Stars and Stripes fly at center of new debate on church and state

The latest controversy over the separation of church and state began innocently enough. In August, 17-year-old Andrew Larochelle wrote to his congressman requesting that a flag be flown over the U.S. Capitol to honor his grandfather and his “love of God, country and family.”

But the acting architect of the Capitol, whose employees run the Stars and Stripes up and down three flagpoles hundreds of times each day, balked at the religious dedication. His decision has provoked a firestorm over the place of God in U.S. political institutions, becoming the most recent touchstone in the nation’s culture wars.

Andrew’s request was one of more than 100,000 that flood Congress each year from constituents, eager to give a gift with some political significance. Members of Congress often include a sample request letter on their websites because the flags are so popular.

When Stephen Ayers, the acting architect, got the request to honor Marcel Larochelle, an Army veteran, “and his dedication and love of God, country and family,” he declined to provide the dedication. He cited the rules issued by the architect of the Capitol’s office for ordering flags, which include this stipulation: “Personalized dedications are permitted but . . . political and/or religious expressions are not permitted on the flag certificate.”

When the Larochelles received the flag certificate, it contained no mention of God. It only indicated the date and time it had flown over the Capitol. Paul Larochelle, Andrew’s father and a devout Catholic, called his congressman’s office. “I thought it was a typographical error,” said Larochelle, a computer program manager in Dayton, Ohio.

Notified of the “error,” Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio) issued a certificate of his own to the Larochelle family, with the language they had requested.

Then, a week ago, he wrote a “Dear Colleague” letter criticizing the architect for putting “at risk our religious freedoms and heritage” and requesting that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) overturn the decision.

Since then, more than 160 members of Congress have signed on, including five Democrats. Cable television shows went on the offensive as members of Congress leaped on the issue as the latest example of political correctness stripping God from U.S. institutions.

“This is a case of political correctness run amok,” wrote Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas). “The government is not imposing ‘God’ on flag certificates. Rather, it is the request of the taxpayer who wants to mark a special occasion with the honor of a flag flown over the world’s symbol of democracy.”

Andrew Larochelle has been overwhelmed with media requests, according to his father, and has appeared on CNN’s “Glenn Beck” and Fox’s “Hannity & Colmes.” “He’s getting a lesson not only in our country’s politics but in our country’s media,” Paul Larochelle said.

Pelosi weighed in this week, noting that Congress, which begins its day with a prayer and meets in a chamber with the word “God” engraved overhead, is not against religion.

“People were asking for statements that not only were religious, beyond using the word ‘God,’ but political as well,” she said. “It’s not about being anti-religion, it is just about what the architect thought was appropriate for him to proclaim in a certificate.”

Pelosi appears likely to propose that the architect merely issue statements of the time and date that a flag flies, leaving it to members of Congress to issue detailed certificates.

It’s not clear that will quiet the controversy that Turner spokesman Andy Bloom described as “a brush fire that became a forest fire.”

Turner said he may introduce legislation to allow the architect to issue religious dedications. Noting that the word “God” appears on the speaker’s chair, he said, “Throughout this building there are religious symbols that are at risk if this policy is permitted to stand.”

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johanna.neuman@latimes.com