Church & State articles from November 2008

Church & State archives from November 2008

Supreme Court skips juror Bible reading dispute.(IN THE CAPITAL)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case that would determine whether jurors may read aloud from the Bible during deliberations. A Texas death-row inmate, Jimmie Urbano Lucero, asked the justices for a new sentencing hearing,...

AU protests commandments in Tennessee courthouse.(AROUND THE STATES)(Americans United for Separation of Church and State)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... A Ten Commandments display in a Tennessee courthouse should be removed, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The Commandments plaque in the Johnson County Courthouse is displayed alone and was installed within...

Texas school board members push Bible curriculum.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Some Texas Board of Education members want public schools to teach a Bible curriculum that has already been ruled unconstitutional by a federal court. Four members are pushing a curriculum drafted by the North Carolina-based National...

Christian concert in Florida received public funding.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... More than $5,000 in Florida tax money went to sponsor a Christian concert, according to a report by The St. Petersburg Times. Hernando County's tourism bureau footed the bill for the Christian concert, which was part of Freedom Fest, a...

Pulpit plot thickens: Americans United files seven complaints with the IRS, after churches endorse political candidates in religious right election scheme.(McCain Palin)
November 1, 2008... Philadelphia residents attending services at Calvary Chapel on the King's Highway Sept. 28 heard the Rev. Francis Pultro make an unusual claim: their standing as Christians depends on how they vote in November. "As Christians, it's clear...

The forgotten founder: why 'Puritan Deviant' preacher Roger Williams deserves a bigger place in American history.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] James Calvin Davis, associate professor of religion at Middlebury College in Vermont, has edited a new collection of the writings of 17th-century religious liberty pioneer Roger Williams. The book, On Religious...

Deal or no deal? District of Columbia land swap with 'faith-based' mission hurts homeless and violates constitution, says AU lawsuit.(Americans United for Separation of Church and State)
November 1, 2008... During his three months at Central Union Mission, Roy Crabtree wanted to have a bed every night. He wanted to have three meals a day. And he wanted to be able to use the elevator to carry all his belongings up four flights of stairs. But...

Now that the votes are in: church-state separation in the new administration.(Editorial)
November 1, 2008... As you read these words, either Barack Obama or John McCain is preparing to assume office as the next president of the United States. This editorial was written prior to the election, so we were uncertain of the outcome when it was drafted....

Dobson endorses McCain as religious right rallies to help Republican ticket.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(James C. Dobson, John McCain)
November 1, 2008... Focus on the Family Chairman James C. Dobson reversed himself last month and publicly endorsed Republican presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on the air. Dobson had previously said he would never support McCain, but he...

Controversy erupts over non-sectarian prayer policy for Va. police chaplains.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Virginia)
November 1, 2008... A flap over government-sponsored prayer has erupted in Virginia, where six state police chaplains have resigned over new regulations that require them to use non-denominational prayers at public events. W. Steven Flaherty, superintendent of...

Texas scientists rally to defend sound biology curriculum in classrooms.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(21st Century Science Coalition)
November 1, 2008... Scientists in Texas are organizing to protect the state's biology education from a Religious Right assault. The Texas Board of Education is currently considering a new science curriculum, and instruction about evolution is under the gun....

Proposed federal health regs could jeopardize patient care, says AU.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Americans United for Separation of Church and State)
November 1, 2008... Proposed federal regulations that purport to protect the religious liberty of doctors and other medical workers could jeopardize the health care rights of patients, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State. ...

Religious Right assails Capitol Visitors Center as '$600 million godless pit'.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
November 1, 2008... Religious Right activists and their political allies are attacking the new visitors' center at the Capitol Building in Washington, asserting that it ignores the role Christianity played in American history. The center, due to open Dec. 2,...

TV preacher Pat Robertson predicts Middle Eastern war and nuclear attacks on U.S.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(television)
November 1, 2008... TV preacher Pat Robertson is back with a new set of predictions, this time asserting that a huge war in the Middle East is imminent that could spark nuclear attacks on American East Coast cities. "In a letter on his Web site,...

Bush administration calls for massive public bailout of inner-city Catholic schools.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(George W. Bush)
November 1, 2008... Americans United has criticized the Bush administration for issuing a report calling for massive new forms of tax funding for inner-city religious schools. The 164-page report, "Preserving a Critical National Asset: America's Disadvantaged...

S.C. football coaches push players to convert at evangelical training camp.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(South Carolina)
November 1, 2008... Some public high school football coaches in South Carolina are reportedly pressuring players to convert to fundamentalist Christianity. "We end every practice with the Lord's Prayer," Assistant Coach Bucky Davis of Hemingway High School in...

D.C. 'Red Mass' skips politics as high court majority fills pews.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)(Washington, D.C.)
November 1, 2008... A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court chose to attend this year's "Red Mass" in Washington, D.C., but the event turned out to be less political than in years past. The annual event at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle is timed to...

New York community debates yoga in public school.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Parents at an upstate New York public school are worked up over a new yoga program being developed by the school board. The Massena School District Board of Education put the yoga program on hold after receiving complaints from parents that...

Utah ethics committee investigates voucher bribe.(AROUND THE STATES)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... A Utah House ethics committee is investigating charges that a state legislator tried to bribe a colleague into supporting school vouchers. Rep. Susan Lawrence claims Rep. Greg Hughes offered her as much as $50,000 in campaign donations if...

Minnesota preacher fights IRS investigation.(AROUND THE STATES)(Mac Hammond, Internal Revenue Service)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... A Minnesota prosperity preacher is fighting an Internal Revenue Service investigation into his ministry's finances, claiming the investigation is "politically motivated." The Rev. Mac Hammond is pastor of one of Minnesota's largest...

Holy See rejects ambassadors from France.(AROUND THE WORLD)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... France has apparently withdrawn its nomination of an openly gay man as ambassador to the Holy See after Vatican objections. So far, according to press accounts, the Vatican has disapproved of all of France's proposed candidates for the job....

It's Real Simple: federal tax law forbids churches to endorse political candidates.(PERSPECTIVE)
November 1, 2008... As I was checking out at the grocery store the other night, I spotted a magazine called Real Simple, a publication with the subhead "life made easier." What struck me was that it was 276 pages long. Perhaps it is just me, but life would...