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Council #112 Concord, New Hampshire
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?Keep Christ in Christmas? banner questions church, state separation
Some folks strolling through downtown Pitman were taken aback recently when they noticed a huge white banner touting Christ and complained it was unconstitutional.
By Lindsey Johns
Broadway in Pitman is full of Christmas decorations, but it's that white banner that's got some people peeved.
Oh, come all ye faithful?on down to downtown Pitman where they love God and aren?t ashamed to let everyone know. But, their blatant Jesus shoutout has gotten some feathers ruffled as of late.
According to a report by Philly.com, there?s a white plastic banner that has caught the attention of a national group advocating the separation of church and state. The banner reads ?Keep Christ in Christmas,? which, according to the advocacy group, violates the Constitution. The group maintains that by allowing the sign on public property, the borough is promoting Christmas and Christianity, violating that little fine line between separating church and state.
Andrew Seidel, a consultant with the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, said he decided to take up the issue after an anonymous Pitman resident contact him complaining he had to pass by the sign on his way to work each day.
??Keep Christ in Christmas? is so blatantly an endorsement of a single religious view,? he said. ?You can?t be free to believe what you believe if the government is picking a corner, taking a side. It makes all non-adherents feel like political outsiders, and it?s not OK for government to make people feel they don?t belong.?
Sponsored by the Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus, the sign has been hanging over Pitman?s main street for years. It?s intention is no secret and acts to remind residents of the religious significance of Christmas.
Dennis Merlino, an official with the Knights of Columbus in nearby Mantua, said the slogan was not designed to exclude other religious groups from holiday celebrations.
?If you took a poll, I doubt you?d find many people against it,? he said. ?I don?t know why it is that people think that because you put up a sign, you?re against everything else.?
Pitman Mayor and barbershop owner Michael Batten agreed.
?I think it?s a sign of the sad state of affairs of life in this country,? he said of objections to the banner.
For now, the sign remains hung attached by rope to private properties, but borough attorney Brian Duffield is investigating technicalities, like permits, of the sign.
?I doubt they have a permit,? Duffield said. ?We?ll have to look into it.?
Freedom from Religion has offered to drop its protest in Pitman if the borough allows it to hang its sign alongside the Knights of Columbus?. But, as with anything in a small town, those decisions will have to wait. Ironically, the next Borough Council meeting where the sign will be discussed isn?t scheduled until two days after Christmas.
?It might be a moot point this year, but there?s next year to consider,? Batten said at a council meeting Monday night.
God works in mysterious ways, doesn?t he?!
Some folks strolling through downtown Pitman were taken aback recently when they noticed a huge white banner touting Christ and complained it was unconstitutional.
By Lindsey Johns
Broadway in Pitman is full of Christmas decorations, but it's that white banner that's got some people peeved.
Oh, come all ye faithful?on down to downtown Pitman where they love God and aren?t ashamed to let everyone know. But, their blatant Jesus shoutout has gotten some feathers ruffled as of late.
According to a report by Philly.com, there?s a white plastic banner that has caught the attention of a national group advocating the separation of church and state. The banner reads ?Keep Christ in Christmas,? which, according to the advocacy group, violates the Constitution. The group maintains that by allowing the sign on public property, the borough is promoting Christmas and Christianity, violating that little fine line between separating church and state.
Andrew Seidel, a consultant with the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, said he decided to take up the issue after an anonymous Pitman resident contact him complaining he had to pass by the sign on his way to work each day.
??Keep Christ in Christmas? is so blatantly an endorsement of a single religious view,? he said. ?You can?t be free to believe what you believe if the government is picking a corner, taking a side. It makes all non-adherents feel like political outsiders, and it?s not OK for government to make people feel they don?t belong.?
Sponsored by the Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus, the sign has been hanging over Pitman?s main street for years. It?s intention is no secret and acts to remind residents of the religious significance of Christmas.
Dennis Merlino, an official with the Knights of Columbus in nearby Mantua, said the slogan was not designed to exclude other religious groups from holiday celebrations.
?If you took a poll, I doubt you?d find many people against it,? he said. ?I don?t know why it is that people think that because you put up a sign, you?re against everything else.?
Pitman Mayor and barbershop owner Michael Batten agreed.
?I think it?s a sign of the sad state of affairs of life in this country,? he said of objections to the banner.
For now, the sign remains hung attached by rope to private properties, but borough attorney Brian Duffield is investigating technicalities, like permits, of the sign.
?I doubt they have a permit,? Duffield said. ?We?ll have to look into it.?
Freedom from Religion has offered to drop its protest in Pitman if the borough allows it to hang its sign alongside the Knights of Columbus?. But, as with anything in a small town, those decisions will have to wait. Ironically, the next Borough Council meeting where the sign will be discussed isn?t scheduled until two days after Christmas.
?It might be a moot point this year, but there?s next year to consider,? Batten said at a council meeting Monday night.
God works in mysterious ways, doesn?t he?!
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