Church & State articles from April 2007

Church & State archives from April 2007

Head Start bill reopens job bias battle in house.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... Bush administration allies in Congress have renewed an effort to alter Head Start to permit employment discrimination in the operation of the popular pre-school program. In March, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor considered...

Navy chaplain discharged after prayer fight.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... The U.S. Navy has discharged a chaplain who waged a battle against military policy requiring respect for religious pluralism. Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt has spent years criticizing Navy policy that allows sectarian worship at church...

Chapel cross returns at College of William & Mary.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... After intense pressure from donors, officials at the College of William & Mary have allowed the return of a Christian cross to the public school's chapel. Last fall, President Gene R. Nichol ordered the cross removed from permanent display...

Mass. city council moves to discontinue Lord's prayer.(Massachusetts )(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... A Massachusetts city council seems ready to discontinue its practice of opening meetings with the Lord's prayer. After receiving complaints from a local interfaith group and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Lowell...

First freedom fraud: Bush administration's religious liberty project draws fire from civil liberties and civil rights leaders.
April 1, 2007... U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sounded an earnest note when championing religious freedom with a friendly audience in Nashville, Tenn. On Feb. 20, Gonzales unveiled a "First Freedom Project" before a Southern Baptist Convention...

Religious right, still wrong: at The 'Reclaiming America For Christ' Conference, appeals for piety and revival were sometimes drowned out by harsh talk.
April 1, 2007... At the first major conclave of Religious Right foot soldiers since the 2006 elections, a sense of solemnity pervaded the sanctuary of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, also known as the pulpit of D. James Kennedy, the ailing televangelist pastor...

Is the religious right dead? Hardly, say church-state experts, as GOP presidential candidates pray for the Fundamentalist Movement's blessing.
April 1, 2007... A provocative essay in Time magazine raised more than a few eyebrows in mid-February with a headline that made a startling claim: "The Religious Right's Era Is Over," it blared. Moderate evangelical minister Jim Wallis, the author of the...

A taxing argument: government-funded faith and the right to sue.
April 1, 2007... It has come to this: A top lawyer for the U.S. government stood before the Supreme Court recently and argued, in all seriousness, that American taxpayers should not have the right to sue if the Bush administration begins building churches with...

Library of Congress should stop promoting church-state bunk.(EDITORIALS)
April 1, 2007... The Library of Congress is one of our nation's most prestigious institutions. It is a shame, therefore, to see this venerable national treasure providing a platform for the views of the Religious Right on church-state separation. On Feb....

Voucher bills derailed in state legislatures across the country.
April 1, 2007... Voucher bills were defeated in four states recently, thanks to work by Americans United and its allies in the public education and civil liberties communities. In Oklahoma, a proposal by state Sen. Jim Williamson to give vouchers (called...

NAE official attacked by religious right for environmental stand.(National Association of Evangelicals )
April 1, 2007... The Rev. Rich Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), believes global climate change is a threat to the planet that should concern evangelical Christians--and that has infuriated the...

Bush administration urges high court to limit church-state lawsuits.
April 1, 2007... Taxpayers should not have the legal right to sue even if the federal government undertakes a program of building houses of worship with public money, a Bush administration lawyer told the Supreme Court Feb. 28. U.S. Solicitor General Paul...

Appeals court hears AU arguments in prison ministry case.(Americans United)
April 1, 2007... A federal appeals court recently heard oral arguments in Americans United's challenge to a taxpayer-funded fundamentalist Christian prison program in Iowa. AU Senior Litigation Counsel Alex Luchenitser traveled to St. Louis to argue...

Texas rep. apologizes for linking evolution to 'Pharisee Religion'.
April 1, 2007... A Texas state representative has apologized for distributing a message revealing "long-hidden" evidence supposedly linking the teaching of evolution to ancient Jewish scriptures. Warren Chisum, an influential Republican who chairs the Texas...

Americans United warns Idaho city against Salvation Army deal.
April 1, 2007... Americans United has warned officials in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, that a proposed land-swap agreement to facilitate the construction of a Salvation Army community center may not pass constitutional muster. City residents contacted Americans...

Ohio officials reveal questionable spending for 'faith-based' scheme.(We Care America)
April 1, 2007... Officials in Ohio are looking into allegations that a "faith-based" organization in Virginia improperly spent money intended for the poor on jumbo-screen televisions, a study with limited value and a $125-per-month parking spot for a...

Federal prosecutor skips religious right event in Iowa.(Iowa Christian Alliance)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... A federal prosecutor was ordered by the Justice Department to cancel plans to participate in a Religious Right conference in Iowa. U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2004, had agreed to serve as the master...

Calif. high court upholds church-school bonds.(California)
April 1, 2007... California's Supreme Court has paved the way for religious schools to receive tax-exempt government bonds to help with construction. By a 4-3 vote, the state's high court said issuing the bonds for the religious institutions would not...

Bible class sought for Colorado School District.(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... A Colorado public school district is under pressure to adopt a Bible curriculum authored by a Religious Right group. According to The Denver Post, more than 800 residents have signed a petition calling on the Moffat County Re-1 School...

Portugal riles catholic hierarchy by easing abortion law.(AROUND THE WORLD)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... Riling the Roman Catholic hierarchy, lawmakers in Portugal have passed legislation bolstering reproductive rights. In early March, Portugal's parliament adopted a measure legalizing abortion through the 10th week of pregnancy. Prime...

Matt LaClair: A+ student.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2007... It was truly discouraging to read, in the March issue of Church & State, about the many efforts on the political scene to dragoon Americans toward the destruction of their own democracy by passing laws favoring religion--and a certain religion...

Doubting Thomas.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2007... Oliver Thomas's Viewpoint ("How To Keep The 'United' In United States, February Church & State) advises Americans on mitigating the nation's religious polarization. His advice is best ignored. He equates secularists with the "far left,"...

On oaths and sacred books.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2007... In your February issue, there are a couple of articles concerning U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison's oath using the Quran instead of the Bible ("Rep. Ellison's Oath On Jefferson's Quran," Editorial, and "Muslim Congressman Takes Oath Of Office On...

The Ellison illustration.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2007... The recent story about the controversy over Rep. Keith Ellison's swearing-in illustrates how the separation of church and state strengthens democracy. The first good thing Ellison did for democracy was to run for office as a Muslim and...

Faith-based funds: who's cashing in?(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2007... I think it would be very important for you to publish a listing of the so-called "faith-based organizations" that are receiving my tax money against my choice. I would like to see names and dollar amounts. I wrote to President Bush asking...

And that's the way it is: Walter Cronkite, an anchor of truth.
April 1, 2007... Most child-rearing experts tell you that families should eat dinner together every night. Now, my mother and father were great role models in every way, but did fail that dinner test (at least on weekdays). But it was my fault. As a young...