Church & State articles from July 2007

Church & State archives from July 2007

Catholics in Congress protest Pope's comments on politics.(IN THE CAPITAL)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Some U.S. lawmakers have reacted angrily to Pope Benedict XVI's recent condemnation of Roman Catholic politicians who support reproductive rights. In early May while traveling to Brazil, Benedict was asked about Mexico City lawmakers who...

Government drops fine against alliance of Baptists.(IN THE CAPITAL)(U.S. Department of the Treasury; Alliance for Baptists)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The U.S. Department of the Treasury has dropped a potential fine against a group of Baptist churches over allegations of violating federal regulations on travel to Cuba. Last year, the Treasury Department issued a notice to the Alliance of...

Iowa discontinues state funding of InnerChange.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Iowa lawmakers have decided to halt public funding of an evangelical Christian prison ministry that a federal judge found unconstitutional. In May, the Iowa legislature approved a bill eliminating $310,000 in state funds for InnerChange, a...

Tennessee attorney general says no to pork for churches.(AROUND THE STATES)(Robert E. Cooper Jr.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Tennessee attorney general has warned state lawmakers that a plan to directly fund churches with tax dollars is constitutionally unacceptable. In a June 12 opinion, Attorney General Robert E. Cooper Jr. wrote that an "unrestricted...

The religious right after Falwell: fundamentalist political movement is less visible but more powerful than ever.(Cover story)
July 1, 2007... Editor's Note: The Rev. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority, died on May 15. Two days after his death, Church & State Assistant Editor Rob Boston prepared this report, "The Religious Right After Falwell: Less Visible But More Power[id...

Lest we forget: the Jerry Falwell saga: Virginia televangelist pushed partisan politics, preached extreme rhetoric and published fishy fund-raising letters.(Chronology)
July 1, 2007... The Rev. Jerry Falwell enjoyed a long. checkered career as a leader of the Religious Right before his death May 15 at the age of 73. This timeline of his activities was originally prepared for Church & State in 1999 in conjunction with a story...

Fringe festival: Christian Reconstructionists hope to move out of the margins and take dominion in America--and they have some powerful friends.
July 1, 2007... Tucked away a few miles off Interstate 40 just outside Asheville, N.C., the LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center provides Southern Baptists with a remote place to facilitate the nurturing of "Biblical Solutions for Life." The sprawling...

Standing down: Supreme Court narrowly makes it harder to bring taxpayer challenges to Bush 'faith-based' crusade.
July 1, 2007... Since President George W. Bush took office, the White House has spent millions of taxpayer dollars promoting the "faith-based" initiative in a series of conferences around the country. At these events, religious leaders were exhorted to...

Head start home run: bill passes without 'faith-based' job bias.(Editorial)
July 1, 2007... Although it didn't generate a lot of headlines, a vote in the U.S. Senate June 19 marked an important victory for Americans United and our allies. By unanimous consent, the Senate voted to reauthorize Head Start, a popular program that...

Taking dominion: Colson's theocratic vision for America.(Charles W. Colson)(Editorial)
July 1, 2007... Charles W. Colson, the Watergate-era figure turned Religious Right activist, is becoming increasingly incoherent as his views become more and more extreme. In June, Colson gave a speech at a pastors meeting in San Antonio sponsored by the...

Military backs away from evangelistic Ga. event after AU protest.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Obituary)
July 1, 2007... On the heels of an Americans United complaint, the U.S. Air Force and Army distanced themselves from an evangelical Christian event held over Memorial Day weekend near Atlanta. Promotional material about the three-day "Salute to the...

PBS promotes program on church and state from religious right.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Public Broadcasting System)
July 1, 2007... The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in June began promoting a program on church-state separation produced by a film company with close ties to the most extreme elements of the Religious Right. The program, called "The Wall of Separation,"...

AU seeks investigation of church politicking in Florida, Rhode Island.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Americans United)
July 1, 2007... The early start to the 2008 presidential election has sparked an upswing in partisan political activity by some religious groups. Americans United recently filed formal complaints over two cases of overt campaign intervention by religious...

Separation isn't anti-Catholic, attorney tells civil rights panel.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
July 1, 2007... State constitutional provisions that bar tax funding of religion were not intended to promote anti-Catholicism, an attorney with a moderate Baptist group told the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights June 1. K. Hollyn Hollman, general counsel...

Former senator attacks Supreme Court rulings at secret CNP meeting.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Fred Thompson on Council for National Policy meeting)
July 1, 2007... Former U.S. senator Fred Thompson unleashed a stinging attack on the Supreme Court for its rulings on church and state during a May 12 meeting of the Council for National Policy (CNP) in Tysons Comer, Va. Thompson, who represented Tennessee...

DeLay tells magazine he's on a mission from God to save GOP.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Grand Old Party)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay believes God has sent him on a mission to save the Republican Party. DeLay made the unusual assertion during a recent interview with The New Yorker. "God has spoken to me," DeLay told the...

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... * Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich attacked "the growing culture of radical secularism" during a commencement speech at Liberty University May 19. "A growing culture of radical secularism declares that the nation cannot profess the...

The collapse of the Alabama chapter of the Christian Coalition.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... * The collapse of the Alabama chapter of the Christian Coalition last year has sparked a battle that is playing out in court. In August of 2006, John Giles, head of the Alabama Christian Coalition, decided the national group was losing...

School voucher scheme derailed in Louisiana legislature.(AU BULLETIN)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Louisiana legislators have thwarted an effort to launch a school voucher program in New Orleans that would subsidize religious and other private schools. In June, the state House Education Committee blocked the voucher bill, H.B. 623, from...

North Carolina judge allows oaths without bible.(AU BULLETIN)(Judge Paul C. Ridgeway)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... A North Carolina judge has ruled that court oaths may be administered on other religious texts besides the Bible. Superior Court Judge Paul C. Ridgeway ruled May 24 that consistent with state court precedent, "oaths are to be administered...

Muslim footbaths at public colleges spark controversy.(AU BULLETIN)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Universities in Michigan and Minnesota have been beset with controversy surrounding installation of foot-washing basins for Muslim students. The University of Michigan-Dearborn is proceeding with a plan to spend $25,000 on installing...

Malaysian court rules against Muslim conversion.(AROUND THE WORLD)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Malaysia's high court has issued a ruling that blocks a citizen's effort to have a religious affiliation removed from her identity card. The Malaysian Federal Court ruled 2-1 that Lina Joy could not remove Islam from her identity card...

Religion and schools: united we differ.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... The May 2007 Church & State features an article ("Bible Classes In Public Schools: Undermining America's Secular Common Ground," Viewpoint) and an editorial ("Constitutional Literacy: Why American Schools Don't Need Bible Classes") about using...

Bible classes: what's objectionable?(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... Thank you for your continued focus on the problems associated with public school Bible study courses (Viewpoint, "Bible Classes In Public Schools: Undermining America's Secular Common Ground" and Editorial, "Constitutional Literacy: Why...

How to get peace on earth.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
July 1, 2007... Rob Boston's article, "Civil Religion, Uncivil Strife," (May Church & State) rang a fine bell for me. It reminded me of a town hall civil meeting attended by people of various faiths and me. The session opened (in this federal building)...

Beyond the reach of GPS: my visit to the reconstruction zone.(PERSPECTIVE)(global positioning system)(Personal account)
July 1, 2007... One of the greatest inventions of modern time for those of us who travel is the GPS device. It stands for "global positioning system." You put it on the inside of your windshield and plug it into the cigarette lighter. It shows you a map on a...