Church & State articles from March 2005

Church & State archives from March 2005

'Faith-based' battle begins again in Congress.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The new Congress has moved quickly to take up a bill advancing the Bush administration's much-touted "faith-based" initiative. In mid February, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved the Job Training Act, which...

Court rejects anti-evolution disclaimers in Ga. textbooks.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... The Religious Right crusade to promote religion in public school science curricula was dealt a setback recently when a federal court ruled unconstitutional the use of textbook disclaimers about evolution. On Jan. 13, U.S. District Judge...

Anti-separation amendment advances in Virginia.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... In early February, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a constitutional amendment that would allow for government-sanctioned prayer and other religious displays in public schools and other public buildings. The proposal, HJ 537, would...

Arizona Prison Program aids religion, says court.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Federal grants to a prison-mentoring program run by an evangelical group are unconstitutional, a federal court has ruled. On Jan. 12, U.S. District Judge John C. Shabaz found that grants made by the Department of Health and Human Services...

AU challenges religious calendar in South Carolina.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... A public works commission in a South Carolina community has stopped distributing 2005 calendars laden with religious art and messages after a protest from Americans United for Separation of Church and State. After being alerted to the...

Marriage counseling: after pressure from Religious Right allies, Bush touts Federal Marriage Amendment.
March 1, 2005... For Religious Right leaders, January was the best of limes and the worst of times. Conservative religious forces had staunchly backed the re-election of President George W. Bush, and their man, a born-again Christian with a right-wing...

Attack of the clones: President Bush and his Religious Right allies want to stack the Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues.
March 1, 2005... Ken Mehlman, the newly elected chairman of the Republican National Committee, knew just what his Religious Right audience wanted to hear. Standing in a packed ballroom at Washington's glitzy Ritz-Carlton Hotel Jan. 19, the former chief of...

Religion on trial: how Supreme Court trends threaten freedom of conscience in America.(David W. Machacek)(Interview)
March 1, 2005... David W. Machacek is resident fellow at the Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life and a visiting professor of public policy at Trinity College, both in Hartford, Conn. Along with Phillip E. Hammond and Eric Michael Mazur, he...

Chief justice Scalia? Rehnquist illness sparks rumors.(Antonin Scalia)
March 1, 2005... Rumors are circulating in Washington that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia may have his eye on a promotion--to chief justice. The current chief justice, William H. Rehnquist, suffers from thyroid cancer, and it is widely believed he...

On the wrong path: church and state after two centuries.(Editorial)
March 1, 2005... Back in Thomas Jefferson's day, presidents were inaugurated in March. Therefore, it was 200 years ago this month that Jefferson took the oath of office to begin his second term. Jefferson preferred inaugurations devoid of excessive pomp and...

Bush pushes 'faith-based' initiative during meeting with black pastors.(People & Events)
March 1, 2005... President George W. Bush continues to evangelize for his "faith-based" initiative in the African-American community, meeting with more than 20 black religious and business leaders Jan. 25. Though the White House session, which lasted for...

Bush adviser Rove tells Religious Right that agenda will be reality.(People & Events)(Karl Rove)
March 1, 2005... Presidential strategist Karl Rove has urged members of the Religious Right to be patient, reminding them that it may take some time to engineer the changes they want to see in American society. "Now we've got a big job ahead of us--that is...

Moral Majority was 'Regrettable Aberration,' says Evangelical leader.(People & Events)
March 1, 2005... A prominent evangelical leader has criticized the Moral Majority, asserting that the Jerry Falwell-led political group was haughty and judgmental. Speaking at a conference at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton,...

James Dobson all wet after run-in with SpongeBob squarepants.(People & Events)
March 1, 2005... A certain animated sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea and wears square pants is creating quite a headache for James Dobson of Focus on the Family (FOF). The Religious Right leader's troubles with the popular star of Cartoon...

Church-goers less likely to back compromise, new poll indicates.(People & Events)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Americans who attend church regularly are less likely than others to accept the need for compromise in political matters, a new poll shows. The poll, conducted by the non-partisan research group Public Agenda, found 63 percent of weekly...

Church property bill derailed in Va. legislature after AU, clergy protests.(People & Events)
March 1, 2005... Legislation that would have made it easier for dissenting congregations to keep their property after splitting from their denominations was derailed in Virginia after protests by Americans United and religious groups. The bill, introduced...

Arkansas church gets inquiry from IRS after AU complaint.(People & Events)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... An Arkansas church whose pastor gave a televised sermon supporting presidential candidate George W. Bush has received a letter of inquiry from the Internal Revenue Service. Americans United asked the IRS to investigate the First Baptist...

Judicial Tyranny is greater concern than terrorism, says Roy Moore.(People & Events)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Ousted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore told a Washington, D.C., audience Jan. 22 that judicial tyranny, not terrorism, is the most important issue facing the United States today. "The real issue in this country is not terrorism, it's...

Georgia Gov. seeks to gut Church-State provisions.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... An effort by Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to add an amendment to the state constitution gutting the church-state provisions of that document has stalled for now. Georgia senators voted 35-20 on Feb. 10 in favor of sending the amendment to the...

'School choice' scheme promoted by S.C. Governor.(Around The States)(South Carolina)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Criticizing the state's public school system, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is pushing a tax credit plan to benefit religious and other private schools. In his Jan. 26 State of the State Address, Gov. Sanford (R) claimed he...

Defrocked Georgia priest convicted for religious violence.(Around The World)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2005... Plagued with brutal religious strife, the Georgia government has taken action to punish a priest who is charged with inciting violent attacks against religious minorities. In late January, a court in Tbilisi, the capital of the former...

Teach astrology too?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... In response to "intelligent design" being taught in the school districts of Cobb County, Ga., and Harrisburg, Pa., ('"Intelligent Design' Challenged In Pa. Public Schools," January Church & State), I feel very strongly that astrology should be...

Science v. Dogma.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2005... Galileo Galilei said, "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." As a father of three boys under the age of 13, I have a significant stake in...

Politics and proof-texts: why I disagree with Jim Dobson and Jim Wallis.(Perspective)
March 1, 2005... Think of the excitement of it: a debate on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on tax code revision. A conservative from Alabama urges the adoption of a flat tax--the same rate for every American at every income level. He cites the...