Church & State articles from December 2007

Church & State archives from December 2007

Conservative Catholic activist nominated for Vatican post.(IN THE CAPITAL)(Mary Ann Glendon)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... A Harvard professor known for her fervent advocacy of Catholic doctrine has been chosen to become the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. In early November, President George W. Bush announced plans to nominate Harvard law professor Mary Ann...

Akron council drops Lord's Prayer after AU protest.(AROUND THE STATES)(Akron, Ohio, City Council and Americans United for Separation of Church and State)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The Akron, Ohio, City Council has dropped its use of the Lord's Prayer before its public meetings. On Oct. 15, council members unanimously agreed to stop using the Christian prayer to open their sessions. The decision was prompted by...

New York City church sues to get charter school aid.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... A New York City church has filed a lawsuit in federal court in an effort to obtain public funds to open a charter school. The New Horizon Church Ministry, represented by a group called the Gotham Legal Foundation, contends that the New York...

'Christian Heritage Week' sparks controversy in Wash. State.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Washington State Gov. Christine Gregoire (D) filed some citizens recently by issuing a religious celebration proclamation. In October, Gregoire proclaimed Oct. 21-27 "Christian Heritage Week." The Olympian newspaper reported that the...

Calif. school board pushes religious right message.(AROUND THE STATES)(posters on religion)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... A California public school board has voted to display posters proclaiming "In God We Trust." In early November, the Kern High School District's school board voted 4-1 to place the posters in more than 2,300 classrooms, libraries, offices...

Is there a 'War On Christmas'? Religions right holiday campaign raises money and members by distorting reality.
December 1, 2007... October is usually the time people's thoughts turn to ghouls, ghosts and goblins as leaves change colors, the air gets nippy and Halloween approaches. In Berkley, Mich., however, some people decided that would be a good time to start...

The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom.(Piety & politics)(Piety and Politics: The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom)(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn's book Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom is now available in paperback. Featuring a new Afterword by the author, Piety & Politics is a...

Earmark erased: after AU protest, Louisiana Senator backs off Congressional funding for religious right group's creationism project.
December 1, 2007... It was a rare, but telling, moment when U.S. Sen. David Vitter took to the Senate floor Oct. 17 to withdraw an earmark of federal money for a pet project in his home state. Vitter, the junior senator from Louisiana, has spent years...

Vouchers vanquished: Utah voters overwhelmingly reject scheme to aid religious and other private schools.
December 1, 2007... Patrick Byrne spent millions of dollars and most of 2007 trying to convince Utahns that funding private schools with public dollars was a grand idea. In the end, however, the wealthy founder of the Internet retail giant, Overstock.com, didn't...

Memo to Patrick Byrne: people in Utah are a lot smarter than you think.(EDITORIAL)
December 1, 2007... People in Utah tend to be a conservative lot. At a time when President George W. Bush is facing approval ratings of just above 30 percent nationwide, Utahns are more forgiving. About 50 percent approve of the president there. Utah is...

Senator seeks info on operations of mega-church ministries.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Sen. Charles E. Grassley and evangelistic ministries)
December 1, 2007... In a move that surprised many observers, U.S. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) last month announced that he is investigating six prominent evangelistic ministries to determine if they have abused their tax-exempt status. Grassley, the...

Religious Right opposes cancer research in Texas referendum.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... A Texas Religious Right group opposed a state ballot initiative to devote $300 million annually over 10 years to work on a cure for cancer, arguing it would open the door to stem-cell research. Proposition 15 was backed by Texas Gov. Rick...

Justice Department OKs religious bias in 'faith-based' programs.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has advised religious groups that they may accept tax dollars and still discriminate on the basis of religion when hiring staff. In October, the Justice Department posted a notice on its Web site...

Coral Ridge ministry's new head seeks ties with reconstructionists.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Brian E. Fisher to work with American Family Association and American Vision)(Interview)
December 1, 2007... A 34-year-old financial adviser has been named the new head of Coral Ridge Ministries, a Florida-based group founded by the late TV preacher D. James Kennedy. Brian E. Fisher, formerly executive vice president of Coral Ridge Ministries, is...

Young evangelicals are less likely to be partisan, poll says.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... A new poll indicates that the longstanding ties between evangelical Christians and the Republican Party may be fraying a bit. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press reported recently that "white evangelicals may be undergoing...

Religious Right split over 2008 presidential election deepens.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... Religious Right leaders continue to squabble among themselves over which Republican candidate to support for president. Events took a surprising twist last month when TV preacher Pat Robertson endorsed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani....

Religion roils races for Governor in Mississippi, Kentucky.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Gov. Ernie Fletcher)
December 1, 2007... Religion played a prominent role in some statewide elections last month. In Kentucky, embattled Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, trailing badly in the polls, tried desperately to rally conservative religious voters at the last minute. The...

House passes bill protecting gays, despite religious right furor.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... The U.S. House of Representatives last month passed legislation protecting gay people from bias in employment, a move that has infuriated the Religious Right. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) passed 235 to 184. Thirty-five...

Catholic bishops warn that wrong vote may affect members' salvation.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
December 1, 2007... The nation's Roman Catholic bishops are ramping up their political involvement in advance of the 2008 elections, approving a new statement that wams church members that voting for candidates who back legal abortion just might send them to hell....

Americans United opposes 'faith-based' funding in Oklahoma.(AROUND THE STATES)(Americans United for Separation of Church and State)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... Americans United for Separation of Church and State has urged Oklahoma's attorney general to rule against government funding of "faith-based" groups. In an Oct. 29 letter to Attorney General W.A. Drew Edmondson, Americans United argued...

Anti-gay church's funeral protest draws $11 million fine.(AROUND THE STATES)(Albert Snyder and Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... The father of a felled U.S. marine has won a multi-milliondollar lawsuit against a fringe Baptist group that pickets funerals of soldiers. In early November, a federal jury awarded Albert Snyder close to $11 million in damages from the...

Indiana lawsuit challenging legislative prayer falters.(AROUND THE STATES)(Indiana House's sectarian prayer)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... A federal appeals court has tossed aside a challenge to the Indiana House's practice of opening its sessions with sectarian prayer. A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Oct. 31 that several taxpayers did...

Religious right is on the rise in Australia.(AROUND THE WORLD)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... As the 2007 parliamentary elections in Australia approach, the influence of Religious Right lobbying groups is garnering more attention. A nation of 21 million where one in five claims no religious affiliation, Australia is nonetheless...

Of haggis and holidays: Scottish trip yields church-state wisdom.(PERSPECTIVE)
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I don't travel outside the United States too often, but recently I had a golden opportunity to join my wife Joanne on a two-week trip to Scotland and the Netherlands. Two things happened the first night in...