Church & State articles from May 2004

Church & State archives from May 2004

'Commandments judge' pushes court-stripping bill.(In The Capital)
May 1, 2004... Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is seeking congressional help to overturn federal court decisions that ban government-sponsored display of the Ten Commandments and other official acknowledgments of religion. On his website...

Minnesota churches shoot down gun law.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... A Minnesota court has ruled that a portion of the state's recently enacted "conceal and carry" gun law violates the religious liberty rights of houses of worship. Hennepin County District Judge Marilyn Brown Rosenbaum ruled March 16 that...

Illinois public officials apologize to Mormons.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The state of Illinois has formally apologized for its treatment of the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and thousands of its followers who were forced from the state more than 100 years ago. In April,...

'Under God' at the high court: pledge plaintiff Newdow argues well, but the justices seem unreceptive.
May 1, 2004... The profile of Michael A. Newdow that ran in the Los Angeles Times March 23 could not be called flattering. Newdow, a Sacramento emergency-room physician, was slated the next day to argue a key church-state case before the U.S. Supreme...

Republican revival: when a PAC held a partisan rally and fund-raiser at a Texas Church, an Austin student blew the whistle.
May 1, 2004... When William Pate went to the rally at Westover Hills Church of Christ in Austin, Texas, he was expecting a heady mixture of religion and politics. After all, the "Call to Victory" event was advertised as a way to get involved in "the civil war...

Congress and court-stripping: just keep your shirts on.(Editorial)(Editorial)
May 1, 2004... Some ideas put forth by the Religious Right and its allies in Congress are so breathtakingly wrong-beaded that it is difficult to know where to begin criticizing them. Consider "court stripping," for example. For years it has been an...

'Faith-based' initiative undercuts constitution, Lynn tells house panel.(People & Events)
May 1, 2004... President George W. Bush's "faith-based" initiative threatens the constitutional separation of church and state by ushering in a new era of government-supported religion, Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn told a congressional...

Dobson Declares war for marriage amendment.(People & Events)
May 1, 2004... Focus on the Family leader James C. Dobson is working hard to mobilize the Religious Right's grassroots troops to win approval for a federal marriage amendment. Last month, Dobson traveled to Clackamas, Ore., where he used battlefield...

Sun Myung Moon crowned 'King of America' at U.S. Senate Building.(People & Events)
May 1, 2004... Controversial Korean evangelist and self-declared messiah Sun Myung Moon received a "Crown of Peace" at a March 23 ceremony that took place at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., and was promoted by members of Congress. ...

Bush, Kerry Spar over use of religion in presidential race.(People & Events)
May 1, 2004... A staffer with President George W. Bush's reelection campaign has accused likely Democratic nominee John F. Kerry of exploiting scripture after Kerry used a Bible verse to criticize Bush policies. Kerry, speaking at New Northside Missionary...

AU seeks info about anti-evolution drives in Ohio And Montana.(People & Events)
May 1, 2004... Americans United has filed freedom-of-information requests with education officials in Ohio and Montana to obtain detailed information about recent decisions to water down the teaching of evolution. In Ohio, AU is investigating the...

Roy Moore allies seek greater voice in Ala. GOP politics.(People & Events)
May 1, 2004... An organization formed by supporters of ousted Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is seeking to take over the state's Republican Party. The League of Christian Voters, formed by Montgomery attorney Jim Zeigler, has endorsed a...

Va. law firm seeks payment from Christian Coalition for unpaid bills.(People & Events)
May 1, 2004... A Virginia Beach, Va., law firm has asked a state court to order the Christian Coalition to pay an overdue bill and garnishee the group's assets if necessary. Attorneys at the firm of Huff, Poole and Mahoney filed a request asking for...

Religious Right Groups seek tax funding for overseas AIDS programs.(People & Events)
May 1, 2004... Angry Religious Right groups are pressing the White House to increase federal funding for evangelical Christian groups that say they want to fight the spread of AIDS overseas through abstinence-based programs. Congress appropriated $2.4...

Postmaster cuts stamp for colonial preacher.(People & Events)
May 1, 2004... Don't look for a postage stamp featuring colonial-era preacher Jonathan Edwards anytime soon. Postal officials apparently had plans to release a stamp honoring Edwards in 2003, the 300th anniversary of his birth. Linn's Stamp News reported...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2004... A story in April's Church & State about the controversy over the film "The Passion of the Christ" contained two errors. The story referred to the film's director, Mel Gibson, as an Australian actor. Gibson was born in Peekskill, N.Y., in 1956,...

Church-State separation--it's nothing to sneeze at.(Viewpoint)
May 1, 2004... Recently I received this story by e-mail: They walked in tandem, each of the 93 students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt. Dads...

Religious references in N.C. court spark controversy.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Under pressure from local religious conservatives, a state judge has withdrawn his request that references to God be removed from his court sessions in four North Carolina counties. District Court Judge James M. Honeycutt wrote to county...

Detroit police turn to prayer after crime wave.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Detroit's mayor has asked citizens to call "on the power of God" to help combat a city surge in homicides and violent crime. On April 5, the police department conducted an hour-long prayer session at each of its 13 precincts. Detroit Mayor...

Japanese court rules against leader's shrine visits.(Around The World)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Japanese prime minister's yearly visits to a shrine in honor of the millions who died during World War II, including war criminals, violates the nation's constitution, a Japanese court has ruled. Judge Kiyonaga Kamegawa ruled April 7...

Moscow court bans Jehovah's Witnesses.(Around The World)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... A Moscow court has barred Jehovah's Witnesses from the Russian capital on grounds that their religious beliefs are harmful to families and incite hatred. Christian Presber, a spokesman for the Witnesses, told The New York Times that the...

God and public discourse.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... In December 2003, Church & State printed an article by Erwin Chemerinsky opposing the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance ("One Nation Under The Constitution," December 2003 Church & State). AU seems to be supporting that position. As...

Chief justice Pat Robertson?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... I am deeply troubled by the talk of amending the U.S. Constitution to prohibit marriages between members of the same sex, require that our school children pledge allegiance to "one nation under God" and other issues that the Religious Right is...

Unwise and unnecessary.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... The nationwide hoorah occasioned by the issue of same-sex marriage certainly is cause for concern on the part of every citizen. From the very early days of our attendance in school, if not sooner, we all learned that in our democracy "the...

Supreme Court drama: Mr. Newdow goes to Washington--and wows 'em.(Perspective)
May 1, 2004... I'm not one of those late-night, Washington, D.C., party animals. Nevertheless, I am also not what you might call a "morning person." Before 7 a.m., it's best not to ask me questions requiring more than one-word answers. So, what was I doing on...