Clarksburg, West Virginia, is the home of the annual Jesus Fest, and the event has, in past years, received funding directly from the Harrison County commissioners. This year, however, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has responded to a complaint, and has requested that tax dollars no longer be contributed to a festival whose sole purpose is to promote religion - and oddly enough, no one seems to understand what the big deal is.
The ACLU of West Virginia has asked that county commissioners stop funding the two-day event, which takes place every year in August. Jesus Fest has received $2,000 a year from the commission for the past five years, according to event organizer B.K. Vanhorn. The ACLU says the letter was sent in December on behalf of Harrison County residents who had complained about the commission funding a religious activity.
VanHorn seems to think that it's crazy for people to be complaining about this. "The bottom line is you don't have to be Italian to enjoy the Italian Heritage Festival and you don't have to be black to enjoy the Black Heritage Festival... and you don't have to be a Christian to come to Jesus Fest."
I suppose that's true, but there's nothing in the Constitution that prevents the government from getting involved in cultural activities, while the Establishment Clause does provide a pretty good reason for them not funding religious stuff.
The festival website says, "It's time for the Church to rise up and claim its purpose! To reach those in needs through acts of service and love while sharing the good news of a life changed by Jesus... Bring your youth group, your prayer group, your friends and family members or someone you know who needs a life changing encounter with the love of Jesus. Come be salt and light to a dying world in need of the love of Christ as we endeavor to be the hands and feet of God!"
That's just a little different than "Hey, we're proud to be Italian" or "Join us as we celebrate our black heritage."
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The ACLU of West Virginia has asked that county commissioners stop funding the two-day event, which takes place every year in August. Jesus Fest has received $2,000 a year from the commission for the past five years, according to event organizer B.K. Vanhorn. The ACLU says the letter was sent in December on behalf of Harrison County residents who had complained about the commission funding a religious activity.
VanHorn seems to think that it's crazy for people to be complaining about this. "The bottom line is you don't have to be Italian to enjoy the Italian Heritage Festival and you don't have to be black to enjoy the Black Heritage Festival... and you don't have to be a Christian to come to Jesus Fest."
I suppose that's true, but there's nothing in the Constitution that prevents the government from getting involved in cultural activities, while the Establishment Clause does provide a pretty good reason for them not funding religious stuff.
The festival website says, "It's time for the Church to rise up and claim its purpose! To reach those in needs through acts of service and love while sharing the good news of a life changed by Jesus... Bring your youth group, your prayer group, your friends and family members or someone you know who needs a life changing encounter with the love of Jesus. Come be salt and light to a dying world in need of the love of Christ as we endeavor to be the hands and feet of God!"
That's just a little different than "Hey, we're proud to be Italian" or "Join us as we celebrate our black heritage."
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besides doesn’t the church have enough money to pay for their own propaganda?
They dont like to is their own money dragonwyke.
I agree — Religion trumps Italian. It;s not “come celebrate the Holy Roman Catholic Church,” it “come eat pasta and cannoli”
I live not 2 hours out of the Clarksburg area and it seems that this area (and the surrounding 20mi) is a particular Jesus hotspot where religion is shoved down your throat a lot =/ I honestly hope they see why funding any kind of religious event is unconstitutional.
I wonder if they would give 2 grand for a pagan festival , I highly doubt. And if that being the case then they shouldn’t be giving it to them. It is really simple, you make a list of religions, and if there are some you would not support, guess what . Then you don’t need to support any of them, period. It’s all or none when speaking of tax dollars or government support.
They don’t see a problem with it because probably everybody in that town is Christian, except for the in-the-closet Wiccans.
Unlike food and ethnic celebrations, these folks have to introduce that “be one of us” or “this is the only way” type of concept when it comes to relgion – its doesn’t seem like celebration, more like recruitment..
Definitely a violation of the separation of church and state. This money could be put to better use elsewhere like making up whatever budget deficit they have for example.
@ Millie: Or how about they take that 2 Grand and feed the Homeless. That is what JESUS would have done with the money.
And if there was a Pagan Fest or a Muslim Fest in that same area funded by the county, the Jesus Fest people would be all up in arms and angry. A festival about a culture is not the same as a festival of religion. The “goals” they list for the festival are NOT the same kinds of goals a cultural festival has, for them to compare the two is rather insulting.
Here are their “goals” as listed on their website:
1. To reach into our families by providing an environment where Christians can unite in fun, food and fellowship, listen to Christian music, hear the exciting news of our Lord and enjoy themselves in the love of Jesus.
2. To reach around each other as the Body of Christ to create unity by working together toward a common cause and by uniting the church in praise and worship of our risen Savior Jesus Christ.
3. To reach out to the unsaved by providing an inviting environment with an enlightening message of music and the preached word of God and to reach out to the lost, the forelorned and the hurting by providing access to local specialized ministries.
Well, they believe that Christianity is the only correct religion. That would be more like an Italian inviting others to come to a festival for the purpose of making them into Italians. Now, I know that if you think you possess the only means to escape “Hell” you will try to “save” as many as possible. Therefore I do not say this with malice, but it is possible to be both sincere, and sincerely mistaken.
dont take the money, charge the event goers $1 per problem solved
There are even Christians there who don’t necessarily want to support the festival, either. Catholics and non-fundegelicals are not going to want to support something like this, but most of them keep quiet, just like those who are religiously in the closet.
Seperation of church and state means just that”SEPERATION”. No exceptions, ifs, ands, or buts allowed. Fail to see why people can’t understand that simple fact.
Hmm…I’m on the fence on this one. After looking at different links, there’s something a little…off about what the ACLU is doing.
We are all familiar with the Establishment Clause of the Constitution (I believe everybody has managed to touch upon it). However, the thing that people seem to always forget is that the Establishment Clause goes both ways: the government can’t favor religion over non-religion NOR can it favor non-religion over religion; both groups must be treated fairly (that’s why the “Separation of Church and State” principle is just that; a principle, not a law to be taken literally).
The money that “Jesus Fest” receives is not taxpayer money. It is money that is given to the county from the state. The money is used for festivals, community events, and such. It would be unconstitutional for a government to favor all non-religious festivals over the religious ones (the government can’t establish secularism anymore than it can establish a religion). Of course, it would also be unconstitutional for a government to favor Christianity over another religion, so they would have to open up access to those funds to all religious groups if they asked for it.
Now, in every article that I have read so far on this issue, the ACLU appears to have an issue with this festival alone, instead of the fact that religion seems to be present in other festivals, namely the Italian festival. Apparently there is a Catholic mass that is held during the Italian festival (in front of the courthouse, no less) and they receive money for the festival (and the stage the mass is held on). But the ACLU hasn’t said anything about them.
Why don’t they have an open collection all year round to come up with the money. If everyone who wants it, throws some money in the pot whenever they can, they should come up with more than enough money to put on the event. Why would the county commissioners even get involved?
If this is money given to the county from the state, as Luna WolfDragon says, then why don’t they put on educational, non-controversial festivals, like educational, science or dances for the kids? This shouldn’t be an issue if some common sense is used.
just my 2 cents..
celebrate one, celebrate all. That’s 2000 per an individual’s color, race, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic.
in short, the excuse given was literally a “pass the buck” comment.
what is the big deal or have all here decided that if your not pc then your wrong it is up to the folks that live there not any one out side
Luna WolfDragon said “The money that “Jesus Fest” receives is not taxpayer money. It is money that is given to the county from the state.”
To which I ask, Where did the state get the money to give, if not from the taxpayers? Same question if you push it to the federal level.
Timothy (19), I’m not sure why you think this has anything to do with “being pc.” It is about following the laws of this country, and expecting other people to do the same.
pc: I do not think this word means what you think it means.
patti
The thing that strikes me so profoundly is the rank hypocrisy of
the Christian Right. They know full well that the federal
government isn’t supposed to support religious activities and/or
entities. They would be the first to rise up in outrage, were the
government to sanction and monetarily support any sort of pagan
outreach effort. And yet they haven’t a problem with receiving
federal funds themselves. Herein lies the essence of the
Christian hypocrisy that so strongly characterizes the
fundamentalist mentality.
This festaval really sounds like the mormon church. “We are rite and all else is wrong.” If they are mormon, they have more than enough money to pay for it. However they make money by getting others to pay for it for them.
I live in Southern WV & was raised by a religiose grandmother who taught me as a young child that I would burn in a fiery hell, spending an eternity in excruciating pain if I did not believe in Jesus. I’ve had a long journey in my 29 years, seeking truth in this culture where we are expected to blindly accept Christianity as truth and NEVER SEEK answers- never even ask questions! I’m very pleased to here that some people in Clarksburg have spoken out against this!
Seriously, they’re going to whine about not getting 2K from the government to host their religious festival? Maybe they should recruit their local scout group for lessons on fundraising.
First, I would like to say that Separation of Church and State was in a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote. It is traditionally upheld to be a tenet of the government’s operating system. This was done because they didn’t want say, a bishop, to be governor of the state. That hadn’t worked out so well in England, in fact, it’s part of the reason why they left.
Ok, that’s out of the way. Personally, I don’t have a problem with them funding this event, IF they will also fund Muslim, Jewish, Pagan, Buddhist, and any other type of religious event, or anti religious events as well. The last time I was at at (culture) fest, they didn’t try to convert me, so it is different from a (culture) fest. The problem I have is the exclusivity with which Christians seem to “break” the rules.
Remember, ladies and gents, we fight for equality, we don’t fight them, whether or not they fight us. We fight for equal treatment. I would be happy with anything as long as it is equally doled out. That said, one more thing: you don’t have to attend those festivals, keep that in mind too.
I don’t know. They can throw a Jesus Fest if they want. It’s not like they are forcing anyone to attend, Besides, don’t we throw Pagan conventions all the time?