That was one of the arguments in Mergens. And I filed a brief supporting the student prayer club. But the government wasn't paying the leaders of the club, and it wasn't giving them officer's stripes. Douglas Laycock University of Texas Law School 727 E. Dean Keeton St. Austin, TX 78705 512-232-1341 512-471-6988 (fax)
________________________________
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sat 10/8/2005 5:26 PM
To: religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu
Subject: Re: Air Force sued over religious intolerance
In a message dated 10/8/2005 11:26:46 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL
PROTECTED] writes:
That rationale for government-sponsored religion provides no rationale
for government-sponsored efforts to initiate discussions of religious
conversion.
I am not entirely certain that this is, as a blanket rule, correct.
What about chaplains credentialed by religious bodies whose creeds and vows and
ordinations commit them to evangelism?
Does the employment as a chaplain, together with the forward placement of the
chaplain with a battle contingent constitute "government-sponsored efforts to
initiate discussions of religious conversion?" What if all the government does
is maintain a military, employ chaplains, and fail to order, affirmatively,
such chaplains to refrain from sharing their faith to service members outside
their faith grouping? Is that "government sponsored efforts?" Before you leap
to say "no," and "how silly can you be?" remember that the opponents of the
EAA, in their briefing at the Supreme Court in the Mergens case said that the
EAA suffered from the vice of creating a ready made pool for proselyzing (an
argument rejected by the Court).
Jim Henderson
Senior Counsel
ACLJ
<<winmail.dat>>
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