The “Christendom Show” really is over in America my friends. It’s a wrap. The culture of American politics is not simply made of up deists, agnostics, and atheists but men and women who are decidedly anti-Christian. To be anti-Christian is not to be merely apathetic or ambivalent toward Christian participation in societal life. Being anti-Christian is to pursue whatever arbitrary measures necessary to ensure that Christians are purged from receiving the same political liberties as other groups. For example, New York State forecasts, yet again, what will likely happen in more and more states in the coming years as state legislators rejected a measure that would allow tax payers to receive tax credits for financially supporting parochial education.
New York’s Education Investment Tax Credit would have provided a state tax credit for:
1. Classroom Supplies–Reimburse teachers up to $100 for their out-of-pocket expenses for classroom supplies.
2. Classroom Projects–Increase donations for teacher-selected classroom projects through DonorsChoose and similar nonprofit organizations.
3. Arts, Music, and Sports–Increase donations to nonprofits to provide arts, music, history, athletics, and other instruction in classrooms.
4. Scholarships–Increase donations for nonprofit scholarship organizations to provide scholarships to students attending pre-K through 12th grade, including public and private schools.
According to the bill’s supporters, “the proposed $300 million in tax credits, at least half would be set aside to increase donations to public schools and their teachers.”
Religious leaders, including Timothy Cardinal Dolan Archbishop of New York, met with officials in New York’s State Assembly to garner support. Republican leaders pledged their support with the expectation that the measure would pass. It didn’t. The measure failed because opponents alleged that the bill was a de facto voucher system that would pull money away from public education. The teacher’s union of the state of New York lobbied against it and, according to the New York Daily News, Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos Scott Reif, the spokesman for GOP state senator Dean Skelos said, “No one worked harder than Senator Skelos to make the Education Investment Tax Credit part of the budget, but we couldn’t get all of the parties to agree.”
With one of the most powerful labor unions in the state lobbying against such a measure there should have been no expectation that the bill would pass since most politicians care about one thing: staying in office. Public schools do not want the competition and they will use politics to protect their interests at all costs. I’m certain that the education lobby will generously reward those who voted against the bill.
While there is a need to pay attention to events at the national level this story reminds us that state and local politics are where the some of the most insidious threats to religious liberty will emerge in the coming years. This story also reminds us that if Christians put their faith and trust in politicians they will be let down time and time again. Politics regularly does not deliver on what it promises.
