Church & State articles from March 2008

Church & State archives from March 2008

Grassley ratchets up mega-ministries investigation.(IN THE CAPITAL)(Charles E. Grassley )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A leading Republican senator has announced plans to request more financial information from several megaministries. Last November, U.S. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) sent letters to six large ministries requesting information on income...

Supreme Court rejects Muslim inmate's plea.(IN THE CAPITAL)(Abdus-Shahid M.S. Ali)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked a Muslim inmate from suing the federal government over the loss of religious items that were under the care of federal prison officials. In late January, the high court ruled 5-4 that the Federal Tort...

Judge nominee poses church-state problems, says AU.(IN THE CAPITAL)(Richard H. Honaker )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Americans United for Separation of Church and State has urged the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to reject a federal court nominee who holds extreme views on religious liberty. In early February, Americans United sent a letter to the...

Colorado 'faith-based' groups derail bias ban.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A Colorado bill barring "faith-based" job discrimination in state-funded social service programs has apparently been derailed after protests from conservative religious groups. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver, Focus on the Family...

Unholy hucksters: religious right activists used stucked voter guides and other dubious tactics to intervene in presidential race.
March 1, 2008... The Rev. Donald Wildmon was in full Mississippi growl, and Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn was the object of his wrath. "Let me make one thing clear to Rev. Lynn and his cohorts," said the American Family Association...

A taxing situation: IRS investigates 'imprecatory prayer' Pastor Wiley Drake for church electioneering.(Internal Revenue Service )
March 1, 2008... When Americans United for Separation of Church and State reported the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park to the Internal Revenue Service last August for electioneering, its flamboyant pastor was unrepentant. "I have never been...

'Faith-based' finale: President Bush trumpets aid to churches, church schools as administration moves into last year.(George W. Bush )
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] President George W. Bush doesn't have much use for the separation of church and state. In fact, he seems to see that venerable constitutional principle as an obstacle to his goals. Speaking at a "faith-based"...

Religious right about-face: activists Frank Schaeffer, John Whitehead and Cal Thomas have repudiated the theocratic movement they once led. Here's why.
March 1, 2008... Frank Schaeffer spent several years making a good living writing books promoting the Religious Right's worldview and speaking before rapturous crowds of fundamentalist Christians. Schaeffer, the son of evangelical guru Francis Schaeffer,...

'First freedom first' presents ... Americans United, TIAF simulcast brings celebrities and church-state heroes to movie theaters nationwide.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A well-worn Religious Right canard posits that the U.S. Constitution does not call for the separation of government and religion. Public officials, including some in Congress and the current occupant of the...

The Bush church-state legacy: why Congress should reject the latest 'faith-based' fiasco.(Editorial)
March 1, 2008... When the historians of the future assess the presidency of George W. Bush, they are likely to focus on the war in Iraq, the horrific attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the ongoing struggle with terrorism. Those are vitally important issues, of...

Novelist John Grisham says church politicking hurts baptist image.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
March 1, 2008... Best-selling author John Grisham has warned fellow Baptists that the church's reputation is harmed when it gets too close to partisan politics. Grisham, author of best-selling novels like The Firm, The Pelican Brief and The Appeal, is a...

States must not sponsor prison proselytism, AU tells Civil Rights Commission.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Americans United )
March 1, 2008... Government must refrain from sponsoring prison programs that promote religious conversion or coercion, Americans United for Separation of Church and State told the U.S. Civil Rights Commission last month. Alex J. Luchenitser, AU senior...

Vitter scores!: controversial Louisiana lawmaker earns perfect rating from FRC.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(David Vitter, Family Research Council )
March 1, 2008... U.S. Sen. David Vitter's fondness for prostitutes hasn't stopped him from winning a 100 percent approval rating from a leading "pro-family" Religious Right group. The Louisiana Republican was one of 29 U.S. senators designated "True Blue"...

Religious Right groups promote 'Christian nation' proclamation in Congress.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
March 1, 2008... A collection of Religious Right groups is urging Congress to pass an "American Religious History Week" resolution that critics say is a cover for inaccurate "Christian nation" views. U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) introduced H. Res. 888 in...

Florida adopts science standards that teach 'theory of evolution'.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
March 1, 2008... The Florida State Board of Education has adopted new science standards that for the first time mandate the teaching of evolution in public schools. By a 4-3 vote Feb. 19, the board approved standards that include study of "the scientific...

Frustrated over their inability.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Frustrated over their inability to get articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, a band of "young-Earth" creationists has decided to start its own journal. Answers in Genesis, a fundamentalist Christian ministry based in...

Mega-ministry Osteen says politicians, but not politics, are welcome at his church.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Joel Osteen )
March 1, 2008... Popular preacher and best-selling author Joel Osteen says political leaders are welcome to attend his church--but they shouldn't expect access to the pulpit. Osteen leads the 47,000-member Lakewood Church in Houston and has penned several...

A coalition of Catholic and Protestant scholars.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... * A coalition of Catholic and Protestant scholars, pastors and social justice leaders came together recently to oppose the spread of divisive religions rhetoric in the presidential campaign, saying it diverts attention from more pressing...

North Carolina sheriff agrees to stop display of 'Jesus' sign in patrol car.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(BJ Barnes )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A Guilford County, N.C., deputy sheriff has been barred from displaying a sign reading "Jesus is our savior" in the back of his patrol car. The display came to light in November after a local resident, M. Reza Salami, was pulled over at a...

Airing of evangelistic film at Alabama public school sparks AU complaint.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Facing the Giants, Americans United)
March 1, 2008... Officials with the Tuscaloosa, Ala., public school system have agreed to temporarily stop showing a church-produced evangelistic movie to students after receiving a legal complaint from Americans United for Separation of Church and State. ...

Kansas Religious Right leader shuts down controversial for-profits.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Jerry Johnston)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... An aspiring Religious Right leader in Kansas has shuttered two controversial for-profit companies in the wake of complaints of financial improprieties. Jerry Johnston, founder of First Family Church, dissolved two companies that promote...

Americans United opposes Va. religion-in-schools bill.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Virginia lawmakers have scaled back a bill that raised serious concerns about church-state separation in public schools. In late January, Americans United urged the Virginia House of Delegates' Subcommittee on Teachers and Administration...

Anti-gay parents can't ban books, says court.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A federal appeals court has rejected parents' claims that their religious liberty rights were violated by the use of books referencing homosexuality in the Massachusetts public schools. A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of...

Jeb Bush pushes Florida school vouchers.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has kept up an intense push for a statewide private school voucher program. Bush, according to Florida newspapers, has set up two foundations devoted to promoting his education goals, which prominently...

Journalist's death sentence sought in Afghanistan.(AROUND THE WORLD)
March 1, 2008... Religious leaders are rallying around a death sentence placed on a journalist in Afghanistan for allegedly blaspheming Islam. The Associated Press reported in early February that more than 100 tribal and religious leaders gathered in the...

Of death and taxes: Pastor Drake's partisan politicking and 'imprecatory prayers' leave me cold.(PERSPECTIVE)(Wiley Drake)
March 1, 2008... Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park in California, and I go back a long way. He first took an interest in me when I criticized the highly partisan content and style of Christian Coalition voter guides back in 1998...