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 Share                                               November 22, 2009                            

Buffalo Grove official says:
Go to church this Sunday

You would think that the progressive government in the town where I've lived for 25 years would know better that to use our tax dollars to tell residents that we should go to church, which day we should go and what church service we should attend.

All this month in the Buffalo Grove Village E-news, and in the printed-and-mailed November/December, 2009, edition of the government publication "Buffalo Grove Village News," residents have been directed by village staff and by an elected official to attend a particular religious service at a certain house of worship, and to do it on a specific Sunday.  This government-endorsed religious service is actually being held at a synagogue, but the point is the same.

Here is a part of what appears in the second paragraph of Village President Elliott Hartstein's page in the current printed-and-mailed bi-monthly Village News.  I added the red color for emphasis:

"On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, there is the annual Thanksgiving Interfaith Service sponsored by the Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council.  The Interfaith Service this year is at Beth Am.  The service begins at 7:00 p.m. on November 22.  All residents are encouraged to attend.  I hope to see the community come out in full force for this year's event."

Here is a copy-and-paste of how the November 19th, edition of Buffalo Grove E-News began its coverage of the issue.  This time, I did not add the red color for emphasis.  The government, using our tax dollars, did.  This is the exact way and exact color that it appeared in the E-News:

"INTERFAITH COUNCIL SERVICE - Mark your calendar...  Join us as we all come together for one Thanksgiving service."

Article I, Section 3, of the Illinois Constitution states, in pertinent part, that "No person shall be required to attend or support any ministry or place of worship against his consent," yet here, Buffalo Grove taxpayers are being required to pay taxes for the purpose of promoting this particular ministry, without the consent of us taxpayers to spend our tax dollars in such a manner.  BG residents are being required to pay taxes for the purpose of encouraging attendance at this place of worship, without the consent of us taxpayers to spend our tax dollars in such a manner.

This is a free country.  If some religious organization wants to hold a religious service to commemorate Thanksgiving, they have a right to do so, but they have no right to have that effort supported with advertising paid for by the government.  The government certainly shouldn't be telling us whether we should or shouldn't go.

I've asked the Village of Buffalo Grove to stop telling residents whether we should or shouldn't go to church on Sunday, and to stop using our tax dollars to promote specific religious ministries.

Please e-mail a comment to me at rob@robsherman.com to let me know what you think, and I'll post your comments, below.

I look forward to your comments on this one.  Do you think that the government should use tax dollars to tell people that they should go to church, when they should go and which church service to attend?

Please tell your friends about this through your social media networks and word of mouth.

Send personal comments, comments either related to or unrelated to this story, and notification of typos that you see in any of my posts to rob@robsherman.com.

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