Religious Freedom in the Kansas Constitution

Most people know the establishment clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but most states have their own version as well. I decided to take time to look up what it says here in the state of Kansas. Here is what it says in the Bill of Rights from the Kansas Constitution:

Religious liberty. The right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience shall never be infringed; nor shall any person be compelled to attend or support any form of worship; nor shall any control of or interference with the rights of conscience be permitted, nor any preference be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship. No religious test or property qualification shall be required for any office of public trust, nor for any vote at any elections, nor shall any person be incompetent to testify on account of religious belief.

Ok, it appears that the writers of the Kansas Constitution were self-centered theists that assumed everyone believed in the same god. That's really not surprising. It does have it's good points though. I think I'll go through it.

The right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience shall never be infringed

This is the part I have the biggest problem with. This statement with a capital-G god eliminates other theists, polytheists and non-theists. With this being the first line it seems to leave a loophole that would allow the State to infringe if someone was worshiping a different god or gods. I don't think thy would ever be so bold as to shut down a Hindu temple but it seems like they could.

nor shall any person be compelled to attend or support any form of worship

It's nice to know they won't force me to go to church. However it also says '...or support any form of worship". It seems to me that if the State uses taxpayer money in support of a religion that would qualify as being compelled to support a form of worship.

nor shall any control of or interference with the rights of conscience be permitted

So the State won't brainwash me or otherwise force me to think a certain way? Good for them. Now we need to get the churches to do the same. I seem to recall Sebelius having plenty of issues with churches trying to control/interfere with her right of conscience.

nor any preference be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship

This is a good one. I wonder if 'In God We Trust' license plates would qualify as a mode of worship? It seems like it would be religious establishment as well but 'mode of worship' seems like a given. All that is mentioned is preference which opens it up fairly broad I would think.

No religious test or property qualification shall be required for any office of public trust, nor for any vote at any elections, nor shall any person be incompetent to testify on account of religious belief

Whew! I should have had the foresight to look into this before I ran for office, registered to vote or testified. Kansans need to know more about this one. There are a lot of Kansans who seem to think there is a religious test involved. Every damn political postcard I get seems to mention which church the candidate attends. If I decide to run for reelection next year I may have to send out cards specifically telling people I'm an atheist and don't attend any church. As long as I can do it for under $500 I don't think I need to hassle with all the campaign financing paperwork. It would be fun to see how the votes would change from last election.