Friday, November 18, 2011
Arkansas Politics / Religion Legislator: State-paid Bible classes sent to attorney general
Posted by Max Brantley on Fri, Nov 18, 2011 at 6:49 AM
It sounds like the Department of Human Services has sent another hot potato to Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. Given his anticipated run for governor in 2014, I'm not at all easy about how this could turn out.
State Rep. Justin Harris, who gets around $850,000 a year almost $1 million a year in public money to operate his Growing God's Kingdom preschool in West Fork, said on his Facebook account last night:
Update on teaching Christ at our preschool. It has been sent over to the Attorney General's Office for a legal opinion. Not sure what the opinion can be, seeing that there are no regulation in Arkansas about teaching Jesus in private schools that receive some funding from the state. More to come, I have a feeling this could be a long drawn out process.
There is no doubt that the publicly funded school teaches a Bible class and otherwise infuses everything from bulletin boards to parent handbooks with Christian teaching. A private school has EVERY right to do that. A school operated with public money does not. The controlling law in the 8th Circuit, which includes Arkansas, is Americans United for Separation of Church and State (which has complained about Arkansas's tax support for Harris' Bible instruction) and the Prison Fellowship Ministries in Iowa. There, as here, religious instruction can "reasonably be attributed" to public dollars and the entanglement of religion in a state-financed service is extensive.
Harris argue parents can go elsewhere. Or the kids can go sit in a corner or something while Bible classes are underway. Should Harris prevail in his state-supported Bible classes, I'd encourage every religious school in Arkansas to troop down to DHS for a handout. I don't think that's the Constitutional or American way. But the times are a-changing, aren't they?
I can't remind enough how DHS has fallen down on the job in this matter by failing for years to comply with the clear dictates of state law that require regular inspections to be sure state money isn't being used for sectarian purposes, as Harris does.
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Comments (20)
Showing 1-20 of 20
Of course there "are no regulation [sic] in Arkansas about teaching Jesus in private schools that receive some funding from the state." But that's not the point.
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Guess when teabaggers (aka Republican religious zealots and/or Bush Republicans) whine about getting government out of their business they aren't talking about getting government money out of their church bank accounts. HYPOCRITES! I don't remember Jesus asking Pontius Pilate to fund his ministry...but then I don't remember Jesus doing or advocating much of the crap that our religious zealots (Huck et al) try to sell in his name. (I don't remember Jesus having a mansion either...guess I'm not reading the Bible Right.)
I'm so tired of them sucking money out of the public school system for their private religious indoctrinations; but I'm more tired of our politicians letting it happen.
I wonder what his neighbors would say if the sign actually reflected the truth-
"We thank God and the Arkansas taxpayers for the cash they give our Bible-based school".
Or even better:
We thank the NWA Tea Party members and other AR taxpayers and God for funding our church-related daycare cventer while I complain about "wasted" government spending.
The sign could be interpreted as saying that individuals do it after being directed by God. That isn't the truth since the individuals who are paying their tax bills have no ability to NOT fund his church.
And I know Harris isn't too bright, just greedy, but Arkansas is still in the United States, at least the last time I checked the CNN website.
I don't get why only one school is being singled out? Check the latest report issued by Leg Audit. (Seach: Arkansas Department of Education Grants 2011). Look up Attachment 1 - Totals. Harding receives $173,000 from the state in 2011 alone. Why pick on only 1 Senators' school? Make it an even playing field and bring out all the details.
http://www.arklegaudit.gov/
@Expone: He's not being singled out. Two other state legislators are about to have the smackdown arrive for doing the same thing. A little birdy told me.
CBB and Zelda, you make some good points.
But Zelda's last sentence struck home.........a big problem with this situation is that Mr. Harris is a lawmaker. He should know better. He is one of those politicians who is "letting it happen". Only in his case, he is profiting from it.
"Children can go sit in a corner during bible class..." What child would ostracize him/herself in such a way? We're talking preschoolers here.
The Bible talks a lot about hypocrisy, and here is a legislator on one hand cutting government spending on the services taxpayers have paid for while on the other using government spending to subsidize his business.
To force me to pay taxes so he can not only have his business subsidized but also receive a legislator's salary to send my money his way is theft, pure and simple, as outlined in the Ten Commandments.
Perhaps he should start attending some of his own preschool Bible classes that I'm funding. And that every church in Arkansas offers for free every Sunday.
Socializing costs and privatizing profits. That's American capitalism.
You're right. Based on Blue Hog's past reporting (no longer available to link), it may be closer to $850,000 -- including $530,000 or so in ABC grant money, more than $90,000 from the school lunch program and other amounts from Medicaid and ArKids First. Of some $891,000 budgeted for the school, a tiny percentage comes from parents.
The name of the school alone makes me very uncomfortable. I would not want my tax money going in any way to a school that explicitly states its goal is growing god's kingdom, or allah's kingdom, or zenu's kingdom. Sounds a lot like a branch of the quiverfull movement!
I would think there would be a way to separate out money that is dedicated to school lunch programs. No need to force children whose parents want them indoctrinated into the christian faith to skip a healthy meal if they meet the income requirements for free or reduced lunch in a pre-school setting. It's to the taxpayers benefit to have healthy children overall (same with ARKids).
Both Arkansas and the United States excuse from taxation donations to any church or other religious institution. Both also help fund, with tax money they do collect, activities that churches and other religious institutions consider part of their "mission." Both -- promotion by not taxing and promotion by funding with taxes collected -- should be declared unconstitutional and stopped.
"Xenu," Agalma. "Xenu."
It's pronounced like "Zenu" but it's "Xenu." Get it right if you know what's good for you.
Lest a midnight ding-dong at your domicile -- "Surprise, Suppressive!" -- reveals Tom and Katie outside threatening you with an e-meter.
Just sayin'.
Snap: You may spin it "promoting by not taxing," but the concept resides right there in that thing called the Constitution of the United States, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . . ."
The power to tax is the power to control. And this cuts both ways. The state cannot establish a church, nor can it exercise any control over a church--as church--through taxation or other means.
Yes, church-related activities that make money are taxed. And church-owned property used for other than direct church functions can be taxed. It's complicated and convoluted; I won't try to explain it here.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . . ."
I suspect that the key here was religion should not be respected,
however; if we wish to play this game…
Perhaps we refer to the illegality of polygamy; in violation of the Mormons, Muslims & many other religions. Or perhaps the reference is to the imbibing of psychoactive substances as sacrament or aid in a vision quest; in violation of Native America beliefs, South American Native beliefs, African Native beliefs or Rastafarians. We could go on…
This before we begin discussing whether “Blue Laws”, et cetera violates the religious beliefs of Secular Humanists.
Ferengi Rule of Acquisition # 239:
Never be afraid to mislabel a product.
Skypilot, I wrote only that our governments "excuse from taxation donations to any church or other religious institution." To my mind, you may be correct that the Constitution prohibits taxation of houses and organizations for worship, but it does not require governments to "promote" religious institutions by foregoing tax on income adherents of any religion choose to give to a religious institution. A tax deduction is the same as a government grant. IMHO.
I wondered who Zenu, or Xenu, was. Now I learn, thanks to the Arkansas Blog, that it is one of L. Ron Hubbard's creations. That shows how much attention I have paid to the Scientology nonsense. I watched the Tom Cruse rants on TV, but they didn't reveal much, except that he is an idiot.
Harris likes to portray himself as being persecuted. As a resident of West Fork, it is clear to me that Christians are in the majority in West Fork, so how can they be persecuted? Maybe Harris should walk in the shoes of the young student at West Fork Elementary School a few years ago who refused to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance. Or the shoes of the current Mayor whose religious beliefs (Quaker) are the reason she doesn't recite the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of West Fork City Council meetings. That would take for more courage than Harris has.
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