Comments on: Jewish school, church-state case in England http://jewish-politics-ny.com/2009/11/11/jewish-school-church-state-case-in-england/ Political Talk from James Besser in Washington Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:27:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Michael Brenner http://jewish-politics-ny.com/2009/11/11/jewish-school-church-state-case-in-england/#comment-14642 Michael Brenner Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:25:01 +0000 http://jewish-politics-ny.com/?p=372#comment-14642 "How is this not an advertisement against using government money for parochial schools? Isn’t this confirmation of the claim by opponents that taking taxpayer money gives the government the right to interfere in purely religious matters?" Well, yes and no. I think anyone who has foot the bill to send a child to yeshiva in this country, particularly if they pay high property taxes, would gladly trade for a system in which there was a little government interference but funding for day school. Much as I have always been a proponent of the separation between church and state, it's easy to forget how extreme a position that is when you compare America to the rest of the world. We are the exception, not the rule. In most places, one does not pay an arm and a leg for day school. In addition, the US also has anti-discrimination laws, and those laws affect religious institutions in many ways. “How is this not an advertisement against using government money for parochial schools? Isn’t this confirmation of the claim by opponents that taking taxpayer money gives the government the right to interfere in purely religious matters?”

Well, yes and no. I think anyone who has foot the bill to send a child to yeshiva in this country, particularly if they pay high property taxes, would gladly trade for a system in which there was a little government interference but funding for day school. Much as I have always been a proponent of the separation between church and state, it’s easy to forget how extreme a position that is when you compare America to the rest of the world. We are the exception, not the rule. In most places, one does not pay an arm and a leg for day school.

In addition, the US also has anti-discrimination laws, and those laws affect religious institutions in many ways.

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