Bashir: Mayor Mike Bloomberg should show religious tolerance

>>> time now to clear the air. while the rou over the availability of contraception under the reform of health care has been dominating the political headlines, a perhaps more worrying act of religious intolerance has been allowed to occur without a single presidential candidate offering an objection. here in new york mayor michael bloomberg and schools chancellor dennis wall cot have tried to stop more than 60 churches wall from using school buildings for meetings and services outside of school hours. their decision followed td supreme court refusal last year to hear the case of the bronx household of faith which had challenged the city's position. so now unless the mayor changes his mind, all of these congregations will be turfed out on february 12th . but that would be the most egregious form of religious intolerance that we've seen for a very long time. first of all, these churches, which are often in the poorest parts of the city, have been meeting in school buildings for decad decades without any ill effects. in neighborhoods with scarce resources these churches offer support to families under severe pressure, compassion toward the marginalized and the chance for young people to be mentored by other responsible adults. indeed, in some areas there is actually a noticeable drop in crime due to the influence of these local congregations. second, the schools themselves have benefited because they've been allowed to set the cost of rental and since renting an existing building is so much cheaper than having to buy one, the churches have always willingly paid the fee. so if this benefits the schools, the churches, and the community what is the problem? the problem is actually a theological misunderstanding as evidenced in a legal opinion written by judge pierre lavaal. he says a worship service is an act of organized religion that consecrates the place in which it is performed, making it a church. so judge laval says if a worship service takes place in a school on a sunday that school is suddenly and permanently transformed from being an educational establishment to a religious one. and by so doing that would breach the strict division between church and state . without being irreverent toward the learned judge that is absolutely ridiculous. if you decide to hold a prayer meeting in your garden shed does that make it a church? if you gather a few friend together in your garage to pray privately for your sick child, does that make your garage cathedral? of course it doesn't. and that's why the mayor of new york should stand up for religious tolerance and for the good service these churches render to their communities and allow them to continue to meet as they have done for many years.