NYC Kicks Religious Groups Out of Schools

Police may have arrested a New York City Councilman, but many argue it's the local churches that are being handcuffed. Last Thursday, 20 demonstrators--including pastor-Councilman Fernando Cabrera (D-Bronx)--blocked the entrance to the city's Law Department to protest a new Board of Education rule that bans religious groups from worshipping in public school buildings. Seven of the men who joined the sit-in were arrested, including four clergymen. Cabrera, who started his own church in 1988, has spent a good portion of his term battling religious liberty issues--most recently last September, when the Mayor tried to censor prayers at the city's 9/11 service.

In New York, as in most American communities, the smaller congregations and synagogues rely on public schools for meeting space. Most--if not all--pay a monthly rent to use the facilities for weekend services. But after a long, drawn-out legal battle, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to weigh on an appeals court decision that evicts churches from local schools, leaving 160 pastors scrambling to relocate by February 12. " It's just crazy that they're forcing the churches to leave in six weeks," Cabrera told reporters after he was released. "They should absolutely allow the houses of worship to continue doing what they are doing. It has never negatively affected anyone."

Alliance Defense Fund attorney Jordan Lorence, who represented the Bronx Household of Faith in the suit, says the policy won't force schools in other cities to throw churches out on the street, but if there are members on other school boards who "want to get rid of the churches, this would give them an excuse to do so.""New York City allows anything pertaining to the welfare of the community--that ranges from labor union meetings to Alcoholics Anonymous groups, to filming episodes of 'Law & Order'--to meet in schools." Excluding religious groups is a violation of the Equal Access Act. It also jeopardizes a longstanding cooperation between cities and faith-based groups. If you trace the roots of some of America's largest churches, like California's Saddleback, most of them started in rented schoolrooms. Now, it seems a struggling system like New York City's would rather turn away income than allow for the free exercise of religion.

In the last few weeks, the policy was already having a trickle down affect on other agencies. Taking its cues from the Department of Education, New York City's Housing Authority threatened to void the leases of five churches that use its property. Fortunately, local officials reconsidered after Thursday's protest and have since offered to work through new rent agreements with the pastors. The victory was a partial one, but it should give Councilman Cabrera the momentum he needs to push Resolution 1155. In it, he calls on the legislature to amend the State Education Law "to afford houses of worship maximum access to school property." Unfortunately, this is a byproduct of the hostile environment the Obama administration has created. In this open season on faith, believers are the hunted.