Canton Repository. Sunday, March 31, 2013
Bill of Rights: About this series
Shootings on Dec. 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School have propelled lawmakers and the public into
contentious debate about gun control and gun rights. Central in the ongoing issue is the Second Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the amendment does protect an individual’s right to bear arms,
though the Court has not defined any limitations. The first 10 amendments of the Constitution, called the Bill of
Rights, were written by James Madison and ratified on Dec. 15, 1791. Beginning today with the First Amendment
— and for the next nine Sundays — The Repository examines how each of the 10 affects our present-day lives in
Stark County.
March 31: Freedom of religion
April 7: Right to bear arms
April 14: Quartering troops
April 21: No unreasonable searches
April 28: Protection from
taking your land
May 5: Right to legal counsel
May 12: Trial by jury
May 19: No excessive
bail or fines
May 26: All your other rights
June 2: Local powers and authority
The First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
Family of religions
The variety of congregations within Stark County:
• Methodist/Pietist
• Baptist
• European Free
• Eastern Liturgical (Orthodox)
• Pentecostal
• Bahai
• Catholicism
• Holiness
• Christian Science
• Latter-day Saints
• Presbyterian-Reformed
• Judaism
• Episcopalianism/Anglicanism
• Lutheran
• Independent Fundamentalist
• Hindu
• Adventist
• Muslim
• Nondenominational
• Liberal
Source: “2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations and Membership Study,” released in 2012 by the
Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.
First Amendment landmarks
A few U.S. Supreme Court cases involving rights outlined in the First Amendment:
• New York Times v. The United States (1971), the “Pentagon Papers” case. Daniel Ellsberg copied more than 7,000
pages of documents, which detailed the U.S. military involvement and actions in Vietnam. The New York Times,
then Washington Post, published excerpts. The government sought to block publication, claiming it jeopardized
national security. The court disagreed, citing freedom of the press and ruling that prior restraint was
unconstitutional.
• Edwards v. South Carolina (1963), a civil rights movement case in which police arrested 187 protesters during a
peaceful demonstration against racial segregation. The court overturned the convictions, ruling they were arrested
simply for expressing an unpopular view — a legal right protected by the amendment.
• Engel v. Vitale (1962), found that official recitation of prayer in public schools violated the establishment clause in
the amendment.
• Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982), the court found that junior high and high school officials are limited in
their power to remove books from school libraries because of content. At the urging of a parents’ group, nine books
they deemed “anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic and just plain filthy,” were taken off shelves. Students
challenged the action. The court sided with the students. The government (school district) cannot restrict speech
because it does not agree with the content, the justices found.
• Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002), involved an Ohio school voucher program, in which Cleveland students used
tax-funded vouchers to attend different public or private schools, including parochials. A group of taxpayers
contended that tax dollars couldn’t legally go to religious schools. The court found the money went to parents, who
then had free choice of where to enroll their children, so the program didn’t violate the amendment.
Source: Repository research
From the cavernous and ornate majesty of St. Peter’s Catholic Church to the quaint simplicity at First Mennonite
Church of Canton, you gather in houses of worship across Stark County to practice your faith, free of persecution.
Think about that for a moment.
Especially on this Easter Sunday, one of the holiest days in Christianity.
Not only can you profess and honor your faith, it’s your right. As it is your right to read the content printed in this
newspaper. As it also is your right to rally and speak out against what you may read in this newspaper.
Nearly 222 years after its ratification, the solitary 45-word sentence that is the First Amendment continues to assure
freedom of religion, press, speech and assembly.
On a Sunday two weeks ago, men, women and children dotted pews inside St. Peter’s on Cleveland Avenue NW. To
their left and right, stained glass windows and depictions of the 14 Stations of the Cross peered inward, as the 8 a.m.
Mass began.
Parishioners alternately sat, stood and knelt, following the rigidly traditional cues from the Rev. Edward Beneleit,
the priest. Along the way, he read John 8:1-11, the story of an adulterous woman who was to be stoned. “Let the one
among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her,” Jesus said.
Stark County is home to 436 churches of varied faiths and beliefs, according to a nationwide religion census,
conducted in 2010 by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.
The census shows the local churches are visited regularly by 176,398 members or attendees. Following the Mass at
St. Peter’s, The Repository visited five other church services on the same morning to illustrate the array of freedoms.
PRAISING THE LORD
By 9:30 in the city’s southeast area, about five-dozen people had found their seats, jamming the tiny First Mennonite
Church. Devoid of most symbols and icons, only a single vase of flowers lay at the base of the lectern at the front.
Members took turns sharing church news about upcoming events and meetings. Unlike Catholics, Mennonites do
not believe in infant baptism. And pacifism, or nonviolence, remains a cornerstone of the religion.
A singing duo, accompanied by a guitar, led members through a series of gospel songs. The 21⁄2 hour service was to
include a fellowship break at the halfway point, before winding up with Sunday school.
Two miles away in the near northeast area, the thick aroma of incense enveloped the interior of St. George
Antiochian Orthodox Church on Cherry Avenue NE. The congregation was founded in 1918 by mostly Syrians and
Lebanese. Shortly after 10:30, the Very Rev. Michael Corbin — outfitted in gold-colored vestments — was midway
through the liturgy.
Orthodox Christians regularly use holy icons, both privately and in public services. They do not believe in the
Catholic teaching of the Eucharist or of the immaculate conception of Mary, the Theotokos.
On this particular Sunday, the eve of the 40-day fast, Corbin spoke of Lucifer, the fallen angel. He went on to
explain the belief of free will: “It has the potential to lead us to the light of God ... or to the darkness.”
Thirty minutes later, at First Church of the Nazarene on 30th Street NW, the congregation listened to a sermon from
its jeans-wearing pastor, Mike Dennis. He spoke of the danger of assumptions, such as those made years ago by
corporate leaders at denim giant Levi’s, which may have contributed to its loss of market share.
“If we are not careful, we will fall into the Levi syndrome,” he bellowed into a microphone.
“If you’re with me, say amen,” he urged.
“Amen,” the congregation replied in unison.
At the same time, Brother Dave Lombardi, inside Trinity Gospel Temple, on the near west side, had started his
sermon on “The Paradigm of Prayer.” For those seated far away, a pair of projection-style screens flanking him
carried his live image.
He explained how, as a child, he watched his father pray.
“Father lifted his face up to heaven and tears streamed down his face,” Lombardi recalled.
Not just once. All the time.
“We’ve got to get passionate about praying,” he told the crowd.
As the clock approached noon on the same Sunday, three men hung from crucifixes near the front of Shiloh
Missionary Baptist Church, on the near-south side. The trio portrayed Jesus and the two thieves who had died
alongside him.
The Rev. Charles Prince explained from the Gospel of Luke how one of those criminals made fun of Jesus, while the
other accepted him as the son of God. “Don’t you fear God?” the “good” thief asked the other.
Prince spoke of black-on-black crime and drug abuse that has destroyed lives and families.
“Man has failed to fear God,” he bellowed.
THE EVOLVING FREEDOM
Freedom of religion has changed over the years, as U.S. Supreme Court justices have interpreted the amendment and
its relation to specific situations of the times. Still, at its very core, the same rights guaranteed to colonists have
transcended generations.
“But I think it’s pretty clear that freedom of religion broadened through time,” explained David A. Goldberger, a
professor emeritus of law at Ohio State University. “The early immigrants, almost all of them were Christians ... the
free exercise was to protect one Christian sect against abridgment from another.”
Freedom of religion is now presumed to include all religions.
The U.S. is somewhat unique in that regard.
A 2009 report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that 70 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people
live in countries with high restrictions on religions. Those restrictions come either from the government and policies
and laws, or by hostile acts from groups or social organizations, or from a combination.
Among the 25 most populous countries, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and India were the most restrictive on
religions. The U.S., Brazil, Japan, Italy, South Africa and the United Kingdom were the least.
Canton Repository. Sunday, March 31, 2013
Questions to Answer
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
In exact words, what is the 1st Amendment?
According to the information provided, how many different varieties of religions are there in Stark County?
Choose 1 of the landmark Supreme Court cases dealing with freedom of religion. What was the decision of
the Supreme Court in that case?
The author of the article visits 5 different churches and writes about her experiences at each. Compare and
contrast the 5 different services the author attended.
The article mentions that the freedom of religion has changed over time. Has the freedom of religion
gotten broader over time, or is more restricted? Why do you feel this way?