A Time and Place for Expressions of Faith
Garry Abrams’ article raises an important set of issues but fails to adequately sort them out. I too am frightened by the prospect of an erosion of the separation of church and state, but I am equally concerned about the policing of personal faith in public work settings. Clearly one person’s religious beliefs can not be allowed to infringe upon the free expression of another’s, but neither can the state be allowed to censor individual belief.
A world in which individual conscience is regulated--you are fired because we don’t like the way your faith influences your politics--is precisely the world that the separation of church and state seeks to avoid.
MARK A. SHIBLEY
Santa Barbara
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