Governor's veto was well-placed

I would like to commend the Daily Herald for its Sept. 8 editorial headlined "Blagojevich makes wise use of veto" wherein it stood by the governor's decision to respect the separation of church and state.

When the governor vetoed SB1463, which would have mandated a "moment of silence" at the start of the day in our public schools, he stated that he believed "that our founding fathers wisely recognized the personal nature of faith and prayer, and that is why the separation of church and state is a centerpiece of our Constitution, our democracy and our freedoms."

I couldn't agree with him more. "Moment of silence" legislation, either intentionally or not, often fosters an atmosphere of coercive prayer in our public schools. The truth is that, according to a 1969 Illinois law, students are allowed to participate in voluntary observance of a moment of silence if they so choose. Contrary to the claims made by many in the religious right, students are perfectly free to pray, reflect, or meditate in public schools whenever they wish, so long as such activities do not disrupt the educational process.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires government neutrality toward religion. Thus, we should not turn our public schools into sectarian institutions that favor one religion over another or religion over non-religion. And this means not passing laws that mandate that our public schools dictate to students when or if to pray. The decision when, where, to whom, and whether or not to pray isn't the government's business. That decision belongs to the individual.

The rights of religious liberty guaranteed to us under our Constitution apply equally to everyone, regardless of religious affiliation. And by his courageous stance, Gov. Blagojevich has shown that he understands and respects this most fundamental principle.

Matthew Lowry

Vernon Hills