Do atheists have church bulletins?

It's an interesting question in light of the ruling by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission regarding Prudhomme's Lost Cajun Kitchen in Columbia.

Sharon and David Prudhomme run the restaurant. In order to beef up business on Sundays, they offered meal discounts to anyone who brought a church bulletin to the restaurant.

John Wolff, an avowed atheist, complained about the practice. In July, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, Wis., filed a grievance against the eatery's church bulletin discount program, claiming it was discriminatory.

(If the name of the group sounds familiar, that's because it is the same organization that threatened to sue the Eastern Lancaster County school board for holding a communal prayer prior to its regular meetings. The board has since replaced the prayer with a moment of silence.)

Last week, the commission ruled that discounts must be given to anyone offering a bulletin by any faith-based group, including atheists, who, according to the federal courts, have their own religious creed.

The decision is Solomonic in its wisdom. It avoids further litigation and fines while allowing both sides to claim victory.

The Prudhommes can continue to use the church bulletin discount as a marketing strategy; Wolff and others can take advantage of the discount provided they offer some form of bulletin.

The ruling does recognize atheists as a class, which is central to this grievance. Other than that, however, it is not much different from that recommended by letter writers to this newspaper, who suggested that those who disagreed with the promotion should simply pick up a church bulletin in order to be eligible for the discount.

The law regarding discrimination can be quite complex. For example, it may be legal for a restaurant to offer discounts to senior citizens but not to others.

But when dealing with religion, the issue is a bit stickier. In 2000, the American Civil Liberties Union settled with the Hagerstown Suns minor league baseball team, which offered its own church-bulletin discount. The Suns said they would accept the bulletins of civic or nonprofit organizations for the discount, in addition to church bulletins.

The Civil Rights Act states, in part, that in places of public accommodation, "All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services facilities, privileges, advantages and accommodations ... without discrimination on the ground of race, color, religion or national origin."

Precisely what bulletins the Prudhommes accept remains to be seen.

Sharon Prudhomme, however, has contended that the discount was intended to entice people to dine at the restaurant, not to discriminate.

No one disputed her intention. Rather, it was the reference to religion that raised legal concerns ... concerns that now appear moot.