The Carroll County Board of Commissioners in Maryland has decided to encourage, and in some cases require, employees to attend a seminar on the Christian foundations of that state’s constitution, taught by a minister who appears to be state-level David Barton impersonator.

Carroll County commissioners have asked county employees to attend a seminar on the Maryland Constitution led by a conservative Christian minister, sparking accusations that local officials are overstepping the boundary between church and state.

David Whitney, pastor of a Pasadena church and a lecturer for the Institute on the Constitution, bases his teachings on the biblical view of American law and government. He said of the seminar scheduled for Friday, “We will be looking at the language of our founding fathers who wrote they were ‘grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberties’ front and center on this document. The Bible is the source of the authority that they looked to.” …

“It is outrageous for any county government to be spending taxpayer dollars for religious-right political indoctrination, which is exactly what this seminar is about,” said Rob Boston, spokesman for Americans United. “Do these commissioners realize what a mess they have stepped into? This is a toxic stew, and employees should not be forced to dine there.”

But Commissioner Richard Rothschild said it makes sense to give employees some perspective on the state’s governing document. Managers are encouraged to attend and to allow any of their staff who might be interested to attend, too, he said, adding that he would have no problem requiring everybody to attend.

“It is perfectly appropriate to teach a course which factually explains the role God plays in our constitution,” said. “Many of us take an oath to uphold the constitution. Government leaders should make every effort to understand it. Many of our problems today occur because leaders ignore this beautiful document, which I honor and respect.”

It’s the familiar Christian nation trick — those who wrote the constitution believed in God, therefore the constitution is explicitly Christian, therefore Christianity is the lens through which we should view all of the provisions found within it. Our freedom is therefore limited by what they believe Christianity says about any given subject; if the Bible says being gay is wrong, then no one has the right to be gay. QED.