Church & State articles from July 2008

Church & State archives from July 2008

AU urges high court to uphold religious neutrality.(IN THE CAPITAL)
July 1, 2008... Americans United for Separation of Church and State has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to require government to remain neutral when it comes to religion. In a June 23 friend-of-the-court brief, Americans United and allied groups asked the...

Americans oppose partisan pulpits, poll shows.(IN THE CAPITAL)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... The majority of Americans, across all religious groups, do not support clergy endorsements of political candidates from the pulpit, according to a recent poll. The National Survey on Religion and Public Life conducted by the Paul B. Henry...

Tenn. school can't promote religion, judge rules.(AROUND THE STATES)(Tennessee)(Robert L. Echols )(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Teachers and administrators at a Tennessee public school may no longer wear "I Prayed" stickers at school, nor give preferential treatment to an outside prayer group, a federal district court has ruled. The school allowed a group called...

Bible distribution was wrong, La. school agrees.(AROUND THE STATES)(Louisiana)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... A school board in Louisiana has agreed that it violated the U.S. Constitution by allowing the distribution of Gideon Bibles at a public middle school. The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU of Louisiana on behalf of a girl who was told to pick...

Eroding evolution: religious right forces in Louisiana try hew tactic to smuggle religion into public school science classrooms.
July 1, 2008... In the 21 years Patsye Peebles taught biology in Louisiana public schools, she never received one complaint from parents for teaching evolution. "The bottom line is that I never questioned their faith," she said. Whenever she had a...

Methodists oppose creationism in public school science classes.(United Methodist Church )
July 1, 2008... The United Methodist Church (UMC) adopted pro-evolution resolutions at its General Conference in Ft. Worth, Texas, in May, reaffirming its stance against government-sponsored religion in public schools and demonstrating yet again that many...

License to discriminate? Americans United lawsuit says South Carolina's 'I Believe' license plate favors Christianity over other faiths.('I Believe' license plates)
July 1, 2008... The Rev. Dr. Thomas A. Summers of Columbia, S.C., spent his career working as a pastoral chaplain, where he promoted concepts such as interfaith harmony and respect among religions. Now retired, the United Methodist minister was duly...

Florida flim-flam: Jeb Bush's deliberately deceptive school voucher amendments should be removed from November ballot, lawsuit says.
July 1, 2008... After spending 26 years as a citizen of Florida, the Rev. Harry Parrott has never been so concerned about the state's school system. The retired Baptist minister doesn't want to see public funding go to religious and other private schools...

Controversial clerics: a parade of partisan preachers roils presidential campaign--and raises questions about the relationship between religion and politics.
July 1, 2008... The Rev. John Hagee's specialty is interpreting Bible passages to explain historical and current events--a practice that often leads the Texas minister to adopt some unusual views. In one sermon delivered in 2006, Hagee, pastor of...

Religious right rebound?: from Florida to California, separation is under fire.(Editorial)
July 1, 2008... Religious Right leaders have suffered some setbacks in recent months, and church-state separationists should take pride in knowing we helped those events happen. But this is no time to rest on our laurels. Congress is less fertile ground...

California woman finds her house vandalized after 'In God We Trust' protest.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Debbie Phillips )
July 1, 2008... A California woman who spoke out against a plan to erect an "In God We Trust" sign in city council chambers has had her house vandalized. Lancaster resident Debbie Phillips had twice objected to the Lancaster City Council's plan to post an...

Idaho public library pulls 'Joy Of Sex' books after religious right complaints.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
July 1, 2008... An Idaho public library has decided to permanently remove two books dealing with human sexuality from general circulation after complaints from fundamentalist activists. The Nampa Library Board voted to remove The New Joy of Sex and The...

Evangelical author calls for reassessing link between religion and politics.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Sigmund Brouwer)
July 1, 2008... An evangelical author has called on his coreligionists to reconsider the value of linking faith and politics and questioned the leadership of figures like James Dobson and Jerry Falwell. Sigmund Brouwer, an author of Christian fiction,...

Religious coin in Iraq sparks concern over proselytizing by the U.S. military.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Some Iraqis have complained that U.S. Marines stationed there are attempting to convert them to Christianity with a special coin imprinted with a gospel verse in Arabic. On one side, the coin asks, "Where will you spend eternity?" The...

Transcendental meditation spreading in public schools, reports Newsweek magazine.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
July 1, 2008... An increasing number of public schools are seeking to incorporate Transcendental Meditation (TM) into the school day, a trend that has alarmed advocates of church-state separation. Newsweek magazine reported recently that there is a "small...

Public school teacher in Ohio faces possible firing over religion in class.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(John Freshwater)
July 1, 2008... A public school science teacher's alleged religious activities have sparked controversy and litigation in Mount Vernon, Ohio. John Freshwater, an eighth-grade science teacher at Mount Vernon Middle School, has been accused of preaching...

'Prosperity Gospel' minister steps up war of words with Republican senator.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Kenneth Copeland, Charles Grassley)
July 1, 2008... Televangelist Kenneth Copeland is speaking out against efforts by U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) to investigate several prominent tax-exempt ministries. Advocates of the so-called "prosperity gospel" teach that God will reward their...

Americans United opposes amended Texas 'moment of silence' statute.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Americans United for Separation of Church and State )
July 1, 2008... Americans United for Separation of Church and State joined the American Civil Liberties Union and its Texas affiliate last month in urging a federal appeals court to rule against a religiously motivated 2003 amendment to Texas'...

Americans United asks IRS to investigate church politicking in Minnesota, Washington.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
July 1, 2008... Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a Minnesota church and a Washington state religious group for improper partisan politicking. AU asked the IRS to investigate Warroad...

A California minister.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Wiley Drake)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... A California minister who used church letterhead and a church-affiliated radio show to endorse former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will not face IRS penalties. Americans United asked the IRS to investigate the First Southern Baptist...

The IRS has informed the United Church of Christ that it did not violate federal tax law by allowing Sen. Barack Obama to speak at its convention in June of 2007.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
July 1, 2008... The IRS has informed the United Church of Christ that it did not violate federal tax law by allowing Sen. Barack Obama to speak at its convention in June of 2007. The UCC argued that it invited Obama, who is a member of the denomination, before...

California marriage ruling doesn't affect church rights, says Americans United.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
July 1, 2008... Religious Right groups are furious over a ruling by the California Supreme Court authorizing same-sex marriages, but Americans United for Separation of Church and State has pointed out that nothing in the decision requires houses of worship to...

Milwaukee sheriff can't coerce deputies, says AU.(AROUND THE STATES)(David Clarke )(Americans United for Separation of Church and State )(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Americans United for Separation of Church and State has urged a federal appeals court to rule against a Wisconsin sheriff who required deputies to listen to evangelical Christian proselytizing. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed May 27...

Arizona appeals court strikes down school vouchers.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Arizona's school voucher law, which gave parents money to help pay private and religious school tuition for disabled or foster children, was struck down by the Arizona Court of Appeals. The court held the law violated the state...

Quebec National Assembly will keep crucifix.(AROUND THE WORLD)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Quebec's National Assembly has unanimously adopted a motion to retain the crucifix behind the speaker's chair, despite a recommendation from a diversity report. The report, which was prepared by McGill University philosopher Charles Taylor...

High court in Turkey rules against headscarves.(AROUND THE WORLD)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Turkey's high court has ruled that a recent legal change allowing Muslim women to wear headscarves at universities is unconstitutional. The Constitutional Court said that the change violated principles of secularism set forth in Turkey's...

Of Nazis, demons and the KKK: AU's critics resort to rage when decent dialogue would do.(PERSPECTIVE)(Ku Klux Klan)
July 1, 2008... I love the internet--usually. Let's concede that it has some drawbacks, especially e-mail. Spam messages offering questionable financial deals and medical remedies of dubious worth are bad enough, but here's what's worse: Every cranky...