February 4, 2008

Freedom of Religion Denied to Connecticut Buddhists

A grave blow against freedom has been struck in Connecticut.

The Connecticut State Supreme Court has upheld the commissioners of Newtown, who denied a Cambodian Buddhist Society's special request to build a temple on land that they had purchased. The court's opinion is available on the web site of the Connecticut State Supreme Court at http://www.jud.ct.gov/external/supapp/Cases/AROcr/CR285/285CR143.pdf, and it mostly treats the case as one involving zoning regulations.

This case shows the hidden dangers of zoning regulations. These laws allow the government to determine what may or may not be built on private property, and now it's been revealed that they allow the government to violate the people's First Amendment rights, as well as the clear intent of federal laws such as the "Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000." It's been pointed out to me that this government power is ripe for abuse in other ways as well: if a political contributor had wanted to build a shopping mall on the site, it might well have been heartily approved.

What is at issue is not somebody else's religion, not somebody else's problem. It is the problem of atheists, Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Mormons, Southern Baptists, and Hindus. If one religion can be denied permission to build a facility, than every religion can be denied permission to build a facility. The government will determine where you can build your mosques and cathedrals, and by extension will dictate where you can go to church- if the government allows your place of worship to be built at all. Do you want to worship at a Presbyterian Church? Sorry, the board decided that has to be built 200 miles away from your house. Do you want to worship at a Buddhist temple? No, the almighty Government has decided you may not have a Buddhist temple.

This is nothing less than a blow at one of our most cherished freedoms, our freedom to worship in a way that our conscience dictates. Islamofascists commit their deeds of murder in hopes of denying us this freedom. Soldiers of the United States have defended this freedom for two centuries to the present day. Shall we simply abandon this precious right to seemingly harmless zoning laws?

How sad that this blow against liberty took place in Connecticut. Some of its earliest settlers were people who wanted the freedom to worship as they chose, instead of as their government chose. This tradition of freedom continued through the American Revolution and all of our history to this very day. I can only pray that the state will realize the dangers in our nations present course, and once again become one of the cradles of liberty.

A Different Opinion

For an opinion that disagrees with mine, see this post at http://conservativeposts.us/v-web/b2/index.php?p=2400&c=1 by J. Grant Swank, Jr.