El Dorado County declares American Christian Heritage Month. Not all residents are happy
The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors’ decision to designate July American Christian Heritage Month, which sparked opposition from some residents, has now drawn protest from a national organization that promotes the separation of church and state.
The proclamation, brought by District 1 Supervisor and Board Chairman John Hidahl, passed by a 4-1 vote on July 18.
It “is important to help inform and educate the public on our beginning and evolution of the United States of America,” Hidahl said prior to the vote.
“Current education materials may or may not include the relativity (sic) of this history, but we should never forget our history.”
He clarified that the purpose of the proclamation is not to exclude other religions, and that the symbolic measure won’t require any action by other county institutions.
“This great nation was founded not by religionists,” he said, “but by Christians. Not on religions but on a foundation of Christian principles and values. It’s clearly stating: don’t forget our history.”
District 4 Supervisor Lori Parlin was the proclamation’s sole dissenter.
“I’m very concerned about it,” she said.
Community members spoke out against the declaration in-person at the meeting and in writing. They noted that Hidahl took language for the proclamation from the Constitution Party — a far-right, Christian party with only 137,000 members.
“Using the Constitution Party’s proclamation for El Dorado County shows that El Dorado County supports the platform and principles of the Constitution Party, including its extreme anti-gay stance,” said Melinda Velasco, an El Dorado County resident, via Zoom.
“The language in this document does not represent the diversity” of El Dorado County, said Joann Abram, a 44-year resident of the county.
“Supervisor Hidahl’s proposed declaration is a sham, and government overreach in the highest order,” one community member, Joseph Connelly, wrote in an email.
“We’re in a spiritual war,” said supporter Lars Knutsen, of Pollock Pines, after reading from the Bible.
“The Bible, the Word of God will offend ... I thank you for bringing this up. Keep bringing it up.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, an advocacy nonprofit for atheists, agnostics, and nontheists that supports the separation of church and state, wrote to the Board of Supervisors on July 28, calling the proclamation “problematic” and “a clear breach of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”
The FFRF said they received multiple complaints from community members about the issue.
“By issuing this proclamation advancing Christian nationalism and the debunked myth that we are a Christian nation, El Dorado County is ironically violating the country’s true heritage of religious liberty based on a secular government.”
The American Council, a conservative Christian political action committee based in neighboring Placer County, thanked the supporting supervisors “for recognizing the contributions of the Christian community in American history,” in a statement from its president Tanner DiBella. The American Council itself has come under criticism from community members for enmeshing church and state (DiBella is the marketing director for Destiny Church.)
“American Christian Heritage Month” does not force a religion on people,” DiBella said, much like other commemorative months (like Pride Month or Jewish-American Heritage Month) “force Americans to adhere to the respective communities’ beliefs, doctrines, or customs.”
“It simply honors the vast contributions of the community in American history,” he said, while calling the FFRF’s letter prejudiced.
The Sacramento Bee did not hear back from Supervisor Hidahl in time for publication.
