EA ORNEY GENE-L
OF EXAS
AUSTIN ax. TEXAW
WILL WILSON
July 31, 1962
Honorable Jack Fields Opinion No. WW-1409
County Attorney
Calhoun County Courthouse Re : Authority of County Commis-
Port Lavaca, Texas sioners' Court to expend tax
funds for the construction
and maintenance of a chapel in
connectionwith a county hos-
Dear Mr. Fields: pital.
Your request for opinion on the above captioned ques-
tion reads in part as follows:
"Calhoun County in 1948, by the employment
of local tax funds and Federal funds constructed
a County Hospital in the City of Porc Lavaca,
Texas.
"This hospital was expanded in 1952, and in
1961 an additional$700,000.00in bonds was voted
for a three-storyaddition, which work is now in
progress.
"'Iheoriginal plan of the new structure pro-
vided for a chapel for family use and ministerial
services, as is customarilyprovided in many hos-
pitals. The constructionof this chapel has not
been authorized by the Court and its approval has
been postponed until sufficient tax funds are made
available and all questions as to legality of such
expendituresare determined.
,t
. . .
"It is for that reason we request a ruling as
to whether or not a CommissionersCourt is author-
ized to expend tax funds for the constructionand
maintenance of a chapel as a part of County Hospi-
tal service."
This office has previouslyconsidered several situa-
tions, cited below, where chapels have been constructedwith
private funds and placed as instrumentalitiesof various state
institutions,but we have heretofore not been requested to rule
_I
Honorable Jack Fields, page 2 (WW-1409)
on the situationwherein public funds are to be used for con-
struction of a chapel or other building to be used as a place .
of worship.
Section 6 of Article I of the Constitutionof Texas
states as follows:
"All men have a natural and indefeasible
right to worship Almighty God according to the
dictates of their own consciences. No man shall,
-Qe co attend, erect or SUDDOrt anv
place of worshin, or to mainta anv ministry
minst hi c nsent. No human authority ought,
in any casZ w:atever, to control or interfere
with the rights of consciencein matters of
religion, and no,preferenceshall ever be given
by law to any religious society or mode of wor-
ship. But it shall be the duty of the Legisla-
ture to pass such laws as may be necessary to
protect equally every religious denominationin
the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode of pub-
lic worship." (Emphasisadded)
Section 7 of that Article states:
"No money shall be appropriated,or drawn
from the Treasury for the benefit of any sect,
or religious society, theologicalor religious
seminary; nor shall D wertm to the
State be aww wriatedrgoranv such wurnoses."
L(Emphasisad%d)
You will note that Section 6 refers to "an place of
worship . . .I1 In the case of Church v. Bullock, 10c Tex. 1,
109 S.W. 115 (1908), the Supreme Court stated at page 118:
11
. . . As used in the Constitutionthe
phrase 'place of worship' specificallymeans a
place where a number of persons meet together for
the purpose of worshiping God. State v. Swink, 20
N.C. 492. The Century Dictionary gives this defi-
nition: 'A building or part of a building set
apart for any purpose--asa place of worship.' The
worship of God is not prohibited in any place, but
we are of the opinion that the spirit of the Con-
stitutionwould include any place at which the wor-
ship might be indulged in so continuouslyand in
such a manner as to give it the character of 'a
place of worship.' Buildings
Honorable Jack Fields, page 3 (WW-1409)
erected and maintained bv the state cann t be
used for such wuroose& We do not underiake
to state any rule as ti what will constitute
a 'place of worship.1 That must necessarily
depend upon the facts of each case. . . .I1
CEmphasisadded)
Black'sLawDictionary (4th Ed. 19511, defines worship
in the following language:
"Any form of religious service showing
reverence for Divine Being, or exhortationto
obedience to or following of the mandates of
such Being. . . .It
In Attorney General's Opinions Nos. V-940 (1949)and
:SUntitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion