Published: May 25, 2006 12:54 pm            

The ‘bond’ between ¢hurch and $tate

Clarksville town bond at the center of $2.5 million church expansion

John Kirkwood regularly walks the line between church and state.

The phrase, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” is one he routinely analysis in his work as an Indianapolis-based public finance attorney.

Some cases come closer to the line than others, he admits.

A church that recently asked for government assistance in building a nondenominational school or a Catholic-run soup kitchen that needed government money in order to expand are among examples that come to mind for Kirkwood.

Recently, however, he took on one such case for the First Southern Baptist Church of Clarksville, which wanted to expand its operation along Ettel Lane.

The church’s soon-to-be-constructed Family Life Center will house a new kitchen, an office suite, educational space and a gymnasium.

According to John Borengasser — the 200-member church’s minister of music and administration — the expansion will cost around $2.5 million. And, thanks to Kirkwood and a vote by the Clarksville Town Council, more than half of the money used for the project will be tax free.

Earlier this month, the Council approved the issuance of a tax-free economic development bond worth $1.5 million to the church. Preliminary construction of the new center is expected to start this week.

Kirkwood acted as the church’s attorney while applying for bonds, arguing the expanded space will be one the entire community can utilize. “It’s not that far away from a YMCA,” he said.

This was the first time a church has ever approached the Town Council for one of the bonds, according to Samuel Gwin, Clarkville’s attorney.

First Independent Bank’s Craig Long, who handled the church’s bond issuance, said a church asking for bond money is a bit of a rarity.

“It’s typically done for commercial-type projects.”

However, the expansion will create jobs and community outreach in the area, he said, making it an economic development opportunity for Clarksville.

The town’s Economic Development Commission heard the testimony as to how the church’s expansion would benefit the community before agreeing to the bonds. The expanded area will not be used as the church’s worship center, Gwin said. Therefore, he argues, it does not cross the line between church and state.

“It’s more everyday activities you’d find at a school,” said Gwin.

The church will be using the center for nonworship-related activities such as education and community-outreach programs.

Additionally, none of the town’s tax money will be used for the expansion. And Clarksville will not be responsible for the bond.

In Kirkwood’s legal opinion, the church’s case wasn’t close to crossing the line. But not all concur.

Linda Gugin, a professor of political science at IU Southeast in New Albany, said she has never heard of a town issuing a church a tax-free bond in order for expansion.

“This seems to be a gray area.”

“Obviously, in the last couple of years the Supreme Court has lowered the wall between church and state,” she said, but someone could challenge it if so inclined.

According to Gugin, the Supreme Court has a test for such activity in which two questions are asked: Does it favor a particular religious faith? or Will it put the governing body in an entangled position?

For example, she said, if a church gets government assistance in order to build a soup kitchen, the court will ask: Will those served be persuaded towards that church’s individual beliefs? If so, she said, than someone could have the constitutional grounds to challenge assistance.

Also, she said, as in the case of First Southern Baptist Church of Clarksville, if a bond is being issued for nonworship-related development, the court will have to ask: Will the government be monitoring to make sure stays that way?

It’s known in the Supreme Court as religious entanglement, she said. Clarksville may be putting itself in a position where it could be forced to monitor the activities taking place at the new development.

Over at First Independent, Long admits the Family Life Center’s planned activities played a pivotal role in whether or not the bond was issued. If the church were using the new space for worshipping purposes, it would not have been eligible for an economic development bond, he said.

Borengasser knew of no such restriction on the space.

The town would not rigorously enforce such a restriction and would not step in if a special circumstance arose in which the church wanted to use the space for worshipping, Gwin said.

So far, there have been no challenges to the bond issuance.

Landmark Supreme Court decisions on the separation of church and state

• In 1947, Everson v. the Board of Education was the first case concerning separation of church and state. The court supported busing for children to private religious schools and declaring that states were required to provide the same guarantees of religious freedom as the federal government.

• In 1948, McCollum v. the Board of Education, the Supreme Court banned religious instruction in public schools.

• In 1952, Zorach v. Clauson allowed religious instruction off school property during regular school hours.

• In 1962, Engel v. Vitale banned teacher-led prayer from public schools.

• In 1963, Abington School District v. Schempp banned Bible-reading and the recital of the Lord’s Prayer in public schools.

• In 1973, Lemon v. Kurtzman allowed state funding for textbooks and teachers’ salaries in religious schools, creating the Lemon test.

• In 1987, during Edwards v. Aguillard the Supreme Court declared the Creation Act invalid, which had mandated the teaching of Creation if Evolution was taught.

• In 1989, Allegheny County v. Greater Pittsburg ACLU banned religious displays depicting only one religion

• And in 1992, Lee v. Weisman banned prayers given by clergy as a part of an official public school graduation ceremony.

— Source: Findlaw.com

        

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