Church & State articles from April 2004

Church & State archives from April 2004

DeLay congressional plan targets church-state separation.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) is preparing to unveil a package of legislative initiatives designed to excite the Republican Party's base, including a proposal to undermine the separation of church and state. DeLay is reportedly...

Americans support separation, oppose clergy politicking.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A majority of Americans believe it is important that the nation maintain the separation of church and state, a new poll indicates. Fifty-nine percent of Americans said maintaining separation of church and state is important. Another 19...

Ga. senator proposes clergy-led 'decency' council.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A panel of religious leaders and others would have the power to work with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enforce "decency" standards over the nation's airwaves if a Georgia senator has his way. Angered over a recent Super...

Salvation Army sued for religious discrimination.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Current and former employees of the Salvation Army in New York are suing the organization, charging that the group took tax funds and imposed religious qualifications on its workers. The 18 plaintiffs say they were forced to give the...

Miss. legislators want commandments, Beatitudes posted.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Blessed art the publicly pious politicians for they shall see reelection. That seems to be the credo of some Mississippi legislators. The House of Representatives there has approved legislation allowing the Ten Commandments, "In God We...

Supreme victory: high court thwarts religious right scheme to require state funding for religion.(Cover Story)
April 1, 2004... Religious Right legal strategist Jay Sekulow called it "one of the MOST IMPORTANT RELIGION CASES OF OUR TIME to go before the Supreme Court of the United States!" The case that got Sekulow so excited was a dispute from Washington State...

Unholy matrimony: President Bush, religious right join hands to push for marriage amendment.
April 1, 2004... Last November, a delegation of top Religious Right leaders trooped into the White House for a special meeting with President George W. Bush. They had come to push their agenda, and one goal was at the top of the list: to pressure Bush to...

Plucky Lindy: despite death threats and demonization, Alabama commandments plaintiff Maddox says she would do it all over again.
April 1, 2004... Late fall of 2001 should have been a happy time for Brewton, Ala., resident Melinda "Lindy" Maddox. Newly married, she and her husband had just returned from a relaxing honeymoon in Italy. To her dismay, Maddox noticed as she approached...

Addicted to the dole?: 'faith-based' aid groups face government regs.(Editorials)
April 1, 2004... A recent decision from the California Supreme Court illustrates a hidden side effect of the so-called "faith-based" initiative. The California affiliate of Catholic Charities has become one of the larges providers of social services in the...

Preachy politicians should take a page from history.(Editorials)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... With state legislators, members of Congress and other elected officials competing to see who can appear the most pious, the following editorial from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is timely. State lawmakers bent on trying to "out-God"...

Calif. missions should not tap taxpayers for funds, Lynn tells senate panel.(People & Events)
April 1, 2004... Americans United for Separation o Church and State has urged a U.S. Senate panel to reject a plan to allocate $10 million in federal funds for mission churches in California. AU Executive Director Barry W Lynn testified during a March 9...

Kentucky school drops lunchtime visits by Baptist ministers.(People & Events)
April 1, 2004... Public school officials in Bullitt County, Ky., have agreed to stop allowing Baptist ministers to visit students during lunchtime after receiving complaints from members of the community The practice had been going on for 17 years. Every...

Rooney on Robertson: TV preacher is 'wacko'.(People & Events)
April 1, 2004... CBS News "60 Minutes" commentator Andy Rooney has proclaimed that TV evangelist Pat Robertson is a "wacko." Rooney, commenting on recent religion stories in the media during the Feb. 22 broadcast of "60 Minutes," noted that Robertson had...

'Passion' film sparks impassioned response.(People & Events)
April 1, 2004... Australian actor and director Mel Gibson's controversial movie "The Passion of the Christ" has sparked debate and discussion around the country--and has led to a few church-state problems. The R-rated film, which depicts the last hours of...

'Faith-based' aid at two agencies hits $1.1 billion, President Bush boasts.(People & Events)
April 1, 2004... Citing "faith-based" funding figures from two federal agencies, President George W. Bush has told clergy and charity workers in Los Angeles that it is essential for the government to work with religious groups. Speaking at a White...

Graham says only Bush can save nation from wave of smut.(People & Events)
April 1, 2004... Evangelist Franklin Graham, son of the famous preacher Billy Graham, has endorsed George W. Bush for president, telling a gathering of religious broadcasters that only Bush will crack down on indecency on television and radio. Speaking to...

Catholic Charities must include birth control coverage, says court.(People & Events)
April 1, 2004... The California Supreme Court has ruled that Catholic Charities must include birth control coverage in its health-care plans. California law requires employers to cover birth control prescriptions if other prescription drugs are covered....

AU Commandments protest sparks debate in big sky country.(People & Events)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The governor of Montana has vowed to defend Ten Commandments displays on government property, asserting that those who oppose them "need a little help." Gov. Judy Martz, a Republican, made the comments in late February during a press...

Residents rally to defend science classes in Montana Town.(People & Events)
April 1, 2004... Alarmed residents of Darby, Mont., have formed an organization to defend the teaching of evolution in the wake of a school board vote they say will weaken good science instruction. In late January the Darby School Board voted 3-2 to revise...

Prayer services at Buffalo public school cancelled.(Au Bulletin)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Public school officials in Buffalo have ordered a principal to cancel her plans to begin daily prayer sessions. On Feb. 20, Principal Ramona Thomas-Reynolds of West Hertel Academy sent a letter to parents stating that beginning March 1, "we...

Anti-terror task force suggests new curbs on religion.(Around The World)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Governments around the world should put tighter controls on religious groups to keep them from funneling money to terrorist organizations, a global task force on money laundering has recommended. The Financial Action Task Force, meeting in...

New Iraqi Constitution grants Islam special role.(Around The World)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Iraq's new interim constitution establishes Islam as the nation's official faith and a source of all laws. The role of Islam in the new constitution has been the subject of conflict for months. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq's government was...

King-sized confusion.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... Your publication is excellent, but Rob Boston made a mistake in his article "Of Popes and Power" (February 2004 Church & State). The article refers to the struggle between King Henry IV "of England" and Pope Gregory VII. I taught Church History...

First Amendment slam dunk.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... Separation of church and state is one of the main things that allowed this country to become the greatest country in the world. It is better for both church and state. They don't contaminate each other. Just look at other countries. An Arab...

Breath-taking constitutional ignorance.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... I read your recent article about O'Neal Dozier, the member of the Broward Judicial Nomination Commission who persists in questioning judgeship candidates about their religious beliefs and affiliations ("Onward, Christian Soldiers," January 2004...

Why not Civil unions?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... In light of the recent controversy over same-sex marriage, would it not be in the interest of both religious and government institutions to define and separate the civic aspect of marriage from the religious? What I am suggesting--and have not...

'Faith-based' indoctrination.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... I live in the east end of Houston, Texas, where the Open Door Mission is located. A freeze was predicted for the night. I told a homeless person who was camping on the sidewalk that he should go to the mission because of the predicted cold...

Un-Christian behavior.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... It seems that the ultra-conservative Christian Coalition condemned President Bill Clinton's extramarital affair and pooh-poohed Sen. Strom Thurmond's extramarital affair (People & Events, February 2004 Church & State). The dictionary has a...

Headscarf trouble.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... An item in the People & Events section of the February Church & State concerned a Muslim girl in Oklahoma who had been suspended for wearing a headscarf while attending public school. Americans United urged the school to reverse its policy. ...

The high court and Davey: handing a big victory to the optimists' club.(Perspective)
April 1, 2004... I am by disposition a realist, which means I see no point in ignoring the enormous number of challenges to constitutional rights going on these days. During a recent trip to the Tampa, Fla., area, I found that after my speeches, people in the...