My first college article on the proposed FL 8th Amendment...Yayyy :)

I wanted to share with you DUers.

For the past few years, the American people have watched a new definition of separation of church and state unfold. The lines have become blurred as groups like Pro-Life Action League advocatie no federal money for abortions, Abiding Truth Ministries push bans on gay marriage, and Congress passes motions to make “In God We Trust” the official motto of the United States of America, twice. Now, Florida representatives Sen. Thad Altman (R-Melbourne), Rep. Scott Plakon (R-Longwood), and Rep. Stephen L. Precourt (R-Orlando), are attempting to take it one step further by allowing funding of religious organizations with tax dollars.



This November, Floridians will have the chance to unravel the Florida Blaine Amendment (or, as its also known, “no aid”) and re-make it into its exact opposite. The proposal, Amendment 8 (or Religious Freedom Amendment) would repeal the original language of the document:



“No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.”



And instead replace it with:



“Except to the extent required by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, neither the government nor any agent of the government may deny to any individual or entity the benefits of any program, funding, or other support basis of religious identity or belief.”


...



The claim of bigotry towards Catholics is the most worrying and misleading part of the Amnedment. The history of this so-called “bigotry” is distorted. In the late 1800’s there was a flood of Catholic immigrants entering the U.S. According to the Collin’s Center and George Washington University law professor Ira Lupu, it is believed by some scholars that there was a bigoted attitude towards Catholics in the general population. Fear of the “Catholicization of American education” led some to be concerned that the Protestant-led school prayers would be replaced by Catholic ones.




http://sandbox.spcollege.edu/index.php/2012/09/amendment-8-blurring-the-establishment-clause-on-the-basis-of-historical-myth/