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CoE school bans girl from wearing crucifix - but allows Sikh pupils to wear bangles A school told a child to remove a Christian cross she was wearing even though it lets Sikh children wear bangles as part of their religion. Lauren Grimshaw-Brown was told to take off a necklace with a cross on it because of health and safety fears. But the eight-year-old's furious mother has accused the school of double standards because they allow children following other faiths to wear jewellery on religious grounds. The mother-of-two says Lauren and brother Callan, five, have always worn crosses at St...

The Bible calls the Church "the Body of Christ." Today, that body is bleeding profusely, says a Christian author and sought-out speaker. "The next generation of believers is draining from the churches, and it causes me great personal and professional concern," said Ken Ham, founder and president of Answers in Genesis and a Young Earth creationist. Hoping to shed light on what he believes is a monumental problem, Ham enlisted the services of America's Research Group to study why young people were leaving. The results, published in Already Gone, will shake many churches to their very core, Ham states in...

Members of the graduating class of 2009 at Florida's Pace High School have expressed their objections to ACLU restrictions on statements of religious faith at their school by rising up en masse at their ceremony and reciting the Lord's Prayer. The incident happened just days ago, but has been virtually ignored by media outlets throughout the region, according to officials with Liberty Counsel, a legal team representing Principal Frank Lay and teacher Michelle Winkler in their battle with the ACLU, which had complained that faculty and teachers were talking about their beliefs. Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace, a Santa...

Santa Rosa County, FL - Nearly 400 graduating seniors at Pace High School stood up in protest against the ACLU and recited the Lord’s Prayer during their graduation ceremony on Saturday. Many of the students also painted crosses on their graduation caps to make a statement of faith. This event follows a lawsuit the ACLU filed against the Santa Rosa County School District, claiming some of the teachers and administration endorsed religion. Liberty Counsel represents Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and school teacher Michelle Winkler. The graduation prayer protest by the students was preceded by a lawsuit filed six...

PHILADELPHIA — A U.S. court says a kindergartner's mother cannot read Scripture during show and tell, even if the Bible is the boy's favorite book. Monday's ruling is a victory for the Marple Newtown School District in suburban Philadelphia. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says the school's decision does not violate First Amendment rights given the nonpublic nature of the classroom and the tender age of the children.

As of last Friday, Lynchburg, Virginia’s Liberty University said “no” to Democrats. It was reported that the leadership of the largest, fastest -growing evangelical campus ordered the college Democrats club to cease, because it stands against the conservative Christian school’s moral principles. The group may still meet on campus, but will not be an officially recognized club of the university and may not use Liberty’s name or funds. Falwell writes, “Parents and students support the university because they believe in its distinctly Christian identity and mission. Liberty University is pro-life and believes that marriage between one man and one woman...

**My Comment: Timothy M. Kaine and gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe are "changeing" the facts to make it a story they can run with* Liberty University officials insisted Friday that they revoked recognition of the College Democrats club for religious reasons and not political ones, and they weren’t trying to stifle free speech. Politicians, including Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, urged the private school to reconsider. Using the letterhead of the Democratic National Committee, of which Kaine is chairman, he asked the school “to reverse this attack on the liberty of its students.” LU chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said the political club’s...

A campus evangelism group is stunned today, as a ministry event at a community college in Ohio resulted in four members being arrested, one on a felony assault charge that the ministry's leader claims is fabricated. "I've done ministries like this at more than 200 universities," said Jason Storms, director of Faithful Soldier School of Evangelism, a ministry of Mercy Seat Christian Church in Milwaukee, Wis. "We train people to do evangelism, and I have never seen an incident like this." Storms and a team of students earlier this week traveled to Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, with signs,...

Commentary The Notre Dame Brand BY Patrick LencioniMay 17-23, 2009 Issue | Posted 5/8/09 at 10:57 AM   Lest anyone think that the current graduation speaker controversy at the University of Notre Dame is merely a matter of partisan politics and media hype, it is worth a closer look. What is happening right now in South Bend, Ind., is not simply a critical moment of truth for a vaunted institution; it is also one of the greatest case studies ever about organizational identity and core principles.When Jerry Porras and Jim Collins published their classic book Built to Last almost...

WHAT IF ALL THE STUDENTS at Notre Dame WALKED OUT, leaving Barack Obama speaking to an empty auditorium? Notre Dame is a CATHOLIC, Pro-Life university. Students will BOYCOTT Obama's commencement address this weekend, May 16-17. They have set up a website at: http://www.ndresponse.com/ and a stirring video at -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KUBdrrbF6o Demonstration Confirmed ND Response has received official permission to hold a prayerful and constructive demonstration on the South Quad of the University of Notre Dame between 11am and 4pm on the day of Commencement. The students of this coalition would like to extend an invitation to all those interested in...

The California Supreme Court is letting stand a lower court ruling that allowed a private religious school to expel two girls for an alleged lesbian relationship. The state's highest court this week declined a request from the girls' attorney to review the case. The 4th District Court of Appeal in Riverside in January had upheld California Lutheran High School's right as a private, religious organization to exclude students based on their sexual orientation. The teens initially sued the Riverside County school in 2005 based on a state anti-discrimination law. Advocates for religious freedom called it the right decision but the...

Rachel Scott, 17, was the first victim of 1999’s Columbine High School massacre. Her parents, Beth Nimmo and Darrell Scott, wrote the book “Rachel’s Tears” in memory of their daughter, who they believe was targeted by shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold because of her religious values. An excerpt. We are thankful that you are reading this book, but we hope you understand that it is a book we never wanted to write. ... this unimaginable event has struck a nerve with people around the world as many have struggled to come to grips with America’s worst school shooting. A...

MISSION VIEJO, CA – A federal judge is expected to rule any day now on whether a high school history teacher accused of disparaging Christians in class violated the First Amendment and should be disciplined. Capistrano Valley High School teacher James Corbett, a 36-year educator, was sued in December 2007 by sophomore Chad Farnan for purportedly promoting hostility toward Christians and advocating "irreligion over religion" in violation of the First Amendment's establishment clause. The clause, which prohibits the government from making any law "respecting an establishment of religion," has been interpreted by U.S. courts to also prohibit government employees from...

A new report produced by a branch of the Virginia State Police portrays the state's colleges and universities as potential breeding grounds for terrorism. The 200-page report, intended for distribution to law enforcement, intelligence and military organizations, says "a wide variety of terror or extremist groups" have links to Hampton Roads and singles out the area's two historically black universities for special mention. It also cites the region's "diverse population due to the strong military presence." In addition, it mentions Regent University, an evangelical Christian school in Virginia Beach, and a Chesapeake-based anti-abortion group. The report acknowledges that none of...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Kevin Roose managed to blend in during his single semester at Liberty University, attending lectures on the myth of evolution and the sin of homosexuality, and joining fellow students on a mission trip to evangelize partyers on spring break. Roose had transferred to the Virginia campus from Brown University in Providence, a famously liberal member of the Ivy League. His Liberty classmates knew about the switch, but he kept something more important hidden: He planned to write a book about his experience at the school founded by fundamentalist preacher Jerry Falwell. Each conversation about salvation or hand-wringing...

A campus Christian group that receives funding from the student activity fee is coming under scrutiny after a student was asked by advisors to step down from its leadership team when he told them that he had openly accepted his homosexuality. This incident is also raising questions about the effectiveness of campus mechanisms for addressing instances of discrimination. Chris Donohoe ’09, who joined the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship when he was a freshman, said he had been openly struggling to reconcile his sexuality with his faith in Chi Alpha before he was asked to step down from the leadership team...

The Alliance Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit on behalf of students and parents against the Wilson County School Board in Tennessee. Lakeview Elementary School students wanted to display posters that referenced God and prayer, but school officials said they had to cover up those references before the posters could be displayed. The posters were hand-drawn by students and announced voluntary activities such as the "See You at the Pole" prayer event. Nate Kellum is with the Alliance Defense Fund. "Well, Christian students shouldn't be censored just for expressing their beliefs. They do not check their constitutional rights upon stepping...

ALAMEDA -- Two students who were threatened with suspension at the College of Alameda after one of them prayed with an ailing teacher in a faculty office can sue the community college district for allegedly violating their freedom of speech, a federal judge has ruled.

Attorneys representing two students who have been threatened with expulsion by a California college because of a prayer for a sick professor say a federal judge has refused the school's efforts to have the case dismissed. "It's outrageous," said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, which is working on the case brought by students Kandy Kyriacou and Ojoma Omaga of the College of Alameda in Alameda, near Oakland. "Since when does praying for a sick teacher to get well – with her consent – earn a suspension? This is not just a constitutional violation; it is a complete...

(03-17) 16:51 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- UC Hastings College of the Law can deny recognition and funding to a Christian student group because it excludes gays, lesbians and non-Christians, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The San Francisco law school is entitled to require official student organizations to "accept all comers as members, even if those individuals disagree with the mission of the group," the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. It said the school's policy is "viewpoint-neutral" and does not violate the rights of theChristian Legal Society. The brief ruling cited the court's decision last year allowing a...