DickyP]

Mostly because of court cases that say it matters at least a little bit.

At least you have some court cases to blame. In UK such decisions are made by faceless bureaucrats, with no appeal.

The logic of just objecting to a Bible studies group is flawed - is anyone forced to go, are they refusing equivalent groups from other religious groups, are they meeting where others can't avoid them? Only if any of these are true is there any reason to object.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Mostly because of court cases that say it matters at least a little bit.

If the facility isn't using tax dollars to run the program, I don't see how a lawsuit could succeed. The liberals are pretty persistent but not all judges are blinded by the idiocy of the left.