Religion, the state and really bad taste

Huntsville Times -  Let me cautiously, and perhaps unwisely, dip my pen into religious matters that in one case seems to defy the law of the land and in the other offends even my hardscrabble sensibilities.

Down in Montgomery, st ate Sen. Hank Erwin, R-Montevallo, who has a history of wanting to impose his personal religious views on all of us, now comes forward with a plan to have Alabama sell license plates with "I Believe" on them.

Erwin says the plates would "send a message that the government in Alabama believes in faith and family" - as if there were some confusion on that point or some constitutional provision for the government to undertake that job as a legitimate function.

Why certain legislators think it is within their purview to proselytize - as opposed, say, to passing budgets in a timely manner - is beyond me. I would much prefer legislators to lead by example in this area rather than using the state machinery to prop up a specific type of religion.

Anyway, if this idea passes legislative muster you’ll have the state spending money defending lawsuits, and probably losing. Certainly the money could best be spent elsewhere.

If someone wants to go to a private vendor and buy a bumper sticker that says "I Believe," he or she can and should do so. That’s got the added advantage in some circles of supporting free enterprise. Why get the state involved, even if the U.S. Constitution permitted it, which it probably doesn’t?

But the news that Erwin is meddling again in matters outside government purview was not the most offensive religion-tinged moment of last weekend.

No, that would be the local TV commercial.

If you’ve seen it, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

If not, let me just see it features a cute blond child who is doing things with her fingers and her nose that one hopes not to encounter in public.

The commercial, thank goodness, doesn’t talk about "picking" a church. But it extolls the virtues of the one that is sponsoring the commercial.

TV ads for churches appear to be a growing phenomenon, yet I’m confused by some of them. One has a preacher standing for some reason at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. Another has Memorial Parkway road work in the background. I find the messages confusing.

I do, however, know that if, as a lad, I had done in public what that child is doing on the offensive commercial, my usually restrained mother might have given me the back of her hand.

I hope the church will pull the ad and try something less disgusting - and that would be just about anything.

In the meantime, I urge everyone to celebrate their religion in any way that’s meaningful to them.

You don’t need the state of Alabama making a buck off you to do it. And you don’t need gross displays to entice you, I would hope.

In fact, I can’t really presume to tell you how to worship or not worship. I can, however, ask you to support constitutional prohibitions against mixing government and religion and to please, please use a little discretion if you want to advertise your particular religious beliefs on TV.

David Prather’s e-mail: david.prather@htimes.com; telephone: 532-4357.