Comments on: University’s refusal to fund religious activities deemed “viewpoint discrimination” http://shallmakenolaw.com/2008/01/18/1university%e2%80%99s-refusal-to-fund-religious-activities-deemed-%e2%80%9cviewpoint-discrimination%e2%80%9d/ Tracking the modern progress of the First Amendment Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:10:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: kgrim http://shallmakenolaw.com/2008/01/18/1university%e2%80%99s-refusal-to-fund-religious-activities-deemed-%e2%80%9cviewpoint-discrimination%e2%80%9d/#comment-4 kgrim Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:25:31 +0000 http://shallmakenolaw.com/2008/01/18/1university%e2%80%99s-refusal-to-fund-religious-activities-deemed-%e2%80%9cviewpoint-discrimination%e2%80%9d/#comment-4 My first instinct is to say that the school should offer funding to the religious groups if the activity being funded is something that's not necessarily religious. If Campus Crusade wants to paint a nursing home, I say let them do it. But that means the university would have to examine all student group activities being funded. Not only would this take a lot of time, but it could allow the school to discriminate in other ways. Should the anthropology club (they have those, right?) be allowed to use school funds to visit the Creation Museum? Should the conservative students' organization be allowed to do the same thing? What about those religious groups? It's the same activity. But the different groups might have completely different reasons for doing it. And a religious and a political organization might have the same reason. Why deny funding to one but not the other? And how is the university to know whether Campus Crusade will do more than paint on their trip to the nursing home? Very tricky. My first instinct is to say that the school should offer funding to the religious groups if the activity being funded is something that’s not necessarily religious. If Campus Crusade wants to paint a nursing home, I say let them do it.

But that means the university would have to examine all student group activities being funded. Not only would this take a lot of time, but it could allow the school to discriminate in other ways.

Should the anthropology club (they have those, right?) be allowed to use school funds to visit the Creation Museum? Should the conservative students’ organization be allowed to do the same thing? What about those religious groups?

It’s the same activity. But the different groups might have completely different reasons for doing it. And a religious and a political organization might have the same reason. Why deny funding to one but not the other?

And how is the university to know whether Campus Crusade will do more than paint on their trip to the nursing home?

Very tricky.

]]> By: svillarreal http://shallmakenolaw.com/2008/01/18/1university%e2%80%99s-refusal-to-fund-religious-activities-deemed-%e2%80%9cviewpoint-discrimination%e2%80%9d/#comment-3 svillarreal Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:17:18 +0000 http://shallmakenolaw.com/2008/01/18/1university%e2%80%99s-refusal-to-fund-religious-activities-deemed-%e2%80%9cviewpoint-discrimination%e2%80%9d/#comment-3 I went to a private undergrad, so this may be moot. But there, money from the activities fund was only allocated to student organizations if the planned activity was something open to the entire student body. In that way, a school could avoid the religious aspect of it altogether if the function was only for Catholics. But this sounds a lot like faith-based initiatives. People argue that they don't want the government to give grants or funding to religious organizations' social programs (like food pantries or homeless shelters) because it's their tax dollars going to fund religions they don't necessarily agree with. (However, they can give money to things like womens' centers that offer abortions and anti-abortion groups can't do anything about it.) Tricky subject, but I agree. It should be all or nothing. But that is almost never possible. I went to a private undergrad, so this may be moot. But there, money from the activities fund was only allocated to student organizations if the planned activity was something open to the entire student body. In that way, a school could avoid the religious aspect of it altogether if the function was only for Catholics.

But this sounds a lot like faith-based initiatives. People argue that they don’t want the government to give grants or funding to religious organizations’ social programs (like food pantries or homeless shelters) because it’s their tax dollars going to fund religions they don’t necessarily agree with. (However, they can give money to things like womens’ centers that offer abortions and anti-abortion groups can’t do anything about it.)

Tricky subject, but I agree. It should be all or nothing. But that is almost never possible.

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