Church & State articles from March 2003

Church & State archives from March 2003

FBI mosque count raises constitutional issues. (In the Capital).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... FBI Director Robert Mueller has ordered the bureau's field offices to start documenting the number of mosques in their areas as part of the federal government's ongoing efforts to combat terrorism, according to news media accounts in January....

Supreme Court skips Columbine tile case. (In the Capital).
March 1, 2003... The Supreme Court in January declined to review a U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that barred religious themes from a school project at Columbine High School. After two students entered their Colorado high school in spring 1999...

Native American loses lawsuit over Eagle feathers. (Around the States).
March 1, 2003... A federal appeals court has turned down a Native American's religious liberty challenge to his conviction for violating an endangered species act. In a Jan. 31 ruling, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the religious...

AU protests Mo. Church's public funding jackpot. (Around the States).
March 1, 2003... Americans United has urged city officials in a Missouri town to reverse its decision to fund the repair of a church with public money from casino gambling. In early January, Boonville city officials awarded the St. Matthew A.M.E. Episcopal...

Colson prison blues: `faith-based' program in Iowa prison merges religion and government, says Americans united in legal action. (Cover Story).
March 1, 2003... Prison inmates who end up at Newton Correctional Facility in Newton, Iowa, had better be prepared to do hard time. As a medium-security institution, Newton does not house Iowa's most violent prisoners--but it still has its share of...

Evolution of a `hatchet man': Charles Colson's transition from prison reformer to religious right reactionary.
March 1, 2003... Chuck Colson's public image is that of a mild-mannered prison reformer, a man who went from being the "hatchet man" who orchestrated President Richard M. Nixon's infamous "dirty tricks" to a devout Christian determined to improve the lot of men...

Presidential altar call: Bush urges addicts to find miracles at `fait-based' addiction programs, proposes HUD funds for church construction.
March 1, 2003... To Tonja and Darren Myles, the solution to drug and alcohol diction is simple: conversion to fundamentalist Christianity. "We believe that recovery begins at the Cross," says the website of the Myleses' "Set Free Indeed" ministry. "We rely...

Born again: voucher booster: in his new budget proposal, President Bush resurrects push for voucher aid to religious education.
March 1, 2003... Three days after his inauguration, President George W. Bush outlined his administration's policy on school choice. Speaking at a Jan. 23, 2001, briefing on education, Bush told reporters, "None of us at the federal government should try to...

Coercive religion in America's prisons: unfair sentence. (Editorials).
March 1, 2003... A person's beliefs about religion should be irrelevant to the government. To borrow a phrase from Thomas Jefferson, whether an American believes in 20 gods or no god is none of the state's concern. The government must never grant...

Wait just a minute, Mr. President ... (Editorials).
March 1, 2003... Newspapers all over the country have recently spoken against President George W. Bush's latest efforts to undercut church-state separation through his "faith-based" initiative, including his plan to use tax funds to pay for construction at...

Bush administration's religion guidelines push prayer in school, Americans United charges. (People & Events).
March 1, 2003... The Bush administration's new federal guidelines "push the envelope" on religion in public schools beyond what the courts have allowed, Americans United charged last month. On Feb. 7, the U.S. Department of Education issued new guidelines...

Mass. Veterans' shelter loses funding due to `faith-based' initiative. (People & Events).
March 1, 2003... A shelter for homeless veterans in Northampton, Mass., may have to evict half of its residents due to new policies from the Bush administration that steer tax funding to religious groups. Officials at the United Veterans of America shelter...

Bush renews ties with television evangelists. (People & Events).
March 1, 2003... President George W. Bush renewed his ties to the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) in February, urging the Religious Right group to help him win support for his "faith-based" initiative. The NRB, a trade association for Christian TV and...

Dobson Group gives pink slips to workers. (People & Events).
March 1, 2003... For the first time in its 26-year history, radio counselor James C. Dobson's Focus on the Family (FOF) has had to lay off employees. The large evangelical Christian ministry, located in Colorado Springs, announced last month that 34...

Texas lawmakers wrangle over content of legislative prayers. (People & Events).
March 1, 2003... Members of the Texas House of Representatives are trying to defuse a controversy over legislative prayers by issuing guidelines that urge guest clergy to be ecumenical in their approach. A letter drafted last month by House Speaker Tom...

La. Bishops demand government aid but no new regulations. (People & Events).
March 1, 2003... Members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Louisiana are gearing up for a big push for parochial school voucher subsidies. Church officials have been holding meetings across the state designed to encourage parents to demand parochial school...

Texas Prof's evolution policy becomes subject of federal probe. (People & Events).
March 1, 2003... A Texas Tech University biology professor who refuses to give letters of recommendation to students who deny evolution is being investigated by federal authorities. Professor Michael Dini was targeted by the Liberty Legal Institute, a...

Calif. bishop tells pro-choice governor to quit communion. (People & Events).
March 1, 2003... Sacramento Bishop William K. Weigand has urged California Gov. Gray Davis to drop his support for legal abortion or stop receiving communion at Roman Catholic services. Weigand, speaking at a mass to mark the 30th anniversary of the...

Robertson school settles lawsuit over alleged `demon possession'. (People & Events).
March 1, 2003... A former law student at TV preacher Pat Robertson's Regent University has settled a lawsuit he filed against the school after fellow students accused him of being a "demon." Herbert O. Chadbourne of Saco, Maine, filed suit against the...

Juror oath to God not required, S.C. court rules. (AU Bulletin).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in early February that citizens may not be forced to swear an oath to God to sit as jurors. State trial judge Marc Westbrook dismissed Robert Woodham as a juror after Woodham refused to swear an oath...

W.Va. school officials consider `intelligent design'. (AU Bulletin).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The West Virginia Board of Education will decide later this month whether to alter the state's science education standards to allow teachers to discuss "intelligent design." According to The Charleston Gazette, the board of education has...

Sunday liquor sales resume in Pennsylvania. (AU Bulletin).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Pennsylvania's state liquor board in early February permitted a portion of its state-owned liquor stores to open for business on Sunday for the first time since the 1920s. The state legislature last year approved of the program to start...

European Union debates role of religion. (Around the World).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Members of the European Union are considering whether the union's yet-to-be-formed constitution should pay homage to God. The 15-member EU, which is set to admit 10 more countries this spring, has found itself being lobbied by the Vatican,...

Circumventing the constitution. (Letters).
March 1, 2003... It is obvious President George W. Bush would like to control everything in the government whether or not he is authorized to do so ("Faith-Based Fiat," January Church & State). I am increasingly worried about his fundamentalism. Whether or...

President Bush: saving souls? (Letters).
March 1, 2003... In the January Church & State ("Faith-Based Fiat"), you quote President George W. Bush's speech of Dec. 12: "We want more and more faith-based charities to become partners in our efforts, our unyielding efforts, to change America one heart, one...

Towey flunks Judaism 101. (Letters).(James Towey, chief of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives)
March 1, 2003... A comment of James Towey, chief of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, ("Faith-Based Fiat," January Church & State), is revealing. He said that President Bush hopes to ensure that faith-based groups are not...

Hail to the `spiritual-leader-in-chief'? (Letters).
March 1, 2003... I have a question about the frequency and fervency in which President George W. Bush draws on both God and scripture in his speech-making. Is the president constitutionally allowed to say what he does while acting not as George Bush Citizen,...

Uncivil religion: Bush and the bully pulpit. (Perspective).(Editorial)
March 1, 2003... If Bill O'Reilly had succeeded, Americans United would have needed a new executive director, and Church & State readers would be seeing a different writer in this column. However, he failed. The conservative host of Fox News Channel's...