Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Malaysia Court Rejects Reflecting Conversion On Identity Card
Mass. Governor Urges Mosque Wiretapping
How about people in settings, mosques for instance, that may be teaching doctrines of hate and terror? Are we monitoring that? Are we wiretapping? Are we following what's going on? Are we seeing who's coming in? Are we seeing who's coming out? Are we eavesdropping, carrying out surveillance on those individuals from places that sponsor domestic terror?
The Anti-Arab Discrimination Committee has called on Romney to repudiate his remarks, but the Governor has refused to do so.
Jewish Naval Academy Chapel Dedicated; Catholic League Issues Equivocal Press Release
Last Thursday, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights issued a somewhat equivocal press release on the topic. While applauding the building of the chapel, it noted that traditional civil liberties groups have not objected to the spending of federal funds on it, while they routinely object to the spending of federal funds for classroom materials for Catholic schools. Catholic League president William Donohue concluded the release with the following rather oversimplified criticism of current First Amendment doctrines: "In other words, prayer rugs can be purchased with federal funds to accommodate suspected Muslim terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, and Jewish chapels can be built with federal monies, but Christian kids can’t sing 'Silent Night' in the classroom. Got it everyone?"
Catholic Leader Calls For Civil Disobedience On Pledge
Now that U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton has said he would sign a restraining order banning the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in some California school districts, the time has come for patriotic teachers in those schools to practice civil disobedience. They need to lead their students in the Pledge, bellowing the dreaded words "under God." But nothing should be done until the television cameras are in place—the sight of teachers being handcuffed by the police would be an invaluable teaching moment.
Settling this issue in court is fine, but it is inadequate: it’s time to shock the conscience of the nation by bringing this matter directly into their living rooms.
Pres. Bush At Dinner Honoring 350 Years of American Jewish Life
Religious freedom is a foundation of fundamental human and civil rights. And when the United States promotes religious freedom, it is promoting the spread of democracy.... Religious freedom is more than the freedom to practice one's faith. It is also the obligation to respect the faith of others. So to stand for religious freedom, we must expose and confront the ancient hatred of anti-Semitism, wherever it is found....
Under America's system of religious freedom, church and state are separate. Still, we have learned that faith is not solely a private matter. Men and women throughout our history have acted on the words of Scripture and they have made America a better, more hopeful place. When Rabbi Abraham Heschel marched with Martin Luther King, we saw modern-day prophets calling on America to honor its promises. We must allow people of faith to act on their convictions without facing discrimination.
And that's why my administration has started a faith-based and community initiative, to call on the armies of compassion to help heal broken hearts. A few years ago in New York, the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty was discouraged from even applying for federal funds because it had the word "Jewish" in its name. We must end this kind of discrimination if we want America to be a hopeful place.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Miss. Supreme Court Rules On Priest-Penitent Privilege In Discovery
Peremptory Removal of Clergy As Jurors Unconstitutional
Sabbath Observer Gets Unemployment Compensation
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Bush's Remarks At National Services For Katrina Victims
In this hour of suffering, we're prayerful. In a wounded region, so many placed their faith in a God who hears and helps. And so many are bringing their grief to a Savior acquainted with grief. Our nation joins with them to pray for comfort and sorrow, for the reunion of separated families, and a holy rest for the ones who died.
Through prayer we look for ways to understand the arbitrary harm left by this storm, and the mystery of undeserved suffering. And in our search we're reminded that God's purposes are sometimes impossible to know here on Earth. Yet even as we're humbled by forces we cannot explain, we take comfort in the knowledge that no one is ever stranded beyond God's care. The Creator of wind and water is also the source of even a greater power -- a love that can redeem the worst tragedy, a love that is stronger than death.
County Will Not Send Judge To Florida Christian CLE Program
White House On Faith-Based Initiatives and Katrina
Tom, from Gaithersburg, MD writes: Why does huricane releief have to be "faith based". Why can't people withouth "faith" get huricane relief? Thomas Munro
Jim Towey: Hi Tom. Just to be clear, people without faith are equally eligible to receive disaster assistance. There is not a "faith test" for aid. And people very devout in their faith or with no faith at all have been volunteering and helping serve hot meals to the hungry and house those without home. It has been marvelous to watch.
High School Student Suspended For Handing Out Religious Literature
Friday, September 16, 2005
Faith-Based Initiatives, Katrina and the Jewish Community
NY College Sued Over Denial Of Access By Religious Speaker
Pledge Decision Condemned By Officials; Appeal Planned
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales issued the following statement:
Also, late Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted to condemn the court ruling (S. Res. 243), according to a report by the Associated Press.For more than two hundred years, many of our expressions of national identity and patriotism have referenced God. The Supreme Court, which opens each session by saying "God save the United States and this honorable Court," has affirmed time and again that such official acknowledgments of our Nation's religious heritage, foundation, and character are constitutional. The Department of Justice will continue vigorously to defend the ability of American schoolchildren to pledge allegiance to the flag.
Meanwhile, the Knights of Columbus, one of the defendants in the case, announced that it planned an immediate appeal.
Baptist Meeting Examines Religious Liberty
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Roberts' Testimony On Church-State
[The Court] has adhered through thick and thin to the Lemon test, probably because they can’t come up with anything better. But the results sometimes, I think, are a little difficult to comprehend.
Prison Ban On White Supremacist Books Upheld
California District Court Finds Pledge In Classrooms Unconstitutional
First the district court denied standing to Michael Newdow, but found that the other plaintiffs who are parents of school children had standing. On the merits, it held that teacher-led recitation the Pledge in school classrooms violates the Establishment Clause because of the pressure placed on students to recite it, but that reciting the Pledge at school board meetings does not create the same kind of coercion. Finally, in an interesting twist, the Court held that since it stands ready, if requested, to enjoin the recitation of the Pledge in classrooms, the parents who are plaintiffs no longer have any injury in fact. Therefore, their challenge to the constitutionality of 4 U.S.C. Sec. 4, which codifies the wording of the Pledge of Allegiance, is rendered moot.
The New York Times today reports that teachers in the Elk Grove Unified School District, one of the Districts involved in the lawsuit, were told to continue leading students in the pledge because the judge's ruling did not include an injunction.
ACLU Questions Use Of Religion By New Mexico Coach
The ACLU went public with its concerns after being unhappy with the response it received to an Aug. 4 letter it wrote to McKay and Athletics Director Rudy Davalos. McKay says he never received the ACLU letter, but denies any improprieties. However, McKay says that the pastor of his church will continue to attend practices, because "he has a great relationship with many of our players."