Last week, two religious scenes were placed on the capital lawn in Lansing to celebrate the holiday season.

One was the traditional Christmas nativity scene featuring Mary and the baby Jesus. The other was comprised of satanic symbolism, which some have dubbed “The Snaketivity.” This display was set up by the Detroit Chapter of the Satanic Temple and featured a snake curled around a cross and a quote that read, “the greatest gift is knowledge.”

The group stated that they had put up the display to promote dialogue and religious equality. Like many, I anticipated a great deal of outrage and protest from fundamentalist Christians, but things were rather calm and many onlookers expressed only curiosity.

Even though many Americans feel that in recent years the controversy regarding placing a nativity scene on government property has seemed like an attack on Christmas and American traditions the fact is the battle has been about fairness and allowing others to express their opinions. But I believe that this is a completely unnecessary debate and could be completely avoided.

America was founded on the principle of the separation of church and state. I think it is time to remove religion completely from our government to respect and preserve the rights of everyone.

This holiday season there was quite a number hullabaloos in our nation concerning the placement of nativity scenes on government land.

For instance, in Arkansas a man has filed a suit against his local government for not being allowed to place a banner on the courthouse lawn wishing everyone a happy winter solstice even though that county has allowed a nativity scene to be placed there. Also, there was a zombie nativity scene on private property in Ohio that the local township wanted removed because they felt it was offensive.

There is also a group in Grand Haven that is suing for equal access to a hill where the city places a cross and nativity scene every year.

All of these disputes could have been avoided if we followed the Constitution and learned to respect the rights of others.

Quite often I’ve witnessed battles over the First Amendment and our right to freedom of expression, but when it comes to religious symbolism tempers tend to flare quickly. For too long, Christianity has been an overwhelming force in this nation.

America gains its strength through diversity and we need to respect the rights of all its citizens. But, at a time when many in this nation are hiding behind religion to promote intolerance against the LGBT community, it is good to know that we can still come together to promote freedom of speech here in Michigan.

 

William Crandell is a community activist and member of the Michigan Education Association and the Michigan Democratic Party. He is also a member of the South County Democratic Club where he has served as their communications director and as the chairperson of the SCDC Blue Tiger Community Action Committee.