Church & State articles from November 2002

Church & State archives from November 2002

Pledge, national motto re-approved by U.S. House. (In The Capital).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to approve a measure "reaffirming" the lawmakers' support for religious references in the Pledge of Allegiance and national motto. On Oct. 7, the House voted 401-5 to pass S. 2690, which...

White House considers religious activist for FDA panel. (In The Capital).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The Bush administration indicated in October that it is prepared to nominate a controversial Kentucky doctor to head a Food and Drug Administration panel on women's health policy. The move to name W. David Hager, a University of Kentucky...

Court rules against commandments display in Kentucky. (Around The States).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... A federal appeals court has ruled that the state of Kentucky may not legally endorse the Ten Commandments with a monument on the Capitol grounds. On Oct. 9, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the First Amendment's separation...

Ohio Education Board strikes compromise on science. (Around The States).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... After months of intense political debate, the Ohio Board of Education announced Oct. 15 that it will adopt a new science curriculum that allows local school districts to teach evolutionary biology and about the alleged "controversy" surrounding...

Pat gets paid: TV preacher Robertson gets `faith-based' grant from Bush administration.
November 1, 2002... TV preacher Pat Robertson surprised virtually everyone last year when he criticized President George W. Bush's "faith-based" initiative. On the Feb. 20, 2001 episode of his nationally televised "700 Club" program, Robertson, one of the...

Report documents tragic consequences of Bush `faith-based' experiment in Texas. (Faith-Based Failure).
November 1, 2002... In 1996, when then-Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri successfully lobbied for so-called "charitable choice" provisions to be included in a landmark welfare reform bill, most of the nation saw no immediate change. The Clinton administration...

Protecting the pulpit: U.S. House soundly rejects Rep. Jones' church electioneering bill.
November 1, 2002... U.S. Rep. John Lewis worked beside Dr. Martin Luther King during the 1960s and knows that while King used lots of tactics to secure civil rights, there was one thing he didn't do: endorse candidates for public office from the pulpit. Thus,...

House of Worship Political Speech Protection Act vote.
November 1, 2002... HOUSE OF WORSHIP POLITICAL SPEECH PROTECTION ACT VOTE. On Oct. 2, the U.S. House voted 239-178 to defeat a bill sponsored by Rep. Walter B. Jones that would have allowed tax-exempt houses of worship to intervene in partisan political...

The Christian Coalition: born again? With help from a new TV preacher and a dose of old-time religion, Roberta Combs hopes to resurrect the Christian Coalition.
November 1, 2002... After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks last year, Christian Coalition President Roberta Combs was in a quandary about her organization's direction. "There was something missing," Combs said. "I was praying and asking God where we should go...

The Christian Coalition: undermining America. (Editorials).
November 1, 2002... Why are so many people troubled by the Christian Coalition? If you have asked yourself that question, the activities at the Coalition's "Road To Victory" (RTV) conference provide the answers. In the first place, the Coalition and its...

`Faith-based' fumble: grant to Robertson subsidizes bigotry. (Editorials).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... During the 2000 presidential campaign, a reporter asked George W. Bush if the Nation of Islam would be among the beneficiaries of "faith-based" funding. Bush demurred, insisting he had no intention of subsidizing those who "preach hate." ...

Falwell comments spark rioting in Indian state. (People & Events).
November 1, 2002... Thousands of Muslims in northern India rioted in the streets after word circulated that TV preacher Jerry Falwell had called the Prophet Muhammad a "terrorist" on American television. Falwell made the comments about the founder of Islam...

Georgia County approves policy to undermine science instruction. (People & Events).
November 1, 2002... The Cobb County, Ga., School Board has voted unanimously to approve a new policy that critics say is a religiously motivated effort to undermine the teaching of evolution. The board voted Sept. 26 to approve a policy stating in part,...

Religious right preacher plots demise of National Public Radio. (People & Events).
November 1, 2002... Fans of National Public Radio (NPR) in some parts of the country have been in for a shock lately: Instead of "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition," they're hearing invective from a Mississippi-based Religious Right activist. The...

Scandals won't mute church's political voice, bishop vows at Red Mass. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The Roman Catholic hierarchy will not let the ongoing scandal over child sexual abuse impair its ability to speak out on political issues, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops vowed during Washington, D.C.'s "Red Mass" Oct....

Vouchers fail to boost student achievement, says government report. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Students receiving privately funded vouchers to attend non-public schools do not show significant gains in academic performance, a new report from the federal government indicates. The General Accounting Office examined privately funded...

HHS drops plan for `faith-based' set-aside program in Zimbabwe. (People & Events).
November 1, 2002... Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have dropped plans to limit AIDS education funding in Zimbabwe to "faith-based" groups, after a protest from Americans United. The CDC in...

AU wraps up case against Ala. Ten Commandments judge. (People & Events).(Americans United)
November 1, 2002... AU Legal Director Ayesha Khan traveled to Alabama in mid October to spearhead Americans United's lawsuit against Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who last year arranged to have the Ten Commandments displayed at the state Judicial...

Mormon Church can't stop Main Street speech, court rules. (Around The States).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not have the right to curb free speech inside a Main Street Plaza that it now owns, a federal appeals court has ruled. Salt Lake City sold the downtown property to the church in 2000 for...

TV preacher Falwell to create `Christian' law school. (Around The States).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... TV preacher Jerry Falwell has announced plans to expand his Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., to include a law school for students "who have a desire to impact our nation and the world for our Savior." Founded by the controversial...

India's Supreme Court allows religion in public schools. (Around The World).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... A decision from India's Supreme Court will clear the way for increased religiosity in the nation's traditionally secular public schools. In a ruling issued Sept. 12, the court concluded that a new school curriculum that emphasizes...

More on `The Blaine Game'. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... While your account of the origins of the Massachusetts constitutional provision barring aid to religion ("The Blaine Game," September Church & State) is not wildly inaccurate, I am afraid you have been to a modest extent the victim of...

Vouchers and segregation. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... I wonder if all of us who are concerned about vouchers allowing tax dollars to be used by religious schools aren't missing a bigger concern this would generate. That bigger concern is school segregation. I seem to remember a time during the...

Islam and the schools. (Letters).(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2002... I'd rather take castor oil than support Religious Right activities. However, the Religious Right is correct in opposing the University of North Carolina's requiring students to read a book about the Koran. What if a state-supported school...

Memo to Pat and Jerry: thou shalt not bear false witness. (Perspective).
November 1, 2002... On several occasions TV preacher and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson has told the press that I seem to do little but follow his activities and complain about them. It makes me sound like a political stalker. Now I'll admit I take...