Posted on: Thursday, April 25, 2002

Forum examines religion issue in McKinley code

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion and Ethics Writer

Separation of church and state itself came under fire at last night's forum discussing whether McKinley High School's honor code should remove the words "Love for God."

The often-contentious meeting seemed to be divided among students endorsing the code, civil libertarians and the Christian right.

The forum quickly turned from a discussion about the code itself to the issue of whether God has a place in public schools.

About one-third of the room applauded loudly when one of the six panelists at the forum, Christian Coalition chairman Garret Hashimoto, blamed the lack of school prayer for such societal ills as falling SAT scores, increases in teenage pregnancy rates, premarital sex, suicide and violence in the schools.

It was time to change that, he said, adding: "We must turn in repentance toward his goodness."

But panelist Brent White, the attorney and legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union here, said the issue was whose God to espouse.

The mention of "Love for God" violates the separation of church and state by requiring students to believe in a Judeo-Christian God, he said.

He asked the audience to consider substituting Buddha or Allah in the school's code, which reads:

"As a student of McKinley, I stand for honesty in all I do and say; for industry in study, work, and play; for purity in spirit, thought and deed; for courage to meet life's every need; for brotherhood of races all combined; and love for God and all mankind."

A committee of the ACLU has given White the go-ahead to prepare litigation if the code is not changed, but he has said he hoped the school could be persuaded to change it without a lawsuit.

Another attorney on the panel, Robert Matsumoto, who serves as the state director of the American Center of Law and Justice, said occasional references to God have passed constitutional muster, as long as it didn't emphasize one God over another.

Mottos such as "In God We Trust," and the mention of God in the Pledge of Allegiance do not violate the separation of church and state, he said.

A diverse crowd of about 100 squeezed into McKinley's Hirata Hall.

One eloquent voice was that of McKinley junior Chase Lee, who will be next year's student body president. He earned points even from his opponents on the issue when he spoke about how the code passes the "Lemon Test," based on the 1971 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court that asks: Does it have a religious purpose? Does it advance religion? And does it foster an excessive government entanglement with religion?

He echoed an earlier opinion of state Deputy Attorney General Russell Suzuki in answering "no."

"We see the word 'God' every day in our life," he read from a prepared statement. "Just pull out your coins or your dollar bill. ... Our Code of Honor does nothing to promote anything harmful, nor impose upon us any certain religion."

Mitch Kahle, the president of Hawai'i Citizens for the Separation of State and Church, which sponsored the forum, was among those who commended Lee for his impassioned speech, but said that under the Lemon Test, "even a supreme power is a religious belief."

What's next? "We'll wait and see" if the school decides to take it down, White said.