TRI In The News

"Plain and Simple" Discrimination

From OneNewsNow
Original article available here.

The Rutherford Institute is taking a Louisiana school district to federal court over its decision to bar a church from meeting on its property.

According to Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead, cases like this are not uncommon.

"The Calcasieu Parish School Board in Lake Charles, Louisiana notified the Open Gate Western Heritage Church, which has been meeting and having worship services since 2008, in late February this year they...could no longer meet because they couldn't allow worship anymore," Whitehead reports.

Other community groups are permitted to rent school space, but the school decided to prohibit churches, which is a violation of the Constitution and previous court rulings that say churches need to be treated on par with other groups.

"In this case, determining what is and what is not worship...violates the First Amendment Establishment Clause, which says that the government cannot entangle itself in religion," The Rutherford Institute president explains. "In other words, it's not up to a governmental body to decide what is worship and what is not worship; the courts have been pretty clear on that."

So Whitehead concludes that "singling out the church in this manner is discrimination, plain and simple."