What's
so bad about Good Friday?
Four good reasons why the legislature should act to abolish
the state's official recognition of the Good Friday holy day
View
Photos from the HCSSC Good Friday Protest at the State Capitol
Wednesday, March
28, 2002
Reason #1 - Good Friday provides exclusive financial benefits to Christians
Good Friday is a paid legal holiday for all county and state employees. It is not a federal holiday, however, and thus all federal offices are open for business. Federal employees must report to work unless they expend one of their limited personal/vacation days.
The private sector does not recognize Good Friday either, as almost all businesses report that they remain open as usual. Check newspapers on Good Friday: there will not be a single article about any Good Friday activity that does not directly relate to the Christian religion.
The fact that Good Friday is exclusive to Christianity is by no means trivial. Buddhists, Confucians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Native Hawaiians, Shintos, Scientologists, Taoists, and others, do not receive a paid holiday to commemorate their religious holy days.
Non-Christian employees of the county and state must deduct their religious holy day observations from the total of their limited personal/vacation days. Thus only Christian employees receive an extra paid personal day. Depending upon the individual employee's daily salary, this benefit could be worth anywhere from $100-500 per person.
The overwhelming majority of Hawaii residents must still work on Good Friday. But unfortunately, TheBus operates on a holiday schedule, a gross inconvenience for thousands of commuters.
The public schools are closed on Good Friday, forcing all students to take Good Friday off without regard to their personal beliefs or family traditions. How do teachers explain this "holy day" to students, without addressing the supposed "divinity of Jesus Christ"?
By closing the schools, the government's action directly effects child-care requirements for parents who must still report for work (unless they happen to work for the county or state government). Thus further penalizing non-Christian working parents by forcing them to pay for additional child-care. This is yet another direct benefit for Christians and a direct out-of-pocket cost for non-Christian families.
Reason #2 - Good Friday commemorates an act of capitol murder
Christians may sincerely believe that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was a divine act, "part of God's plan for salvation" (which is their right), but to non-believers - the majority in Hawaii - there is no religious pretext whatsoever. To most people, Good Friday represents a cold-blooded act of capitol murder and nothing more.
America commemorates the birth of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King - we do not celebrate his murder. Likewise, Presidents' Day celebrates the combined birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln - we do not celebrate Washington's death from cold or Lincoln's assassination. The King Kamehameha and Prince Kuhio holidays honor the birth of these prominent Hawaiian figures, not their death.
The state of Hawaii does not even allow capitol punishment, so why does the government continue to celebrate such a barbaric act of murder in this particular case?
Reason #3 - Good Friday is a Christian-only holy day
Only Christians believe in the divinity of Jesus. The Jews do not believe that Jesus was the "Son of God." In fact, such a belief is anathema to the tenets of Judaism. Muslims may acknowledge Jesus, but like the Jews, they do not believe he was divine. Buddhists, Confucians, and Shintoists do not revere Jesus. Neither do Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Scientologist, Wiccans, Zoroastrians, or the practitioners of any other religion.
In fact, the majority of Hawaii residents are entirely non-religious. They are atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, and/or those who simply ignore religion altogether. Less than 30% of Hawaii residents belong to any of the Christian sects (according to the state data book). So for 70% of residents, Good Friday has no personal religious significance whatsoever.
Unlike Christmas and Easter, which are both ancient pagan holidays adopted by Christian churches, Good Friday does not have any secular precept, meaning, tradition, or activity. To most people, Christmas means Santa Claus, presents, and college football; Easter means bunnies, chocolate and colored eggs.
Reason #4 - Good Friday is unconstitutional
In 1941, the territorial government of Hawaii declared that a new holiday should be designated "Good Friday to recognize the solemn religious observance by the members of various churches and [Christian] denominations." Upon statehood, the legislation was ratified as Section 8-1 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. In 1987, a group of citizens challenged the Good Friday holiday in a case known as Cammack v. Waihee, Civil No. 87-0260.
The Cammack lawsuit was fundamentally flawed, however, because the plaintiffs asked the court to abolish the holiday altogether, arguing that there were too many holidays. This broad challenge forced the court to consider a multiplicity of problems, including contracts with labor unions.
On appeal to the 9th Circuit Court (1991), the Cammack case was denied a rehearing en banc on technicalities. In dissent the minority judges wrote:
"...By making Good Friday a public holiday, the Hawaii statute officially consecrates that event. It incorporates a purely religious holiday and says to those not of the religious majority: 'Thou shalt celebrate this religious occasion.' In doing so, the state of Hawaii establishes religion in violation of the Constitution. By consecrating a Christian holy day, the Hawaii legislature has effectively sent the rest of the population a message. The message is not only that the state officially recognizes the religious preference of the majority, but more important, that the state considers the beliefs of those in the minority to be unworthy of similar respect."
A proper First Amendment challenge was successful in Wisconsin, where the state was forced to abolish its Good Friday holiday after the US District Court there ruled:
"...Wisconsin's designation of Good Friday as a holiday...[is] in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution." Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Tommy G. Thompson (Governor of Wisconsin), Civil No. 95-C-6634-S, U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin (1996).
In upholding the lower District Court decision, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals declared:
"Good Friday...is not a secular holiday anywhere in the United States. Good Friday commemorates the execution of the Christian Messiah. It is a day of solemn religious observances, and nothing else, for believing Christians and no one else."
Although Hawaii's recognition of Good Friday was upheld in the Cammack case, it remains unconstitutional nonetheless and should be abolished in the name of fairness to all residents. Unfortunately the bad precedent established in the Cammack case makes future legal challenges prohibitively expensive.
Legislative remedy
The state legislature has the power and the moral obligation to revise the statute and replace Good Friday with an inclusive and impartial holiday that all residents can respect and enjoy equally.
In 1998, SB 2735 proposed to replace the Good Friday holiday with "Aloha Day," a holiday that, if established, could have been used to promote tourism and other business and economic activities. Many Christian ministers and churches oppose the Good Friday holiday, because the government sanction denigrates the religious significance of their personal beliefs. SB 2735 received widespread public support, including approval from some labor unions and positive editorials in Honolulu's daily newspapers. In spite of the support, and undeniable ethical reasons to pass the measure, the Senate Committee on Human Resources held the bill in committee without consideration.
The legislature should address this issue in the next session, by changing the Good Friday holiday designation to "Aloha Day" and fixing the observation to a specific calendar date in mid-April. The Hawaii Tourism Authority could then promote the new inclusive holiday with special events and activities. Such a request for a simple remedy to correct the gross injustice of religious discrimination should not be ignored.
Sincerely,
Mitchell Kahle
HCSSC President
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release - Thursday, March 28, 2002
View
Photos from the HCSSC Good Friday Protest at the State Capitol
Wednesday, March
28, 2002
Good Friday: "Jesus" to protest state's celebration of capitol murder, religious discrimination
WHAT: Protest of Good Friday holiday
WHO: "Jesus" (activist
Mitchell Kahle in character, bearing large crucifix)
Members of Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church will accompany
Kahle carrying signs that read "Stop Celebrating Murder!" and "Keep
State and Church Separate." Letters of protest will also be hand-delivered
to all legislators.
WHERE: State Capitol Building
(Senate, House, and Executive Levels)
WHEN: Thursday, March 28, at 1 PM
Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church is staging this peaceful, yet provocative, action in protest of the government's refusal to address the inequity of maintaining Good Friday as an official holiday. For more information, contact Mitchell Kahle at 524-6208 or via email at hcssc@lava.net.
WWJD? Protest! (a point for Christians to ponder)
If Jesus was anything, he was a radical activist; ready to challenge both government and religious authorities. Jesus did not promote or encourage any form of government-sanctioned religion.
Especially since it was the government (the Romans under Pilate), responding to pressure from religious zealots (the temple rabbis) and authorities (the Sanhedrin), which sentenced him to death. (Mark 15, Luke 23)
Jesus also opposed any public display of religious devotion and commanded his followers to "pray in the closet," branding as "hypocrites" those who disobeyed. (Matthew 6:5-7)
What about Passover?
Representatives William Stonebraker and Mark Moses celebrate Passover
While protesting the state's formal celebration of the crucifixion of "Jesus", Representative William Stonebraker told us that he did not celebrate Good Friday "…because it is a Catholic holiday." Stonebraker proclaimed, rather proudly, that he celebrated Passover instead.
Representative Mark Moses insisted: "I'm not a Christian. I'm a Jew, so I celebrate Passover."
We'll isn't that special…. Instead of celebrating the state-sanctioned holiday, which commemorates a capitol execution, Stonebraker and Moses choose to celebrate the cold-blooded murder of innocent children and animals.
It is clear from the Bible passages below, that the "LORD" was a ruthless killer, without regard to the innocence of "His" victims. In Exodus, chapters 11 and 12, "God" promises to kill the "firstborn" children of Egypt's slaves and the animals.
Apparently, by their own words, Reps Stonebraker and Moses celebrate this perverse act of mass murder? The citizens of Hawaii Kai and Kapolei should seriously rethink whom they have elected.
Exodus 11
1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt…
5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.Exodus 12
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
Is that something to celebrate? Or something we should all condemn? Think about it!
For more thought-provoking Bible quotes and religious criticism, visit http://www.lava.net/~hcssc. To comment on this or other matters concerning religion or the separation of state and church, email hcssc@lava.net.