What Do You Think About the Nativity Scene on the Common?

Is it appropriate for Woburn to have a religious display on the city common?

  For years, the city of Woburn has decorated the common in December. Along with winter ornaments, a large nativity scene is prominently featured. Earlier this week, Woburn Patch received a complaint from a reader who declined to leave his or her name: "I think it's wrong that we have a religious display on the common. City funds should not be used for religious displays." While there is a nativity scene, there are also: What do you think? Is the nativity scene appropriate? In a city that has three Catholic churches, three Baptist churches, two Congregational churches, a Lutheran parish, a Methodist church and several other Christian parishes—is it OK to have a display depicting the birth of Jesus Christ on the city common?

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David Chesler

9:56 am on Friday, December 14, 2012

The tolerance comes with a positive and a negative direction. The positive is tolerating others, protected by the "free exercise" clause. The negative is not taking it over for oneself, protected by the "establishment" clause. There is not always a bright line separating the point in the conflict where a free exercise is intolerably conflicting with another's free exercise, to the point where it …   more ›