If you glance at page 72 of the budget bill unveiled on Monday and currently under consideration by North Carolina’s legislature, you’ll see a section allotting $250,000 to a group called Cross Trail Outfitters “for purposes of promoting wellness and physical activity.”
That sounds perfectly reasonable (as far as appropriations go, anyway), but a glance at the group’s website reveals its actual mission:
… Cross Trail Outfitters (CTO) is changing that by providing an opportunity to get them outdoors and teach them about our hunting and fishing heritage, while sharing our faith.
We want kids to know that life is different than what they see on TV or in video games. There’s a life out in God’s creation, and CTO is all about “Guiding the next generation to Christ through the outdoors.” We provide hunting and fishing, while ensuring a wholesome and fun environment in which the participants can grow in their knowledge and reverence of God.
So… this is really just a taxpayer-funded quarter-million dollar gift to a Christian ministry.
Rob Schofield of The Progressive Pulse noted how this is a church/state violation waiting to happen:
… Simply put, the overarching mission of this group is clearly to evangelize for a specific religion and now North Carolina taxpayers will be funding that mission directly. There is no indication at all that the group does any kind of youth work that does not involve promoting Christianity.
The General Assembly’ proposed appropriation is, therefore, by all appearances, indistinguishable from a direct appropriation to a church for, say, its youth ministry program.The bottom line: If this doesn’t violate the First Amendment’s wall between church and state, it’s hard to say that anything would. Let’s hope the courts weigh in on this matter in the very near future.
He’s right. If this bill passes as is, you can bet church/state separation groups will file lawsuits that are about as guaranteed to go in their favor as anything they do.
Read the full story at the Friendly Atheist Blog
