European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 16, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes monday March 16,1987 columns James Kilpatrick secular humanism headed for High court test Twenty five years have passed since the sur reme court set Forth its Baseline position on religion i the Public schools. Now a Case is headed for the High court that Wilt test thai Baseline position As it were in reverse. The Case involves secular  since the Engel Caw of 1962, the court repeatedly has held thai it is a violation of the Constitution for the schools to promote the existence of a supreme being. On these grounds the court has forbidden an official school prayer in new York hatted the Reading of Bible passages in Pennsylvania condemned the posting of the ten commandments in Kentucky and barred even a moment of silence in Alabama. All these cases have to do with the doctrine widely held that god is this doctrine cannot be taught without running afoul of. The first Amend ment s Plain command Congress and by Extension the Stales shall make no Law respecting an establish ment of religion. Now the question arises is it equally unconstitutional to promote the non existence of a supreme being docs the first amendment forbid teachers to Leach that god is not judge William Brevard hand provided an answer a few Days ago in . District court in Mobile Ala. After a prolonged trial he held that for first Amend ment purposes secular humanism is indeed n Reli  he found 49 slate approved textbooks so per sealed with the doctrines or humanism that their use amounts to a violation of the establishment clause. He thus Felt compelled to order them removed. Judge hand s opinion has provoked the Ameri can civil liberties Union and people for the Ameri can Way to new Heights of denunciation. They Sec the Case As a perfidious attempt by the far right to shape Public education according to fundamentalist Chris Tian ideas. Most of the press comment has depicted judge hand As a wacko and the 600 Parent plaintiffs As so Many benighted yahoos. It would have been helpful if the critics had read hand s opinion before denouncing it. Much of the to of Lon in a Bamra 101. Opinion is a cooled to summaries of the evidence offered by experts on religion and education. These were witnesses with impeccable academic credentials. They explored the key questions at great length. What is a religion hand concluded that for first amendment purposes a religion is a body of thought resting upon a foundation of Faith that is systematically promoted. What is secular humanism the court heard Over whelming evidence that secular humanism meets such a definition. The most important belief of this Reli Gion is its denial of the transcendent and or supernatural there is no god no creator no divinity. Such a belief rests upon Faith. It is therefore for first Amend ment purposes a religious  do the challenged textbooks Advance the religion of humanism again the plaintiffs1 evidence was impressive. Text Bolcs in american history for example were found almost totally devoid of references to the role of religion. Textbooks in Home economics actively Leach that moral values Are solely individual values. Children Are instructed to make up their own minds about right or wrong. By deliberately omitting any suggestion that fornication for example is regarded by Many persons As a sin against god s Law the textbooks effectively discriminate against theistic religion said the court this highly relativistic and individualistic approach constitutes the promotion of a Funda mental Faith claim opposed to other religious faiths. This belief strikes at the heart of Many theistic religions beliefs that certain actions Are in and of themselves immoral whatever the consequences and that in addition actions will have extra temporal con sequences.". W. In order to pass constitutional Muster a text Book must not present Faith based systems to the exclusion of other Faith based systems it must not pre sent one As True and the other As false and it must use a comparative  it is not the business of Federal courts said hand to write or rewrite textbooks. It emphatically is the court s business to see that the Stales make no Law respecting an establishment of religion. When a state approves textbooks that promote one religion and completely undermine other religions the Constitution has been violated. It is a curious thing the Acle and people for the american Way in defending the humanists make precisely the same arguments when they arc attacking the baptists. It docs make a difference As the proverb tells us. To see whose of is gored. Una Nyhl Fuji syn Ocale William Buckley ethics forgotten in allegations about sex spy i doubt there is anything one can t safely say about the president of the United states. Safely say that is without fear of Advent Legal consequences. You could probably say indeed perhaps Garry wills has done so in his new Book that during the War Ronald Reagan was realty Ivan the terrible and slept peacefully at night unafraid of the marshal though there Are other forces that should interfere with the sleep of some writers and journalists. The february Issue of the Columbia journalism review carries a fascinating piece. Its author is identified As follows David Alice Phillips was editor and publisher of the South Pacific mail in Santiago Chile when he was recruited by the Cia in 1950. He served with the Agency for 25 years at retirement he was chief of latin american and Caribbean  Phillips incidentally t have never met him became in 1975 a Public  the quotation Marks Are Here used because in marginal cases whether one is or is not a Public figure is a Judi Cial finding. Bui Phillips does t deny it. On his resignation he founded the association of former intelligence officers in Pursuit of whose objectives he poured the country speaking and writing about the need for a robust intelligence service. He became a Public figure. A few years later a gentleman called Anthony Summers wrote a Book published by Gollance in London colled  one of its theses was that a Man called Maurice Bishop conspired with Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas shortly before the assassination of John f. Kennedy. And guess who Maurice Bishop was alleged to be in real life Yawp David Alice Phillips. It in to really pleasant to go through life branded As the Man who was behind the assassination of Juk but nol Only was there now a Book pressing that the Sis the thesis was retailed in the London based observer a newspaper of International standing. And soon after British publication Mcgraw Hill published an american edition things were warming up for Phil lips. A press conference was called in Washington on june 25, 1980, convened by one or. William f. Pepper who was introduced As a distinguished lawyer psychologist and educator the thesis of thai press conference was thai Phillips had manipulated the murder in Washington of Allende s former foreign min ister Orlando let tier. And that Phillips had proceeded to steal documents from the dead Man s briefcase Jig gered them for disinformation purposes and distributed them to the world. That allegation was made by a representative of what else the Institute for policy studies Saul Landau and then in november 19bo, washingtonian Magazine published an 80,000 word article yes an article about the size of the average boo who killed Juk the name of Phillips was mentioned 300 limes that of Oswald 100 times. The thesis Phillips was Maurice Bishop the master planner of the assassination. That did it and Phillips sued and lost on the grounds that As a Public Fig ure he needed to prove actual malice. Needed to prove that is that All those people really knew that he was t Mau Rice Bishop president killer but it is very hard to prove actual malice. And then Lawrence Hill & co. Of Weston conn., published a Book called death in Washington written by two free lancers who were press in at or. Pepper s press conference and were carried away by the thesis about Phillips use of the Corpse of letelier. Then Henry Holl published reason Able doubt by Henry Hurt Complete with the Maurice Bishop equals David Atlee Phillips Yam. Henry Holt declined to permit Phillips to write 2,000 words to appear at the end of the Book even though Phillips promised in return that he would surrender any potential Legal claim. Things looked pretty Black but in february 1986 there was a Ray of Light. The authors and publisher of death in Washington published a handsome re traction and paid Over Money the amount unspecified to Phillips. The distinguished lawyer psychologist and Edu Cator or. Pepper is distinguishing him self in some very elusive place nobody has succeeded in finding him after four years Effort. And in London a year later the High court announced a Reso Lution of a libel suit against the observer a retraction and a substantial sum in damages. Phillips ends his Lucid account by asking whatever happened to the Sigma Delia Chi code of ethics and its the news Media should not communicate unofficial charges affecting reputation or moral character without giving the accused a Chance to reply one supposes resignedly that there Are those who believe that the Cia Pul Phillips up 10 the dirty business of resurrecting Sigma Delta Chi s code of ethics