Church & State articles from October 2003

Church & State archives from October 2003

D.C. school voucher bill advances in Congress.(In the Capital)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... A congressional proposal to provide taxpayer funding to religious schools in Washington, D.C., moved closer to reality in early September. Following a heated debate Sept. 9, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a federally funded...

More Americans oppose school vouchers, says Gallup poll.(In the Capital)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... A majority of Americans are opposed to school vouchers and would not want their state lawmakers to adopt them, according to the latest Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll released in August. The survey showed that the number of Americans opposing...

Sectarian council prayers struck down in South Carolina.(Around the States)
October 1, 2003... A federal judge in late August ordered a South Carolina town council to discontinue pre-meeting prayers that include references to Jesus Christ or other deities associated with specific faiths. The American Civil Liberties Union of South...

VMI prayer case may go to high court.(Around the States)(Virginia Military Institute )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore announced in August that he plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a federal appeals court decision barring supper prayers at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). The attorney general's...

Marriage proposal: religious right, political allies launch crusade to alter constitution.
October 1, 2003... The Rev. Jerry Falwell is on the warpath again. Promoting a petition drive on behalf of a Federal Marriage Amendment, Falwell has lately and loudly started proclaiming that the efforts of gay Americans to achieve equality under the law are...

Alliance for Marriage employs divisive rhetoric in campaign to change U.S. constitution.(Uncivil Union)
October 1, 2003... The leading force behind the drive for a Federal Marriage Amendment is a relatively new organization based in Alexandria, Va., which likes to boast that it represents "millions of Americans, of every color and creed, who share a commitment to...

Monumental move: Alabama officials remove Chief Justice Roy Moore's Ten Commandments monument from display in judicial building.
October 1, 2003... Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore didn't hesitate to talk tough: Anyone attempting to remove his two-and-a-half-ton Ten Commandments monument from the Judicial Building in Montgomery, he said, would have to go through him. "If...

Rallying 'round the rock: Religious Right leaders use Alabama Commandments monument as touchstone for organizing.
October 1, 2003... Religious broadcaster James C. Dobson is no fan of the federal judiciary these days. Federal judges, the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based radio counselor said recently, are "an unelected, non-accountable, arrogant, imperialistic judiciary...

The Decalogue and the demagogue: lessons from Alabama.(Editorial)
October 1, 2003... Now that the media circus created by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and his Ten Commandments display has died down, it's a good time to step back and debunk some oft-repeated Religious Right assertions about this case: *...

Religious right groups seek greater voice in national politics.(People & Events)
October 1, 2003... At first glance, these would seem to be heady days for Religious Right strategists. Their candidate, George W. Bush, was elected president in 2000. Religious conservatives dominate the GOP leadership in the House and Senate. But for some...

New Mexico rejects effort to add creationism to science standards.(People & Events)
October 1, 2003... New Mexico's Board of Education has voted unanimously to retain science standards that emphasize evolution and do not mention creationism or "intelligent design." The board had been under pressure by intelligent-design proponents to...

Members of Congress promote measures to protect commandments.(People & Events)
October 1, 2003... Members of Congress are promoting bills that would strip the federal courts of their ability to hear cases challenging the display of the Ten Commandments on government property. Angered over a recent federal court ruling that required the...

Ventura city council agrees to sell cross display in park.(People & Events)
October 1, 2003... Responding to concerns raised by Americans United, the city council of Ventura, Calif., has voted 5-2 to sell a parcel of land in a public park that contains a 24-foot cross. Start Kohls, an Americans United member in the area, first raised...

Murderer of abortion doctor expects 'great reward' in heaven.(People & Events)
October 1, 2003... Paul Hill, the first man in America to receive the death penalty for murdering an abortion doctor, told reporters during a final interview from death row that he has no regrets and that he expects a "great reward" in heaven. Hill in 1994...

Bush policies on church-state issues blasted at R.I. event.(People & Events)(George W. Bush)
October 1, 2003... State and federal lawmakers blasted President George W. Bush's policies on church-state separation during an Aug. 17 event at historic Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I. The legislators had gathered for the annum reading of George...

U.S. Presidents endorse Sun Myung Moon from 'spirit world'.(People & Events)
October 1, 2003... During their lifetimes, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison opposed theocratic government, arguing frequently that union of church and state crushes religious liberty. But in death, the two men have apparently had a change of heart--at least...

The Eleven Commandments?: Why Roy Moore's version doesn't add up.(Viewpoint)(Column)
October 1, 2003... There's little with the Ten Co. Commandments that Roy Moore, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, has been fighting to keep in the lobby of the state judicial building in Montgomery. The commandments aren't numbered on the...

Texas county sued over bible display.(Around the States)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... A Houston-area woman is suing officials in Harris County, Texas, seeking to force the removal of a monument featuring a Bible from the grounds of the county's courthouse. Kay Staley filed the suit after Harris County officials refused to...

Firefighters' chaplaincy program to disband.(Around the States)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have agreed to end a chaplaincy program to settle a federal lawsuit challenging the program on church-state grounds. Earlier in the year, six firefighters filed a...

Catholic school bars Muslim student's head scarf.(Around the States)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... A Catholic high school near Cleveland drew national attention when it told a returning senior that she could not attend classes wearing her Muslim head scarf, or hajib. In late August, Amal Jamal returned to the Regina High School campus...

Skeptical pastor reinstated in Denmark.(Around the World)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... A Danish pastor suspended in June for telling a newspaper that God does not exist has been reinstated. The Rev. Thorkild Grosboel, a Lutheran minister, reportedly said, "There is no heavenly God, there is no eternal life, there is no...

Religious freedom in Alabama.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... I am an Americans United member, and I live in Alabama. I have watched the events related to our Chief Justice Roy Moore 90 miles south of my home with amusement. Please take heart. Not all Alabamians oppose religious neutrality in government...

Thanks for protecting the Constitution.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... I would like to express my profound admiration and appreciation for your organization's efforts to combat Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore's assault on the Constitution. It is sadly ironic that your organization has done more to...

Memo to Roy Moore: no graven images!(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... Keep up the great work. You have a lot more support out here than you might realize. One point you might need to make concerning the Ten Commandments monument flap is that the monument itself is a graven image. The monument is blatantly against...

Preserving our 'inalienable rights'.(Letter to the Editor)
October 1, 2003... Wow. I look around to my neighbors and friends, who are doing their best to live their lives in ways that benefit themselves, their families, their communities and their country, and I am shaken to the core to realize the ease with which they...

The Alabama debate: from 'shout shows' to Comedy Central.(Perspective)
October 1, 2003... One of the things people say to me most frequently after they listen to one of my speeches is, "I didn't know you had a sense of humor." I can understand why they say it. Most people only see me on shows on networks like the Fox News...