77 NO 4 JULY-AUGUST. 1982

C J‘N-fm'Ay LIBERTY July1August, 1982 •ITHE•TOLERANCE•GAMEIN • - - --y --„st • "I Will Tomorrow Not at School Be"

• - • - --==r - -

BY ELFRIEDE VOLK How I dreaded hearing else about going to a new school—having Taking a deep breath, I blurted, "I will the teachers and students find out that I was every Saturday away be. I go to—to church my Canadian teacher's different, that I was "strange." As a at Saturday." displaced person following the war, I had I clenched my teeth, dreading what might response! been through the humiliation several times come. I thought of Hugo Schwarz, a friend sat on the sunlit steps of the one-room already. My family had moved from Ger- in Germany, who spent every weekend in country school, trying to pay attention many to Czechoslovakia, to Poland, to jail because he refused to let his children to Gary, a grade-six student, reading Sweden, to Holland, and finally to Canada. attend school on Saturday, which he consid- 1from Dick and Jane. But Gary's voice And here I was, in my sixth country, and I ered to be God's holy Sabbath. Young as I kept drifting out of my consciousness; I was only 10 years old. was, I knew that every country had its own was wrestling with a problem far greater than I remembered the last school I had laws. What would be the Canadian posi- the complexities of learning a new language. attended in Holland, where a delegation of tion? It was Friday afternoon, and I knew that students had demanded why I had special The teacher tilted up my chin and smiled today I would have to tell my teacher. The privileges and never attended school on down at me. "I'm glad you go to church," lump in my stomach seemed to swell and Saturdays. Diplomatically, the teacher had he said. "You are in Canada now. In come up into my throat at the mere thought explained that I belonged to a small group of Canada no one goes to school on Saturday. of it, and my palms grew clammy. Christians who kept the same Sabbath Jesus It is a holiday. So you go to church Gary finally realized I wasn't paying had kept. But I could still feel myself tomorrow, and then I'll go to church on attention, and he closed the reader. He blushing under the stares of my classmates. Sunday, and on Monday we'll both come picked up a handful of rocks from the There was a way to avoid this hassle, I back to school." schoolyard and threw them at a can on top of knew. Several children in my Sabbath Slowly the wonderful truth dawned on one of the fenceposts. A cow grazing in the school class had elected to attend classes on me. I was finally in a country where I was pasture at the other side turned to stare at Saturdays to escape the stigma of being free to worship without fear of reprisal from him, then resumed grazing. I wrung my different. But what about conscience? Even classmates, teachers, or civil authorities. As hands nervously, trying to think of the right though I was only 10, I believed that the the wonderful fact sank in, I suddenly words to say. seventh day is the Sabbath and that God understood a bit of the song we often sang in I waited until the other children had gone requires man to keep it holy. How could I class— before I approached the teacher's desk. "I knowingly go against His commandment? "0 Canada! Glorious and free!" ❑ will tomorrow not at school be," I said "I will not be here tomorrow either," the timidly, keeping my eyes on the ground. teacher said. He looked puzzled, as if he Elfriede Volk lives in Summerland, British This is what I dreaded more than anything was not sure he had heard me correctly. Columbia.

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ILLUSTRATION BY JEFFREY DEVER/COVER BY ZEB ROGERSON 3 LIBERTY ITHIE•TOLE

BY VIRGINIA ROSE Whatever the answer, things are better than in 1942, when Buddhist ministers were imprisoned, congregations deported, and temples closed.

uddhists of one main U.S. sect number 185,000,* sentiments held toward the Japanese people. During World yet American buddhism is not always accorded War II, Buddhist churches in America were virtually the status of a genuine religion. The Associated extinguished because of their predominantly Japanese Press Almanac has described Buddhism as "more character. A commission established to study the right of Bof a philosophy and system of ethics than a religion."' A Japanese-American citizens and permanent resident aliens to Protestant minister remarked that he did not consider restitution for their internment during World War II soon will Buddhism a real religion because "they don't have submit a report to Congress that will include the impact of the churches." Many Buddhist sects do have churches (more government's relocation policy on Buddhists in America.' than one hundred in this country for one sect alone).' In some Buddhism was introduced into the continental United sects they also have bishops, abbots, and teaching acade- States in 1899 when Buddhist ministers arrived to serve the mies.' This well-established religious structure has not, needs of Japanese immigrants.' By the early twentieth however, prevented American Buddhism from being viewed century approximately twenty-five Buddhist churches of the with some disdain, suspicion, or outright hostility. Because dominant sect had been established. In 1929 the Buddhist Buddhism in the United States is generally of Japanese Mission of North America began training ministers in origin, attitudes about the religion itself sometimes reflect English, as well as Japanese. By the 1930s Buddhism was attracting a few non-Asian as well as Japanese adherents.' *Most documentation in this article refers to Buddhist At the same time, Christian groups mounted a determined Churches of America, a major denomination of the Shin-shu effort to convert the Japanese population to Christianity. sect. Other sects (not all Japanese) are active in the U.S. The They included not only religious instruction but also free familiar Zen sect has the greatest Caucasian following. English lessons and aid in securing positions in domestic

4 PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES July/August, 1982

Clockwise from far left: Clutching his prayer beads. a Buddhist priest r padlocks the temple door. Ticketed for deportation. While their sons served, these mothers lived in a relocation camp. Her new home is to be behind barbed wire. Her Buddhist son returned from volunteer service to help the family evacuate.

service.' But the underlying message was clear: Buddhism minister of the Salt Lake City Buddhist temple was interned was paganism and its practitioners heathens. A Christian in Montana while his wife and congregants were allowed to clergyman confronted the minister of the New York Buddhist stay in the community. The government interned the Phoenix church: "America is a Christian country," he said. "Why do Buddhist temple minister and leaders and confined the New you teach Buddhism?" 8 A Japanese woman in California York Buddhist church minister to Ellis Island. remembers that when she refused to attend Christian The arrests of ministers disrupted worship services. Often religious instruction she was scolded and threatened with congregants were afraid to approach a temple for fear of divine punishment by the nun who came regularly to the being apprehended. Fearing reprisals, the temples them- public school to assemble the children for catechism.' selves canceled services." When the outbreak of World War II strained relations Why did the government target Buddhist ministers? For between Japanese Americans and Caucasians, American one reason, authorities seemed to confuse Buddhism with Buddhists felt the effects. In March, 1942, all people Shintoism, the Japanese state religion, which prescribes possessing one sixteenth or more Japanese blood who resided respect for a strict social and moral hierarchy of elders, in the Pacific States were ordered to relocation centers as ancestors, leaders and the Japanese emperor. U.S. officials potentially dangerous aliens. '° Even before this general assumed that Buddhist ministers would preach loyalty to the evacuation, however—in some cases as early as the evening emperor of Japan and incite their congregants to hostile or of Pearl Harbor day—presidents of various Buddhist temples and a number of ministers were removed from their temples Virginia Rose, a New Yorker, is a free-lance writer with an and homes." In inland states, from which Japanese were not M.A. in anthropology. She has a special interest in oriental evacuated, Buddhist ministers often were incarcerated. The religion and interethnic relations.

5 LIBERTY •ITHE•TOLE

I I I

Clockwise from above: The signs tell the story. Tagged for relocation center. The All-Japanese American 422d Combat Team received more casualties and decorations than any unit of comparable size in the Army's history. A Buddhist priest poses for farewell picture outside Buddhist temple. Alameda, California, Buddhist temple. National Buddhist headquarters in San Francisco. Off to camp they go, still pledging allegiance to the American flag.

6 ,HC1

July1August, 1982

espionage activities. Buddhism, a notably apolitical religion emphasizing harmony among all things and the quest for spiritual enlightenment, has no such creed.'4 Further confusion resulted from the use by some Buddhist churches of a bent cross sign, which, if inverted, remarkably resembles the Nazi swastika. Use of this sign on some church buildings brought further suspicion upon Buddhists." "It was a period when the word `Japanese' was a dirty epithet. Being Japanese and at the same time a Buddhist was even worse." 16 The Buddhist Mission of North America made repeated attempts to clear up these misconceptions. For a time they made daily calls to the Army and Navy Intelligence Bureau and the FBI office in San Francisco describing the activities of the Buddhist organization and the tenets of Buddhism." Eventually, officials distinguished Buddhism from Shin- toism; the latter was outlawed in relocation centers, while Buddhists were allowed to hold services inside the camps. But Buddhism still was viewed with disfavor. The prevalent attitude was that religious preference is a reliable indication of acculturation; therefore Buddhists were much more "Japanese" than were members of Christian churches." Moreover, Americans distrusted Buddhism simply because it was different. As one Japanese Christian minister remarked, "Anything you do not understand can look mighty suspicious." By March, 1942, all Japanese families were evacuated from coastal states and interned. Evacuee Mitsuye Kamada testified before the Commission on Wartime Relocation: "Most of the Buddhist ministers were taken into custody overnight by the FBI at the outset of the war and imprisoned for the duration. Our churches were closed and we were prevented from attending the house of worship of our choice. While we were interned, many of the Buddhist churches on the West Coast were vandalized, desecrated, and burned, many never to be rebuilt. Some churches were occupied by the Navy Department, military police, and army officers, who used them as headquarters. Religious articles were stolen and the places left in a shambles. "19 Even when Buddhist churches were left intact, the congregation could not always begin services immediately upon its return. Because the church in Alameda City, California, had been occupied by the Navy Department and used as a training center for Naval personnel, its Japanese members encountered difficulty in regaining possession when they returned in 1945. Other churches were needed as hostels for returning evacuees until they could find housing. To compound its liability, the government even placed some churches' tax-exempt status in jeopardy by arguing that temples were being used as domiciles rather than religious institutions !20 Not all Japanese returned to their former homes. Many resettled in the Midwest and East, establishing Buddhist churches in such cities as Cleveland, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York. "Every move, every venture, was carefully noted by the government agencies. The FBI knew exactly

IONAI. ARCHIVES/BUDDHIST CHURCHES OF AMERICA 7 LIBERTY •ITHE•TOLERANCEGAMEIE

how many people attended the gatherings and noted the should be accepted in its own right. Many Pacific churches movement of the ministers." 21 have returned to traditional forms of worship, eschewing the The relocation and internment policy did not exempt singing of hymns and the recitation of formalized creeds Japanese-American males from serving in the U. S . military. reminiscent of Christianity 26 On the East Coast, where While their families were incarcerated, eligible males were Japanese are less numerous, Buddhists are more likely to required to register for potential conscription into the United favor a policy of assimilation through imitation, accepting States Army. The all-nisei (second-generation-Japanese) the Christian standards of what is appropriate church 442d Regiment suffered the most casualties and was the most worship. decorated combat unit in the U.S. Army during the war.22 It does not matter whether Buddhism is a religion in the Buddhists in the armed forces, however, did not enjoy the same sense as Christianity or Judaism. What does matter is same religious recognition as other faiths. Those Japanese- whether we, as a nation, are content to allow the adoption of American soldiers who claimed Buddhism as their religion narrow or arbitrary criteria in assessing the validity of any were issued "dog tags" labeled "P" for Protestant!23 faith. What matters is whether we are content to grant less The Army has since made provision for "Buddhist" as a tolerance to a religion outside our own experience than to one choice of religion. Japanese Americans now are respected whose tenets are familiar. What matters is whether we really members of their communities, and Buddhist churches believe in freedom of religion or whether we are willing to attract a growing number of non-Asians as well as Japanese compromise this freedom for the sake of the "national and Chinese members. But Buddhism is still not without its good." ❑ special problems in our Judeo-Christian culture. Hospital personnel have been known to argue with patients who give References "Buddhism" as their religion on medical forms. Buddhists ' The Official Associated Press Almanac 1975 (Maplewood, N.J.: often are timid about admitting their religious preference to Hammond Almanac, Inc., 1975), p. 887. 2 Hozen Seki, The Great Natural Way (New York: American Buddhist neighbors or coworkers. Orientals fear that they may be Academy, 1976), p. 62. looked upon as backward or superstitious, as not really 3 Buddhist Churches of America, 75-Year History, 1899-1974, (Chi- "Americanized." Non-Asian Buddhists may be apprehen- cago: Nobart, Inc., 1974), vol. 1, pp. 32-40. sive about being identified with "hippies" or counterculture 4 Letter to Mitsuye T. Kamada from the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, Nov. 13, 1981. cultists.24 Ernst Benz, "Buddhism in the Western World," in Heinrich Even the measure of respectability that Buddhism has won Dumoulin, ed., Buddhism in the Modern World (New York: Macmillan in this country often results from conscious imitation of Publishing Co., 1976), p. 305. Christian values and practices. In Japan, religious worship is 6 Buddhist Churches of America, vol. 1, pp. 53, 62. centered in the home, with public services only on a few 7 Bill Hosokawa, Nisei: The Quiet Americans (New York: William Morrow Co., 1969), pp. 127-129. special days. In the United States, however, Buddhist 8 Seki, op. cit., pp. 7, 8. churches began the practice of Sunday services. Pews and 9 Personal interview with Mitsuye T. Kamada. organs have been installed, hymns are sung, and the 10 Daisuke Kitagawa, Issei and Nisei, The Internment Years (New York: doctrines stressed often are those most compatible with Seabury Press, 1967), pp. 53, 54. " Christianity.25 Buddhist Churches of America, vol. 1, pp. 61, 168. 12 Ibid., pp. 244, 354, 375. One Christian practice that Buddhists do not imitate is 13 Ibid., p. 61. prayer. Though one sect differs from another in its concept of 14 Ibid. a divine power or mystic harmony in the universe, Buddhists 18 Testimony of Mitsuye Kamada to Commission on Wartime Relocation in general regard this impersonal principle with awe and and Internment of Civilians, Roosevelt Hotel, New York, Nov. 23, 1981. 16 Buddhist Churches of America, vol. 1, p. 62. reverence but not as something to be placated or petitioned. 17 Ibid. Even Buddhists who credit the divine power with such 18 Harry H. Kitano, Japanese Americans: The Evolution of a Subculture personal attributes as "wisdom" and "compassion" do not (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969), p. 85. believe in petitioning this power for personal favors. The 19 Audrie Girdner and Anne Loftis, The Great Betrayal: The Evacuation of the Japanese-Americans During World War II (London: The Macmillan altruism of such a power is assumed; therefore, petitions are Co., 1969), p. 46. superfluous. Since the power's wisdom is perfect, it would 20 Testimony of Mitsuye Kamada to Commission on Wartime Relocation be foolish to seek to impose the human will through prayer. and Internment of Civilians. Further, Buddhism maintains that the individual and this 21 Buddhist Churches of America, vol. 1, p. 271. transcendent power are, in reality, one. Buddhists, therefore, 22 Girdner and Loftis, op. cit., p. 411. 23 Buddhist Churches of America, vol. 1, p. 65. meditate to realize this oneness rather than praying in an "I" 24 Testimony of Mitsuye Kamada to Commission on Wartime Relocation to "Thou" relationship. and Internment of Civilians. Though Buddhism in America has survived, even 25 Personal interview with Mitsuye Kamada, 239 W. 105 St., New York. flourished, by imitating Christian practices and trappings, its 26 Interviews with members of New York Buddhist Church, 332 adherents are divided on the wisdom of the policy. Churches Riverside Drive, New York, N.Y. 27 Girdner and Loftis, op. cit., p. 466. on the Pacific Coast, where people of Japanese descent are 28 Comments made by Rev. Mas Kodani, Shenshin Buddhist Church, Los relatively plentiful, tend to favor the idea that Buddhism Angeles, Calif.

8 MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY RAW CARROTS

BY WILLIAM E WILLOUGHBY lmost no one noticed it, but when phrase the courts' criteria, religions are the U.S Supreme Court refused to characterized by their adherence to and hear the case of Frank Africa, who promotion of "underlying theories" of claimed he was a "naturalist minis- man's nature and his place in the universe. Ater," it was denying him his raw carrots. The catch is that the First Amendment And his raw turnips and tomatoes. protection has not been extended to individ- When the High Tribunal let stand the uals or organizations espousing personal decision of the Third Circuit Court of (esoteric) or secular ideologies or philoso- Appeals in Pennsylvania, it also made a phies, no matter how closely they are held. precise determination of what is a religion Nor does it matter how "ultimate" are their and what is not. ends or all-consuming their means. Africa, a member of the MOVE religion, The second test asks how comphrehen- centered in the Philadelphia area, is serving sive the beliefs are, taken as a whole. That a seven-year sentence in a Pennsylvania is, a religion must consist of something state prison. When the state failed to more than several isolated, unconnected provide a special diet for him consisting ideas. entirely of raw foods, he sued. To eat Using a 1979 case, Malnak v. Yogi, as a anything other than raw foods, Africa guideline, courts have held that a religion contended, was a violation of his religion. A generally is not confined to one question or district court had ruled against him and the one moral teaching; it has a broader scope. Third Circuit Court agreed. It lays claim to an ultimate and comprehen- MOVE, it was determined, by the nature sive truth. In the Africa case, it was of its teachings and of the beliefs held by determined that his and MOVE' s beliefs do Africa, is not a religion in the First not pass the test. Amendment sense. In making the determi- A third indicium used by the courts in nation, two threshold requirements, the questioning religious validity under the courts maintained, must be met before First Amendment is whether the beliefs particular beliefs, asserted to be religious, have any structural characteristics. Under are granted First Amendment protection. this guideline, courts look for the presence 1. The beliefs must be sincerely held. of formal, external, or surface signs that This does not mean that the courts are may be analogized to accepted religions. In allowed to determine the truth or the merit other words, have other religions set the of the beliefs, only that they are sincerely precedents? held by Africa. The courts agreed that they These signs include formal services, were. ceremonial functions, existence of clergy 2. The avowed beliefs in the claimant's (but not necessarily ordained), structure and world view must indeed be religious. This organization, efforts at propagation, ob- second threshold consideration was held up servance of holy days, and similar mani- to three tests. Here Africa failed to make his festations. It is admitted by the courts that case, as the courts do not allow a self-defini- this element does tend to favor already- tion approach. established religions. The first test: What does his religion have Africa's beliefs failed under all three to say about fundamental and ultimate considerations, the courts held, and there- questions? These deal with how his group fore the state was not remiss in refusing to comes to grips with what are described as grant him his request for raw food as a "ultimate" realities—life, death, and the steady diet. hereafter; right and wrong; good and evil. It It looks like Frank Africa is stuck with is not necessary for every tenet to be cooked carrots. ❑ established, but the broad scope of ques- tions, the courts hold, must be addressed as William F. Willoughby is editor of Religion a fundamental religious concern. To para- Today in Washington, D.C.

ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID STREET/STREETWORKS STUDIO 9 LIBERTY •ITHE•TOLE

BY BOB COREY A suburban family finds took to get rid of us." Christ." Excited about our new life, we I could picture Lisa, brown eyes flashing, wanted to share it with everyone. The religion—and the her always-red-painted lips contorted. What children occasionally sported a "Smile, had we done to make her so angry? Jesus loves you" button. Perhaps our neighborhood "fireworks" We'd moved into our townhouse seven effervescence was offensive. In any case, begin. years before. Surrounded by shopping malls we quickly found that most of our neigh- and factories, the brick and aluminum bors, with whom we were good friends, n a hot, humid Sunday in June, I buildings each house six families. Approxi- thought we'd gone crazy. sat in my townhouse living mately 250 families live in the neighbor- We had changed. room in front of the lazily hood, covering a nine-square-block area. But perhaps we had not yet changed turning fan, cooling off with a tall Our neighbors are about the same age as enough to reflect Christ's tolerance for our 0glass of iced tea. It was a quiet afternoon we-25 to 35. Most are middle-income unchanged neighbors. As new Christians in our suburban neighborhood near Detroit. factory workers. we saw them as unbelievers, and we may Suddenly I heard the loud voice of our And most, as we did, claimed church have unconsciously sent condemnatory neighbor Lisa. "You're going to die and membership, though none of us had messages—"unclean, unclean." Perhaps go to hell just like the rest of us!" she attended for years. Then Carol and I got our neighbors saw our new lives as a screamed. "I don't care if you are a serious about the claims of Christ. Soon rebuke. Christian!" A moment later the back door after, we and our four children joined a But until Carol invited Lisa to the church slammed, and my wife, Carol, walked in nearby Protestant church. picnic, we had no idea how resentments had and slumped heavily into a chair. We stopped drinking and smoking pot, grown. "What was that all about?" stopped swearing and telling dirty jokes— The next day when I came home from "I don't really know," she said. "I was regular party fare when we gathered in one work, our four children sat slumped on the just telling Lisa about the Fourth of July another's homes. We started working on front steps, all wearing long, long faces. church picnic. She abruptly said the neigh- our weight problems. And on Sunday "What's wrong?" I asked. "You look bors were fed up with our goody-goody mornings, instead of sleeping off hangovers like you've just lost your best friend." attitudes. She said that they wanted us with the rest of them, we were off to church. "We've lost all our friends," said Tami, to move, and that they'd do whatever it We were, I think, typical "babes in 9. "Nobody will play with us." Her green

10 ILLUSTRATION BY JACK PARDUE

July1August, 1982

eyes showed a trace of tears. the backyard. He sat on the ground holding Their children harassed us in a different "Surely someone will play with you," I his arm. He had a black-and-blue lump way. Almost daily a barrage of stones, said. "Try farther down the street—make about the size of an egg just above his broken glass, and other debris descended on new friends." elbow. our yard. We'd put up with it for a while, "We went all the way to the end of the Ted again. This time he had gone too far. then call the police. By the time the police street," said Jerry, 7. He sifted a handful of I called the police. arrived, the children would be gone. When black dirt through his fingers. "If I were you, Mr. Corey," an officer the police left, they'd start all over again. "Nobody will play," said Susie, 5, sad responded, "I'd coma down here as soon as On the evening of July 4 we sat in the eyes hiding behind long auburn hair. possible and file a complaint. If this guy's living room watching the celebration on TV Jimmy, 4, didn't say anything. hurt your kids twice already, he's likely to while the neighbors celebrated by throwing "Well," I said, irritated, "if nobody will do it again." cherry bombs into our yard. For days play with you, then you'll have to play with The next day I filed a written complaint. following we were bombed by fireworks of each other." I was quickly sorry for letting The officer told me I would receive notice of every description. I finally stopped calling my aggravation show; I had already learned the court date in the mail. Ted would get one the police—it proved a waste of time. that conversion is not synonymous with at the same time. My day in court proved a waste of time as instant sainthood. My face was flushed The notice came the following week. Ted well. Since my children were minors, and I when I went into the house. "Let's eat received his, too; I heard him swear and had no other witnesses, the court could do early," I said to Carol, "and then take the slam his front door. The court date was six little. Ted was given a warning. kids to the park." The small park about a weeks away. One hot afternoon near the end of August mile away, equipped with swings, slides, After that, we couldn't leave our house our kids were having one last fling in their and sandboxes, was to become our sanctu- without having obscenities hurled at us from swimming pool. Hearing screams, I ran to ary for the rest of the summer. neighboring townhouses. My car was the front door to see Tricia, my neighbor's We stayed till after dark. When we got bombed with eggs on the outside and 16-year-old baby-sitter, drag Tami across home, the mailbox was open. Expecting tomatoes on the inside; nails and glass were the sidewalk on her bare skin and kick her in advertising of some kind, I reached inside. put under my tires; my back door had eggs the back and shoulder. Before I could get The message was not what I expected—but plastered over it and the screen cut; the front there, Tricia had run. Tami was scraped it did seem clear. It was a dead mouse. Carol of our townhouse was caked with mud. from shoulder to waist, and her arm hung screamed. Several of the neighbors knew of Worse, the children were beaten up by older limp at her side. I rushed her to the hospital her fear of mice. neighborhood kids, and Carol received for X-rays. The doctor said she had multiple The next Friday, as we locked the house several obscene phone calls. abrasions and a fractured shoulder blade. before leaving for the park I heard Jerry That weekend, a petition was passed That night I called Tricia's mother. crying hysterically from the backyard. I got around the neighborhood to get us evicted as "Oh, I've heard all about you from your there in time to see him getting up from the troublemakers and undesirables. Nothing neighbors," she said sarcastically. "You're grass. No one else was in sight. materialized. According to our lease, we the ones that parade up and down the "What's the matter, Jerry?" could be evicted only for nonpayment of sidewalk trying to cast demons out of "It was Ted," my 7-year-old whim- rent or for disturbing the peace. We were everybody. Isn't that true?" pered. Ted, 25, was our neighbor. "He clear on both counts. I was speechless. grabbed my hair and held me up in the air." On Monday a tall, slender social worker The Sunday before Labor Day we went to Jerry stood bewildered in the middle of the named Sonia paid us a visit. "I'm here to church as usual. Preaching on "The Chris- yard, crying and rubbing the top of his head. investigate a child negligence complaint," tian Role in Society," the pastor stated, I ran to Ted's back door and pounded in she said. "The report states that your "Sometimes we have to swallow our pride fury. "Come out here so I can talk to you!" children are locked outside from early and be the first to apologize, even when we "I can hear just fine in here," he said morning until dinner and that they aren't feel we're not at fault." through the screen. given lunch or allowed to use the bath- The words hung heavy on our hearts. We "What's the big idea of your grabbing room." Carol and I were stunned at the didn't want to apologize. We hadn't done Jerry? I could put you in jail for that!" accusation. Just then Susie flushed the toilet anything wrong. It would look like we had "You haven't got the guts," he said. and came out of the bathroom. Carol and I lost the battle. The neighbors would laugh "And you can't prove anything. Besides, I looked relieved, Sonia looked relieved— in our faces. thought you Christians were supposed to and Susie looked relieved. But, through prayer, we saw that it was turn the other cheek. Isn't that what the "Well, I can see there's no truth to that up to us to take the first step. We decided to Bible says?" complaint," said Sonia writing something try. How hard it was to knock on Ted's I struggled with conflicting emotions. in her notebook. door, on Lisa's door—to tell them we were "I'll turn the other cheek this time," I Just then Sandra, another neighbor, sorry for our poor witness! finally responded, "but if it ever happens rattled off a string of profanity at Jerry, who But none of them laughed. They accepted again, we're going to court!" was watering our yard—and sending a few our apologies. Some even began attending That night I came across a Bible text that sprinkles into her yard too. Sonia was church on their own. By the time the autumn would help me get through the weeks ahead: shocked at the viciousness in Sandra's leaves turned red, we saw that all things "And we know that all things work together voice. were indeed working together for good. ❑ for good to them that love God, to them who "They really don't like you, do they?" are the called according to his purpose" "I'm afraid not," Carol said. Bob Corey is a pseudonym. He and his (Romans 8:28). As July began, the neighbors kept busy family still live in the same Detroit suburb. A few days later I heard Jimmy crying in passing out petitions and spreading rumors. All names have been changed.

11 LIBERTY NITHIE•TOLE history of a people, but the beliefs of men have a much more powerful one." The beliefs De Coulanges has in mind are primarily INSIDERS religious. For unlike modern nations, where mutual defense treaties and reciprocal trade agreements are common, the AND ancient city-state isolated itself. The central event in civic life was the sacred meal; the chief officers of the state were priest-kings. Hence, the psychological distance between OUTSIDERS city-states was much more difficult to bridge than physical geography. The gods were not the same, nor the religious ceremonies, nor the ancestral traditions. To change city-states was nigh unto impossible. In the BY KEN BAZYN time of Herodotus, Sparta had granted citizenship to a foreigner only once, and then only after a formal command That's the way it was in the ancient from the oracle. In Athens, obtaining citizenship required world until One came in through three separate ballots, and included more legal maneuvering than a declaration of war. In Rome, as in Athens, every whom all humanity could find foreigner needed a patron to sponsor him and vouch for his its oneness. character. He, in turn, must swear allegiance to the city's laws and gods. Naturally, then, the most severe form of punishment for The Greeks thought of themselves as a rational, citizens in the ancient world was exile. One who lacked freedom-loving people and depicted the rest of man- friends and relatives forfeited his right to be buried in the kind as untutored barbarians. The Romans declared their tomb of his fathers (hence his spirit would be restless for empire to be the known or civilized worla, and considered months after his death); he had few marriage partners to the regions beyond to be inhabited by vulgar, superstitious choose from, since intermarriage was frowned upon; and the folk who lived without the benefits of Roman jurisprudence. state often failed to recognize his offspring as legal heirs. The Egyptians drew a distinction between themselves and all Worst of all, he lost the familiarity of his boyhood religion, aliens, who lacked the social refinement it took to be called for even the ancients who did vaguely believe in one men. The Hebrews, too, exhibited this mentality when they universal God felt that His special protection waned once called themselves the chosen people of Yahweh, and referred they stepped outside their city borders. to everyone else as unclean, arrogant Gentiles. The Hebrew view of exclusion was very similar to that of This separation between "insiders" and "outsiders" took their neighbors. Their religion harked back to a covenant political form in the ancient city-state. "The incurable between Yahweh and Abraham. As long as a person desired division of the Greeks has been attributed to the nature of to stay in the covenant, his obedience would be rewarded, their country," writes French historian Fustel de Coulanges, and he would partake of life in the world to come. One could "and we are told that the mountains which intersect each separate from his special calling only by deliberately other establish natural lines of demarcation among men. But rebelling against God and his fellow men, by casting off the there were no mountains between Thebes and Plataea, yoke, and even then the door of repentance was still open. To between Argos and Sparta, between Sybaris and Crotana. maintain covenant status, a person needed to confess his sins, . . . Doubtless physical nature has some influence upon the offer sacrifices, observe the Day of Atonement, fast, and ILJUL I JUUUI U IL/ JUL 1 /l1L11/1 /111L/L11111 DALAI g 1 /1). JI /I /II

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12 July/August, 1982

seek after Yahweh with all his heart, soul, and mind. A to be also a great sinner—indeed, his suffering was the person's humble approach to the altar signified his sense of consequence of, and the judgment for, his sin. guilt and unworthiness. Regardless of their knowledge of the Torah and their Despite Israel's admirable concept of forgiveness, the preconceptions of a righteous life, Jesus made only one Hebrews still mistreated outcasts. These included the stipulation when they came: "According to your faith be it heretical Samaritans, who worshiped at Mt. Gerizim, not unto you" (Matthew 9:29). At times He even honored the Jerusalem; proselytes; the illegitimate children of marriages faith of friends and relatives who brought those who were too between priests and women of impure descent; and slaves, sick or too despondent to hope for themselves. both those who had been freed and those still in bondage. The New Testament speaks of this deliverance in a variety Each group was denied access to many public offices and the of metaphors—redemption, a legal declaration from the religious merits of Israel's forefathers. Worst off, however, courts; sanctification, a figure of ritual cleansing drawn from were those tainted by sexual offense. Bastards, orphans, and the temple cults; adoption, a picture of altered family eunuchs were harassed and entitled to little legal protection. relationships. Here was the mystery of forgiveness in terms Yet, these were the very sinners the Messiah came to save. drawn from Paul's writings: cleansing of past guilt, According to Pascal, Jesus looked out and saw two types of restoration into fellowship with God, sharing His righteous- people: "the righteous who believe themselves sinners, the ness, so that in Christ a man is re-created to carry out the good rest sinners who believe themselves righteous." He asso- works God has called him to do, and is indwelt by a new ciated with people of low character, such as harlots, tax power to overcome everyday temptations. collectors, and Samaritan women. To His contemporaries, The second-century Church Father Justin Martyr idealized this social behavior was unorthodox, to put it mildly. The this new relationship: "We who once used to rejoice in Pharisees and scribes, for instance, felt that the house of such fornication now cleave to chastity; we who once practiced the a person and all the furniture and utensils thereof were magical arts have now consecrated ourselves to the good and unclean; further, such persons were probably ruled by unbegotten God; we who beyond everything else loved gain demons, lust, or greed. Accepting a dinner invitation from and property now bring even what we have into the common such a person was condoning his sin, and made repentance fund, and share it with those in need; we who once were that much more difficult. haters and murderers of one another, and because our Because Jesus preached in the open to all who would hear, customs were different would have not common hearth with He attracted society's dregs. Luke reports that His entire strangers, do now, since Christ's manifestation, eat together ministry was aimed at the poor, the down-and-out, those with them and pray for our enemies." burdened by the rules of religion or too ignorant to study The old social barriers had been broken down. "There is them. Thus, Jesus spoke in simple parables, using analogies neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is from nature and the familiar occupations and events of neither male nor female," Paul jubilantly proclaimed, "for Palestinian life, thanking His heavenly Father that He had ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). hidden His truths from the wise and understanding and The "middle wall of partition" that had divided Gentile revealed them to babes. from Jew had fallen through the ministry of One in whom all Jesus also healed many who made their way to Him— humanity could find its genesis, its redemption, and its people who had been oppressed by demons and were oneness. CI suffering from apparently incurable diseases, people who had been waiting all their lives for some form of relief, not Ken Bazyn, editor of Religious Book Club, has written a only from their physical infirmities but from social and number of articles on religious liberty themes. He has a B .A. spiritual stigmas. One who was a great sufferer was assumed in Greek and religion from Wheaton College. ITP111111M.1511111111191111111111/11Jeffle111011111111111,1MMIgLIMPPIII,IUM11111111111,1OliLlIgl. I LUP1111111.1,111.111111,111111.111,111,1

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13 LIBERTY

BOOK BANNING IN BAILEYVILLE

BY ERIC E. WIGGIN Some called it accommo- Blevins, of the Woodland Baptist church. When the soft-spoken, scholarly minister dation of parents' rights; didn't want to enter the fray, Mrs. Daven- some called it censorship. port went to Superintendent Freve. Based on her complaint, Freve took the matter to the school board. On April 28, ast January 22, U.S. District Court they voted 5-0 to remove the offending Judge Conrad Cyr ruled that the banned book. On May 14 the school board heard book 365 Days should be returned arguments from high school seniors to the Baileyville, Maine, junior- Michael Sheck and Heather Beebe, who, senior high school library. The decision coached by the MCLU, argued that their marked the end of a nine-month battle in this First Amendment rights were violated by 2,200-resident mill town in the eastern the banning of 365 Days from their school Maine wilderness. library. Nevertheless, the board voted 3-2 A documentary story about the Vietnam not to offer the book to a review committee war, written by a veteran, the book had been that had been set up in the meantime to banned by the Baileyville school board handle future book complaints. because of its generous use of sexual In September, the MCLU filed a class- expletives, particularly a vulgar, four-letter action suit against the school board, charg- Saxon term for intercourse referred to in ing that the ban violated the First and court proceedings as "the word." In his Fourteenth Amendments. They asked that decision to put the book back in the library, 365 Days be returned to the school library. Cyr acknowledged that "Community When the board refused, the court date was values . . . are the basis of the obscenity set for December 21. definition" and provided that "access to Ronald Glasser, M.D., author of the questioned materials can be denied the controversial book, saw the ban as censor- student, if the parent desires so." ship of knowledge about Vietnam issues, Ronald Coles was happy with the deci- rather than censorship of obscenity. Ronald sion. An attorney for the Maine Civil Coles, the MCLU attorney, agreed. Liberties Union (MCLU), Coles declared Together they prepared a heady host of Cyr's action to be "a historical decision" witnesses to make a case against the that will have "tremendous influence" in "bigoted fanaticism" they saw prevalent in the United States. Coles lauded Cyr as the "backwoods" Baileyville. first federal judge to return to a school By the time the trial convened, the New library a book banned for its four-letter York Times, Boston Globe, Washington words. Post, and ABC News were in town to cover The Baileyville school board, of course, it, and 365 Days was checked out or sold out isn't so happy. "It's ridiculous," said of every library and bookstore within miles. Raymond Freve, Baileyville superintendent Glasser flew in from Minneapolis to testify, of schools. "Parents can't be expected to go and his publisher flew in from New York to the school library and read all the books for moral support. Four black-helmeted before their children get to them." As an Vietnam veterans marched outside the elected body, said Freve, the school board courthouse, carrying placards that read: "should make every effort to accommodate "War is obscene, not history." Inside the the parents' efforts to direct their students." courtroom, three veterans and three former The controversy began in April, 1981, war correspondents, including Pulitzer when 15-year-old Betsy Davenport brought Prize-winner Frances Fitzgerald, took the 365 Days home from her Baileyville school stand for 365 Days. library. Betsy was shocked at the obsceni- The veterans asserted that the book was ties in the book. So was Betsy's stepmother, an accurate and sensitive account of the Carol Davenport. war, a story that could not be rightly told Mrs. Davenport went to her pastor, Ray without frequent use of "the word"-

14 PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE MAINE PAPER, ERIC E. WIGGIN July/August, 1982

which, ironically, Judge Cyr considered too coarse for use in his courtroom. (Betsy's father, Frank Davenport, himself a Veitnam veteran, was not put on the stand. Daven- The High Court's June 25 Decision port has read parts of the book, and thinks it A school board that has banned a book may be invited to "tell it to the judge." The well written, but believes the story could Court rejected the argument that federal judges should permit school boards have been equally effective without the use unrestricted right to control content of their libraries. of "the word.") The Baileyville school The case* originated with a suit by five students against a Long Island, New York, librarian, head English teacher, and even a school district. In 1975 the board had removed nine books from high school and school board member (who later changed junior high school libraries, calling them "anti-American, anti-Christian, anti- her mind) also testified in favor of putting Semitic, and just plain filthy." 365 Days back into the library. The books were: "A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich," by Alice Childress; When Mrs. Davenport took the stand "A Reader for Writers, A Critical Anthology of Prose Readings," compiled by against the book, MCLU lawyer Coles tried Jerome Archer; "The Best Short Stories by Negro Writers," compiled by Langston to prove that she was more accustomed to Hughes; "Down These Mean Streets," by Pin Thomas; "The Fixer," by Bernard profanity than she would admit. He read Malamud; "Go Ask Alice," author anonymous; "The Naked Ape," by Desmond aloud a "famous passage" depicting Morris; "Slaughterhouse Five," by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and "Soul on Ice," by orgasm from James Joyce's Ulysses. Mrs. Eldridge Cleaver. Davenport objected to the passage. He read Ironically, if the board and parents demanding the action had concentrated only on a titillating sentence from Erich Segal's the books' alleged filth, they may have won their case. It is permissible to censor for Love Story—which young Betsy had read vulgarity, the High Court said, but the First Amendment does not sanction official earlier with her stepmother's approval. suppression of ideas. The 5-4 decision had four justices (of the majority) saying Mrs. Davenport objected, nevertheless. banning violates students' First Amendment rights, four saying it does not, and one, Even when her former husband testified that Justice Byron R. White, saying that question should be decided by the District Court. she'd used "the word" herself in one conversation "toward the end of our mar- *Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26,et al. v. Pico, et al. riage," Mrs. Davenport maintained that she felt "the word" was unacceptable, on the basis of a commitment to Christ she'd made about a year earlier. The MCLU found Superintendent Freve more difficult prey. Freve evenly pointed rt 4. 5. out that the high school library carried fourteen or fifteen other titles about Viet- nam, and that 365 Days "would be appro- priate for high school students without the language." Freve agreed that he had recommended , — "that Glasser's book not be put through the committee review process, because of the pressure [by parents] on board members," three of whom subsequently voted against the book. Freve and two other board members noted that the five-member Bai- leyville school board is "the final decision- maker. " 1. Superintendent Raymond Freve In his thirty-four-page ruling against the school board, Judge Cyr disagreed. "Fed- 2. Maine Civil Liberties Union eral courts must remain on First Amend- lawyer Ronald Coles ment alert in book-banning cases," he 3. Plaintiff Michael Sheck wrote. "A less vigilant rule would leave the 4. Principals in controversy: care of the flock to the fox that is only after (from left) Pastor Ray Blevins, the feathers." Carol and Frank Davenport In spite of that, the "fox" still has ideas 5. Plaintiff Heather Beebe about caring for the flock. "We consider it a valid educational goal to teach students not to use 'the word,' " said Freve. ❑

Eric E. Wiggin is a full-time free-lance writer in Rockland, Maine. He writes for The Maine Paper and frequently covers local church-state issues for LIBERTY.

15 LIBERTY

"He who achieves tolerance has ye to understand the very basis of reli Now your turn to play! freedom; for tolerance speaks fror, a pedestal of superiority, while reli freedom stands in the street to pros equal rights under law." —RRH

Special

(Special space.) Receive token Go to jail for bu n ng a cross on Advance I space for each d (All players are created equal.) good for dietary demands while in white man's lawn ou contributed last Xnias jail.

•ITHETOLERANCEGAMEP 1. In this game. even the winner may be a loser. 2. If all one achieves is toleration, one has achieved little—and fellow players even less. 3. The real objective is to understand and to practice religious liberty. 4. Religious liberty is to concede the right of a person to practice a religion you don't respect and may even abhor. 5. Religious liberty is not a game.

Take extra turn for welcoming your Advance 3 spaces for defending Loie 2 turns for hiring a Go forward 3 spaces for not Buddhist daughter-in-law into the the right of a person to practice a deprogrammer. ing a religious solicitor off yo family. religion respect.

16 ILLUSTRATION BY ZEB ROGERSON July/August, 1982 HCIDGAIWID

Vo man has a right in America to treat "Toleration is not the opposite of intolera- "Every sect clamors for toleration when y other man 'tolerantly' for tolerance is tion, but is the counterfeit of it. Both it is down." —Thomas Babington assumption of superiority. Our are despotisms. The one assumes to itself Macaulay. erties are equal rights of every citizen." the right of withholding the liberty of -Wendell L. Wilkie. conscience, and the other of granting it." —Thomas Paine.

• GlIETT71

3 back 3 spaces for shopping on Lose 1 turn for drawing a swastika Take extra turn for keeping your Remain here for 3 turns to impr _today. on a synagogue door. cool during a religious discussion. your tolerance quotient,

Advance 3 spaces for saying something nice about Madalyn Murray O'Hair.

Lose 1 turn for wearing KKK robe at NAACP rally.

advance 2 spaces for smiling at back 1 space Lose 1 turn for praying to Buddha ti Moonie solicitor while hurrying ntten to ldi Amin in public school. through airport terminal.

17

LIBERTY The Uncommon Common It belongs to the people.

By Marguerite E. Fitch

hree hundred and fifty years have sed since the first "cattell" Tzed on Boston "Common." Dur- ing its existence it has been the site of varying occasions and incidents, ranging from colonial military training, cruel pun- ishments and hangings, political forums for far-left to far-right activists, pulpits for religious leaders to espouse causes, parade ground for protesters, to a place of quiet relaxation and recreation. Only ten years after the Pilgrim Fathers stepped on Plymouth Rock, four ships sailed from England, carrying eight hun- dred religious zealots calling themselves Puritans, to the "wilderness of New Eng- land." John Winthrop, second governor of the newly formed New England com- pany—who bore the royal charter granted by Charles I of England—eventually led his small flock to what is now Boston, Massa- chusetts. Sir Isaac and Lady Arabella Johnson, of Boston, England, were among Winthrop's group. They had arrived on the Arabella, named in compliment to the Lady. In June, 1630, they came to Charlestown, a small settlement on the banks of the Charles River. Because they were plagued with lack of safe drinking water, Winthrop decided to move to another area. Across the river the tiny Shawmutt peninsula jutted into a large harbor. The Reverend William Blackstone (or Blaxton), pioneer settler of the peninsula, lived alone in a cottage on the highest hill, facing Charlestown. Introducing himself to Gover- nor Winthrop, he told of an excellent spring of clear water on his land, "withal inviting him and soliciting him thither." Wheeling and dealing is not so modern a game, for Blackstone persuaded Winthrop that each householder should pay him (Blackstone) six shillings until thirty pounds had been collected as full payment for the privilege of settling on his plantation. The Puritan group moved to its new location on September 17, Against a backdrop of modern skyscrapers, swan boats float indolently on the Public 1630, and named it Boston. Gardens' lake in historic Boston Common. Each family had brought its means of 18 PHOTOGRAPH BY H ARMSTRONG ROBERTS July/August, 1982 support: animals, tools, and garden seeds. claimed the ill effects of using tobacco, The first set of stocks, built by a Puritan There was little time before the first frost smoking outdoors was permitted only in the Church member, was host to its creator. would whiten the area. Foods needed to be "smoker's circle" on one of the hills. When he presented to the townsmen his bill preserved and fodder for animals had to be Another portion of the plot was set aside of "one pound, thirteen shillings, and seven stored, to last through the long, cold winter as a burying ground. Death was an everyday pence," he was promptly arrested for ahead. Although many of the group did not occurrence—just as much a part of life as profiteering, fined five pounds, and placed survive the rigors of that first winter, being born or getting married. The church in his own creation. religious zeal superseded hardships and held sway over all such events. A certain A gallows was erected in 1638 to calamities. amount of melancholy pleasure was derived "execute Indians, Quakers, pirates, and Other groups soon emigrated to the from funerals, which were a great public other malefactors." On June 15, 1648, protected area of Boston, causing a shortage occasion. After a night of eating and Margaret Jones, of Charlestown—one of of space for people and animals. In 1634, drinking (and sometimes revelry) while four women executed as witches—was the Puritan colony purchased from Rev. attending the viewing of the corpse, on the hanged. Witnesses claimed that those Blackstone, for $150, a five-sided, fifty- day of the funeral white-gloved honored accusing Margaret had previously lost an acre tract of land bordering the brackish salt deputies in special funeral attire solemnly argument with her concerning some cattle. marshes of the Charles River basin. Having bore the casket through Boston's narrow Going out in classic style, a Worcester "made his bundle," the Reverend then alleys, across the cow paths of the Com- County murderess went to her death robed departed for a less-crowded realm—Rhode mon, to the burying ground. Gravestones, in a flowing white satin gown. Island. imported from England (at a high rate of Burdened with the tasks of sheer sur- The intent of the purchase is recorded: duty) were ready-carved, sometimes bear- vival, Puritans did not abide merriment or "The town laid out a place for a trayning ing strange epitaphs such as the familiar one amusement. It is said they "took their field; which ever since and now is used for "As you are now so once was I." One pleasures sadly—after their fashion." A that purpose and for the feeding of cattell." Boston sea captain, endeavoring to bring a midweek gathering, known as "the great An early map of Boston designates the area gravestone for a friend into port free of duty and Thursday recture," broke the dullness as Common. A memorial to the founders by entering it on his records as a "winding of their drab lives. Five hours long, it was stands on the location of Blackstone's sheet," was caught and punished. held on Thursday so that there would be spring (on the Beacon Street side of the Amusing as the gravestone rhymes and little time left for frolicking before the park). jingles seem to us, they depict a strange Sabbath. Judge Sewall commented in his Several times a week all village men exaltation of spirit that New England diary, " `Twas no time in New England to gathered on the Common to practice Puritans felt about death. It was considered dance." These weekly gatherings became a marching and shooting. Their techniques the event that brought them near to God and time of pious dissipation and gradually must have been passed down through the that unknown world beyond, of which they evolved into perverted religious sports and generations, for modern military training constantly spoke, and thought of as release diversions, most of which were held on the still employs a stuffed figure target similar from the bondage of their temporal exist- Common. to that used by the Puritans. Frequently ence. Judge Sewall regarded a visit to his Nathaniel Hawthorne best describes the prizes were offered for the best marksman- family tomb as "an awfull yet pleasing opening hours of "Lecture Day": ship. It was said that Judge Sewall was a treat." Mr. Joseph Eliot said that "the two very poor shot himself, so he offered as a days wherein he buried his wife and son "Breakfast hour being passed, the inhab- prize a silver cup and a silver-headed pike. were the best he ever had in the world." itants do not as usual go to their fields or The all-powerful Puritan Church con- On the Boylston Street side of the work-shops, but remain within doors or trolled such military exercises, making Common an ornate black wrought-iron perhaps walk the street with a grave them "properly religious" by invocation of fence still encloses graves of some of the sobriety. . . . It is in one sense a day of prayer and psalm singing at the opening early settlers of Boston; among them the public shame; the day on which transgres- and, before breaking line for dismissal, noted portraitist Gilbert Stuart. Most of the sors who have made themselves liable to the giving notices of religious meetings. Some- headstones are weatherbeaten and sunken; minor severities of the Puritan law receive times a dinner was served under tents, to the names and dates are almost indiscernible. their reward of ignominy. At this very accompaniment of repeated gun- and can- Because Puritans believed in punishing moment the constable has bound the idle non-firing, quite in contrast to the soberness those who did not adhere to their beliefs and fellow to the whipping-post and is giving of the opening ritual. Governor Winthrop regulations, several modes of discipline him his deserts with a cat-o' -nine-tails . detailed in his diary that at the May, 1639, were established on the Common. Ever since sunrise Daniel Fairfield has been training "one thousand men exercised, and Nagging a husband was an offense not standing on the steps of the meeting-house, in the autumn twelve hundred bore arms, brooked by the church. A ducking stool was with a halter about his neck, which he is and not an oath or quarrel was heard, and no installed at the Frog Pond—so called by the condemned to wear visibly throughout his drunkenness seen." town wit "because it was never known to lifetime; Dorothy Talby is chained to a post Eventually, "trayning days" developed harbor a frog"—to punish "scolds" and at the corner of Prison Lane with the hot sun into "muster days," which evolved into a "railers." The Frog Pond was one of three blazing on her matronly face, and all for no zenith of merriment, dissipation, and noise. water holes on the Common where cows other offense than lifting her hand against However, such training proved of value to slaked their thirst. Now, cement-lined, it is her husband; while through the bars of that the patriots when facing the crack-shot a play area where children wade in summer great wooden cage, in the centre of the British regulars at Lexington and Concord and skate in winter. scene, we discern either a human being or a in 1775. A woman was tied to the whipping post wild beast, or both, in one. Such are the When the Common was established, a for having raised her hand against her profitable sights that serve the good people section was reserved for a powder house. husband. to while away the earlier part of the day." On one of the four small rises within the The "cage for Sabbath-breakers" was confines of the acreage a watch house was warning enough to fill the churches on Marguerite E. Fitch now lives in Lakewood, placed. Although no Surgeon General pro- Sunday morning. California.

19 LIBERTY

As an example of punishment for wrong- burnings in effigy of those who held high vicinity: the Boston Massacre Monument, doing, after preachments by Boston's positions of British authority. During the the Army and Navy Monument, the memo- clergy on Lecture Day, criminals were siege of Boston British General Howe rial to Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, and hung. Both minor and major malefactors began running out of supplies for his troops, Lafayette Mall. were subjects of sermons. Levi Ames, who and ordered the stately elms to be chopped Across the street at the southeasterly was hung for burglary on October 21, 1773, down for firewood. Among them was the corner, the stately spire of Park Street was present in church when Dr. Andrew famous Liberty Tree, which provided four- Church, now dwarfed by a huge skyscraper, Eliot preached the execution sermon—at teen cords. New elm trees were planted to reminds Bostonians that "America"—one Ames's request. A note by Dr. Eliot's son replace the loss suffered through Howe's of our national hymns—was first sung there (Dr. Ephriam Eliot) was attached to the decree; however, the "Great Elm," desig- by two hundred schoolchildren on July 4, printed sermon, explaining the event: nated as the "oldest inhabitant of Boston 1831; and that intense anti-slavery sermons "Levi Ames was a noted offender— Common," fell in 1867. poured forth from its pulpit in Civil War though a young man. He had gone through Throughout the Revolutionary period times. all the routine of punishment, and there was British soldiers pitched their tents, erected At the most northerly end, up Beacon now another indictment against him where horse shelters, and established kitchens on Hill, the golden dome of the State House, there was positive proof, in addition to his the Common, thereby forcing residents to reflecting the brilliance of the sun, sheds its own confession. He was tried and con- seek other sources of forage for their governmental effluence. demned. His condemnation excited extraor- livestock. Needing further space, the red- Boston Common is still the heartbeat of dinary sympathy. He was every Sabbath coats ruthlessly trampled the burying the city. The crooked, narrow paths tra- carried through the streets with chains ground. versed by Puritan livestock are now criss- about his ankles, and handcuffed, in cus- On the night of April 18, 1775, from the crossed ribbons of cement, overspread by tody of the sheriff officers and constables, to marshy shores (where Charles Street sepa- huge elms that in summer provide a some public meeting, attended by an innu- rates the Common from the Public Gardens) pleasant, shady oasis for businessmen to merable number of boys, women, and men. the British embarked in their shallow boats relax at noon and read the latest newspaper, Nothing was talked of but Levi Ames. The to cross the Charles for their march to or office workers and weary shoppers to ministers were successively employed in Lexington and Concord. Two months later pause for rest on the bleached wooden delivering occasional discourses. Stillman they mustered on the Common before the benches. Discarded newspapers become improved the opportunity several times and Battle of Bunker Hill. blankets on which the unemployed stretch absolutely persuaded the fellow that he was In the middle and late 1800s, when to sleep. Soldiers and sailors, on leave and to step from the cart into heaven." Puritan power had diminished and volun- in search of entertainment, eye pretty girls tary religious zeal was at its height, huge passing by. Occasionally, the shrill whistle Judge Sewall gives account of another tents were often erected on the Common to of the peanut vendor's polished copper execution: host the throngs who came to hear fiery roaster penetrates a lull in the flow of traffic "Many were the people that sat upon evangelists exhort them to repentance, or on Charles Street. Visitors from all over the Broughton' s Hill. But when I came to see abolitionists shout anti-slavery messages. world feed the gluttonous pigeons and how the river was covered with people 1 was In the 1900s—in stark contrast to earlier squirrels, then cast aside their paper bags amazed; some say there were 100 boats. events the Common had evidenced—music and cartons in wanton fashion. 150 boats and canoes, saith Cousin Moody had become part of the cultural scene in The marshy shore where the British of York. He told them Mr. Cotton Mather Boston. From the Parkman bandstand frag- embarked for Lexington and Concord is came with Captain Quelch and six others ments of stirring Sousa marches floated now the Public Garden. There, in summer, for execution from the prison to Scarletts across the park. At other times from the formal flowerbeds proudly exhibit a riotous Wharf and from there in boat to the place of bandstand could be heard the amplified color of bloom. On the small serene lake in execution. When the scaffold was hoisted to speeches of political activists, espousing its center float wooden swans, pedaled by a due height the seven malefactors went up. their particular beliefs. indolent young men. As they ply their Mr Mather pray' d for them standing upon Since wheeling and dealing was part of aimless journey, real swans follow in the the boat. Ropes were all fastened to the the original establishment of the Common, gentle wake to gobble tidbits of discarded gallows save King, who was reprieved. it was not surprising that a huge parking food. In the chill of Boston's bitter winter, When the scaffold was let sink there was garage was built under the Common a few overcoated proper Bostonians stride quickly such a screech of the women that my wife years ago. Outbursts of angry newspaper across the Garden and Common, turning up heard it sitting in our entry next the orchard editorials and arched eyebrows of staid coat collars and tightening scarfs against the and was much surprised at it, yet the wind Bostonians were quelled by the rebuttal that raw, whipping wind. was sou' west. Our house is a full mile from the garage was under—not on—the Com- All year round, at morning and evening, the place." mon, thereby freeing its sponsors from subway entrances that gape along the infringement of the original intent of our perimeter of the Common spew thousands The first duel with swords—and the only Puritan ancestors. of daily travelers from their musty depths. one to take place in Boston—was viewed on In the 1960s, Boston Common was a Newsboys continuously intone, "Read all the Common in 1728. shelter for hippies and flower children about it!" Reports of muggings and purse Early in its existence, elm trees were strumming their guitars and singing their snatchings on the Common bring a wariness planted throughout the Common. One tree plaintive songs. Recent decades have to more who would enjoy America's oldest in particular gained fame, having been bought marching, poster-clad protesters public park; but those less fearful realize dubbed the "Liberty Tree," because of raising clenched fists and shouting chants. that should they care to bring a cow to the Major Barre's speech to the English Parlia- A leisurely stroll through the Common Common to eat grass, no one will be ment when he defended Americans who envelops one with an aura of American arrested, for Boston has held to the original resisted the Stamp Act, calling them "sons history such as no textbook can provide. purpose set forth by our Puritan ances- of liberty." Mass meetings were held Mute statues chronicle historic events that tors—Boston Common "belongs to the beneath the Liberty Tree, as well as have taken place on the Common or in its people." ❑

20 July/August, 1982 JAMES*MADISON

MEMORIAL AND REMONSTRANCE AGAINST RELIGIOUS ASSESSMENT By James Madison

Madison's Memorial and Remonstrance is one of the most is wholly exempt from its cognizance. True it is, that no other important landmarks in the development of religious liberty rule exists, by which any question which may divide a and church-state separation in the United States. It was society, can be ultimately determined, but the will of the written in 1785 as part of the effort led by Madison to defeat majority; but it is also true that the majority may trespass on Patrick Henry's "Bill Establishing a Provision for Teachers the rights of the minority. . . . of the Christian Religion" in the Virginia legislature. If religion be exempt from the authority of the society at Henry's bill would have taxed all Virginians for religious large, still less can it be subject to that of the legislative body. purposes, though it would have allowed each taxpayer to The latter are but the creatures and vicegerents of the former. designate which church would receive his share of the tax. Their jurisdiction is both derivative and limited: it is limited Leo Pfeffer, one of the most distinguished constitutional with regard to the co-ordinate departments; more necessarily scholars of our day, has written that the Memorial eloquently is it limited with regard to the constituents. The preservation and forcefully summarized the contemporary ideas about of a free government requires, not merely, that the metes and religious liberty of most Virginians, led to the defeat of bounds which separate each department of power be Henry's bill and the subsequent passage of Jefferson's Bill invariably maintained; but more especially that neither of for Establishing Religious Freedom, and paved the way for them be suffered to overleap the great barrier which defends the First Amendment. Pfeffer declares that the Memorial and the rights of the people. The rulers who are guilty of such an Jefferson's Bill "should be required reading in every encroachment, exceed the commission from which they American school." derive their authority, and are tyrants. The people who Below is the text of the Memorial, condensed for brevity: submit to it are governed by laws made neither by themselves nor by an authority derived from them, and are slaves. . . . e 'hold it for a fundamental and undeniable truth It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our "That religion or the duty which we owe to our liberties. . . . Who does not see that the same authority which Creator and the manner of discharging it, can be can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all religions, may directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, violence. " The religion then of every man must be left to the in exclusion of all other sects? that the same authority which conviction and conscience of every man; and it is the right of can force a citizen to contribute three pence only of his every man to exercise it as these may dictate. This right is in property for the support of any one establishment, may force its nature an unalienable right. It is unalienable; because the him to conform to any other establishment in all cases opinions of men, depending only on the evidence contem- whatsoever? . . . plated by their own minds, cannot follow the dictates of other Whilst we assert for ourselves a freedom to embrace, to men: It is unalienable also; because what is here a right profess and to observe the religion which we believe to be of toward men, is a duty toward the Creator. It is the duty of divine origin, We cannot deny an equal freedom to those every man to render to the Creator such homage, and such whose minds have not yet yielded to the evidence which has only, as he believes to be acceptable to Him. This duty is convinced us. If this freedom be abused, it is an offense precedent, both in order to time and in degree of obligation, against God, not against man: To God, therefore, not to man, to the claims of civil society. Before any man can be must an account of it be rendered—As the [Henry] bill considered as a member of civil society, he must be violates equality by subjecting some to peculiar burdens; so it considered as a subject of the Governor of the universe: And violates the same principle, by granting to others peculiar if a member of civil society, who enters into any subordinate exemptions. . . . association, must always do it with a reservation of his duty The [Henry] bill implies, either that the civil magistrate is to the general authority; much more must every man who a competent judge of religious truths: or that he may employ becomes a member of any particular civil society, do it with a religion as an engine of civil policy. The first is an arrogant saving of his allegiance to the universal Sovereign. We pretension, falsified by the contradictory opinions of rulers in maintain therefore that in matters of religion, no man's right all ages, and throughout the world: The second an is abridged by the institution of civil society, and that religion unhallowed perversion of the means of salvation. . . .

21 LIBERTY JAMES-MADISON

The establishment proposed by the bill is not requisite for depopulated flourishing kingdoms. the support of the Christian religion. To say that it is, is a Torrents of blood have been spilt in the old world by vain contradiction to the Christian religion itself; for every page of attempts of the secular arm, to extinguish religious discord, it disavows a dependence on the powers of this world: it is a by proscribing all differences in religious opinion. Time has contradiction to fact; for it is known that this religion both at length revealed the true remedy. Every relaxation of existed and flourished, not only without the support of human narrow and rigorous polidy, wherever it has been tried, has laws, but in spite of every opposition from them; and not only been found to assuage the disease. The American theater has during the period of miraculous aid, but long after it had been exhibited proofs, that equal and complete liberty, if it does left to its own evidence and the ordinary care of providence: not wholly eradicate it, sufficiently destroys its malignant Nay, it is a contradiction in terms; for a religion not invented influence on the health and prosperity of the state. If with the by human policy, must have preexisted and been supported, salutary effects of this system under our own eyes, we begin before it was established by human policy. It is moreover to to contract the bounds of religious freedom, we know no weaken in those who profess this religion a pious confidence name which will too severely reproach our folly. At least let in its innate excellence, and the patronage of its Author; warning be taken at the first-fruits of the threatened and to foster in those who still reject it, a suspicion that its innovation. The very appearance of the bill has transformed friends are too conscious of its fallacies to trust it to its own "that Christian forbearance, love and charity," which of late merits. . . . mutually prevailed, into animosities and jealousies, which Experience witnesseth that ecclesiastical establishments, may not soon be appeased. What mischiefs may not be instead of maintaining the purity and efficacy of religion, dreaded, should this enemy to the public quiet, be armed with have had a contrary operation. During almost fifteen the force of a law? . . . centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on The policy of the bill is adverse to the diffusion of the light trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, of Christianity. The first wish of those who enjoy this pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in precious gift ought to be that it may be imparted to the whole the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution. race of mankind. Compare the number of those who have as Inquire of the teachers of Christianity for the ages in which it yet received it with the number still remaining under the appeared in its greatest luster; those of every sect, point to the dominion of false religions; and how small is the former! ages prior to its incorporation with civil policy. . . . Does the policy of the bill tend to lessen the disproportion? If religion be not within the cognizance of civil No; it at once discourages those who are strangers to the light government, how can its legal establishment be necessary to of revelation from coming into the region of it; and civil government? What influence in fact have ecclesiastical countenances by example the nations who continue in establishments had on civil society? In some instances they darkness, in shutting out those who might convey it to them. have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of civil Instead of leveling as far as possible, every obstacle to the authority: . . . in no instance have they been seen the victorious progress of truth, the bill, with an ignoble and guardians of the liberties of the people. Rulers who wished to unchristian timidity would circumscribe it with a wall of subvert the public liberty, may have found an established defense against the encroachments of error. . . . clergy convenient auxiliaries. A just government, instituted Because, finally, "the equal right of every citizen to the to secure and perpetuate it needs them not. Such a free exercise of his religion, according to the dictates of government will be best supported, by protecting every conscience" is held by the same tenure with all our other citizen in the enjoyment of his religion with the same equal rights. If we recur to its origin, it is equally the gift of nature; hand which protects his person and his property; by neither if we weigh its importance, it cannot be less dear to us; if we invading the equal rights of any sect, nor suffering any sect to consult the "Declaration of those rights which pertain to the invade those of another. . . . good people of Virginia as the basis and foundation of Instead of holding forth an asylum to the persecuted, . . . government," it is enumerated with equal solemnity, or [the Henry bill] is itself a signal of persecution. It degrades rather with studied emphasis. from the equal rank of citizens all those whose opinions in Either then, we must say, that the will of the Legislature is religion do not bend to those of the legislative authority. the only measure of their authority; and that in the plenitude Distant as it may be in its present form from the inquisition, it of this authority, they may sweep away all our fundamental differs from it only in degree. The one is the first step, the rights; or, that they are bound to leave this particular right other the last in the career of intolerance. The magnanimous untouched and sacred: Either we must say, that they may sufferer under this cruel scourge in foreign regions, must control the freedom of the press, may abolish the trial by view the bill as a beacon on our coast, warning him to seek jury, may swallow up the executive and judiciary powers of some other haven. . . . the state; nay that they may despoil us of our very right of [The Henry bill] will have a like tendency to banish our suffrage, and erect themselves into an independent and citizens. The allurements presented by other situations are hereditary assembly or, we must say, that they have no every day thinning their number. To superadd a fresh motive authority to enact into a law the bill under consideration. We to emigration by revoking the liberty which they now enjoy, . . . say, that the General Assembly of this Commonwealth would be the same species of folly which has dishonored and have no such authority. ❑

22 July/August, 1982

C • H • I • L• E

By Robert G. Wearner Christmas Day, 1845, the ship He had a sense of mission. Still, neither he N Mississippi slowly pulled into nor his Chilean hosts could have guessed the the Valparaiso harbor on the arid eventual result of that mission—a changed When he arrived, coast of Chile. On board was David constitution for Chile. Trumbull, a young minister. What thoughts Who was this remarkable young man? passed through his mind as he saw the many Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on Protestants ships in the harbor, arrivals from Europe November 1, 1819, Trumbull came from an and the Eastern United States by way of old New England family that numbered weren't allowed Cape Horn? His mission was to help the among its ancestors John Alden and other young sailors on those vessels. scholars and statesmen. David was a scholar to marry legally Perhaps a bit of homesickness crept into himself; he graduated from Princeton Theo- his heart on this first Christmas far from logical Seminary in 1845. Shortly after, he or even to home. He scanned the waterfront— accepted a call from the Foreign Evangeli- wharves, warehouses, small shops and cal Society to work among English and restaurants, and a few homes. Was this the American sailors who passed through Val- bury their dead "city" that would be his new home? Young David saw little to make that a in public cheery prospect. Only an occasional cactus Robert G. Wearner writes from Pernam- broke the monotony of the stark rocky buco, Brazil, where he teaches theology at cemeteries. coast. Yet Trumbull was not discouraged Northeast Brazil College.

LLUSTRAT1ON BY BRNXEY 0. POPMEADY 23 LIBERTY

Since fees charged by priests were high, only the well-to-do couples could afford a marriage ceremony. The lower classes seldom bothered to legalize their marriages.

C • L• F paraiso, Chile. Reports said that 1,500 and encouraged the few Protestant mer- Piedra. Like Sarmiento, the Argentine merchant and fishing vessels, representing chants in Valparaiso. patriot he hammered daily at the public nearly thirty nations, anchored in the harbor Two years after his arrival, he organized conscience until his ideas of reform and each year, freeing some fifteen thousand a group of fifteen persons into the Union progress influenced many thinking citizens. sailors to run wild in the little port. Young Church. After meeting in a printing shop, a Another advance came in 1861 when David's formidable challenge was to min- warehouse, and other temporary locations, Richard Confield arrived to assist in organ- ister to their spiritual needs. the group finally erected a church in 1855, izing the Valparaiso Bible Society. With An inhospitable Chile reluctantly opened the first Protestant church built on the west Dr. Trumbull as president, the society its doors to its first evangelical clergyman. coast of South America. circulated many thousands of Bibles and Authorities wanted him to minister unob- Constructing it in Chile was no small Testaments throughout Chile and even trusively to Protestant seaman and mer- task. At first city officials, pressured by helped Catholic leaders to publish a Catho- chants. From the birth of the republic, priests, refused to authorize construction. lic New Testament. Chile's constitution had granted freedom of With the help of English and Scottish Gradually the tide turned in favor of religion only to Roman Catholicism. An businessmen, Trumbull persuaded the city religious liberty. Liberal-minded members article of Chilean law decreed Roman fathers to compromise—after six months of of the congress pushed through a bill Catholicism to be "the sole and exclusive debate! The city allowed the evangelicals to granting religious tolerance to non-Catho- faith of the State of Chile" whose "protec- build a small chapel surrounded by a high lics. The 1865 law, known as Ley Interpre- tion, conservation, purity, and inviolability wooden fence with a small, inconspicuous tativa (Interpretative Law), declared that will be one of the duties of the chiefs of gate, shutting off all view from the street. the constitution's probibition of public society who will never permit another Worshipers were ordered to sing their exercise of dissident faiths did not refer to public cult or doctrine contrary to that of hymns softly so that passers-by would not religious services indoors if the sponsors Jesus Christ." hear them and enter out of curiosity. The owned the meeting place. The law also Intolerance was easily documented. victory was small, but Trumbull determined permitted Protestants to establish schools to Non-Catholics were not allowed to bury to continue the fight until Protestants, Jews, instruct their children in their own doc- their dead in public cemeteries. When and Catholics enjoyed equal rights. trines. Bernardo O'Higgins, the "George Wash- Gradually Trumbull gained official Trumbull continued to press reform- ington" of the shoestring republic (Trum- favor. He was allowed a free hand in his minded members of the congress for a law bull was later to become its "David work for the seamen, but he had a burden to releasing cemeteries from ecclesiastical Livingstone"), attempted to establish a work for the indigenous population as well. control. With its passage, non-Catholics cemetery in Valparaiso for dissidents, he A turning point occurred in 1850, when could bury their dead honorably in public was met with a storm of clerical protest. David married Jane Wales Fitch, a young cemeteries. Protestants and Jews were not allowed to teacher from the United States. Together A major breakthrough came in 1884 marry in Chile, though some were married they established a school for girls, another when, over the strong protests of the on ships outside the three-mile limit. first in Chile, since all schools had formerly Catholic clergy, the congress authorized (Fortunately, the two-hundred mile limit been operated by Catholics. Authorities civil marriage. This new act legalized and had not yet been invented!) Catholics, too, scrutinized the school but could find nothing made compulsory for persons of all faiths a suffered from the church's customs. Since wrong. Since some of the finest Chilean civil ceremony conducted by a public fees charged by priests were high, only the families enrolled their daughters, the official in charge of the register. well-to-do could afford a marriage cere- Trumbulls gained more friends. Although Trumbull died in 1889, shortly after mony. The lower classes seldom bothered the school was later closed down, David becoming a Chilean citizen. He had not to legalize their marriages, with resultant continued to fight for free school privileges lived to see the fulfillment of his fondest moral problems. until they were granted in 1882. dream—complete constitutional separation The 26-year-old Trumbull seemed The young evangelical minister made full of church and state in the republic of Chile, undaunted by the difficulties. Even before use of the local press. He mastered the which finally was voted in 1925. No one he left the Mississippi, he organized a Spanish language and began to write news- doubts, however, that his forty-three years worship service. Once on shore he visited paper articles. Starting in 1869. he edited of example and exhortation was a major and prayed with sailors in hospitals and jails the first Protestant paper in Spanish, La factor in setting the stage. ❑

24 July/August, 1982

participation would be almost a contra- exempting the self-employed Amish but not diction in terms and difficult, if not impos- all persons working for an Amish employer. sible, to administer. Thus the government's The tax imposed on employers to support Liberty&Law interest in assuring mandatory and contin- the social security system must be uni- uous participation in and contribution to the formly applicable to all, except as Congress social security system is very high." provides explicitly otherwise." As for accommodating Amish religious The decision leaves Edwin Lee with only belief, "The Court has long recognized that one hope: Congressional enactment of an Tax Protesters, Beware! balance must be struck between the values exemption to cover his situation. The Supreme Court of the United States of the comprehensive social system, which For religious tax protesters in general, the has served notice that it will not support tax rests on a complex of actuarial factors, and decision probably spells ultimate legal protesters who refuse to pay taxes because the consequences of allowing religiously defeat. of religious beliefs. based exemptions. To maintain an organ- For First Amendment law, perhaps what In United States v. Lee, the Court ized society that guarantees religious free- wasn't written means the conservative considered the case of Edwin D. Lee, an dom to a great variety of faiths requires that influences within the Court are making it Old Order Amish farmer and carpenter, some religious practices yield to the com- easier for the government to prevail in Free who employed several other Amish crafts- mon good. Religious beliefs can be accom- Exercise cases. The "compelling public men to work on his farm and in his carpentry modated, . . . but there is a point at which interest" language of earlier cases has been shop. Lee refused to file quarterly social accommodation would 'radically restrict replaced by an "overriding governmental security tax returns, withhold social secu- the operating latitude of the legislature.' " interest," a standard that on a case-by-case rity tax from his employees, and pay the The Court said this case is different from basis may be easier for states to meet. employer's share of the social security Wisconsin v. Yoder, the 1972 Amish case in And, finally, religious dissenters will taxes. which the Court held that states may not have to consider seriously the Court's The Internal Revenue Service in 1978 require Amish to attend structured schools admonition that when they voluntarily enter assessed Lee more than $27,000 for back beyond grade 8. "[tit would be difficult to into commercial activities, they cannot taxes. He paid a nominal amount and sued accommodate the comprehensive social expect the Court to superimpose their for a refund, claiming the social security security system with myriad exceptions beliefs on the law or on their employees. taxes violated his First Amendment right to flowing from a wide variety of religious Overall, though the Lee decision may be free exercise of religion. The federal district beliefs." a small retreat from certain religious liberty court in western Pennsylvania agreed. The The Court also undercut future religious principles, perhaps we shouldn't be sur- government appealed. tax protesters. "The obligation to pay the prised. As the noted constitutional lawyer The Supreme Court in its February 23 social security tax is not fundamentally Leo Pfeffer once said, "Never bet against decision noted that Congress has exempted different from the obligation to pay taxes. the tax collector." self-employed individuals who belong to . . . If . . . a religious adherent believes war Citation: 50 U.S.L.W. 4201. religious orders that care for their elderly, is a sin, and if a certain percentage of the but that the exemption does not apply to federal budget can be identified as devoted Religious Accommodation employers or employees. The Court to war-related activities, such individuals The supreme court of Michigan has held accepted Lee's contention that the tax would have a similar valid claim to be that the state Fair Employment Act does not violates Amish religious beliefs, which exempt from paying that percentage of the impose an obligation to make reasonable require members to care for the elderly and income tax. The tax system could not accommodations for the religious needs of needy, and that compulsory participation in function if denominations were allowed to employees. But because of a split in the the social security system interferes with challenge the tax system because tax pay- court, the case of Mary Parks was returned Amish Free Exercise rights. ments were spent in a manner that violates to a lower court for determination whether "The conclusion that there is a conflict their religious belief. . . . Because the broad the employer, General Motors, "failed to between the Amish faith and the obligations public interest in maintaining a sound tax act affirmatively to avoid the discriminatory imposed by the social security system is system is of such a high order, religious effect of a facially neutral practice." The only the beginning, however, and not the belief in conflict with the payment of taxes employee, Mary Parks, was fired from the end of the inquiry," Chief Justice Burger affords no basis for resisting the tax." Fisher Body Division plant in Pontiac when wrote for the unanimous Court. "Not all The Court concluded: "Congress and the she refused to work after sundown on Friday burdens on religion are unconstitutional. courts have been sensitive to the needs or on Saturday before sundown. . . . The state may justify a limitation on flowing from the Free Exercise Clause, but Case: Michigan Department of Civil religious liberty by showing that it is every person cannot be shielded from all the Rights v. General Motors Corporation, No. essential to accomplish an overriding gov- burdens incident to exercising every aspect 64141 (filed March 1, 1982). ernmental interest." of the right to practice religious beliefs. The Chief Justice explained that the When followers of a particular sect enter Compiled by Robert W. Nixon, a Washing- governmental interest is apparent because into commerical activity as a matter of ton, D.0 ., lawyer and legal advisor for the social security system is nationwide. choice, the limits they accept on their own LIBERTY magazine. Nixon, a student of the "The design of the system requires support conduct as a matter of conscience and faith religion clauses of the First Amendment, is by mandatory contributions from covered are not to be superimposed on the statutory employers and employees. This mandatory schemes which are binding on others in that also a member of the Religious Liberty participation is indispensable to the fiscal activity. Granting an exemption from social Committee of the National Council of vitality of the social security system. . . . security taxes to an employer operates to Churches and a member of the National Moreover, a comprehensive national social impose the employer's religious faith on the Advisory Council of Americans United for security system providing for voluntary employees. Congress drew a line . . . Separation of Church and State.

25 LIBERTY

the pluralism and regard for minority prayers that are private, and spontaneous. religions that church-state separation pre- Truly voluntary petitions to God are always supposes. and everywhere appropriate, as the text of International As the American Jewish Congress put it, the Supreme Court's decision in Engel v. "To a child in the classroom, no part of the Vitale (370 U.S. 421) makes plain. The school routine is voluntary. It cannot be seemingly innocuous nondenominational made so by the cruel device of telling . . . prayer written by the New York regents— More Heat Than Light— [the pupils] that they are allowed to brand from which objecting students could excuse Reagan Rekindles the Prayer Issue themselves as pariahs by leaving the room themselves—was not this kind of prayer, or Was it a Communist plot that removed or by remaining conspicuously silent during so the Court perceived. coerced prayers from the daily routine of the religious ceremony. Indeed, what actu- Nor have the courts interdicted the study our public schools in 1962? By restoring ally happens when this unwise practice is of religion in public schools. Courses in them now, would we strike a blow for followed is that at least some of the pupils philosophy, comparative religion, the his- morality? Do we perpetuate "secular depart from their parents' religious teach- tory of religion, and the Bible as literature humanism" if we do not? enjoy complete sanction even as they, like The President has ensured a national the individual prayers that are naturally forum for such questions by proposing a "Nothing in this Constitution shall offered up, enhance the moral atmosphere constitutional amendment that would be construed to prohibit individual of public school learning and thus contrib- ute to a wholesome milieu. "allow" prayer in public schools. And by or group prayer in public schools or linking the amendment to a reawakening of What then did the Court say •in its widely "America's religious and moral heart," he other public institutions. No person misunderstood decision? Speaking for the has indicated his answer to the second shall be required by the United States majority, Justice Hugo Black interpreted question. "No one will ever convince me," or by any state to participate in constitutional sensitivity to "at least mean that in this country it is no part of the he exclaimed in his April 6 statement, "that prayer." a moment of voluntary prayer will harm a business of government to compose official child or threaten a school or state. But I prayers for any group of the American think it can strengthen our faith in a creator people to recite as a part of a religious who alone has the power to bless America." ings because of the pressure from their program carried on by government. " It is We too would like to see faith strength- teachers and peers to conform to the precisely this point that we would empha- ened in the Creator, noting by our emphasis majority view." size as the prayer movement reemerges with our belief that many Americans have faith in Moreover, those who care about the the imprimatur of the White House. someone other than our Creator (one reason Constitution and wish not to encumber it Apart from constitutional issues, the why we hate to see government casting its unnecessarily will protest the redundancy of genuinely prayerful person will be con- vote on the issue). Rather than seeing the the President's action. The courts have not cerned at the interreligious conflict likely to President's solution as "light at the end of precluded, because courts cannot preclude, accompany attempts simply to word the the tunnel," as Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell did, we sense more heat than light. And with good reason: The Presi- dent's announcement brought immediate dissension—ironically, on the National Day of Prayer, when harmony and brotherhood are supposed to prevail.

"I have never believed that the oft-quoted First Amendment was supposed to protect us from reli- gion. It was to protect religion from government tyranny." —President Reagan

Our own criticisms are not those of the "secular humanist," but rather of constitu- tionally sensitive and genuinely prayerful individuals. On the issue of constitutionality, we feel several qualms. School prayer is hardly voluntary when required or sanctioned by law. Here a government agency, in this instance a public school, institutes religious practices in contravention of the First At the National Day of Prayer ceremony in the Rose Garden, President Reagan Amendment. True, pupils could bolt the announces his administration's proposal to submit to Congress a constitutional process, but such prerogatives do not ensure amendment "allowing" children to pray in school.

26 July1August, 1982

mandated prayer. R. G. Puckett, executive sought to fulfill a promise to Catholics, tantism swung into action. David Samuel, director of Americans United for Separation while avoiding the multimillion-dollar secretary of the Protestant Reformation of Church and State, has speculated that "in addition to the budget that passage of the bill Society, said he saw the ARCIC's proposals Utah, Mormon prayers will predominate. In would entail. By introducing a prayer as a possible capitulation to Rome and Rhode Island, Roman Catholic prayers will amendment, the President may no longer sounded a warning against the report. prevail. In parts of New York, the Jewish have a "prayer" of reducing the federal The Church Society, the main evangeli- faith will be propagated. And in California deficit. cal organization within the Church of and Hawaii, Buddhism or other Eastern All told, the prayer issue is inflammatory England, approved the report's conciliatory religions will have a role. Each school stuff. We believe that the President would approach to some of the issues dividing the district in the country will become a be wise to renounce his stated intentions. two churches, but described as unaccept- battleground with religious groups vying for Polls indicating substantial support for a able the report's movement "towards the control of the machinery of education." prayer amendment have inquired too soon. reintegration of a Protestant Church into the Conceivably the school prayer that There is opposition out there, and it's going existing, confessionally unchanged, results from such attempts could have depth to be powerful—particularly when the cost Church of Rome." and meaning for some, but others (as noted is counted, constitutionally, financially, Bill Johnston, covenanter of the Scottish above) will be offended. Most likely, prayer and morally.—G. M. R. Inter-Church Relations Committee, was will be robbed of its best qualities. The quick to point out that as far as the national processess of composition and ritualistic Much Controversy Expected to Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) was repetition will cheapen it by trivializing, Follow Ecumenical Report concerned, "Christ is the head of the sanitizing, and diluting it. church." Further, as Congressman Robert Kasten- LONDON—Years of controversy were There are years ahead for this kind of meier noted, "to inject government into this forecast following recent publication of the controversy to flourish. ARCIC's proposals matter would seem to contradict the aim of final report of the Anglican-Roman Catholic will not be discussed by dioceses of the the proponents of such an amendment, International Commission (ARCIC). The 27-member churches and provinces of the namely, to get government out of their report urged Anglicans to consider a "uni- Anglican Communion until a more positive lives." versal primacy" for the pope as bishop of reflection is taken by the Lambeth Confer- So if from one vantage point the Presi- Rome. ence in 1988. dent's proposal is naive and needless, and if Within hours of release of the ARCIC The Roman Catholics do things dif- from another it demeans the very exercise it report, one London radio station was ferently. ARCIC's report will be discussed would promote, why not place renewed reporting a "furious row" over its contents. and decided on by the Holy See, where the And letters of protest soon began reaching Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of newspapers. One writer asked how Roman "No one must ever be forced or the Faith will play a prominent role. Its Catholics would feel if the Archbishop of prefect, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, has coerced or pressured to take part Canterbury were to be primate of a united expressed some reservations about the in any religious exercise, but nei- church. ARCIC report. The Archbishop, Dr. Robert Runcie, ther should the government forbid "warmly welcomed" the ARCIC report in Vice Squad Arrests Pastor religious practice. The amendment a statement. Commending it to the churches we'll propose will restore the right for study and response, he added: "For the for Pornography "Cornucopia" to pray." moment it remains a study document. On LAS VEGAS, Nevada—Sheldon Melvin —President Reagan the one hand it is more than a piece of free Heiman, 54, head of the so-called Church of enterprise on the part of a few enthusi- the Children of the Desert, was arrested by asts—it is the work of an official joint vice officers here who uncovered what they emphasis upon the traditional places of commission which has been working for 11 described as "a cornucopia of explicit worship? One is the home altar, another the years. pornography" at his headquarters. house of public worship—the church or "On the other hand, it has not been The church has been under investigation synagogue. And there is the parochial accepted by either the Roman Catholic by postal authorities for the past year on school. These citadels of faith offer untold Church or the churches of the Anglican charges of mail fraud. Several persons have potential in fostering prayer that is truly Communion, and no one should leap to the complained that the church conducts mail- authentic. The secular classroom does not conclusion that the Archbishop of Canter- order puzzle contests but does not pay the do so in the main. We will be listening for bury or the General Synod [of the Church of winners after obtaining donations from the inevitable compromises to be proposed, England] are about to accept definitions of them. but not with any great optimism. papal jurisdiction and infallibility made in Mr. Heiman obtained a mail-order ordi- Clearly, President Reagan feels he owes a the nineteenth century at the First Vatican nation certificate from the Universal Life debt to the restless Christian Right. And, Council. " Church, of Modesto, California, and incor- though he may not have intended it, a prayer Peter Geldard, general secretary of the porated his church as a nonprofit institution amendment will almost surely open the way Church Union, the Church of England's in 1977. Its literature states that donations for parochial school aid, and thus pacify main Anglo-Catholic society, echoed Dr. will be used to help "unfortunate children" Roman Catholics who restlessly await their Runcie's welcome and said he hoped "the who might be lured into prostitution by Las reward. After all, if a public school can flower of Anglican-Roman Catholic unity Vegas pimps. remain public while adopting a religious could be in full bloom by 1988," when the But the vice officers who raided the practice, on what constitutional basis can next decennial meeting of the Lambeth headquarters said that what they found parotchial schools be denied funding? In Conference of worldwide Anglican included a brothel operation and pornogra- introducing the tuition tax credit late in this bishops takes place. phy that appeared to involve an underage session of Congress, the President likely But then the "heavy armor" of Protes- girl.

27 LIBERTY

studies or any other type meetings. It does Erratum list permissible uses in the R1 zone, which Owing to editing cuts in the original Letters pertains to one-family dwellings and which script, there are some misleading statements include accessory uses. It further defines in my article on "Albania: The World's accessory use as "a use which is customar- Most Atheist State" (March-April, 1982). ily incidental to that of the main building or Readers may have been puzzled to read, the main use of the land." after an earlier statement that all churches Strategic Retreat The interpretation of "accessory uses" have been closed and no religious literature by the Department of Building and Safety is [In our March-April, 1982, issue, is allowed in Albania, that "Moslems and that Bible study meetings hosted by the Orthodox go happily to Catholic churches" LIBERTY reported that "in 1980, Mayor occupant of a dwelling are a customary Tom Bradley, of Los Angeles, stated that and that "one bishop has asked for more of incidental use and would be allowed, but the newly translated Albanian New Testa- `a Bible study would not be a permissible that the use of a dwelling as a meeting place use in a single famiy residential area . . ments because 'Moslems are starting to for regularly scheduled church services read the Bible.' " These statements referred since this would be considered a church consisting of loud preaching and singing activity.' " The article, "Is Your Home to a section on Kossovo, the Albanian that disturb the neighbors is not a customary province of Yugoslavia, where religion is Really Your Castle?" was written by incidental use and would not be allowed. At Samuel E. Ericsson, of the Christian free. what point in between these two extremes I am also represented as saying that "only Legal Society. In response, LIBERTY the activity becomes not customarily inci- received a letter from Tom Bradley's 30 [Catholic priests] are still free" and that dental is a difficult question and must be many others "are serving life sentences in chief administrative assistant, asking treated on an individual case basis. that we bring to our readers' attention an the labor camps." The truth is that only 30 Again, I stress that all gatherings in a are still alive, and many of those are serving exchange of correspondence between the private residence or facility are treated the mayor and the author, "to set the record life sentences in the camps. same regardless of the subject matter. . . . It Readers may be interested to know that in straight." The three letters follow.— is hoped that this letter will alleviate any Eds.] December, 1981, Albania's premier, Meh- fears you have that our zoning code met Shehu, who has been working with Samuel E. Ericsson's commentary in discriminates against religious activity. Hoxha in governing Albania for more than LIBERTY unfortuately gives the impression TOM BRADLEY 30 years, was mysteriously shot, apparently that the Los Angeles Municipal Code Mayor of Los Angeles at a dinner at which Hoxha was present. specifically prohibits Bible study in private Albanians were told that Shehu had com- homes and that Mayor Tom Bradley sup- Dear Mayor Bradley: mitted suicide. Expert observers now real- ports such a law. Thank you for your letter concerning the ize that there was a deep-seated feud On September 28,1981, the mayor wrote interpretation and application of the zoning between the two rulers. This puts the future to Mr. Ericsson, explaining that our zoning ordinance relating to holding Bible studies of Albania in an entirely different light; the code does not discriminate against Bible in single-family residences. government is not united, as we have study in single-family homes and that this Needless to say, we appreciated very always been told. activity is considered an "accessory use," much your response and the stress you place JANICE BROUN which is to say one that is "customarily on treating all gatherings in a private Hamilton, Scotland incidental" to the occupancy of a private residents or facility the same regardless of home. A reply from Mr. Ericsson, dated the subject matter. [LIBERTY regrets the editing errors.— October 15,1981, clearly shows that he and We are very much aware of the "acces- Eds.] the mayor are of the same mind on this sory use" concepts in zoning. In view of issue. your position that all gatherings are treated More on Albania ANTON CALLEIA the same regardless of the subject matter, Chief Administrative we assume that "regularly scheduled For those interested in studying the Assistant to the Mayor church services consisting of loud preach- Albanian question in depth, this reference Los Angeles, California ing and singing that disturb the neighbors" may be helpful. Upon my return from is not a customary incidental use because it Albania in 1978, I wrote a series of articles Dear Mr. Ericsson: is loud and not because it is a church service in the Lebanese press under the title "Au Thank you for the letter you wrote to involving preaching and singing. We Pays des Aigles Furs," in Le Reveil, April, prevent this city from making an error in the whole-heartedly agree with you that any 1978, Beirut. The title of the articles means interpretation and application of the zoning loud activity, whether bridge parties, social "At the Land of the Pure Eagles." They ordinance relating to the holding of Bible affairs, political meetings, or any other type covered the religious desolation I found in studies in single-family residences. of affair, would not be allowed. As we have the country. Your concern is appreciated, and I wish indicated, we do not look for a preferred To obtain copies of the articles, please to assure you that it is not the intention of the status, but simply wish to be treated on an write to me in care of LIBERTY. zoning ordinance to prevent occupants of equal footing with other uses. MELHEM MOBARAK single-family dwellings from holding Bible Thank you again for the time and Specialist in Albanian Affairs studies in their homes. Bible studies are not consideration given to our concerns. Montreal, Canada singled out or treated any differently than SAMUEL E. ERICSSON Janice Broun indicates that the religious bridge parties, social affairs, political National Coordinator for spirit is still alive in Albania and points out meetings, or any other type affair held in a Religious Freedom Services that the essence of this spirit is characterized single-family dwelling. Christian Legal Society by tolerance and respect for all religions. The zoning code does not mention Bible Washington, D.C. However, since the national conscious-

28 JulylAugust, 1982

ness of Albanians cannot be identified with pedia Americana says that he was "perse- my understanding that they have con- one profession of faith, foreign powers, cuted as a Polish revolutionary" (1981, vol. siderable clout within the United Meth- pursuing interests of their own, have in the 24, p. 160). odist Church. The Women's Division, for past often identified Albanian religious Far from oppressing the Jews, the pre- example, was one of the primary plain- groups with foreign nationalities and civili- Partition Poland for 800 years constituted a tiffs in the McRae v. Califano case zations. Considering this, it is not suprising haven for them when they were persecuted dealing with abortion funding and the that the present Albanian government has and expelled from Western Europe, from Hyde Amendment, which reached the come to view religion as divisive, despite Scandinavian countries, and from the Grand U.S. Supreme Court a couple of years the tolerance of the Albanians themselves in Duchy of Muskovy, today's Russia. ago. It was in that context that I referred religious matters. Salomon's "oppression in his native to the New York bureaucracy. Neverthe- JAMNE BERGER Poland" was shared with the entire Polish less, I am not unmindful that the United New York, New York nation! Similar misunderstanding arises at Methodist Church's "grassroots" some Remembrance Day celebrations when organizations have impact on the devel- A Librarian's Story the infamous Nazi concentration camps are opment of its national policies as well.— referred to as "Polish concentration Albert J. Menendez.] After reading "Our Bodies, Ourselves" camps." To quote Encyclopaedia Britan- and "More Bodies" (January-February, nica again, "Eighteen to 26 million per- Address Corrections 1982), I thought you might be interested in sons—prisoners of war, political prisoners, [The Union of American Hebrew Con- my experience. I am a librarian in a southern and nationals of occupied and invaded gregations has notified us that the California high school of 2,000 students. In countries—were put to death through hun- addresses and telephone numbers 1976, I ordered the book Our Bodies, ger, cold, pestilence, torture, medical printed for it and the Synagogue Council Ourselves after a teacher suggested I pur- experimentation, and other means of exter- of America in our directory of Washing- chase it and after reading a favorable review mination such as gas chambers." The ton's religious lobbies (March-April, in Booklist (a review resource published by Christian victims of the Holocaust in Poland 1982) were incorrect. Here is the correct the American Library Association), where were no less in number than the Polish Jews. information: Union of American Hebrew it was recommended for both adults and DR. WACLAW ZAJACZKOWSKI Congregations, 2027 Massachusetts Ave- young adults. Catholic Interethnic Council nue NW., Washington, D.C. 20036, When the book arrived, my staff sug- Washington, D.C. (202) 387-2800; Synagogue Council of gested I take a second look at it. On doing America, 10 East 40th St., New York, so, I decided to ask the school nurse whether New York 10016, (212) 686-8670.—Eds.] she would like it in her office on indefinite A Methodist Bureaucracy? loan. Eventually she returned it to me. In the interest of accuracy, I would like to Crucial Facts of the TM Case Finally I discarded it from the collection suggest that Albert J. Menendez ("Reli- and gave it to a staff member. In my 14 gious Lobbies," March-April, 1982) is in William F. Willoughby's brief article ("On Being Disestablishmentarianistically years as a high school librarian in Indiana error when he says that the United Method- and California, I've never experienced such ist Board of Church and Society "executes Inclined," November-December, 1981) a dilemma. mentioned the litigation over the Transcen- policies determined at United Methodist dental Meditation (TM) program in New Your fine articles were just the support I quadrennial conventions and by the needed to justify my decision. church's New York bureaucracy." Jersey public schools, but omitted the BONNIE CARPENTER First, I am unaware of the existence of crucial facts of that lawsuit that would relate Royal High School such a bureaucracy, either in New York or it to the religion-in-public-schools issue on Simi Valley, California elsewhere. pages 12 and 13 of your November-Decem- Second, the offices of the board are ber LIBERTY. The court case (Malnak v. Yogi [D.N.J. Anti-Jewish Persecution? located primarily in Washington, D.C. Third, the basic policies are determined 1977] 440 F. Supp. 1284, affirmed [1979] In Franklin Folsom's otherwise excellent 592 F. 2d 197) noted that the TM courses article ("A World to Begin Again," by a board of directors (composed of 92 members) who come from all over the were offered as electives in some New March-April, 1982) an error crept in that Jersey high schools and that parents and may be the result of a post-Holocaust nation, including Alaska. The late George Outen welcomed us to the board, reminding taxpayers objected, not to the breathing and tendency of some reference books to attrib- stretching exercises, but to the textbook and ute anti-Semitism where it was not present. us that we had been transformed from "grassroots" to "bureaucrats" with our the initiation ceremony. The textbook for I refer to the statement "Another patriot, the course contained a few brief and vague election to the board of directors. Such Haym Salomon, had experienced descriptions of the "creative intelligence" oppression in his native Poland," obviously statements as Mr. Menendez made help to confirm that concept. that supposedly permeates the universe, based on The New Jewish Encyclopedia using terms that may agree or disagree with (New York: Behrman House, Inc. , 1962, p. JOHN J. SHAFFER Board Member from Alaska the description of God in different religions 423): "Because of anti-Jewish persecution, but that should be familiar to anyone who he left his native Poland." Missionary Conference has seen Star Wars. Anchorage, Alaska What these statements fail to mention is The initiation ceremony (called a puja) that oppression or persecution must have [In my mention of the New York was held on a Sunday off the school been not specifically anti-Jewish. As the bureaucracy and the United Methodist premises. Students were told to bring a new Encyclopaedia Britannica observes: "In Church, I was referring primarily to the handkerchief, flowers, and fruit. These 1772, probably because of his revolutionary Board of Church and Society and to the trifles were set down as an "offering" activities for Polish liberty, he fled to New Women's Division, both of which main- before a portrait of the swami who began the York City" (1980, vol. 8, p. 817). Encyclo- tain offices at 475 Riverside Drive. It is TM movement, and then the students would

29 LIBERTY

listen as the teacher recited a mumbo-jumbo Royko's Column Contested nalists as excellent (The New Yorker, The Atlantic) and I have found your publication incantation before instruction in TM con- Mike Royko's implication ("All in the centration and breathing would commence. to be unparalleled by these and magazines Name of God," March-April, 1982) that of religious perspective alike. The parents protested that the fruit-and- the Jews' chosenness means to them that flower offering was a form of Hindu GREG MANUEL G-d [sic] looks upon them more favorably Staff Writer religious sacrifice and that the chant was a than others is a total distortion of the Sanskrit Hindu hymn, although the students Catholic Northwest Program meaning of chosenness. It is a duty, not a Seattle, Washington were not told what the words meant or even privilege; a responsibility, not a reward. that any of this had religious significance. The Jews were chosen by G-d to teach the Despite the arguments of the TM promot- world truth, justice, and love, to be an Cheers for "Jury" ers, the courts agreed with the parents that example to mankind of how to live in the this was an impermissible teaching of I find LIBERTY thought-provoking, and world in order that there may be harmony some of the articles make me want to cheer. religion via the public schools. and equality on earth. There is one law of The similarity of the TM program with Godfrey Lehman's "Gentlemen of the justice for the stranger and homebom alike Jury" (January-February, 1982) is a case in collective school prayer should be obvious, in Judaism. but even the differences highlight the point. While it is unfortunate that many Jews do I have just been reading a book (The Irish reasons people ought to object to school not take this responsibility seriously and prayer. In the New Jersey TM case the Story, by Alice Curtayne) about how fulfill it, one cannot deny that the character- England had used, bribed, or threatened classes were offered only as electives—that istic of helping one's brothers has been the is, students had to choose deliberately to juries to convict Catholics, in particular hallmark of Jewish people throughout the Irish Catholic bishops, and I was wondering take the course—and only in high schools, ages, and that only because of the Jews has where students are more mature and pre- how this could be done. I also wondered mankind come to understand that all are when the practice ended. Your article sumably more firmly grounded in their brothers, the children of one Father. family religions. explained it all to me in gripping detail. Hats To imply a sense of superiority is to off to Edward Bushell and his cohorts, who The sort of religious indoctrination misunderstand the entire essence of Juda- involved was so mild and so evanescent that established the free jury for us in 1670. And ism. The Jews were chosen to be servants of hats off to Mr. Lehman for his excellent many students were altogether unaware that G-d for the benefit of man. Some of us are they had been exposed to an alien faith. presentation of the case to us. doing our job. Even so, parents in the school district ROBERT F. MAGILL, JR. , ESQ. ESTHER MOLDAUER Ann Arbor, Michigan. objected (and, I might add, religious Woodmere, New York spokesmen outside the area also objected— even those who wanted to make all school- I am sorry to have to write that your children, even very young ones, recite reprinting of Mike Royko's column was not Protestant prayers at the beginning of every worthy of the quality of your publication. school day), and the courts agreed with The article was cute, but poor, and a them. distortion of God's Word. BERNARD J. SUSSMAN If Royko had known the Bible better, he Moving? Washington,' D.C. would have known that Israel was selected not to be better than others, but to be of Please notify us 4 weeks In advance. service to God and man (see Isaiah). It is bad enough that his column is printed in some newspaper, but LIBERTY should never have printed such a misinterpretation. Name SIEGFRIED KLINGER, M.D. Albany, New York Address (new, if for change of address)

Commendations City State Zip I wish to commend you for a first-rate publication. I have periodically used some of the materials published in LIBERTY in To subscribe to LIBERTY check rate below classes I teach. Congratulations are in, order and fill in your name and address above. to the editor and staff. Payment must accompany order. BRUCE HASTON ❑ 1 year $5.25 Professor of Political Science Humboldt State University Mail to: Arcata, California LIBERTY subscriptions, 6856 Eastern I have in the past six months become Ave., NW. Washington, D.C. 20012. aware of your magazine and I would like to ATTACH LABEL HERE for address congratulate you on a publication of change or inquiry. If moving, list new ad- unmatched quality both in terms of jour- dress above. Note: your subscription ex- nalistic standards of excellence and aes- piration date (issue, year) is given at upper thetic value. right of label. Example: 0382L1 would end `Tell us again about the Garden of Eden I am a regular subscriber to secular with third (May-June) issue of 1982. an' Tarzan an' Jane." magazines commonly recognized by jour-

30 JulylAugust, 1982

Perspective

New Faces at LIBERTY Mitchell A. Tyner has joined LIBERTY as an associate editor and associate director of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department at Seventh-day Advehtist world headquarters. He comes from Nashville, Tennessee, where he was director of public affairs and religious liberty for the local SDA conference. He's now teaching us how to pronounce ya'll correctly. Mitch earned his J.D. from Nashville Night Law School in 1980 and will sit for his Maryland Bar Exam in July. Mitchell Tyner Dr. N. 0. Matthews comes to the Dr. N. 0. Matthews department from Canada, where he was with the United Nations and with foreign Her replacement, Loleta Thomas, comes president of Canadian Union College in embassies in the United States and Canada. to LIBERTY from the North American Youth Alberta. Prior to that he served as a teacher Much of his work will be in New York, Ministries office at Seventh-day Adventist and academic dean at Spicer Memorial where he'll also cover UN affairs for world headquarters. Prior to that, she did College in Poona, India, and as Science LIBERTY. proposal writing, editing, and research for Master for Surrey County Council in In May our editorial associate, Debra the Ohio Department of Education and England. In August he'll put his interna- Gainer Nelson, left LIBERTY to complete Mershon Research Center in Columbus, tional experience to work as church liaison her M.A. at the University of Maryland. Ohio.

FEATURES STAFF

"I Will Tomorrow Not at School Be" Elfriede Volk 2 B. B. Beach—Chairman, Editorial Board Roland R. Hegstad—Editor Is Buddhism a Genuine Religion? Virginia Rose 4 Gordon Engen, N. 0. Matthews, Gary M. Ross, Mitchell A. Tyner—Associate Editors Man Shall Not Live by Raw Carrots Alone William F. Willoughby 9 Debra Gainer Nelson—Editorial Associate Trial by Fireworks Bob Corey 10 Harry Knox and Associates— Layout and Design Lowell L. Bock, Alf Lohne, Neal C. Insiders and Outsiders Ken Bazyn 12 Wilson—Consulting Editors Elvin Benton, Tom Carter, Halle Book Banning in Baileyville Eric E. Wiggin 14 Crowson, Doug Devnich, Lee Kretz, Art Lickey, Fernon Retzer, John The Uncommon Common Marguerite E. Fitch 18 Stevens, Jere Wallack—Correspondents Robert Smith—Circulation Tom Kapusta—Associate Circulation Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments _James Madison 21 Manager Robert W. Nixon—Legal Advisor David Trumbull: Chile's Freedom Fighter _Robert G. Wearner 23 Edmund M. Peterson—Marketing

DEPARTMENTS Liberty & Law 25 International 26 Letters 28 Perspective 31

LIBERTY is a publication of the Religious Liberty Association of America and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, published and copyrighted C 1982 The Review and Herald Publishing Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part by permission only. The Religious Liberty Association of America was organized in 1889 by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Dedicated to the preservation of religious freedom, the association advocates no political or economic theories. President, Neal C. Wilson; general director, B. B. Beach; associate directors, Gordon Engen, Roland R. Hegslad, John N. Mor- gan, Gary M. Ross. LIBERTY correspondence only: Please send to LIBERTY, 6840 Eastern Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 20012. Address corrections only: Please send to LIBERTY, 6856 Eastern Avenue NW., Washington, D.C. 20012.

31

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