Rick Santorum now says that he will cut ties with the Thomas More Law Center because he is unhappy with their decision to defend the Dover Area School District's policy on intelligent design. Rick served on the advisory board of the center. He says he chose to resign partially because, as he told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "he was troubled by court testimony that showed some board members were motivated by religion in adopting the policy."
We might understand that, except that this is the mission statement that appears on the Thomas More Law Center's Web site:
Defending Religious Freedom
We live in a culture increasingly hostile to Christians and their faith. America has become a nation where public school students are prohibited from praying, acknowledging their dependence upon God, and forming religious clubs; where schools and communities are challenged from displaying nativity scenes, the Ten Commandments, and other symbols of our religious and moral heritage. The Thomas More Law Center affirms the right of Christians to publicly practice their religion and freely express their religious beliefs. Our Founding Fathers fought for a nation built on a foundation of religion and morality. Our lawyers are committed to restoring and preserving that foundation.
By its own admission the Thomas More Law Center is committed to restoring and preserving religious freedom. Therefore, wouldn't Rick assume that any case they chose to litigate would be motivated in some degree by religion? How is it then that Rick was surprised and troubled to find out that some of the school board members were motivated by religion in adopting the intelligent design policy?
Put another way, if the policy hadn't been motivated at all by religion, why would the law center, on whose advisory board Rick served, have taken the case and defended the school district? If Rick thought that there was no religious motivation to the case why didn't he resign in protest of the center's decision to pursue it when that choice was originally made, rather than after the case was lost?
