This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
State Sen. Parley Hellewell says the ACLU and the heathen masses have been cutting off public religious displays long enough.
So the Orem Republican plans to introduce legislation to take back control for the majority he insists wants God in government meetings and public schools.
To lay the groundwork for a future bill, Hellewell lectured members of the Government Operations legislative interim committee Wednesday about the secular dissent from "what the Founding Fathers envisioned."
Quoting from the book Original Intent, Hellewell argued that religion infused American life until the Supreme Court interpreted the First Amendment's establishment clause 40 years ago to block prayer in public schools. He held up a copy of his sister's tiny New Testament, passed out in school, and The Primer, a religiously-tinged schoolbook he said was the basis of American education for 200 years. He quoted the Founding Fathers speaking about God and religion. And Hellewell cited apocryphal stories of school administrators pulling the Bible off school library shelves, prohibiting the display of the word "Christmas" and blocking religious artwork.
"I don't think we're doing what the Founding Fathers of our country intended. The first 50 to 200 years of our country, we had a lot more religious freedom than we have now," Hellewell said. "The Supreme Court is doing what we call 'legislating from the bench.' There's one heck of a lot of prohibiting. There's a movement out there saying you can't practice your religion. We're living by the atheist religion."
To reverse the trend, Hellewell says he wants to sponsor legislation next year explicitly allowing religious displays like the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, prayer at high school graduations and student blessings of their lunch. All are allowed under specific circumstances, but Hellewell wants more protection for such shows of devotion.
Civil rights attorney Brian Barnard said Hellewell is setting up for a lawsuit the first Utah school district that tries to expand prayer in school. "There are better things for school districts in the state of Utah to be spending their money on than defending a clearly unconstitutional prayer in schools law," said Barnard, who successfully challenged two Utah cities' prayer policies. "When the good legislators pass that law, they should also budget $100,000 for attorneys' fees."
Hellewell is undaunted by the prospect of a future lawsuit. He plans to have a law drafted by the end of the year.
"I don't care if it starts a lawsuit," he said. "We have to defend our freedom"