Church & State articles from April 2008

Church & State archives from April 2008

IRS investigates denomination after Obama speech.(IN THE CAPITAL)(Internal Revenue Service, Barack Obama)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The Internal Revenue Service has launched an investigation of the United Church of Christ (UCC) after Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama gave a speech at the denomination's 2007 national convention. Church officials say Obama, an...

'Commando' evangelism derailed at Texas school.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Americans United has successfully derailed a Texas public school assembly featuring an evangelistic group known for preaching to youngsters. Commandos! USA bills itself as an "educational and inspirational" ensemble of body builders who...

Don't change constitution, AU tells Fla. officials.(AROUND THE STATES)(Americans United, Florida)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Americans United last month urged Florida officials to reject efforts to weaken the state constitution's religious liberty protections. The Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission is considering two proposed constitutional...

School district must pay for harassment over prayer.(AROUND THE STATES)(Sussex County schools, Mona Dobrich and children)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Two families in Delaware have settled a lawsuit with a public school district over school-sanctioned religious activities that will require the school to pay an undisclosed monetary award. Mona Dobrich and her children faced hostility when...

States of confusion: Americans United confronts bills threatening church-state separation nationwide.
April 1, 2008... Typically, lawmakers in Oklahoma, like legislators in other states, are responsive to public comment on bills they are contemplating. But when Dr. Bruce Prescott, a member of Americans United's Board of Trustees, sought to provide input before...

Egregious earmakrs? Americans United says congressional aid to religious groups is tone-deaf to the commands of the constitution.(Cover story)
April 1, 2008... Have you made a donation recently to Teen Challenge, a fundamentalist Christian organization that promises to help young people overcome substance abuse through "the life-changing message of salvation through Jesus Christ"? You may think...

First Freedom First.(A SPECIAL BOOK EXCERPT)(Excerpt)
April 1, 2008... Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn has coauthored a new book with C. Welton Caddy, president of The Interfaith Alliance. Titled First Freedom First: A Citizens' Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church...

God's profits: how the religious right uses the 'prosperity gospel' to win foot soldiers and continue its 'culture war'.(Interview)
April 1, 2008... Researcher Sarah Posner has been following the Religious Right for several years and writes a blog called The FundamentaList for The American Prospect. Her new book, God's Profits: Faith, Fraud, and the Republican Crusade for Values Voters...

Appalling allocations: putting a stop to earmarks for evangelism.(EDITORIALS)
April 1, 2008... Americans are an exceedingly generous people. In 2006, our people donated nearly $300 billion to charitable organizations. Many of those groups were religious in nature, being either houses of worship or other types of religiously...

Praying for sanity: court settlement shows high price of intolerance.(EDITORIALS)
April 1, 2008... Sometimes it is hard to believe it's 2008. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down school-sponsored prayer and religious worship in 1962--46 years ago. Yet some slow learners still haven't gotten that lesson. In Sussex County, Del., for...

'Christian nation' advocate wants to 'machine gun' Americans United.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
April 1, 2008... "Christian nation" advocate and pseudo-historian David Barton is angry that Americans United has asked the Internal Revenue Service to look into his partisan political activities and is so upset he's threatening to take up arms. On Jan....

Iowa officials end contract with prison program that pushed fundamentalism.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
April 1, 2008... Officials in Iowa have decided to sever ties with the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, a controversial fundamentalist Christian program that became the focus of an Americans United lawsuit. Officials terminated the program last month. "There...

Americans United challenges sectarian prayers at New York town council.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
April 1, 2008... Americans United has filed a lawsuit in federal district court against a town council in New York that opens its public sessions with Christian prayer. Americans United on Feb. 28 sued the Greece, N.Y., Town Board and its supervisor, John...

IRS should investigate Texas pastor for politicking, says Americans United.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Internal Revenue Service, Steve Riggle)
April 1, 2008... A Houston church whose pastor issued a letter of endorsement for a congressional candidate should be investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, says Americans United. In a March 6 letter to IRS officials, Americans United said that...

Bush Religious Right liaison resigns after plagiarism expose.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(George W. Bush)
April 1, 2008... A White House aide who acted as a liaison to the Religious Right has resigned after it was reported that he had repeatedly plagiarized portions of newspaper columns from other writers. Tim Goeglein was charged with the task of reaching out...

Calif. Capitol 'chaplain' attacks inclusion as 'disgusting to our Lord'.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(California, Ralph Drollinger)
April 1, 2008... A fundamentalist Christian preacher who serves as an unofficial chaplain to California legislators sparked a brouhaha recently when he attacked a rival religious study group that has an inclusive membership as "disgusting to our Lord." ...

Evangelist Hinn submits financial documents to Senate investigators.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Benny Hinn)
April 1, 2008... Texas TV evangelist Benny Hinn, best known for his flamboyant healing services, has decided to comply with a U.S. senator's request for information about his ministry. Hinn's ministry turned material over to the Senate Finance Committee in...

Bush urges governors to join effort to promote 'faith-based' initiative.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(George W. Bush)
April 1, 2008... When he took office in January of 2001, President George W. Bush's first domestic-policy proposal was the "faith-based" initiative. He apparently intends to stick with it until the end of his presidency. Bush has been promoting the...

SBC lobbyist criticized for calling N.Y. Jewish Senator A 'schmuck'.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Richard Land of Southern Baptist Convention, New York Sen. Charles Schumer )
April 1, 2008... Richard Land, chief lobbyist for the Southern Baptist Convention, recently sparked controversy for calling U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) a "schmuck" during a speech. Speaking at the Criswell Theological Seminary in Dallas in late...

Va. college president ousted after chapel cross controversy.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Virginia, Gene Nichol)
April 1, 2008... The president of the College of William & Mary has been removed, in part because he was unable to put behind him a lingering controversy over the display of a cross at the public college's chapel. College officials announced in February...

Voucher students don't do better, Wisc. study says.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Wisconsin)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... A new study of Milwaukee's school voucher program that is being called the most comprehensive to date shows that children receiving publicly financed tuition at religious and other private schools perform no better academically than their peers...

Illinois may repeal moment-of-silence law.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Illinois legislators are having second thoughts about a new law mandating that public schools observe a moment of silence for prayer or reflection after hearing an earful from teachers and school officials. The Illinois legislature passed...

Catholic church's new reign in Spain Falls, Mainly.(AROUND THE WORLD)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... A band of Catholic bishops in Spain attempted to intervene in the country's March 9 elections by disseminating a message to voters containing thinly veiled criticism of the ruling Socialist Workers Party, but the ploy failed when the party was...

Enlightening exchange: in this debate, the audience won.(PERSPECTIVE)
April 1, 2008... Many of you have seen me on CNN, MSNBC and the Fox News Channel, hashing out some contentious church-state issue with an opponent from the Religious Right. I concede this format isn't always the best one for educating the public. The...