By James H. Hyde

It could have been on Jeopardy.

Answer: “The first state to try to regulate religion.” Buzz.

“What is Vermont?”

“No, Sorry. The answer is Connecticut.”

While Vermont may be last in the number of people who affiliate themselves with a religion, it was Connecticut that became the target of legitimate religious outrage last week.

It started with complaints from the congregation of a Catholic church in Darien. The pastor there had been accused of allegedly playing “Pass the Loot” to the tune of $1.4 million of the congregants’ donations.

The state was notified, and in a typically draconian response—Why do legislatures in this country seem to govern on a pendulum from which laws are conceived and passed at the extremes of the swings, never from the center?—a shocking bill suddenly manifested. It mandated that future decisions about what Catholic churches do with their money would be decided by lay committees in the various parishes. The bill allowed that those groups “may include” a bishop as a member.

The intervention of government into the affairs of a religious institution immediately drew flaming protests nationwide. They overwhelmed Statehouse email in-boxes and voicemail. Some of the outrage was laced with death threats against Connecticut State Representative Michael P. Lawlor and State Senator Andrew McDonald, both chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees respectively. It was they who had put the bill in the hopper, while both claiming they neither supported nor endorsed it.

In fact, those who conceived this ridiculous measure lacked the guts to step forward as the sponsor(s). But clearly, by putting it in the hopper, Lawlor and McDonald had their fingerprints all over it, despite their protests of lack of “endorsement.”

They foolishly forayed onto paper-thin ice and scheduled it for a vote on Thursday, March 12th.

(Importantly, the rage aimed at the entire Legislature is misplaced. There are good people governing the state, and I have to believe that they would have trampled this bill to an ignomineous defeat.)

On Wednesday, March 11th, busloads of irate protestors, representing different religions, arrived en masse in Hartford. They quickly and loudly made their justified outrage known to those in the Statehouse.

Some knew that the email and telephone protests had already done the job. Lawlor and McDonald had yanked the bill on Tuesday, and failed to show up on Wednesday quite rightly in fear for their lives.

Regardless, protesters’ who knew the bill was DOA for this session arrived at the gathering anyway. Their intent was to make absolutely certain that the all of the nails had been fully hammered into the coffin of this unfortunate and illegal legislation.

One could reasonably surmise that it would not have passed, and I doubt that the governor would have signed it had it reached her desk. But had it become law, it would not have survived a constitutional challenge. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution clearly states that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” That includes state legislatures.

Apparently, those responsible for the measure seem to think that because the Supreme Court has unconstitutionally banned public religious displays under the absurd and dubious doctrine of “separation of church and state” (which appears nowhere in the Constuitution), they could push ahead to now dictate who decides how Catholic church funds are spent.

Both the Connecticut Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court would be hard pressed to rule on the side of the Legislature when litigation about the bill found its way to them. The justices could not ignore the constitutional mandate without major, nationwide protest, so one must believe that the Court would rule the law unconstitutional.

Still, it’s been hinted that it may again appear in the hopper some time in the future like some some horrendous phoenix. If it does, you can bet that the busses will roll again, as well they should. But this time they’ll be disgorging on the Statehouse steps followers of many religions, as well as residents from numerous states, all knowing full well that autonomy could be stripped away from their churches, synagogues and mosques next if the bill becomes law.

But the danger runs far deeper. We must all remain vigilant about government meddling in religion. If we don’t, all of our basic freedoms will be threatened by erosion over time.

Unless it wants some very ugly protests, the Connecticut General Assembly would do well to bury this odious bill once and for all. State governments should stick to matters carved out for them by the Constitution, especially when we’re on the cusp of a depression and facing some very grave issues that demand legislative action. God is not among them, and He certainly doesn’t need your help.

References:
Connecticut
The U.S. Constitution
The Connecticut Constitution

James T Hyde
Staff Writer
New England Getaways Guide

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