Church & State articles from November 2003

Church & State archives from November 2003

Supreme court takes flag pledge case.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a federal court decision barring school-sponsored recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance because of its religious language. On Oct. 14, the high court announced that it will hear arguments in a...

D.C. school voucher measure stalls in senate.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A proposed religious school voucher law for the District of Columbia became mired in Senate debate toward the end of September. The proposal, backed by the Bush administration, is included in the District's 2004 budget and would set aside $13...

Military academy prayer bill introduced.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Right-wing House members have introduced a bill supporting dinnertime prayer at U.S. military academies. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), a frequent advocate of Religious Right causes, is leading the effort to ensure that a federal appeals court...

Georgia governor seeks church-state repeal.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Georgia's governor is pushing for an amendment to the state's constitution to allow for government funding of religion. For more than a century, Georgia's Constitution has barred "direct or indirect" state funding of any religious...

Devious design: in Texas and other states, the discovery institute and its allies are trying to sneak religion into public school science classes.
November 1, 2003... Texas resident Eddy Parker is not eager for children to learn about evolution in the state's public schools. Charles Darwin's famous theory, he told the Texas Board of Education in September, teaches youngsters that they are no better than...

Wrecking crew: using executive orders, the Bush administration seeks to 'knock down the wall' blocking federal funding of church social programs.
November 1, 2003... With the 2004 general election approaching and his standing in public opinion polls diminishing, President George W. Bush took aggressive actions in September to please an important constituency by advancing his much touted "faith-based"...

Traveling circus: Alabama's Roy Moore urges supreme court to take ten commandments case, as boosters take decalogue show on the road.
November 1, 2003... Some people just don't know when to give up. Although they've been rebuffed by two federal courts, attorneys for Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, the by-now notorious "Ten Commandments judge," tried again in September, filing...

Design for confusion: the religious right's 'new creationism'.(Editorials)
November 1, 2003... Efforts by Religious Right groups to force the teaching of creationism into the public schools have been struck down by the courts, but that doesn't mean they are giving up. Every few years they rename creationism and trot it out for public...

Nuke the State dept.?: Robertson drops a bomb.(Editorials)
November 1, 2003... TV preacher Pat Robertson is no fan of the U.S. State Department. Recently, he said the State Department, which is often informally called "Foggy Bottom" after the Washington neighborhood where it is located, deserves to have a nuclear bomb...

Robertson suggests lobbing nuclear bomb at U.S. State Department.(People & Events)
November 1, 2003... TV preacher Pat Robertson drew widespread criticism in October for suggesting that the headquarters of the U.S. State Department should be destroyed with a nuclear device. Robertson, a longtime foe of the State Department, made the...

General on religious crusade should be fired, AU tells Rumsfeld.(People & Events)
November 1, 2003... Americans United has called on Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to fire a top-ranking Pentagon official who has repeatedly told evangelical Christian audiences that the U.S. struggle against terrorism is a religious conflict against Satan....

Dobson announces plans to get more involved in partisan politics.(People & Events)
November 1, 2003... Radio counselor and Religious Right activist James C. Dobson is increasingly dropping his facade of non-partisanship. Dobson announced in October that he is considering taking a leave of absence from Focus on the Family, the large,...

House passes scaled-down bill to encourage charitable giving.(People & Events)
November 1, 2003... The House of Representatives in September passed legislation designed to boost charitable giving, modestly advancing President George W. Bush's "faith-based" initiative in Congress. The bill is a far cry from what Bush originally wanted. It...

Church politicking in Calif. recall sparks AU complaint to IRS.(People & Events)
November 1, 2003... A Los Angeles church hosted a political rally for Gov. Gray Davis during Sept. 14 services, sparking an official complaint to the Internal Revenue Service from Americans United. Several newspapers reported Sept. 15 that former President...

Moon seeks formation of new religious body at United Nations.(People & Events)
November 1, 2003... Controversial Korean evangelist and right-wing political operative Sun Myung Moon is pressing for the creation of a new body at the United Nations that would deal with religious affairs. The Moon-owned Washington Times newspaper reported...

Texas school drops religious service after AU complaint.(People & Events)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Officials at a public school in Texas have agreed to drop sponsorship of a religious service for graduating seniors after Americans United warned them that the practice is unconstitutional. Attorneys with Americans United contacted the...

Sekulow lawyer battles family of deceased 'donor'.(People & Events)
November 1, 2003... A West Virginia man says he received an intimidating letter from an attorney after he questioned the fund-raising practices of TV preacher Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). Ron Rissler of Charles Town, W. Va., told...

Government should help religion, Cardinal tells attendees at 'Red Mass'.(People & Events)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Government should "protect and support" religion in order to increase "civic virtue," Roman Catholic Cardinal Avery Dulles told attendees at Washington, D.C.'s annual "Red Mass" Oct. 5. "The government cannot establish in this country any...

Display commandments, but not Koran verses, Americans tell Pollsters.(People & Events)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A majority of Americans believe government should be able to display the Ten Commandments but would not extend that right to displays involving passages from the Koran, a new poll indicates. The survey, taken by CNN and Gallup in...

Gay marriage may be religious right's 'wedge' issue in 2004 elections.(People & Events)
November 1, 2003... Religious Right groups, eager to find a divisive social issue to exploit during the 2004 elections, believe the Supreme Court has handed them one: gay marriage. Several groups are urging President George W. Bush to step up his opposition...

Marquette extracts mass from publicly funded dental school.(AU Bulletin)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A weekly Roman Catholic mass at a Wisconsin university's dental school was stopped after the school's attorneys suggested the tradition could prompt a lawsuit on church-state grounds. In late August, lawyers for Marquette University...

Illinois city chaplaincy draws AU complaint.(AU Bulletin)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Americans United has called on an Illinois city council to end a chaplaincy program because of its negative implications for church-state separation. In mid September, AU's legal department sent a letter to the Harvey, Ill., mayor warning...

Colorado official touts religious jury nullification.(AU Bulletin)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A county treasurer in Colorado has drawn criticism for issuing booklets for jurors laced with religious proclamations and platitudes. The booklet, called "Citizens Rule Book," was the creation of Jefferson County Treasurer Mark Paschall....

Vatican lobbies for Christianity in EU constitution.(Around the World)
November 1, 2003... The Vatican continues to push for a mention of Christianity in the European Union's constitution. As the EU nears the end of its work on its first constitution, Pope John Paul II stepped up lobbying efforts to include a reference alluding...

A pat on the back.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... I just received my latest issue of Church & State and read Barry Lynn's "Perspective" ("The Alabama Debate: From 'Shout Shows' To Comedy Central," October 2003 Church & State). I thought I would neutralize at least one of those 2,000 negative...

Kudos for Americans united.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... In a small attempt to offset all the negative e-mails you get, here's mine: I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! STAY THE COURSE!! Don't ever back down in your mission. I know how wearing that can be. I've escorted women into a Planned Parenthood clinic for...

Moore deserved censure.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... The Ten Commandments monument was rightly removed from display in the Alabama judicial building ("Monumental Move," October 2003 Church & State). I will concede that there are many practices in our society inconsistent with the separation of...

Montgomery survived.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2003... I am writing this on Wednesday, October 8, 2003. It has been six weeks since the Ten Commandments monument was removed from display at the Montgomery, Ala., courthouse. Since, in that time, I haven't seen any news items from there, I must...

Advice and consent: Scalia says yes, but Rummy is reluctant.(Perspective)
November 1, 2003... Like most people, I like to give advice. Sometimes it is even unsolicited. Since my wife and I are now official "empty nesters," I have fewer opportunities to give such advice to members of the immediate family. Therefore, I have expanded my...