A group that advocates for the separation of church and state and the Peoria mayor are sparring over this year’s state of the city being held at a church.
The main event was April 3 at Christ’s Church of the Valley, 7007 W. Happy Valley Road. Secular AZ Legal Director Dianne Post stated in a letter dated March 19 to Mayor Jason Beck and City Attorney Emily Jurmu that holding such an event there is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
In the letter, Post asked the city to move the event, contending having it at a religious venue is a violation of the Establishment Clause, which prohibits government sponsorship of religious messages, according to the letter.
Secular AZ said they believed it is inappropriate for the government to endorse a particular religion, one religion over another, or religion over non-religion.
“Elected officials should not use their government position and government property to promote their religious views. The mayor’s job is to represent and protect the rights of all residents of Peoria, including those who do not believe in a monotheistic god or any gods at all. Therefore, it is inappropriate for government entities to hold official events in a religious institution when other suitable locations exist.”
In an email response to Peoria Independent, Post said she continues to work on this case.
In response to the Secular AZ letter, Beck wrote a letter dated April 17, stating that former Mayor Cathy Carlat presented a 2022 State of the City event at Copper Hills Church, 27035 Black Rock Blvd., and that this year’s address at CCV was neither factually inappropriate nor legally unconstitutional.
“Now you suddenly allege that my address at CCV is unconstitutional,” Beck stated. “Notwithstanding, in your implied threat to seek judicial relief to stop my address, you took no action, and the address proceeded flawlessly as scheduled at the CCV location,” Beck said in the letter.
In a recent Peoria Independent article, a spokesperson for the city said CCV provides adequate parking and a location that allows for an outdoor, relaxed barbecue-style dinner space following what was planned to be a larger kick-off event.
Post’s letter cited numerous case lawsuits in support of AZ Secular’s position including McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union, which stated the First Amendment mandates government neutrality in religious matters, and sends a message to those who do not believe in Christ that they are not “favored members of the political community.”
Post’s letter stated, “No resident of Peoria seeing that the event is at a religious institution should be made to feel excluded and like ‘outsiders, not full members of the political community,’ because, in fact, the mayor is professing a personal religious preference while speaking on behalf of the city government.”
Beck countered in his letter that there is nothing inherently improper, let alone unconstitutional, with the government using religious facilities for particular government functions, and that Post’s “broad contentions are simply not true.”
He said the government routinely uses religious facilities as voter polling places and emergency aid centers, and on the other side of the coin, churches routinely use public schools to hold Sunday services before acquiring sufficient funds to construct their own church building.
“Your broad contentions are predicated upon unsubstantiated and inaccurate assumptions about my address,” he said. “The actual facts summarily refute your broad contentions of unconstitutionality. No religious fliers were handed out. No proselytizing by CCV members was conducted. No evangelical events were promoted.”
Secular AZ urged the city move the state of the city to a neutral venue and to “desist in the future from such violations.” Post said the government must abide by the state and federal constitutions and respect the rights of conscience of all citizens.
In addition to the public event at CCV, the city offered more informal public “Community Conversation” visits at the Peoria Community Center and at Westbrook Village.
Beck said if people were offended by the CCV location, they had the opportunity to those locations or to stream the event.
“By offering everyone these many alternative options, I prudently recognize the faith, and no faith, of every Peoria citizen. Even you and the members of your organization should appreciate my gracious approach to these very personal issues,” Beck stated in his letter to AZ Secular.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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