Church & State articles from December 2004

Church & State archives from December 2004

IRS says 20 churches under electioneering investigation.(In The Capital)
December 1, 2004... In late October, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it was investigating 20 churches for potential violations of federal tax law that bars non-profits from partisan politics. The announcement came on the heels of a claim by the...

Gen. Boykin's religious crusade draws insignificant penalty.(In The Capital)
December 1, 2004... An Army official announced in late October that it had taken "appropriate" but not "significant" action against the general who sparked international ire for his public depictions of the U.S. war on terrorism as a Christian battle against evil....

Florida appeals court strikes down school vouchers.(Around The States)
December 1, 2004... A state appeals court has struck dawn Florida's voucher program, holding that it clearly violates a provision of the Florida Constitution by funneling tax money to religious schools. The 1st District Court of Appeal, sitting as a full panel...

Alabama clergy apologize for Kerry sign thefts.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Officials at a Methodist church in Alabama issued apologies to the local Democratic Party for instructing youngsters to collect Kerry-for-president signs, which they later destroyed. The Rev. Jeff Ponder-Twardy and youth minister B.J....

The religious right and election 2004: religious right leaders exaggerate their role at the polls in a bid to win more power in Washington, D.C.
December 1, 2004... The day after a hotly contested presidential race that saw Republican George W. Bush eke out a victory over Democrat John F. Kerry, a Bush campaign staffer called Focus on the Family chairman James C. Dobson to thank him for his help. ...

Commandments controversy: with a boost from a Jerry Falwell legal group, The Conflict Over Government-Sponsored Commandments Displays has arrived at the Supreme Court.
December 1, 2004... When a federal judge ruled that a government-sponsored Ten Commandments display in McCreary County, Ky., had to come down in May of 2000, one local official vowed defiance. "I said early on I would not remove them, and I will not,"...

Religious liberty: Supreme Court agrees to consider federal religious liberty law.
December 1, 2004... When President Bill Clinton signed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) in 2000, he issued a ringing endorsement of the principle undergirding the bill. "Religious liberty," he said, "is a constitutional value...

Election Day illusion: the religious right's 'moral issues' mischief.(Editorial)(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... Since Election Day, the country has been bombarded with claims that "values voters" obsessed with Religious Right social issues flocked to their precincts and created a tide that carried President George W. Bush to victory. This claim...

'Roy's rock' rolls into D.C. for 'America for Jesus' rally.(People & Events)
December 1, 2004... The two-and-a-half-ton Ten Commandments monument made famous by former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore came rolling into Washington, D.C., Oct. 22 for what was billed as a major rally of religious conservatives--but the expected...

Christian Coalition voter guides were partisan, inaccurate, AU says.(People & Events)
December 1, 2004... Trying to regain its stature as a Religious Right powerhouse, the Christian Coalition went into overdrive this election cycle, printing millions of voter guides in favor of President George W. Bush and other GOP candidates. The Coalition,...

Falwell resurrects '21st century' version of moral majority.(People & Events)
December 1, 2004... TV preacher Jerry Falwell has promised to start a new political organization that he says will be a "21st century resurrection of the Moral Majority." Encouraged by President George W. Bush's re-election in November and Republican Party...

'Christian nation' guru promoted Bush and GOP in 'below radar' scheme.(People & Events)
December 1, 2004... The Republican National Committee hired David Barton, a prominent "Christian nation" advocate, to travel the country and speak at fundamentalist Christian churches prior to the election. Barton, who became famous in Religious Right circles...

Religious schools not entitled to voucher aid, says court.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A federal appeals court ruled in October that Marne education officials may exclude private religious schools from a tuition program. A three--judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 28-page decision in Eulitt v. Marne...

Council prayer ruling in South Carolina stands.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A federal appeals court has refused to review a ruling barring the Great Falls Town Council from opening its meetings with sectarian prayers. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 22 that the Great...

School screening of 'Passion' film sparks complaint.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... After receiving a complaint from a parent and a local civil rights advocacy group, a Florida public school has reprimanded a substitute teacher for showing Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" to ninth graders. A substitute teacher at...

European Union signs secular constitution.(Around The World)
December 1, 2004... European Union leaders signed a constitution in late October that contains no mention of Christianity, despite pressure from the Vatican to include one. For more than two years, Pope John Paul II had urged EU member nations to include a...

One constitution and one country, but two views of America.(Perspective)
December 1, 2004... Accepting the concession of Sen. John F. Kerry on Nov. 3, President George W. Bush called for an end to division in America and said, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us." I'd only give him a partial...