Opinion: Is the National Cathedral a national treasure?
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The perennial and sometimes tiresome debate over the relationship between church and state has taken a new twist. The National Cathedral (real name: The Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul) was damaged in this summer’s earthquake, and the mayor of Washington is seeking $15 million from the federal government to pay for repairs.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State doesn’t like the idea, but the fact is that the cathedral, in the words of one of its administrators, is ‘a whole lot more than just a church.’ It’s a tourist attraction, museum and the location of presidential prayer services.
Some members of other denominations might feel it’s presumptuous for an Episcopal church, however grand, to refer to itself as the National Cathedral. But the cathedral bills itself as a ‘ministry for people of all faiths and perspectives.’ That ecumenical outreach makes it harder to argue that public funds for repairing the cathedral are benefiting a single religious tradition.
But that leaves the question of whether the funding would violate the Constitution because it supports religion in general.I don’t think so. If it’s a legitimate government function to restore private buildings -- or even tourist attractions -- after an earthquake, why shouldn’t churches be included?
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Science and religion: God didn’t make man; man made gods
--Michael McGough
