Church & State articles from September 2002

Church & State archives from September 2002

Church electioneering bill headed for house vote. (In The Capital).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A controversial bill to allow houses of worship to engage in partisan political activities is likely to face a vote in the House of Representatives in early September, according to sources on Capitol Hill. Rep. Walter B. Jones' "Houses of...

House committee holds hearing on school vouchers. (In The Capital).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Moving quickly in light of the June 27 Supreme Court decision upholding voucher subsidies for religious schools, Republicans on the House of Representatives' Committee on Education and the Workforce convened a hearing July 23 on the future of...

Veterans' Administration approves gay chaplains. (In The Capital).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The U.S. Veterans' Administration has approved the nation's only predominantly gay religious denomination to serve as a source of chaplains for use in hospitals and other VA facilities. The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community...

Charlotte aid to Billy Graham ministry sparks AU protest. (Around The States).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A plan by city officials in Charlotte, N.C., to Subsidize the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association raises church-state concerns, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State. According to published reports, the city...

The Blaine game: supporters of government aid to religious schools are trying to eliminate state constitutional provisions that stand in their way.
September 1, 2002... Just days after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld voucher aid to religious schools on June 27, New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind began plotting his next move. "We have to take up the cause," the Brooklyn Democrat told the New York Daily...

Florida court strikes down state funding of religious schools, cites Blaine amendment. (Voucher Victory!).
September 1, 2002... A court in Florida has declared the state's voucher law unconstitutional, calling it a clear violation of a section of the Florida Constitution that bars the diversion of tax money to religious schools. In an Aug. 5 ruling in a case...

Strange bedfellows: conservative Christians and the Bush administration are aggressively pushing a controversial `pro-family' agenda on the international stage--and they're teaming up with Islamic theocracies to do it.
September 1, 2002... Sudan, an Islamic theocracy in Northeast Africa, is classified by the U.S. State Department as a "state sponsor of terrorism." The Sudanese earned this status, reserved for only a handful of American adversaries, after providing sanctuary to...

Religious school vouchers: subsidizing division. (Editorials).(Editorial)
September 1, 2002... Supporters of voucher subsidies for religious schools constantly tell Americans that "educational choice" is good for students and families. What they won't admit is that "choice" is a myth when it comes to religious schools. Because they serve...

Scalia: `God's Justice'? (Editorials).(Antonin Scalia)
September 1, 2002... During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia has made no secret of his views on church-state issues. From government-sponsored prayer to public funding of religious schools, he has consistently shown he has little use for the First...

Members of Congress push amendments to keep `under God' in pledge. (People & Events).
September 1, 2002... Members of the House of Representatives and Senate are busy introducing constitutional amendments that would permit public schools to sponsor recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, including the phrase "under God." Many members of...

`Just say whoa': judge blocks `faith-based' abstinence education. (People & Events).
September 1, 2002... "Abstinence-only" sex education programs that promote religion cannot be funded with tax dollars, a federal court in Louisiana has decided. U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. ruled July 25 that the Governor's Program on Abstinence...

Americans United protests religious censorship at Pennsylvania school. (People & Events).
September 1, 2002... Attorneys with Americans United have warned officials at a Pennsylvania school district to stop using religious criteria when considering textbooks for adoption. Members of the Annville-Cleona School Board voted in June to ban a reading...

Old foes Falwell, Hagee defuse fireworks at `old-fashioned fourth'. (People & Events).
September 1, 2002... Eight years ago, the Rev. Jerry Falwell had some harsh things to say about fellow television preacher John Hagee. Hagee, according to Falwell, was a heretic who promoted a false view of salvation that maintained that Jews can go to Heaven...

Dobson boosts Bush as Fla. elections near. (People & Events).(James C. Dobson, Jeb Bush)
September 1, 2002... Focus on the Family founder Dr. James C. Dobson gave Jeb Bush some valuable air time July 22, devoting a half-hour broadcast to a one-on-one interview with the Florida governor, who is up for reelection this year. The ostensible topics of...

UNC under fire for assignment focusing on Islamic book. (People & Events).
September 1, 2002... Several Religious Right organizations are attacking the University of North Carolina, asserting that the school violated the separation of church and state by asking all incoming freshmen to read a book about the Koran, the holy book of Islam....

Church-run charter school may be booted out of Texas program. (People & Events).
September 1, 2002... Education officials in Texas have pull ed the plug on a church-run charter school that has been embroiled in scandal and financial mismanagement. In mid July the Texas Education Agency (TEA) held a three-day hearing on the fate of the...

Georgia town removes religious symbols posted in city hall. (People & Events).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A Georgia town has taken down religious symbols from its city hall in an attempt to settle a lawsuit brought by civil liberties groups. The Ringgold City Council removed framed copies of the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer from city...

Chipping away at the church-state wall: what next, Mr. President? (Viewpoint).
September 1, 2002... Ever since he took office, President George W. Bush has been promoting an agenda that chips away at the constitutional wall between church and state. He seems to be succeeding now that the U.S. Supreme Court has permitted the use of government...

Colorado school can limit religious memorials, court says. (AU Bulletin).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A federal appeals court has ruled that Columbine High School, where a shooting led to 15 deaths in 1999, may prohibit religious ceramic tiles intended for a school memorial. In the wake of the tragedy, the school offered students a chance...

`School mosque' proposal raises legal concerns. (AU Bulletin).
September 1, 2002... A Pennsylvania public school's efforts to accommodate the worship requests of Muslim students and staff must meet constitutional guidelines, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has warned. Philadelphia's Olney High School...

Controversial California cross loses in court. (AU Bulletin).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A controversial 43-foot-tall cross in San Diego lost another court battle in June when a federal appeals court said the religious display is unconstitutional. In 1989, local resident Philip Paulson, with assistance from the American Civil...

President's papal kiss sparks controversy in Mexico. (Around The World).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... When a Roman Catholic churchgoer kisses a pope's ring, it's considered a traditional sign of veneration. When the president of Mexico does it, however, it generates a church-state controversy that dominates newspaper headlines. In July,...

A year after Sept. 11, some folks still don't get it. (Perspective).
September 1, 2002... The television networks are already beginning to replay those horrifying images of jet aircraft crashing into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last September 11. Even without viewing them again, most Americans have probably begun a sober...