Separation of Church and State: What's in a Name?

"The word 'Messiah' is a title, and it's a title that has only been earned by one person - and that one person is Jesus Christ."   

Those words were part of a decision by Tennessee judge Lu Ann Ballew as she ruled that parents Jaleesa Martin and Jawaan McCullough had to change their son's name.  This judge was involved because the parents are unwed, they had child support issues to resolve, and they could not decide on what the baby's last name would be.  His given name was Messian DeShawn McCullough, which the judge did not think was appropriate. 

In this country, we have what is know as separation of church and state.  That is an essential foundation that was brought to this country by the earliest settlers who were escaping religious persecution.  While the U.S. Constitution provides us the right of freedom of religion we are supposed to keep church separate from the state.  Judges are not supposed to impose their religious beliefs on those who come into their courts.  So why did this judge think she was above that?

In other countries there are boundaries put on what parents can name their children.  For instance, in Germany parents are banned from naming their son Adolf Hitler, which makes sense; but they also do not allow you to name a child any name that does not indicate gender.  For example, you can't name your son Matti because that is not clearly a boy's name.  In Japan you cannot name you child Akuma, which means devil.  In Denmark you can't name your child Anus, Pluto or Monkey, but Fee is perfectly fine.  In New Zealand, you can't name your twins Fish and Chips, but Benson and Hedges would be okay.

The United States has no laws banning any names and we would not stand for them anyway...we are a country founded on individual freedoms, and that means if you want to name your child something that makes no sense, have at it.  It is your right to do so even if it will make little North West the brunt of jokes (I happen to think that is a creative name).

The parents, of course, did not stand for this ruling and appealed it to a higher court.  In that court, Chancellor Telford E. Forgety Jr. ruled that "the lower court violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, and added that the court's purpose was to determine the last name of the child, not his first name."  The religious beliefs of the previous judge were imposed on these parents and that is not acceptable in this country.

We each, as American citizens, have all the same rights afforded us by the Constitution.  We all have the right to choose in which way we will worship, or if we even want to worship.  We have the right to speak our minds.  We have the right to choose our children's names.  We don't like when people  impose their beliefs on us.  We want to make our own choices and we won't allow others to choose for us.  No matter what you think of my beliefs or what I may think of yours, we each have a right to have those beliefs.  The state, the court, nor the anyone else can tell us what to name our children.

My oldest son is named Brenham.  Yes, after the city where the best ice cream in the world is made...Brenham, Texas.  How did we come up with that one?  His dad closed his eyes and pointed at a map.  It could have been worse...on that map was also Cut and Shoot, Texas.  

~ Quotations from the article Tenn. judge: Parents can name their baby 'Messiah' found in USA TODAY online