Church & State articles from April 2005

Church & State archives from April 2005

House leader Tom DeLay attacks church-state separation.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A top official of the U.S. House of Representatives claimed in early March that the First Amendment does not call for the separation of church and state. The day before the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in cases involving public...

AmeriCorps aid to religious schools upheld.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A federal appeals court has found constitutional a publicly funded AmeriCorps program that allows teachers to offer instruction at Catholic parochial schools. A three-judge panel of the U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia...

Virginia Senate kills church-state amendment.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution to allow government-sanctioned prayer at public schools and other public places was defeated in the state Senate. In February, the House of Delegates approved the proposal on a 69-27 vote....

La. school board prayer violates constitution, says court.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A federal court in late February invalidated a Louisiana school board's practice of opening its meetings with prayers. Since 1973, the Tangipahoa Parish School Board has begun its meetings, which are also open to the district's students,...

Nine justices, Ten Commandments, 2 important cases: church-state separation hangs in the balance as the Supreme Court debates Decalogue displays.(Cover Story)
April 1, 2005... Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has some advice for all those people out there who might be offended by government's display of the Ten Commandments: Just stop looking at them. "Turn your eyes away if it's such a big deal to you,"...

Battling bias: Americans United challenges 'faith-based' job discrimination at federally funded program in Pennsylvania.
April 1, 2005... A job recently became available for someone willing and able to teach construction skills to inmates at the Bradford County Correctional Facility in northeastern Pennsylvania. Applicants had to be general contractors familiar with the ins...

Faith-based favoritism: U.S. House supports rollback of religious discrimination ban in job-training bill after Bush push.
April 1, 2005... To U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern the issue is simple. "Faith-based institutions," he told fellow House members, "should be required, like all other recipients of federal funds, to adhere to basic civil rights laws, and I cannot even begin to...

America: it's not just for Christians any more (and never really was).(Editorial)
April 1, 2005... In January of 1786, James Madison steered Thomas Jefferson's "Statute for Religious Freedom" through the Virginia Assembly. Jefferson's bill guaranteed religious liberty for all and stipulated that no one could be required to support a...

Religious right pushes legislation to allow church electioneering.(People & Events)
April 1, 2005... Joined by a phalanx of Religious Right leaders, U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.) has announced the reintroduction of a bill that would allow houses of worship to endorse candidates for public office. Jones unveiled the legislation at a...

Rice rejects Vaticans appeal to help end sex-abuse lawsuit.(People & Events)
April 1, 2005... Officials at the Vatican asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice if the U.S. government could block a sex-abuse lawsuit filed against the church in Kentucky, but Rice was not receptive to the idea, a Catholic newspaper has reported. ...

Religious broadcasters celebrate greater access in Washington.(People & Events)
April 1, 2005... The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), an umbrella group for evangelical Christian television and radio preachers, is celebrating a new level of access to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. A self-congratulatory article in the NRB magazine said...

Dobson still has pants in a bunch over 'SpongeBob' flap.(People & Events)
April 1, 2005... Focus on the Family founder James C. Dobson seems unable to put his run-in with SpongeBob SquarePants behind him. Dobson's difficulties with the cartoon sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea began in late January. Dobson, speaking...

Indiana rep. urges Bush to defy courts on Commandments.(People & Events)
April 1, 2005... A U.S. congressman from Indiana says President George W. Bush should defy the federal courts and refuse to enforce what he calls an "unconstitutional" ruling ordering the removal of a government-sponsored Ten Commandments display. U.S....

'Faith-based' aid means 'kissing Pharaoh's behind,' UCC pastor tells NPR.(People & Events)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A United Church of Christ minister in Washington, D.C., has warned his fellow pastors that government funding may lead congregations to be co opted by the state. Discussing the issue on National Public Radio Feb. 17, the Rev. Grayland...

Secret Wead tapes reveal Bush plan to woo religious right.(People & Events)
April 1, 2005... Secretly recorded conversations between President George W. Bush and evangelical writer Doug Wead made before Bush became president show Bush struggling to please conservative Christians without alienating other voters. In one...

Ed. secretary bashes Buster the bunny, embraces bishops.(People & Events)
April 1, 2005... Recently appointed Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has wasted no time shoring up support among conservative Christians. On her second day on the job, Spellings sent a stern letter to the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) warning...

When mosque and state merge: lessons from the global war on terrorism.(Viewpoint)
April 1, 2005... In the current "culture war" over church-state relations, Americans often miss the big picture. Whether debating religion in public schools, religious symbols on public property or faith-based initiatives, we fail to consider these issues in...

Arkansas House opposes separation resolution.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Arkansas House of Representatives has rejected a resolution supporting the First Amendment principle of church-state separation. The Arkansas House voted 44-39 on Feb. 18 against Res. 1005 that quoted the religious liberty clauses of...

N.C. legislative chapel sparks controversy.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A state senator's order removing Christian literature and symbols from the North Carolina General Assembly's nondenominational chapel was quickly overturned after other lawmakers complained. In late January, Democratic State Sen. Tony...

Calif. court allows some religious language at trials.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The California Supreme Court has ruled that a prosecutor did not violate the First Amendment by using a biblical reference during the trial of a man accused of murder. In a 67-page opinion, the state's high court ruled that the...

Greeks back separation after Orthodox church scandals.(Around The World)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Recent polling shows a majority of Greeks favor the separation of church and state following ongoing media coverage of an array of scathing charges against the Greek Orthodox Church. The Greek Orthodox Church holds great sway over the...

Intelligent design: the camel's nose.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... Your latest reports on the camel of creationism-intelligent design sticking its nose into the public school tent ("Science Test" and "Intelligent Design," February Church & State) are indeed alarming, though not surprising. In large part, it is...

Beware inquisitional fundamentalists.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... The church-state issue of most concern to me as a scientist is the Religious Right challenge to science, and you have my deepest thanks for your persistence and competence on this topic. Accordingly, Eugenie Scott of the National Center for...

Religious liberty for all.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... The current Supreme Court cases dealing with religious symbols being displayed on public properties is sadly another example of the radical Religious Right attempting to impose its ideology upon the American people. The framers of the...

Faith-based spread.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2005... As a new member of AU, I really look forward to seeing each issue of Church & State. I read with interest your article, "White House Report On Faith-Based Initiative Aims For State Boost" ("People & Events," February Church & State). ...

The Commandments cases: a monumental moment at the Supreme Court.(Perspective)
April 1, 2005... Church-state cases before the Supreme Court always precipitate a whirlwind of activity here at Americans United. This was particularly true in early March when a duo of back-to-back arguments about placement of the Ten Commandments on...