Laurier Chaplain has become obsolete

Re: Have a subversive Sabbath, Feb. 10

As we progress into the 2010s I still wonder why we have a chaplain here at Laurier.

Brian Bork speaks of his childhood Sundays as being quiet and peaceful.

But he is painfully unaware of the fact that back in those times the Lord’s Day Act prohibited businesses from operating on the Sabbath.

It was an offence against freedom of religion and was discriminatory towards non-Christians.

Thankfully, with the application of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms section on religious freedom, it was finally overturned. Perhaps Bork wants to return to those times, but for me and many others who want to progress towards a more secular and free world, the Sabbath represents repression.

As for his position as chaplain, I feel that it is terribly redundant and out of date.

If I am not mistaken, we do have Counselling Services and many other places such as the Women’s Centre, Rainbow Centre and a Peer Help-Line from which to seek guidance.

Besides that, the Chaplain’s Office is an affront to separation of church and state.

You need only read his article to see that he represents one and only one religion, that of Christianity. His high appraisals of the Judeo-Christian tradition and claims that the Sabbath was written into creation and the cosmos serve only to alienate those of different religious backgrounds or no religious background.

In a time when budgets are tightening, I have a proposition to kill two birds with one stone: get rid of the Chaplain’s Office.

–Andrew Chai