The picture at the left (by Seam Murphy on the CBS News website) shows the six-foot tall monument depicting the 10 Commandments that was paid for by Republican State Rep. Mike Ritze and his family. It sits on the grounds of the Oklahoma Capitol.The intention of the right-wing representative was to make it clear that the Oklahoma government supports christianity above all other religions. Ritze, and other right-wing Republicans, don't support the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. For them "religious freedom" means they should have the freedom to impose their religion on all citizens.
But that is not the accepted legal definition of the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. According to most scholars, the government cannot favor one religion over another in any way, and cannot deny the right of any citizen to believe in any religion (or no religion at all.
That means, of course, that since the Oklahoma legislature has allowed a christian (or jewish) monument to be erected on capitol grounds, they have opened the door to allowing all religions to erect monuments on those government grounds -- and the Satanists are now going to walk through that open door.
Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the Satanic Temple, has notified the Capitol Preservation Commission that it plans to erect a monument on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds -- a monument costing up to $20,000, and containing a pentagram (and possibly even involving "an interactive display for children"). Greaves credited Ritze with helping the Satanic Temple to spread its message, saying:
"He's helping a satanic agenda grow more than any of us possibly could. You don't walk around and see too many satanic temples around, but when you open the door to public spaces for us, that's when you're going to see us."
This puts the Oklahoma legislature in a quandary. They must either allow the Satanic Temple to build a monument and place it on capitol grounds (and any other religion that wants to do that), or they must remove the 10 Commandments monument. The Constitution is clear, and there is no middle ground. Oklahoma can't even try to keep the christian monument on the grounds that it has historical value (since it was only erected last year). As Brady Henderson of the Oklahoma ACLU says:
"We would prefer to see Oklahoma's government officials work to faithfully serve our communities and improve the lives of Oklahomans instead of erecting granite monuments to show us all how righteous they are. But if the Ten Commandments, with its overtly Christian message, is allowed to stay at the Capitol, the Satanic Temple's proposed monument cannot be rejected because of its different religious viewpoint."
I can hardly wait to see what decision Oklahoma politicians make. Will they remove their christian monument, or allow monuments from all religions? Perhaps one day we will see a monument honoring the noodlie greatness of the Great Spaghetti Monster.
