Church & State articles from October 2006

Church & State archives from October 2006

Church-state lawsuit restriction advances in house.(IN THE CAPITAL)
October 1, 2006... Federal lawmakers are continuing their push for a bill that would limit the ability of citizens to challenge church-state violations in court. In early September, the House Judiciary Committee approved the so-called "Public Expression of...

Bush abstinence emphasis criticized at AIDS summit.(George W. Bush, International AIDS Conference)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The White House effort to combat the global spread of HIV through abstinence has come under fire at an international AIDS conference. Leading activists who addressed the International AIDS Conference in August sharply criticized the...

Virginia councilor loses Jesus prayer lawsuit.(Hashmel C. Turner Jr.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... A federal court has set back a Virginia town councilman's crusade to offer sectarian prayers at public meetings. Earlier this year, Fredericksburg City Councilor Hashmel C. Turner Jr. sued the city council over a policy allowing for only...

Florida Rep. says church-state separation is 'a lie'.(Katherine Harris )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) has unleashed an attention-grabbing attack on the First Amendment. In August, Harris told the Florida Baptist Witness that the "separation of church and state is a lie we have been told." She added, "If...

Prayer and pigskin: Americans United assists New Jersey public school district in battle over football coach's religious game plan.(Marcus Borden, Americans United for Separation of Church and State)
October 1, 2006... After East Brunswick, N.J., School Superintendent Jo Ann Magistro discovered last fall that a longtime high school football coach had been actively involved in praying with his players, she realized the school district was confronted with a...

A leading science educator explains why 'Intelligent Design' is wrong for our schools.(Eugenie C. Scott)(Interview)
October 1, 2006... Eugenie C. Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, and Glenn Branch, deputy director of NCSE, have edited Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design Is Wrong for Our Schools (Beacon Press). The new book is a...

First freedom first: Americans United cosponsors petition drive to build Nationwide support for church-state separation.(Americans United for Separation of Church and State )
October 1, 2006... The National Smart Grant program is the type of federal initiative that rarely grabs headlines. The program gives grants of up to $4,000 to low-income third- and fourth-year college students studying in various scientific fields deemed...

First Freedom First: why all Americans should sign the petition.(Editorial)
October 1, 2006... U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) has some alarming views about religion and government. In a recent interview with the Florida Baptist Witness, Harris called church-state separation "a lie" and went on to opine, "If you are not electing...

Alley And McCollum: friends of freedom.(Robert S. Alley, Vashti McCollum)(Obituary)
October 1, 2006... The cause of church-state separation lost two champions recently. On Aug. 14, Robert S. Alley died in Richmond, Va. Alley, a humanities professor emeritus at the University of Richmond, was a lifelong advocate of religious liberty and a...

Poll shows Americans split over role of religion in politics.
October 1, 2006... Americans are divided about the role religion should play in politics, but most believe U.S. law should be based on the will of the people, not scripture, a new poll says. The survey, released in August by The Pew Research Center for the...

Theft Of Jesus portrait at W.Va. High School leads to settlement offer.(West Virginia)
October 1, 2006... A controversial portrait of Jesus hanging in a West Virginia public school that became the center of an Americans United-sponsored lawsuit was stolen Aug. 17, leading AU to make an offer to settle the case. Since the devotional artwork,...

Americans United files lawsuit over 'faith-based' marriage counseling.(Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Northwest Marriage Institute )
October 1, 2006... Americans United last month filed a lawsuit against a taxpayer-funded program in Vancouver, Wash., that provides "Bible-based" marriage education programs. The Northwest Marriage Institute received two federal grants totalling $97,750 in...

Democrats launch site to reach out to Christian voters.(www.faithfuldemocrats.com)
October 1, 2006... Some Democrats, worried that their party's image is too secular, are urging their candidates to get religion. In September, a group of Democrats launched a new Web site, www.faithfuldemocrats.com, designed to reach out to religious voters....

Hang ten: AU activists promote Bill of Rights in public schools.(Americans United for Separation of Church and State)
October 1, 2006... For a several years, Religious Right groups have pushed to have the Ten Commandments posted in public schools. A group of Americans United activists in Oklahoma wants to promote another ten items in schools: the Bill of Rights. Earlier...

Appeals court rules against Bible display at Texas courthouse.
October 1, 2006... A federal appeals court has held that a Bible display outside a Texas county courthouse violates the separation of church and state. The ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Staler v. Harris County upholds a 2004 district...

Christian coalition loses Alabama chapter, as decline continues.
October 1, 2006... In yet another setback for the Christian Coalition (CC), the struggling Religious Right group lost one of its most active chapters in August. Alabama Christian Coalition leader John Giles announced that his chapter is jumping ship. Giles...

Calif. charter school founder faces prison for fraud.(California, Khadijah Ghafur)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... A California jury has convicted a charter school founder of pilfering public funds and swindling investors. In late summer, Khadijah Ghafur, founder of the now defunct Gateway Academy, was convicted of 13 felony counts, including theft of...

Baptist group fights fine for Cuba travel.(Alliance of Baptists )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... A progressive group of Baptist churches is fighting a claim by the U.S. Treasury Department that five of its member churches violated federal regulation on travel to Cuba. The Religion News Service (RNS) reported that the Treasury...

Oklahoma commandments display passes court test.(Ten Commandments in courthouse)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... A federal court has upheld display of a Ten Commandments monument on an Oklahoma courthouse lawn. In a 43-page opinion handed down in mid-August, U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White chided the plaintiffs for bringing the challenge,...

Britain may drop student worship requirement.(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Prime Minister Tony Blair's government is seeking to avoid additional student unrest over mandatory worship services at state-supported schools in Great Britain. The Religion News Service (RNS) reported in September that Blair's government...

In God We Trust: a modest proposal.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... Like many of your readers, I had already gotten the word that Michael Newdow had lost his case in federal court challenging the constitutionality of having "In God We Trust" on our coins and paper money. But when I read your article ("Federal...

No U.S. Taliban ... yet.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... John Sugg's coverage of "Worldview Super Conference 2006" ("Warped Worldview," July/August Church & State) was very informative, and I have made several copies for distribution to my friends and relatives. Right now we may not be in immediate...

Rep. Harris and the religious right.(Letter to the editor)
October 1, 2006... There have been many strange sights and sounds that were seen and heard since U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris dropped her incendiary bombshell in August. In an interview with the Florida Baptist Witness, she stated that the separation of church and...

Making a difference: one person can change church-state history.(Column)
October 1, 2006... I don't like to contradict people's mothers, but sometimes you just have to. Alter I finished speaking one evening recently at a United Church of Christ in Redlands, Calif., a student from a local high school told me my stories of local...