Should Churches be Permitted Use of Civic Facilities?

From the very beginning of the United States, churches have used civic facilities for worship services.  On December 4, 1800, while Thomas Jefferson was President of the Senate, Congress approved the weekly use of the United States Capitol for Christian worship services.  In fact, worship services were held in the Capitol building until well after the Civil War and Reconstruction.  In the years that followed, it was commonplace for church worship services to be held in public school buildings and for public schools to be held in church buildings.  Indeed, it makes a great deal of sense for churches and schools to occupy the same physical space given that churches generally operate at times when schools are not in session and vice versa.

 

Despite this long history and the fact that church use of governmental buildings has not led our country any closer to establishing a national religion, there are forces that do not want churches to use school buildings for religious worship.

 

There are two cases … one in Hawaii and the other in New York City … threaten the long tradition of churches using public school facilities:

 

In one case, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has been representing the Bronx Household of Faith in New York City for close to 20-years.  The New York City public schools established a policy that allows community groups to use school facilities, but prohibits using them for religious worship.  The case has bounced back and forth between the trial court and the appeals court in New York several times.  In the most recent ruling, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the school’s policy excluding religious worship was constitutional.  ADF appealed that ruling to the full Court of Appeals and will continue to fight for the ability of churches to use school facilities equally.  Churches should not be discriminated against simply because they are religious.

 

In another case, ADF represents two Hawaii churches who were sued by atheists, claiming that the churches knowingly underpaid rental fees to the schools they were using.  The lawsuit filed was brought under the state’s False Claims Act, which allows insiders who possess confidential information of fraud to file a whistleblower lawsuit to recover the money on behalf of the state and to assess triple damages.  If successful, the atheists get to keep a portion of the money they recovered, and they are asking for an award of several million dollars.  But the churches paid all the rent they were charged, and the Department of Education knew about the charges and payments by the churches.  ADF asked the trial court to dismiss this lawsuit.  Churches should not be bullied into giving up their right to equal use of government buildings.

 

These lawsuits are just a few of the attacks against churches using school facilities.  So how should a church respond?  Should they abandon any attempts to use school facilities for worship services?  No. This approach disregards the many start-up churches who can only afford to rent government school facilities.  It also ignores that in places like Hawaii and New York City, property is at a premium with frequently nowhere for churches to meet other than public buildings.  And it overlooks the rich history of complementary use of government buildings by churches since the very beginning of this country.

 

Churches should not be pushed out of public spaces simply because some find the message of the Gospel “offensive.”  Nor should churches voluntarily abandon the public square where the proclamation of the Gospel message is sorely needed.

 

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel