The University of South Dakota's Student Government Association's Fiscal Guidelines exclude organizations "affiliated with or dedicated to a particular religion or religious point of view" from eligibility for funding from student activity fees. Volante Online today reports that, applying this provision, the University's Student Senate rejected general funding for the Student Secular Association-- though it can still request funds for speakers. This has led SSA to rewrite its constitution in hopes of qualifying for funding. The new draft constitution merely refers to the group as providing a community for "freethinkers", taking out references to "atheists, agnostics, humanists, [and] naturalists." It also substitutes examining "the universe and humanity" for the earlier language stating that one of its purposes was to examine "the universe and our place in it." Some senators saw no problems with the original constitution, saying that there is a difference between an organization that explores the reasons for personal belief and one that promotes religion.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.jpg)
Posts
1 comments:
In order to qualify for student activity funding not available to religious groups, the Secular Society proposes to amend its organic documents by replacing such terms as "atheists" wiht "freethinkers," a term that has had much that same meaning for hundreds of years.
In the first place, beilevers in a "secular" world view, much less "atheirsts," etc. as they ahd originally admited themselves to be, are adherents to what is essentially as much a matter of faith, i.e., a religious view, as Buddhists, who do not believe in a current god.
Is not this about like the people whose claim that the Ten Commandments were not a religious position the Supreme Court rejected?
Post a Comment