Posted on 12/04/2006 10:38:27 AM PST by DogByte6RER
Atheists taking issue with Griswold tradition
December 2, 2006, 2:33 PM EST
GRISWOLD, Conn. -- The Christmas music begins emanating from a local church steeple about this time every year, ushering in the holiday season in this sleepy eastern Connecticut town.
In a tradition that began more than a decade ago, songs such as "America the Beautiful" and "Away in a Manger" are played every hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. The music, in the form of chiming bells, flows from a large speaker hidden at the top of Jewett City Baptist Church.
But the sounds of the season are under attack from the state chapter of American Atheists Inc., which wants town officials to stop or change the practice.
The group says in a complaint filed with the town and borough governments that the music is too loud. It is also raising a constitutional issue after learning the borough owns the sound system in the church.
"This is clearly a violation of the separation of church and state," said Dennis Paul Himes, director of the state chapter.
Cynthia Kata, warden of the borough government, disagrees.
"If there is one of the songs that they find offensive, I'll take it off," Kata told The Day of New London. "But I'm not going to get rid of 'Jingle Bells' or 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' because some nut doesn't like it."
It was a decade ago that the borough bought a sound system with some grant money, thinking it would be nice to have church bells ringing along Main Street.
In a deal with the church, the congregation agreed but said it would not be responsible for the equipment or any complaints. The church said it would allow secular music, but "no Elvis."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
Hmmmmm....this doofus obviously hasn't read the U.S. Constitution.
In Article VII, the U.S. Constitution mentions the Divine Creator in the following:
"The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names"
And of course, the U.S. Constitution also states in the 1st Amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"
The 14th Amendment makes this 1st Amendment binding upon the states, including the town of Griswold, Connecticut.
Hey atheists, get a clue!
I am for filing a case against the Atheists, Inc and have a court determine THEY are a religion.
'little people seeking to become kings'
FYI...I read the headline and thought it was about Frank, then I said to myself..nah..I mean WHAT tradition could he have that anyone would object to?
LOL! Got to it first, I see.
Atheism IS a religion. It is as much or more a leap of faith to believe that there is no reason why everything exists, as it is to believe that there is a reason.
It's Clark, isn't it?
That was the first Griswold I thought of too!
Thats what I thought the article was about from the headline....
Wonderfully candid response.
"Now wait just a dad blamed minute!"
Griswold tradition?
Definitely a headline that doesn't make one think of a town in Connecticut.
Well, no. I might be wrong about this but I can't find Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer or Frosty The Snowman anywhere in scripture. Maybe I should switch to the Revised Standard version?
A violation of the local noise ordinances, maybe. A Consititional issue, no.
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