NDR Media Coverage

Brothers in Arms

A Column by Bill Perkins

Roy Moore and Larry Darby occupy opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, but the two activists have more in common than either would like to admit.

Moore, an outspoken conservative Christian, lost his job as chief justice of the state Supreme Court after he defied a federal court order to remove his monument to the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the state judicial building last year, and has spent much of his time since speaking out about religion's place in government.

Darby, a Montgomery attorney, doesn't believe in God and has no religion. As president of the Atheist Law Center, he spends much of his time challenging the overlap of church and state.

Both men seek the same goal: They want clarification of what the framers of the constitution really meant with regard to what religious expression is appropriate within government, and what is not.

Moore believes existing law allows the state to acknowledge God.

Darby strongly disagrees.

On May 6 -- the National Day of Prayer -- a group of believers will meet on the marble steps of the state Capitol to celebrate Christianity.

As he often is when religious observance and government intersect, Larry Darby will be nearby with other atheists, protesting state-sponsored religious activity.

That is, he'll be nearby if it's not raining. If the weather's bad, those offering prayer will be sponsored by Sen. Vivian Figures in the historic Supreme Court library of the state Capitol, where a small marble replica of the Ten Commandments hangs in a display outlining the history of law.

The atheists will be left out in the rain, because Darby's legislators, Rep. Jay Love and Sen. Larry Dixon, refuse to provide shelter for his group.

"There is no way I am going to help further (Darby's) cause," Love said. "I would consider it a spit in the face of faith-based groups for me to sponsor his group in the state Capitol." After complaining that Darby was dragging him into a controversy, Dixon offered to sponsor the atheist group on any other day, but not on the National Day of Prayer.

Most people cannot fault Sen. Dixon and Rep. Love for taking offense at the idea of helping an atheist group protest the National Day of Prayer. In Alabama, far more people share Moore's belief in God than embrace Darby's dismissal of religion, and the atheist's defeat on Dexter Avenue won't stir a controversy like that which followed Moore's defeat two blocks down the street last summer.

But each confrontation raises the same question: What role, if any, should the government have in the acknowledgment of religion?

Moore thinks the framework of our government is built on godly concepts, and should acknowledge and support those beliefs.

Darby holds that the framers meant religion and government to be separate, although he believes the nuance of the language in the First Amendment reveals a slight waffling on their part: Congress "shall make no law" that would establish religion, but the First Amendment's other four freedoms are protected by beefier verb construction, and shall not be "abridged."

Brothers in arms, Moore and Darby employ similar means to make their points. In arranging a protest on the National Day of Prayer, Darby is spoiling for a confrontation. His group's presence at a prayer gathering on a designated day for the celebration of Christian ideals is an outrageous affront to believers. Moore invited a standoff over the separation of church and state when he installed his Ten Commandments monument after business hours, then refused to move it.

From there they part ways. Where Moore speaks with an authoritative dismissal of opposing views, Darby is soft-spoken and affable, almost conciliatory, and is more introspective about the law from a historical perspective.

He is well aware of the dearth of support for his ideology, and sees the denial of foul-weather space in the state Capitol for his group as just another bump in the road.

"The question I've raised is, are theists and atheists the same in the eyes of the government?" he said.

"Clearly not."

Darby cites an 11th Circuit ruling that atheism cannot be considered a religion, a statement that begs the inference that an organization of Alabama atheists is no more volatile than a chess club or a quilting bee, and suggests his request transcends personal beliefs and raises the larger issue of the rights of Alabamians.

"I'm a constituent," he said, "and I just want a room."

He, Roy Moore and legions of Alabamians actually want much more. What they'll ultimately get -- and its repercussions -- deserves thoughtful and cool-headed consideration.

Meanwhile, Moore's monument remains in a storeroom in the judicial building, and should the National Day of Prayer bring rain, Darby and his small group of nonbelievers will huddle under umbrellas on the Capitol lawn.

Copyright 2004 Media General

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