Another Friday is here, and it’s time for our semi-regular feature of news about church-state separation and the Religious Right that you might have missed. Be warned, some of the stories this week are about sex!
Opposition to gays serving in the military continues to crumble as Congress moves to overturn the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of
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One of my former colleagues here at Americans United used to slip in a personal grace before lunchtime meals with others on the staff. It was silent prayer and so quick you had to be very, very observant to even notice it.
R. wasn’t trying to proselytize anyone, but he was a devout Christian and he wanted to express his […] Read More
Earlier this week, we heard reports that someone had stolen the Latin cross that was the subject of the recent Supreme Court decision, Salazar v. Buono.
As you may recall, Justice Anthony Kennedy issued an opinion that likely paves the way for the religious symbol to remain in the Mojave National Preserve. He said that the cross was not […] Read More
What would a Religious Right-dominated America look like?
You can get a pretty good glimpse of that deplorable prospect from some recent activities in Jacksonville, Fla.
After Mayor John Peyton nominated Parvez Ahmed to the Human Rights Commission, Religious Right forces swung into action.
According to a May 7 Religion Dispatches article, several members of the city council led […] Read More
City officials in Miami, Okla., have an unusual plan for dealing with severe weather: They call on their official prayer team and ask God to ward it off.
The Tulsa World reports today that a group called Emergency 911 has been given the task of seeking divine intervention when bad weather threatens the city of about 14,000 […] Read More
Once again, Sarah Palin has got it all wrong.
Last week, the former Alaskan governor appeared on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” to correct the “nonsense” she was hearing over the National Day of Prayer.
Palin slammed Judge Barbara Crabb for her decision ruling the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, claiming the opinion is “inconsistent with the […] Read More
Today is the congressionally mandated National Day of Prayer (NDP), and despite a recent federal court decision ruling the day unconstitutional, it must still go on.
A few weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of the Western District of Wisconsin ruled that the 1952 statute mandating a national day of prayer was unconstitutional because it’s sole purpose “is […] Read More
This past weekend, I attended my sister’s graduation ceremony at the University of Michigan, where President Barack Obama delivered the commencement address.
The Ann Arbor ceremony included a variety of speeches welcoming the students, their families and the president. Some speeches were inspiring, others were congratulatory and most contained a good deal of school spirit. (Being a Buckeye myself, hearing […] Read More
More than 200 years ago, Virginia was the most powerful state in the fledgling United States of America, spawning visionary leaders like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
How times have changed in the Old Dominion.
Instead of leaders such as Jefferson and Madison, who fought state-established religion and labored to bring full religious liberty to all, […] Read More
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in a religious symbol dispute that is almost certain to leave a Latin cross standing in a public park in California.
The court was split 5-4, with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing the plurality opinion. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts and Antonin Scalia backed the decision, while Justices John Paul […] Read More