University of Colorado and the true meaning of freedom of religion

[Buccaneer]

CU invests to help prayer on campus

"Muslim students at the University of Colorado-Boulder have complained for years because the campus lacks a quiet area suitable for midday prayers. These students believe they cannot flourish without prayer. Soon, their dilemma will be solved.

The university is building an $84.4 million Center for Community building, scheduled to open next fall, and it will include a 624-square-foot meditation room to facilitate yoga, Islamic meditation and prayer, and the prayers and religious rituals of all other religions. The room will supply students with prayer rugs and yoga mats, and maybe even prayer beads.

For a seemingly countless variety of reasons, prayer is an important part of life for billions of people in this world. For too long, students attending public institutions, such as the University of Colorado and most other public schools and universities, have been forced to spend much of their lives in secularized environments sanitized of any hint of religion. The mistaken notion that secularism is common ground has been employed to avoid even the appearance of state-sponsored establishment of religion and a violation of the misused metaphor “separation of church and state.” Secularism, however, is not common ground. Freedom of religion is common ground, because it allows any and all religious rituals and beliefs, including secularism and atheism, to flourish in public and private.

The First Amendment of the Constitution is a beautiful law. It wisely prevents governments from making laws that respect the establishment of religion. This means the University of Colorado cannot require students to swear allegiance to Islam, Christianity, Judaism, atheism, Hinduism, etc. It cannot require students to partake in religious rituals, even those as seemingly innocuous as yoga — a deeply religious Hindu ritual that Americans use as a common fitness calisthenic. The First Amendment forbids the University of Colorado to call itself a Christian university, or to force religious doctrine of any kind on students or employees.

What the First Amendment does not do, however, is empower the university to force a secular agenda on students. Just as the university cannot tell students they must pray, it cannot tell students they are forbidden to pray on campus. The First Amendment neither forbids nor compels a public university to provide special facilities for a variety of prayer and meditation, such as the proposed meditation and prayer room at CU. It is, however, a university’s responsibility to provide an atmosphere conducive to learning and personal growth. For some students, succeeding in school and other endeavors involves a life of frequent meditation, prayer, and spiritual exercise. For devout Muslim students, a successful life involves frequent prayer during the day.

The University of Colorado should be commended for taking special measures to facilitate activities protected by the First Amendment, including prayer and meditation. It’s no different than the university’s Dalton Trumbo Fountain, an area designated specifically to facilitate political activism. Other universities, public and private, should follow CU’s lead by providing space for quiet meditation and prayer. It’s a move that favors freedom of the mind and spirit, while promoting religious diversity, tolerance and understanding."

OUR VIEW: The university's new prayer room | prayer, university, students - Opinion - Colorado Springs Gazette, CO

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Will there be pilates?

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

Will there be pilates?

How much do you want for only $84.4million?