Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Secular Democracy Promoted For Nepal
Saturday, April 29, 2006
3rd Circuit Invalidates Registration Law For Door-To-Door Proselytization
Baptist Official Speaks on Church-State Issues
Hawaii Court To Order Artifacts Removed From Cave
Swedish Muslim Group Wants Legal Accommodations; Others Object
Hindu Couple In New York Lose Battle To Keep Cows In Village
PBS Feature On Religion and Politics In Ohio
Friday, April 28, 2006
Foundation Labeled As Terrorist Claims Free Exercise Infringement
Defendant Charges Police Insensitivity To Religious Garb
Byrd Introduces School Prayer Amendment
Nothing in this Constitution, including any amendment to this Constitution, shall be construed to prohibit voluntary prayer or require prayer in public school, or to prohibit voluntary prayer or require prayer at a public school extracurricular activity.The Charleston Daily Mail reports that this is the eighth time in 43 years that Byrd has introduced the proposal. The Daily Mail also says that it has learned from Byrd's office that Byrd has talked about his amendment and the original intent of the drafters of the First Amendment with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The full text of Byrd's expansive speech introducing the amendment is available from his website.
In Minsk, Passover Seder Deemed Unfit For Children To See
Michigan House Passes Conscience Bill For HMOs and Insurers
British Court Rejects Claim Of Burial Benefits Discrimination
2nd Circuit Upholds Church's Right To Shelter Homeless Outside
Pakistan Charges Foreign Papers, Internet Firms With Blasphemy, Capital Offense
Reform Rabbinical Leader Speaks At Liberty University
Today's Forward has an excellent article on the talk that was given at as part of a Wednesday morning prayer service that is mandatory for students and faculty at the University.It is understandable, perhaps, that we may feel victimized and under attack and look for quick fixes. And so we hear calls, sometimes from evangelicals and sometimes from others, for prayer in the schools and lowering the wall of church-state separation. But let us beware of simple answers. As a Jew, I don't like it when other Jews find an anti-Semite under every bed; I don't believe that Judaism is seriously imperiled, and I don't think that Christianity is under siege either. Neither do I want to ask the government to solve our problems by imposing its will. Government coercion generates resentment, not godliness, and it is never a good idea to put the government in charge of our thinking.