Ohio Library Can't Ban Religious Events
Tuesday August 19, 2008
Back in March, I blogged about the folks at the Upper Arlington Public Library here in Ohio - they were being sued by a fundamentalist Christian group after the library cancelled the group's meeting. Library officials stated at the time that the group, the Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values, was more than welcome to use the meeting room, as long as the religious elements of singing and praying were eliminated.
Now, however, U.S. District Judge George C. Smith has ruled that the library can't bar religious groups from meeting, saying that "prohibiting activities that it concludes are "inherent elements of a religious service" or elements that are "quintessentially religious" is unconstitutional." Attorney Tim Chandler called this a victory for Christian groups, saying, "Christian groups shouldn't be discriminated against for their beliefs, and we are pleased with the court's recognition of that."
Library policy prohibits prayer and singing, saying that they are "inherent elements of religious service." Judge Smith wrote in a 32-page opinion that prohibiting those aspects of the group's meeting "constitutes viewpoint discrimination."
So here's what I want to know. Does this mean that any religious group that wants to meet at the UA Library has to be allowed in? If Joe Blow starts up his own church, and doesn't have a place to hold services, can he do so in the library's meeting room? What does this mean for library patrons who are trying to read and peacefully enjoy the library? I mean, I don't have any problem with churches or religious groups using the room -- and apparently the library folks didn't either -- but what about that whole singing and praying thing? Isn't that just a bit distracting for someone who just wants to sit and read undisturbed?
Now, however, U.S. District Judge George C. Smith has ruled that the library can't bar religious groups from meeting, saying that "prohibiting activities that it concludes are "inherent elements of a religious service" or elements that are "quintessentially religious" is unconstitutional." Attorney Tim Chandler called this a victory for Christian groups, saying, "Christian groups shouldn't be discriminated against for their beliefs, and we are pleased with the court's recognition of that."
Library policy prohibits prayer and singing, saying that they are "inherent elements of religious service." Judge Smith wrote in a 32-page opinion that prohibiting those aspects of the group's meeting "constitutes viewpoint discrimination."
So here's what I want to know. Does this mean that any religious group that wants to meet at the UA Library has to be allowed in? If Joe Blow starts up his own church, and doesn't have a place to hold services, can he do so in the library's meeting room? What does this mean for library patrons who are trying to read and peacefully enjoy the library? I mean, I don't have any problem with churches or religious groups using the room -- and apparently the library folks didn't either -- but what about that whole singing and praying thing? Isn't that just a bit distracting for someone who just wants to sit and read undisturbed?
Comments
Don’t forget that the majority of Christians feel like they’re being oppressed and discriminated against. It must be the fault of us evil, nasty Pagans, lol!
Glad to hear this turn out. As far as “what about that whole singing and praying thing?” I’d say that the people involved still need to adhere to the normal library rules such as being courteous and respectful of the other patrons. Or they may potentially reserve the library so no one would be bothered by any singing.
On your question of, “Does this mean that any religious group that wants to meet at the UA Library has to be allowed in?” I would say that this goes beyond religious groups and would think any group could hold a meeting, such as a group of students. If a group was trying to hold weekly meetings and took up a sizable amount of time the library could potentially say something because it could infringe on other people’s desire to use the space.
I haven’t seen anywhere it’s mentioned as to the library layout. This meeting room may be sufficiently separate from other areas so that people wouldn’t be bothered by loud folks. My University library was four floors worth and was broken down into various areas. The study group areas were generally louder, but there were also “quiet” areas where people were expected to be very quiet in general.
The thing I saw was that this group is not a church but a community group. They include prayer and singing which is their right. But they are NOT a church. So if I have a group that wants to pray to the Goddess, but is essentially a community group (maybe eco) then I can reserve a room. But as a Wiccan church it would not be allowed.
As a Library Manager in a very small, very rural town, I well understand the challenges that libraries face. What I don’t understand is why libraries still insist limiting public access to information and library resources, including their meeting rooms. They should be made available to anyone, Questioning a group as to their intentions and basing a decision about room availability on religious grounds could be seen as profiling and/or discrimination. As tax payers, whether Christian, Pagan, Buddhist etc., it is their library and they should all be welcome to use the facility