Church & State articles from March 2007

Church & State archives from March 2007

President Bush promotes faith at national prayer breakfast.(IN THE CAPITAL)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Calling the United States a "nation of prayer," President Bush joined religious leaders and politicians at the annual National Prayer Breakfast Feb. 1. "Many in our country know the power of prayer," he said. "Prayer changes hearts. Prayer...

Moon web site spreads false story on Sen. Barack Obama.(IN THE CAPITAL)(Sun Myung Moon)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... An online publication owned by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church garnered attention and derision for publishing an inaccurate and unsubstantiated article regarding two presidential contenders. In January, the Internet Web site...

Kansas school board scraps creationist science standards.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Kansas State Board of Education has rescinded science standards that reflected creationist criticism of evolution. In a 6-4 vote Feb. 13, the board approved new standards that treat evolution as the foundation of modern biology. A...

Wiccan lawsuit against VA goes on fast track.(AROUND THE STATES)(Department of Veterans Affairs)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... An Americans United-sponsored lawsuit seeking U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recognition of the Wiccan symbol of faith is headed for the courtroom. On Jan. 26, U.S. District Judge John Shabaz rejected the VA's motion to stay the legal...

States of emergency: avalanche of bad bills threatens church-state separation in legislature across America.
March 1, 2007... Utah seems like a strange state to experiment with voucher subsidies for religious and other private schools. Politically and culturally, the Beehive State is dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). Seventy...

Classroom Culture war: when N.J. student Matthew LaClair signed up for High School history, he never expected preaching instead of teaching.(Interview)
March 1, 2007... Only days into the new school year, Kearny (N.J.) High School history teacher David Paszkiewicz began preaching and denigrating evolution and the Big Bang theory in class. Sixteen-year-old Matthew LaClair, a student in Paszkiewicz's 11th-grade...

Confrontation in congress: Religious Right allies are pushing school vouchers and other threats to church-state separation on Capitol Hill, but this time, the measures face a steeper climb.
March 1, 2007... U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) has an unusual take on what the Founding Fathers had in mind when drafting the U.S. Constitution. On the House floor in January, Paul lambasted the federal courts for issuing rulings upholding church-state...

Note to George W. Bush: Mr. President, you're no John Leland.(Southern Baptist Convention's John Leland Religious Liberty Award)(Editorial)
March 1, 2007... John Leland was not the kind of preacher who would back a government-sponsored "faith-based" initiative. "Be always jealous of your liberty, your rights," the Baptist minister once advised. "Nip the first bud of intrusion on your...

Trouble at the ranch: Religious Right seeks 'faith-based' funding.(Teen Ranch v. Udow)(Editorial)
March 1, 2007... A recent federal appeals court ruling dealing with the "faith-based" initiative did not get a lot of attention, but it should have. The decision went a long way toward explaining exactly what the Religious Right wants when it comes to the...

Senate Chaplain drops speech at Religious Right conference after AU letter.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Barry C. Black)(Americans United for Separation of Church and State)
March 1, 2007... U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry C. Black decided not to appear at a Religious Right gathering sponsored by controversial TV preacher D. James Kennedy after Americans United cited concerns. Black was listed as a speaker on promotional materials...

Taxpayers can sue over Bush 'faith-based' office, AU tells court.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Americans United for Separation of Church and State)
March 1, 2007... Taxpayers should have the right to challenge the Bush administration's use of public funds to support religion, Americans United for Separation of Church and State told the U.S. Supreme Court last month. In a friend-of-the-court brief...

Okla. Commandments display sends message of exclusion, says AU.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
March 1, 2007... Americans United waded into an Oklahoma dispute over a government-sponsored Ten Commandments display recently, advising a federal appeals court that Religious Right organizations are using the Decalogue to project a message of religious...

Md. school drops plan for graduation in church after AU protest.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Americans United )
March 1, 2007... A public school district in Maryland has dropped plans to allow some of its high schools to hold graduation ceremonies in a Pentecostal church after concerns were raised by Americans United. Officials at the Montgomery County Public School...

Public university can defund biased religious group, AU contends.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Americans United vs. Hastings College of Law)
March 1, 2007... A public university has no obligation to fund a student group that discriminates on the basis of religion and sexual orientation, Americans United has told a federal appeals court. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the 9th U.S....

TV preacher Benny Hinn visits Capitol Hill for prayer with senators.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
March 1, 2007... Flamboyant TV preacher Benny Hinn made a foray into Washington, D.C., in late January, offering to meet with U.S. senators. Hinn, who has been criticized for his extravagant lifestyle and controversial claims of faith healing, was squired...

Bush summons religious right to bolster flagging support for Iraq war.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
March 1, 2007... With public support for the war in Iraq collapsing on all fronts, President George W. Bush called in perhaps his last reserve of allies recently: Religious Right leaders. Bush convened a meeting of religious conservatives at the White...

Sectarian 'Teen Ranch' has no right to tax funding, court rules.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Family Independence Agency )
March 1, 2007... An evangelical group in Michigan that runs a ranch for troubled young people has no right to demand tax funding of its program, a federal appeals court has ruled. The legal fracas centers on a facility called Teen Ranch, which had been one...

Pentecostal candidate seeks 'dominion' over Guatemala.
March 1, 2007... A Pentecostal preacher who says God speaks to him is seeking to be the next president of Guatemala. Harold Caballeros, founder and senior pastor of the 12,000-member El Shaddai Church in Guatemala City, recently announced his candidacy....

SBC official land attacks Carter and Clinton over new organization.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Southern Baptist Convention)
March 1, 2007... Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have announced a plan to forge several moderate Baptist bodies into a coalition that will serve as a counterweight to the right-wing Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Carter convened a...

Bodybuilder charges that Robertson threatened him over diet shake lawsuit.(Pat Robertson)
March 1, 2007... A body builder who had a falling-out with Pat Robertson over a soured business deal claims the TV preacher threatened him and his family during a confrontation in a courthouse. Phillip Busch insists that Robertson entered a room in the...

Correction.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Correction notice)
March 1, 2007... In our article "Sticker Shock," (February 2007 Church & State), Kathie Johnstone, former chairwoman of the Cobb County School Board, was inaccurately described as a loud supporter of the antievolution sticker. Johnstone did tell The Atlanta...

South Carolina council drops prayer, adds silence.(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A South Carolina county council has decided to dump its practice of opening its public meetings with sectarian prayers. In early February, the Oconee County Council voted 4-1 to begin its sessions with a moment of silence and discontinue...

William and Mary President orders removal of cross.(College of William and Mary)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... One of the nation's oldest public institutions of higher education is roiled in dispute over a display of a bronze cross in a campus building. Last fall, College of William and Mary President Gene Nichol ordered that the cross, which has...

Wisconsin school districts pull plug on 'Power Team'.(The Power Team)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Following a resident's protest, several Wisconsin public school districts have cancelled performances by an evangelical Christian body builders group. In late January, Jefferson County resident John Foust started contacting school district...

French government supports Church-State separation.(High Council on Integration asked for a plan to maintain secularism)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A French government panel has urged adoption of a charter ensuring the separation of government and religion in public hospitals and other institutions. Last fall, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin asked the High Council on...

Findlaw: a remarkable resource.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2007... Thank you for the article by Rob Boston on Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1, ("Everson At 60," January Church & State). I hope you will consider doing some further articles on important cases about separation of church and state. ...

Dobson v. the Founders.(James Dobson)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The January Church & State relates Dr. James Dobson's appearance on "Larry King Live" and Lauren Smith's refutation of his claim that the separation of church and state does not appear in the Constitution. ("FOF's Dobson Disses Church-State...

Religion and schools.
March 1, 2007... Should "in God We Trust" be displayed in public schools? Proponents sometimes maintain, "It's part of our history." The constitutional mandate for separation of church and state is a part of our history. How would an Islamic student respond...

The AU road show: from the Big Apple to the big chill.(PERSPECTIVE)(Americans United for Separation of Church and State)
March 1, 2007... One of the things I enjoy most about being the executive director of Americans United is the opportunity to do presentations at interesting events. I've written about doing stand-up comedy in Salt Lake City and speaking at the 2004 March for...