Church & State articles from May 2003

Church & State archives from May 2003

Americans United vows to fight Istook prayer amendment. (In the Capital).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... U.S. Rep. Ernest J. Istook's latest attempt to add a school prayer amendment to the Constitution deserves a speedy defeat in Congress, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State. On April 9, Istook introduced his "Pledge and...

Court upholds voucher aid to 'faith-based' group. (Around the States).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... A federal appeals court has upheld a voucher-style program that allows ex-offenders to choose "faith-based" rehabilitation programs. On April 2, a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that Wisconsin could...

Utah court upholds atheist's prayer before council meetings. (Around the States).
May 1, 2003... The Utah Supreme Court ruled in early April that a city council violated the state's constitution when it prevented an atheist's invocation before one of its meetings. The struggle between Murray, a suburb of Salt Lake City, and Tom Snyder...

Paige's religious preference: education secretary's promotion of christian schooling gets bad grades from civil liberties boosters.
May 1, 2003... When it comes to education, Rod Paige, the nation's top school official, has some definite preferences. Schools that infuse Christian teaching into their courses, he thinks, are preferable to tried-and-true public school curricula. In an...

Memo to Secretary Paige: keep church and state separate.
May 1, 2003... Newspapers around the country ran editorials in April expressing concern over Education Secretary Rod Paige comments about religion in public schools. Here is a sampling. Mend Fences Or Step Down "The secretary of education needs...

War of the worldviews: Family Research Council, Washington allies fight for religious right agenda in nation's capital.
May 1, 2003... To Gary Bauer, the United States is in the midst of two great conflicts. One is the fight against international terrorism. The other is a culture clash over "the meaning of America." Addressing the Family Research Council's Washington...

Faith-based victory! Senate approves scaled-back CARE Act without controversial church-state provisions--but other fights remain.
May 1, 2003... U.S. Senator Rick Santorum had reached the end of his rope. For more than three years, Santorum has been promoting legislation that would give taxpayer money to "faith-based" organizations so they can run social services. Despite procedural...

Voucher venom: don't buy snake oil from Doctor Friedman.
May 1, 2003... Why does anyone listen to Milton Friedman? To hear opponents of public education talk, you would think Friedman was some kind of economic genius. In fact, his views are far outside the mainstream and, when actually implemented 20 years ago,...

'Ten Commandments judge' must remove monument, AU tells court. (People & Events).
May 1, 2003... Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore does not have a constitutional right to display the Ten Commandments in the state Judicial Building, Americans United has told a federal appeals court. In a legal brief filed April 14, attorneys...

Military should rein in baptizing chaplain in Iraq, Americans United urges. (People & Events).
May 1, 2003... U.S. military officials should order a chaplain in Iraq to stop offering soldiers a cool dip in the baptismal pool and other treats in exchange for religious commitments, Americans United advised Army officials last month. Americans United...

Gay Arkansas student forced to read bible at public school. (People & Events).
May 1, 2003... A gay junior high school student in Arkansas says he was subjected to a barrage of fundamentalist Christian preaching from teachers and administrators after they learned about his homosexuality. Thomas McLaughlin, 14, said an assistant...

Sun Myung Moon forms new political party to merge divided Koreas. (People & Events).
May 1, 2003... Controversial evangelist and media mogul Sun Myung Moon has formed a new political party in South Korea that hopes to reunify the divided nation. Officials with Moon's Unification Church held a mass rally of 2,000 in Seoul March 10 to...

AU scores victory in Kansas U. flap over basketball program. (People & Events).
May 1, 2003... Responding to concerns raised by Americans United, officials at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan., have promised to respect church-state separation in the operation of the women's basketball program. Attorneys with Americans...

Houses passes measure calling for day of prayer and fasting. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The House of Representatives has passed a resolution calling on President George W. Bush to issue a proclamation declaring a day of prayer and fasting to support the war in Iraq. The resolution passed 346-49 March 27. It calls on Bush to...

Public schools do not have to help evangelists, AU tells appeals court. (People & Events).
May 1, 2003... Public schools have no legal obligation to help an evangelical Christian group recruit children for religious instruction programs, Americans United has advised a federal appeals court. Americans United and allied groups filed a joint...

Vouchers failed to boost achievement by black students in N.Y., study says. (People & Events).
May 1, 2003... A researcher at Princeton University has concluded that African-American children in New York City who received vouchers through a privately funded program did not receive academic gains. The report by Alan B. Krueger, a professor of...

Army should not assist baptist outreach effort, says Americans United. (People & Events).
May 1, 2003... Americans United has warned officials with the U.S. Army not to promote a Southern Baptist evangelism program. In an April 4 letter to Secretary of the Army Thomas E. White, Americans United protested Major General William G. Boykin's...

Private education voucher program wins approval in Colorado. (People & Events).
May 1, 2003... Colorado has become the first state to approve a voucher program since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of "indirect" tax aid to religious schools last year. The measure cleared the Colorado House of Representatives in...

Robertson law group buys building next to Supreme Court. (People & Events).
May 1, 2003... TV preacher Pat Robertson's legal arm, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is moving to Washington, D.C., into offices across the street from the Supreme Court. According to a report in Legal Times, the ACLJ paid $5 million for...

Bishops seek to withhold internal documents. (AU Bulletin).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Roman Catholic archdioceses in Boston and Los Angeles have argued before courts that the First Amendment protects them from having to reveal church documents dealing with investigations into priests accused of sexual abuse. In early April,...

Okla. city limits youth sports during church times. (AU Bulletin).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... After an appeal by the local ministerial alliance, the Mustang, Okla., city council has taken steps to limit youth sports activities at public parks during church time. The Rev. Kevin Kellogg and clergy from 11 other congregations had...

Dispute over church politicking roils Philippines. (Around The World).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... A political party in Manila has sued a Roman Catholic archbishop and four other religious leaders for allegedly urging their followers to vote for certain candidates for public office. In mid March, Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin answered...

Haiti sanctions voodoo as recognized religion. (Around The World).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The government of Haiti has allowed voodoo as an officially sanctioned religion, but followers say it will take more than a government decree to unravel years of misunderstanding and persecution. According to the Religion News Service,...

Remedial civics: did Bennett and Paige skip diversity class? (Perspective).(William Bennett, Rod Paige)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Imagine my surprise! After returning from a Palm Sunday communion service in Washington, I opened my Washington Post to find that ex-Secretary of Education William Bennett had excoriated me in an op-ed as one of the leaders of "crusading...