Church & State articles from November 2004

Church & State archives from November 2004

High court agrees to hear Commandments, prisoner cases.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to review three cases raising important religious liberty issues. On Oct. 12, the justices accepted two lawsuits dealing with government display of the Ten Commandments and a third case challenging a...

Supreme Court refuses Catholic charities case.(In The Capital)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a California court ruling that upheld a state law requiring religiously affiliated employers who provide prescription drug coverage to include birth control for women. On Oct. 4, the high court...

Archbishop takes swipe at church-state separation.(In The Capital)
November 1, 2004... Politicians who refuse to create laws reflecting church doctrine too often use the separation of church and state as an excuse, claimed Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley in an October sermon. Offering a homily at the Red Mass at the...

Los Angeles County removes cross from seal.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Seeking to avoid a First Amendment challenge, Los Angeles County (Calif.) lawmakers have unveiled a new county seal without a Christian cross and a pagan goddess. In early summer, the Los Angeles County Supervisors voted to remove a small...

Inside the Christian Coalition: religious right group finds Americans united obstacles blocking its 'Road to Victory'.(Cover Story)
November 1, 2004... Walter B. Jones was not in a good mood. The Republican House member from North Carolina laid out the reason for his dismay at a meeting of the Christian Coalition Sept. 24: The presidential election was just 39 days away, and, because of...

Naked power grab: Christian Coalition plots to strip federal courts of their authority to hear church-state cases.
November 1, 2004... Despite the Christian Coalition's best efforts, those pesky federal courts keep upholding the Bill of Rights and the separation of church and state. But not to worry, the group has a plan to fix that: take away the right of the courts to bear...

Partisan preachment: TV preacher Falwell pushes churches toward politics, but Americans United is fighting back.
November 1, 2004... Jerry Falwell Jr. may not be as bellicose as his televangelist father, but he still offers up some of the same warped understanding of the First Amendment. After researching what Thomas Jefferson really believed about the separation of...

Faith-based fall-out: Rev. Moon passes plate to American taxpayers.(Editorials)
November 1, 2004... The Rev. Sun Myung Moon was an early supporter of President George W. Bush's "faith-based" initiative. The founder of the controversial Unification Church gave the initiative an important boost in April of 2001, when the proposal was...

America's Legacy of Religious Liberty: pass it on!(Editorials)(Editorial)
November 1, 2004... A new poll of American attitudes toward church-state separation reveals some troubling data. The poll, conducted by a Virginia nonprofit, the Council for America's First Freedom, found that 49 percent of respondents believe that separation...

Religious right-backed marriage amendment fails in House vote.(People & Events)
November 1, 2004... Religious Right-led efforts to add a "Federal Marriage Amendment" (FMA) to the Constitution failed Sept. 30 when the House of Representatives was unable to muster the necessary two-thirds vote to approve the proposed revision. The...

Calif. missions bill passed by the Senate.(People & Events)
November 1, 2004... Legislation that would allocate $10 million in federal funds to repair and maintain mission churches in California passed the Senate Oct. 10. Meeting late on a Sunday night, the Senate approved the measure on a voice vote. If the House of...

'Commandments Judge' fails at high court, but testifies in Congress.(People & Events)
November 1, 2004... The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Alabama "Commandments Judge" Roy Moore's final attempt to get his job back. On Oct. 4, the justices returned from a summer recess and issued a long list of cases that they had decided not to hear. Among...

'Court-stripping' bill focused on pledge passes the U.S. House.(People & Events)
November 1, 2004... The House of Representatives in September passed legislation to strip the federal courts of their right to hear cases involving the Pledge of Allegiance. House conservatives engineered the 247-173 vote Sept. 23 as a sop to the Religious...

Jones attacks AU as 'evil,' pushes backdoor church politicking bill.(People & Events)(Americans United)
November 1, 2004... U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-N.C.) believes that people opposed to his bill that would legalize partisan politicking by houses of worship aren't just misguided or wrong--they're "evil." Jones made the comments during a Sept. 20 interview...

Americans divided over role of religion in politics, new poll says.(People & Events)
November 1, 2004... Reflecting a growing gulf between traditionalists and more moderate religious believers, Americans are increasingly divided over how faith and politics should interact, a new poll indicates. The 2004 National Survey of Religion and...

AU Okla. Chapter helps public schools support E Pluribus Unum.(People & Events)(Americans United )
November 1, 2004... When Oklahoma legislators passed a law encouraging display of America's national mottoes in public schools, members of the Oklahoma Chapter of Americans United decided to go on the offensive. Sooner State lawmakers passed House Bill 2477 in...

Liberals seek to ban Bible, says Republican election mailing.(People & Events)
November 1, 2004... In an effort to mobilize religious conservatives before the election, Republican Party officials mailed fliers to voters in Arkansas and West Virginia asserting that "liberals" seek to ban the Bible. The mailing included a picture of a...

Moon's flock benefits from 'faith-based' government funding.(People & Events)
November 1, 2004... Hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funds are going, to followers of the Rev. Sub Myung Moon through the "faith-based" initiative, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Oct. 3. Members of Moon's Unification Church have accepted the...

TV preacher uses ministry assets for high living, says Paper.(People & Events)
November 1, 2004... A California TV preacher whose network airs some of the most prominent figures on the Religious Right has been accused of using donations from supporters to finance a lavish lifestyle that includes 30 homes, fancy cars and a private jet. ...

S.C. prayer plaintiff faces wrath of community over lawsuit.(People & Events)
November 1, 2004... A South Carolina woman who filed a successful lawsuit challenging government-sponsored prayers in the town of Great Falls has become a target for harassment and intimidation. Darla Kaye Wynne, a Wiccan, filed suit challenging the Great...

Appeals court upholds Native American Medicine Wheel.(Around The States)
November 1, 2004... A federal appeals court ruled in September that a logging company did not have grounds to challenge government regulations preserving for religious purposes a site in Bighorn National Forest that is sacred to Native Americans. A...

Tennessee church fights state day care regulation.(Around The States)
November 1, 2004... A Baptist church near Nashville is fighting a state judge's orders to stop operating an unlicensed day care program. On Sept. 7, Chancery Court Judge Claudia Bonnyman found Pastor Harold Frelix Sr. and his Priest Lake Community Baptist...

Canadians protest Islam-based shariah courts.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Protestors gathered outside the Ontario legislature in September to oppose a proposal that would allow for the formation of Islamic shariah courts. A group called the International Campaign Against Shariah Courts in Canada (ICASC) has...

Turkey touts secular rule in EU bid.(Around The States)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... In an effort to bolster its bid for entry into the European Union, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has assured EU officials that his government would not move the country away from its secular traditions. Turkey has...

Seducing the church.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... The Republican Party wants churches to send their membership lists to state Republican campaign headquarters ("Partisan Use Of Church Directories Is A Problem, IRS Officials Say," People & Events, September Church & State). It's hard for...

Churches should respect the law.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... Congressman John Boozman (R-Ark.) says that we need to change the IRS ruling so that churches promoting political stands do not lose their tax-exempt status ("Church Service Or Campaign Commercial?" September Church & State). Change the...

Oversimplified Baptist history?(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... I believe that the statement in the July/August 2004 issue of Church & State (People & Events, "Southern Baptist Leaders Embrace Bush, Push 'Bible-Based' Voting") concerning the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention may be...

Theocracy in Texas.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... The public display of a Bible outside the Harris County (Texas) courthouse is theocratic ("Bible Lawsuit Sparks Death Threat Against Texas Attorney," AU Bulletin, October Church & State). Theocracy involves the excessive involvement of clergy...

One nation, under good.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... As a public high school science teacher in New York, I watched the Supreme Court Pledge of Allegiance issue with interest. Though I know there would have been a huge backlash from the Religious Right if the court upheld the 9th Circuit Court's...

'Aren't you Barry Lynn?': face to face with the Christian Coalition.(Perspective)
November 1, 2004... The Christian Coalition, the political group founded by TV preacher Pat Robertson, used to meet in Washington, D.C., every year. I never missed a meeting. These days the Coalition only gets together during election years. Instead of...