| From West by Northwest.org Voices of the Northwest Driving a Road to State Religion? By Russell Sadler May 13, 2005
The religious groups that comprise the anti-abortion movement want the State of Oregon to sponsor license plates that sport the slogan “Choose Life.” Like so many Oregon license plates, they will cost more and the extra money will be funneled only to those groups that counsel adoption but oppose abortion. The bill is modeled after a 1999 Florida law, according to its Oregon sponsors, Rep. Mac Summers, R-Mollalla and Rep. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas. The Florida law was promoted by Christian Republicans allied with anti-abortion organizations. Boquist said he thinks the license plates would be a good way to generate money voluntarily for non-profit groups and local government agencies that promote adoption. Predictably, a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood sees other motives. “If this were about the promotion of adoption, a license plate proclaiming, ‘Support Adoption’ ... would fulfill the intent,” Maura Roche told Associated Press. Boquist says he does not think “Choose Life” plates violate the First Amendment any more than plates supporting Oregon’s Cultural Trust, salmon restoration or Crater Lake research and education. Boquist and Summers took an oath to uphold the Oregon Constitution, but it’s clear neither lawmaker has read the document or they would not have introduced this silliness. Oregon’s constitution has no vague language prohibiting the establishment of religion like the U.S. Constitution. Oregon’s Article I, Section 5 is very explicit: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury for the benefit of any religeous (sic) or theological institution, nor shall any money be appropriated for the payment of any religeous (sic) services in either house of the Legislative Assembly.” This language has been in the Oregon Constitution since it was drafted in 1857 and ratified in 1859. It reflects a religious skepticism that has been a part of Oregon political culture since the state was formed. Here’s the story: In the early 1840s, there were between 800-900 Caucasians in the Oregon Territory. They were divided into three factions in their debate over aligning with Britain or the United States : Rev. Jason Lee and his Methodist missionaries were the leaders in seeking a secular government aligned with the United States. Disappointed by their failure to convert Native Americans, Lee and the Methodists drifted into land speculation and wanted a secular government to protect their “property rights.” Fr. Francis Blanchet of the Roman Catholic Church presided over a flock of French-Canadian voyageurs who had retired from the British Hudson Bay Company. They favored continued British rule. The third faction was the mountain men, nominally led by Joe Meek, who supplied furs to the American fur companies competing with the Hudson Bay Company. This faction was rather independent and really wanted no government at all! But Fr. Blanchet and his flock were united with Meek and his mountain men in fearing that Rev. Lee and his Methodist missionaries would finance Methodist missions in the territory under the guise of secular government outposts. The charter of the Oregon Provisional Government permitted only voluntary taxation to prevent Lee from doing anything like that. When Jesse Applegate’s wagon train arrived in the fall of 1843, the Euro-American population of the Oregon territory doubled over night. The newcomers tipped the balance toward affiliation with the United States. The newcomers found the Provisional Governments voluntary taxation ineffective because no one was willing to be the first to step up and pay taxes. Oregon's original state constitution allowed the Legislative Assembly to levy taxes but had an explicit prohibit on appropriating money to benefit religious groups. Article I, Section 5 was the compromise that gained the votes for ratification in 1859. They even denied Lee the authority to hire a legislative chaplain on the public payroll! Fast forward to 2005. There is nothing voluntary about buying license plates. It is a tax that grants the privilege of driving on public streets, roads and highways. In some cases, people pay extra and the government appropriates the money to legislatively approved causes from research and education at Crater Lake and salmon restoration to square dancers and ham radio operators. Varied as they are, all these organizations have one thing in common. They are secular. The “Choose Life” license plate movement and the non-profits that support adoption as an alternative to abortion receive generous contributions from churches to actively promote “church teachings” in the secular world. This is exactly what Fr. Blanchet’s flock and Meek’s mountain men feared from Lee’s Methodists -- tax-financed promotion of sectarian religious doctrine disguised as secular government. Any court case testing the constitutionality of tax-financed license plates promoting adoption instead of abortion will revolve around just how closely the courts determine the money “appropriated” by the Legislature “benefits” any “religious or theological institution.” This sort of religious skepticism is as old as statehood and a deep-seated part of Oregon’s maverick political culture. Copyright ©2005 by Russell Sadler Russell Sadler is a journalist and a lecturer at Southern Oregon University. You may write him c/o publisher at westbynorthwest.org. Visit Sadler's Sense column's at West By Northwest.org: Remembering Roy Lieuallen and his Legacy The Big Sky Game: Manufacturers, Airlines and Competing Visions On Death: Our Challenged Autonomy Sadler's Sense: Who Is in Charge of the State's Purse? Sadler's Sense: The Risks of Shifting Higher Ed.'s Costs and Who Pays Sadler's Sense: The Good Ship School Finance Is Sinking Sadler's Sense: Infrastructure Renewal Needed Sadler's Sense: The Unlikely Poster Child for Measure 37 Sadler's Sense: Of Myths, Money and Machines, Why We Blame the Owl Sadler's Sense: Not Window Dressing Sadler's Sense: From Constantine to George, God's Will and Secular Power Sadler's Sense: Credibility or State of Our State Sadler's Sense: Look in the Mirror, Oregon Sadler's Sense: Why We Must Pay the Piper Now Sadler's Sense: A Short History of Measure 30 © Copyright 2000-2004 by West by Northwest.org |
