Kaysville's quiet Mondays
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Three months remain until Kaysville formally bans its Monday night recreation programs' games and practices. That should be plenty of time for city leaders to come to their senses.
Apparently without public meetings on the issue, or even thorough consultation with city recreation staff, City Councilman Gil Miller -- with tacit support of his council colleagues -- set April 2007 as the date the Monday-night ban will take effect. There are reportedly about 5,000 children and teens ages 18 and younger who participate in Kaysville's recreational programs.
While there may or may not be enough outdoor venues -- parks, schools, etc. -- to accommodate field sports like soccer, one volunteer coach raised a red flag about how this will affect basketball next season. Brian Belnap told our correspondent Ruth Malan there are so many teams in each division now that sometimes his team doesn't get the chance to play all the other teams during the course of a season.
Eliminating Monday-night practices will only make the problem worse -- meaning larger teams with reduced playing time for children and, possibly, even fewer games.
The reason for this logistical compacting? Miller says Kaysville residents have been telling him they want city-rec games and practices halted on Monday nights to provide "family time." That's codespeak for LDS Family Home Evening; members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are encouraged to set aside time on Monday evenings to spend as families -- whether studying Scripture, playing games or just simply renewing the bonds of family in this busy world.
Now, we think Family Home Evening is a good thing -- a positive thing. Building up strong family relationships? A great idea. Everybody supports that, whether or not they belong to the LDS Church.
But governments should not be in the business of endorsing and enabling one faith's preferences over others -- and that is precisely what Kaysville has done. The city may be overwhelmingly populated by LDS residents, but that is no reason to limit the flexibility and opportunities of families who are not of the LDS faith. In the popular parlance, this is called "tyranny of the majority."
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, the government "shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ..." City governments must be neutral when it comes to religion. They should neither promote nor prohibit religious observances.
If a family, LDS or not, believes that Monday night -- or any other night -- should be set aside for worship or obedience to the doctrines of their faith, they have a choice to make between recreational sports and adherence to their religious philosophy. But they must not depend on the state, or in this case the city, to make that choice for them, because it is an impingement on the secular freedoms of their neighbor who does not share that belief.
It is precisely this sort of well-intentioned intrusion into the lives of non-Mormons in Utah that fosters resentment and furthers the cultural divisions within our communities. As our correspondent's Dec. 13 account of the Monday-night ban explained, families of other faiths observe many holy days -- even different Sabbath days -- throughout the year and, consequently, have to decide whether or not their children will participate.
Kaysville's Monday-night restriction should be rescinded before it begins in April. Parents and children must decide for themselves whether they can work around religious obligations -- just as Utahns have since 1847. Government should not be in the practice of enforcing or enabling or preferring one religion over another. We believe as members of the Kaysville City Council ask more and more citizens of all faiths, consult with their own recreation staff and objectively analyze the issue, they will come to the conclusion that it's up to parents to decide whether or not to let their children play on Monday nights.
Text 
