Is college using a double standard on 'entanglement' with religion?

[grayman]

From a Minnesota newspaper article (http://www.startribune.com:80/191/story/1115081.html):

Where Christianity is concerned, the college goes to great lengths to avoid any hint of what the courts call "entanglement" or support of the church. Yet the college is planning to install facilities for Muslims to use in preparing for daily prayers...

I'd rather see no concessions made for any religion at a public institution one way or another. If they want to hang Christmas lights or have prayer rooms for believers, fine. I just don't want them tell me I need to believe. And I'd like to see the institution be consistent in their attitude toward the different believers.

Anyway, comments?

[jimlintott]

I think they are going to regret doing this. That day will come when someone goes to wash their feet only to find a pound of bacon in the foot washing sink. Then the stuff will hit the fan.

They should build one prayer room for all the religions. If they complain just tell them that is it and they will just have to learn to get along. Better yet would be to educate people to just keep their religion at home where it belongs. In public we have an obligation to each other to be secular.

[Bob Klase]

I'd rather see no concessions made for any religion at a public institution one way or another.

So would I. But as far as a double standard, I think the last paragraph of the article is key:

From the article:
It's hard to imagine the college researching and paying for special modifications to the college to facilitate Christian rituals.

It may be hard to imagine, but a question like this doesn't deal with imagination (other than imagining that there's actually a god that gives a crap what you do or how you pray).

And the "safety" justification? Imagine if a particularly strict group of Christian students found it necessary to sometimes baptize others in the restroom sinks. Would the school build them a baptism basin because a student hit his head on a sink?

And that's the key question. If that situation arose, would the college give them the same consideration? If you find the answer to that question then you'll have the answer to whether or not it's a double standard. You can imagine any answer you like, but imagination has no bearing on what the college might really do.

[drkitten]

Anyway, comments?

I think the article is self-contradictory and alarmist.

In particular, it states at one point that "It's hard to imagine the college researching and paying for special modifications to the college to facilitate Christian rituals."

On the other hand, a few paragraphs above, it specifically acknowledges "the cafeteria's provision of a fish option for Christian students during Lent."

Does the author think that fish are free, or that finding recipies doesn't count as "research"? The college already has a demonstrated history of "researching and paying [...] to facilitate Christian rituals."

[COLONEL]

I see a double standard here .The part I have a problem with is if they do it for one then they have to do it for all and I see friverless law suits starting and wasting tax dollars that were ment for education. I don't see bacon in the sink ,My sick humor says put pigs feet in the foot sink. Oh and thank you Grayman for the help.