by Kimberly Blaker

Two and a half years into President Bush’s term, the violations between church and state continue to mount.  One of the most conspicuous and unequivocal breeches was announced by Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton on May 27.  Taxpayers will now foot the bill to repair and restore churches that are deemed historic, regardless of their status as a current place of worship. 

The first allocation of these funds—$317,000—goes to Boston’s Old North Church, which serves an Episcopalian congregation. The 180-year-old church was used by Paul Revere as a signaling post at the start of the American Revolution.  Some opponents, however, have pointed out that the purpose in selecting this particular church as the first to receive these funds is to conceal what’s really going on and, worse, what is yet to come.

Supposedly, churches and synagogues must meet certain criteria to receive the federal funds. Such houses of worship must be nationally significant and in need of urgent repair, and offer educational or a public benefit.  The question remains, how and by whom are such criteria determined? 

Moreover, it opens the door for states and communities across the nation—where the religious right is often most active and effective—to devise their own schemes for renovating church buildings, at taxpayer expense, under whatever conditions they deem fit.  The danger this presents is illustrated by the fact that, according to Diane Cohen of the Partners group, as reported in Philadelphia Enquirer investment gold , in Boston there are 200 60+-year-old churches that are in terrible condition.  Given such a number in one city alone, consider how many churches across the country are in dire need of a face lift or complete overhaul.

And how many could manage to draw at least something from their long histories that could, in some minute way, be used to regard them as historical, if not at the federal, at least at state or local levels?  Surely every church with a history of 50 years or more has had someone of at least local or regional importance or fame step foot in, and perhaps even been a member; is architecturally significant in some way; was part of an historical event; or is symbolic of a particular period or event.

If federal, state, or local governments were to incorporate the criteria used by the National Register of Historic Places, a church wouldn’t even need to be 50-years-old to be considered historic, providing it holds the grave or is the birthplace of someone significant or is architecturally or artistically distinct. Imagine the plotting that could soon be underway in churches in every part of the country to create eligibility for our public funds.

But regardless of what may or may not transpire, this latest ruse of the Bush administration is a whopping desecration of our Constitution. In 1973, the Supreme Court observed in PEARL v. Nyquist, “If the State may not erect buildings in which religious activities are to take place, it may not maintain such buildings or renovate them when they fall into disrepair.”  The repair and restoration of churches under the guise of historical value is merely one more way for Bush and the Christian Right to soak Americans for their own deceitful purposes; what it all boils down to is their theocratic dreams.

Kimberly Blaker’s The Wall™ appears weekly. She is editor and coauthor of the The Fundamentals of Extremism: the Christian Right in America. Send your comments to Kimberly Blaker: TheWall@TheWall-OnChurchAndState.com  © 2002, Kimberly Blaker