Legal Commentary

Atheism Gets Equal Time, O'Reilly Preaches Intolerance

By TChris

To protesters who assembled outside the capitol in Washington state, freedom of religion apparently does not include freedom to hold beliefs that differ from the protesters' Christian viewpoint. They are "outraged" that a display promoting atheism stands next to a nativity scene in the state capitol.

The Establishment Clause prohibits the state from endorsing any particular religious viewpoint. Making the capitol available to competing ideas promotes the free exercise of religion without violating the Establishment Clause. Why do the protesters hate the concept of religious freedom?

The most interesting protest sign features a picture of Bill O’Reilly punching Gov. Christine Gregoire. Why O'Reilly, you ask? [more ...]

When asked what the poster was supposed to mean, the protester carrying it said Jesus Christ was “spiritually” knocking the sense of God into the governor.

Bill O'Reilly as a boxing Jesus? As if his ego were not large enough already.

For his part, O'Reilly claims that constitutionally mandated religious neutrality is "political correctness gone mad." O'Reilly is including Washington state on his list of places that aren't really part of America -- a list that includes San Francisco and Madison, Wisconsin (a city whose residents "commune with Satan").

“Washington state is ground zero for just about every nutty secular cause on Earth,” O’Reilly said. “She is a weak and confused leader who allows a fanatical group parody in Christmas displays. I mean, how crazy is this?”

How crazy is it to obey the Constitution and to respect the beliefs of all Washington residents concerning religious matters, rather than the beliefs of vocal protesters who are certain that their take on religion is the only one that matters?

Full post as published by TalkLeft on December 08, 2008 (boomark / email).