Church & State articles from February 2002

Church & State archives from February 2002

Istook introduces school prayer amendment in house. (In The Capital).(Representative Ernest Istook)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.) has proposed a constitutional amendment to allow government-sponsored religion in public schools and other public buildings. The measure, which Istook labels the "School Prayer Amendment," was introduced...

Supreme Court skips Minnesota evolution case. (In The Capital).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from a Minnesota teacher who wants to criticize evolution in public school science classes. In 1998, Rod LeVake, an evangelical Christian, was removed as a biology teacher in the...

Wiccan prison chaplain sparks controversy in Wisconsin. (Around The States).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A Wiccan chaplain at the Waupun Correctional Institution in Wisconsin is generating complaints from state lawmakers, some of whom are recommending the state discriminate on religious grounds when hiring staff in the future. The Rev. Jamyi...

Faith-based barricade : President Bush keeps trying to steer his religion funding vehicle through congress, but a federal court has put up a new constitutional roadblock.
February 1, 2002... With George W. Bush enjoying record-high approval ratings, White House staffers arranged a Dec. 21 media event giving the president a chance to boast of his administration's first-year accomplishments. But even in this setting, orchestrated...

Left behind: if best-selling end-times author Tim LaHaye has his way, church-state separation will be ...
February 1, 2002... In 1948, the Rev. Tim LaHaye, fresh out of seminary and working on an undergraduate degree at Bob Jones University, accepted a pastorate in Pumpkintown, S.C., a flyspeck of a town so puny it doesn't even appear on state maps. Reflecting on...

Mixing churches and politics: a bad deal for all concerned. (Editorials).(proposals to change tax law on churches' political activity)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 1, 2002... Federal tax law has been clear for decades: houses of worship cannot legally engage in partisan politicking. This simple and unambiguous provision of the Internal Revenue Code has served as a valuable safeguard for the integrity of both...

E. Mallary Binns, friend of freedom. (Editorials).(Brief Article)(Editorial)(Obituary)
February 1, 2002... We note with sadness the recent death of a long-time advocate for church-state separation and a member of the Americans United family. The Rev. E. Mallary Binns, a former Americans United staff member, died Jan. 17 at the age of 80 at his...

Bush has new role: de facto leader of the religious right. (People & Events).(President George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Is President George W. Bush the new leader of the Religious Right? Some news media observers seem to think so. On Dec. 24 The Washington Post carried an article asserting, "Pat Robertson's resignation this month as president of the...

Falwell claims Bush support for `call to Christian action'. (People & Events).(Reverend Jerry Falwell, President George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... TV preacher Jerry Falwell has launched a campaign to raise $1.2 million to push President George W. Bush's agenda through Congress, an effort the controversial Lynchburg evangelist says has been approved by Bush himself. In a December...

TV Preacher Kennedy seeks donations for Alabama's Judge Moore. (People & Events).(television evangelist D. James Kennedy, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Television evangelist D. James Kennedy has launched a major fund-raising drive to support Roy Moore, the Alabama Supreme Court chief justice being sued by Americans United for erecting a Ten Commandments display in the courthouse. In a...

Pat Robertson resumes political crusade, backs church electioneering. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Barely a month after Pat Robertson resigned from the Christian Coalition and promised to devote his time to religious ministry, the TV preacher returned to hardball politics on his "700 Club" cable television program. On his Christian...

Islamic charter school may have violated California regulations. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A publicly funded charter school in California is under investigation for teaching Islam to students, the San Francisco Chronicle has reported. Silicon Valley Academy in Sunnyvale is part of a network of 14 public charter schools in the...

U.S.-based Muslim charities face scrutiny for terrorism links. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Federal agents have .raided the offices of a number of U.S.-based Muslim charities, asserting that the groups may be involved in efforts to funnel cash to terrorists overseas. The raids began on Dec. 14, when agents with the Federal Bureau...

Christian coalition settles race lawsuit, but FBI probe pending. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Christian Coalition's troubles just won't stop. Officials with the once-powerful Religious Right organization have agreed to settle a race-discrimination lawsuit out of court, but now there's talk of an FBI investigation of fraud by the...

New education law may spark controversy about school prayer. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A new education bill signed into law by President George W. Bush Jan. 8 contains a provision on prayer in public schools that could cause church-state problems down the line. The provision was added to the reauthorization of the Elementary...

Bush administration to argue for vouchers at supreme court. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Bush administration has asked for and won the right to argue in favor of religious school vouchers before the U.S. Supreme Court this month. The justices have granted a request from Solicitor General Theodore Olson to argue a...

Far right wary of Bush's outreach to Muslim community. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Some far-right religious and political leaders are beginning to criticize President George W. Bush for getting too close to Muslim leaders and the Islamic faith generally. In mid-December Bush hosted a dinner for 50 diplomats from Muslim...

Harry Potter books stir debate in public schools. (AU Bulletin).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Several school districts across the country are under increasing pressure to ban or restrict access to Harry Potter books, because they allegedly promote the occult. In York, Pa., for example, a group of parents has asked school district...

Black legislators oppose school voucher schemes. (AU Bulletin).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Although voucher advocates claim broad support for their cause in the African-American community, a new report suggests influential black lawmakers oppose public funding of religious and other private schools. The 600 members of the...

New York school board considers chaplaincy program. (AU Bulletin).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A proposal to bring an Interfaith Chaplaincy Program to public schools in Rochester, N.Y., would run afoul of the First Amendment, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State. In January, the Rochester Board of...

Ontario debates education tax credit proposal. (Around The World).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Parents of children attending private schools in Ontario will now be able to take advantage of a generous new tax credit, though the measure has sparked controversy throughout the Canadian province. When fully implemented in 2006, the...

Harry Potter: what's real and what isn't. (Letters).
February 1, 2002... I am 70 years old and have read all the Harry Potter books and have been to the movie. I loved it all!!! As a young girl, I read the fairy tales, saw every horror movie I possibly could and never once stole dead bodies to make a monster,...

`Faith-based' propaganda. (Letters).
February 1, 2002... I have become increasingly irritated with the pervasive use of the adjective "faith-based," particularly by those who should know better. It's well known that part of any good propaganda campaign is to redefine the terminology, to lull...

Travel fund for Falwell. (Letters).
February 1, 2002... One can only marvel at the ignorance of Jerry Falwell and his fundamentalist cronies in their hand-wringing over America's alleged moral collapse and the consequent just desserts thereof. These guys haven't traveled much outside the United...

Why bring God into it? (Letters).
February 1, 2002... In the November Church & State, you ran a People & Events article headlined, "House Vote Endorses `God Bless America' Displays in Public Schools." Supporters of this resolution said the "God Bless America" displays are supposed to be "an...

America's Taliban? (Letters).
February 1, 2002... The excellent article by Rob Boston on the Christian Reconstructionists' attempt to take over the U.S. government is indeed frightening ("Operation Potomac," October Church & State). These people are really a "Christian Taliban." Stonings,...

Wild about Harry: why the potter books upset the religious right. (Perspective).
February 1, 2002... Recently, my daughter Christina, a University of California at Berkeley graduate, spent a few weeks with us at home. She left a job at one of the country's biggest advertising agencies so she could return to school and get an advanced degree to...