Church & State articles from September 2006

Church & State archives from September 2006

Bush, GOP unveil $100 million school voucher scheme.(George W. Bush)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The White House and its allies in Congress are pushing a multi-million-dollar national voucher plan that would subsidize religious and other private schools. In mid July, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced support of...

Congress approves Mt. Soledad cross bill.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Congress has approved a bill to give the federal government ownership of a piece of land in San Diego containing a 29-foot cross. The cross atop Mt. Soledad has been at the center of a 17-year legal dispute. Courts have ruled that display...

James Dobson seeks church-based political machine.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Religious Right leader James Dobson is planning a drive to build a church-based political machine to intervene in the November elections. In an Aug. 11 e-mail alert to supporters, Dobson's Focus on the Family (FOF) sought volunteers to work...

Ohio state workers told to drop e-mail preaching.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... An official with Ohio's tax department has warned employees to cease adding religious messages to their e-mail postscripts. William Cort, internal audit administrator for the Ohio Department of Taxation, in a July 25 e-mail to employees...

Churches, politics and the IRS: right-wing clergy and their politician allies are trying to build illegal church-based political machines in Ohio and other States, but this year the federal tax agency seems ready to stop them.
September 1, 2006... In the Book of Matthew, Jesus advises that if someone strikes you, the proper response is not to hit back but to turn the other cheek. The Rev. Rod Parsley of World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, has a different view of how to deal with...

Piety & Politics: finding the right balance: Pat Robertson, you're no Martin Luther King!
September 1, 2006... I had been working for Americans United for Separation of Church and State for just a few days and was still packing up things from a job in Hanover, N.H., when my wife handed me an ad from USA Today that nearly made me spill my coffee. It...

Project Fair Play: Americans United escalates campaign to educate houses of worship about federal tax law and partisan politics.
September 1, 2006... Americans United supporters ill Texas were looking over financial data related to local elections when something unusual leaped out: a church in Kerrville had donated $1,500 to the Republican Party. Documents provided by the Texas Ethics...

What's wrong with this picture? West Virginia lawsuit says portrait of Jesus in public high school violates church-state separation.
September 1, 2006... When Harold Sklar moved to a small community in north central West Virginia, he enrolled his children in the local public schools, and like many parents, he hoped that they would be accepted and fit in. But Sklar, who is Jewish, soon...

The Cross and the Sword: evangelical support for separation is welcome.(Editorial)
September 1, 2006... Since at least 1980, evangelical Christianity has become increasingly identified in the public mind with Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and others of that ilk. Polls suggest that many evangelicals are uncomfortable with that...

Kansas voters spurn creationist candidates in primary election.
September 1, 2006... Voters in the Aug. 1 primary defeated several candidates for the Kansas State Board of Education who wanted to water down the teaching of evolution, returning the board to moderate hands. In a closely watched election, Republicans were...

GOP house leaders push 'Values Agenda' for religious right.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
September 1, 2006... Hoping to energize their base in advance of the November elections, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives unveiled a so-called "American Values Agenda" in late June. The package of bills occupied much of the House's time...

Republican voters reject Ralph Reed in Georgia primary.
September 1, 2006... Former Christian Coalition (CC) leader Ralph Reed failed in his bid to become lieutenant governor of Georgia in a primary election July 18. Reed, 45, was defeated by Casey Cagle, a state senator, 56 percent to 44 percent. Reed's loss...

Stay out of religion, Baptist scholar tells Senate subcommittee.(PEOPLE & EVENTS)
September 1, 2006... A Baptist college professor has urged a Senate panel not to make it harder for Americans to bring church-state lawsuits, arguing that such legislation would reduce religious freedom rights. Melissa Rogers, visiting professor of religion and...

Dobson's FOF distorts research, says NYU sociology professor.(James Dobson, Judith Stacey)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... A professor of sociology at New York University says she's tired of James Dobson's Focus on the Family (FOF) distorting her research on parenting and has demanded that the group stop doing so. Judith Stacey says FOF distorted her work to...

Education Dept. seeks to bury study proving public school success.
September 1, 2006... A report came out recently indicating that public school students perform as well or better than private school students with similar backgrounds, but you would never know it by visiting the U.S. Department of Education's Web site. The...

Bush taps Indiana activist to be nation's new 'Faith Czar'.(George W. Bush, Jay F. Hein )
September 1, 2006... President George W. Bush has appointed a 41-year-old Indiana church elder and welfare reform activist to be the new director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The appointment of Jay F. Hein of Indianapolis...

New Jersey blocks 'Safe Surrender' program at church.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Federal officials are bemoaning a decision by New Jersey's chief justice to bar the use of a church in criminal proceedings. U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie attacked New Jersey Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz in mid-July for refusing to...

New York court skips inter-religious conflicts.(Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)
September 1, 2006... Courts in New York say the constitutional separation of church and state prevents them from intervening in internal disputes in religious groups. In recent months, appeals courts there have turned away a lawsuit by Greek Orthodox...

Somali militias may execute Muslims who skip prayers.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Islamic militias are stepping up their efforts to bring strict religious law to war-ravaged Somalia. After ousting warlords widely reported to have been financially supported by the American government, heavily armed militias have backed...

Headstones and hypocrisy.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... As I was reading the July/August issue of Church & State, I was struck by the irony represented by two pieces. The first item (AU Bulletin, "Veterans Department Must Respect Diversity, Says AU") relates that Americans United is considering...

Different reconstructionists.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... I noted your recent article by John Sugg on Christian Reconstructionism, the right-wing and theocratic movement that is opposed to a pluralistic society ("Warped Worldview," July/August Church & State). However, I wanted to alert your...

The Pope and politics.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Your short item about Pope Benedict's warning to church leaders in Poland that priests are not meant to be politicians is interesting to say the least ("Priests Are Not Meant To Be Politicians, Pope Says During Poland Visit," July/August Church...

Cloaking religion as science.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... Webster's dictionary defines theology as "the study of God and his relation to the world, especially by analysis of the origins and teachings of an organized religious community (as the Christian Church)." No matter how Religious Right leaders...

Wiccans and the VA: the case for decency and common sense.(Department of Veterans Affairs)
September 1, 2006... Some things should be easy. Some injustices ought to be resolved under notions of common sense and basic decency. That is the case with a request from Roberta Stewart of Fernley, Nev. Roberta's husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, was killed in...