So if government is going to fund the expression of a wide variety of moral, political and cultural views, it cannot exclude religious perspectives. To do so would be to take sides in the great debate between religion and secularism. It would advantage non-religious ways of thinking and would send a message that perspectives drawn from faith are disfavored.
But if a wall of separation is not quite accurate, metaphors – even bad ones – are powerful things. We let go of them reluctantly.
As a case in point, John Wiley, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recently announced that the school’s student government may not allocate student fees to a Catholic student organization if those fees are to be used for “religious activities,” apparently believing this would be prohibited by the wall. Wiley is reviewing his decision.