Free Republic

Education Department Constitutionally Adrift by: Amanda Busse, January 09, 2008 Larry P. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College in Michigan, is looking for a way to put morality back into America’s classrooms, a goal he believes the Department of Education has abandoned. “The purpose of education has both an intellectual and a moral component,” Arnn wrote in an article that appeared in the Hillsdale newsletter Imprimis. “One will not find these sentiments in the plans made in the Department of Education today.” Public schools may not promote a religion, according to the Department of Education’s website, but neither the Department of...

Methodists Sue New Jersey over Attempt to Force Gay “Marriage” at Church Owned Camp By Hilary White TRENTON, August 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In another case of a clash between Christian traditional values and the new secular sexual morality, the United Methodist Church group that owns a private campground retreat are suing the New Jersey government, saying its rights of religious freedom are being violated. The state is investigating a discrimination charge brought against the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association by a pair of lesbians who wanted to use the private retreat campground for a “civil union” ceremony. The federal...

SUGAR LAND — Student Natasha Gualy was all smiles Tuesday knowing that when she shares her Christian faith at school, she will not be reprimanded or humiliated. Gov. Rick Perry conducted a ceremonial signing of House Bill 3678 aimed at reaffirming students' rights to express religious viewpoints. Perry officially signed the bill, also known as the Religious Viewpoints Anti-Discrimination Act, in June. Surrounded by schoolchildren at the Clements High School library, Perry signed the bill sponsored by state Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land. The bill does not create a new law but rather provides a model policy that school districts...

Nativity Scene 'Aborted' By Tiller Employee http://www.standardnewswire.com/news/10960409.html Troy Newman, President, 316-841-1700; Cheryl Sullenger, Outreach & Media Coordinator, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue WICHITA, Kansas, Dec. 14 /Standard Newswire/ -- An employee of late-term abortionist George R Tiller stole a nativity scene belonging to Operation Rescue that had been displayed among crosses and other religious items on the public property outside the abortion clinic gate. The plastic Nativity Scene, consisting of likenesses of Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, and a donkey were placed outside the notorious abortion clinic, as part of a national campaign called The Nativity Project. The Nativity Project was...

Canada's Harper government delightfully surprised both its friends and its foes last week. It leaked the fact that it may bring in a "Defence of Religions Act" to protect critics of homosexual practice from prosecution under human rights codes, and to prohibit the firing of marriage commissioners who refuse on the grounds of their religion to "marry" homosexual couples. Social conservative allies were surprised because opposition to gay marriage, which had begun to seem a lost cause, was being revived. Government foes are equally delighted, because they assume that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has finally made a blunder that will...

Blessing of school may have done more harm to students than good Saturday, September 09, 2006 I write regarding the Aug. 27 blessing of Woodward Park Middle School and the Aug. 31 editorial "No harm done." Even if I grant that the 180 people who took part in this blessing were legally exercising their free-speech rights and that no unconstitutional mixing of church and state occurred, I am far from convinced that no harm was done. Can you cite any empirical studies proving that such blessing ceremonies are safe and effective? If you can’t, is it possible that students who...

Public Expression of Religion Act moves forwardhttp://www.recordgazette.net/articles/2006/07/28/news/05news.txt http://tinyurl.com/hp9ga Rees Lloyd, Banning-based attorney and Commander of American Legion District 21 (Riverside County), has been selected to testify on behalf of The American Legion before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution in support of passage of Senate Bill 3696, Veterans Memorials, Boy Scouts, Public Seals and Other Public Expressions of Religion Act of 2006 (“PERA). S 3696 (PERA), sponsored by Sen. Brownback (R-Kan), a companion bill to H.R. 2979 (PERA), sponsored by Rep. Hostetter (R-Ind.), would amend all relevant federal laws to eliminate the authority of judges to award taxpayer-paid attorney...

Russell Springs, KY - In protest to a court order issued hours before the Russell County High School graduation last Friday night, about 200 seniors spontaneously stood and began reciting the Lord's Prayer, prompting a standing ovation from a standing-room only crowd. The thunderous applause drowned out the last part of the prayer. The revival-like atmosphere continued when senior Megan Chapman said in her opening remarks that God had guided her since childhood. Megan was interrupted repeatedly during her speech by the cheering crowd as she urged her classmates to trust in God as they go through life. On Friday,...

Munford, TN- Graduation is a time to celebrate accomplishments and successes to come. At Munford High School, in the middle of all the pomp and circumstance, there is normally time set aside on the program for prayer. This year God is being deleted from the program. "I just don't think it's right," Parent Dena Harden says. It's hard for students and parents to accept. Since they can remember prayer has been part of the program. "They've done it at every other graduation. Why should it be taken away at ours," Graduating Senior Nick Jones says. But they also feel like...

One thing is for sure, the liberals can’t say this was government endorsed. I applaud these young men and women for standing up for their rights, and setting the example for others. The ACLU filed suit on behalf of one student who felt offended that a prayer would be included in their graduation ceremony. U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley granted a temporary restraining order sought by a student. Here is how the students responded to the attempts to censor them. The senior class at a southern Kentucky high school gave their response Friday night to a federal judge’s order banning...

The ACLU once again finds an very accommodating federal judge who found no problem in destroying the only absolute sovereignty for which this nation rests upon: the people. U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley granted a temporary restraining order sought by a student who didn't want prayer to be part of the graduation exercises from a south-central Kentucky school some 110 miles southeast of Louisville. This didn't stop the principal at the beginning of the graduation ceremony from reciting the Lord's Prayer, prompting a standing ovation from a standing-room only crowd at the Russell County High School gymnasium. We can...

Washington, DC - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a ruling by a federal court of appeals to stand that declared public schools cannot censor the religious viewpoints of students in class assignments. The case, Baldwinsville School District v. Peck, involved a school district's censorship of a kindergartner's art poster that contained a picture of Jesus. Liberty Counsel represents Antonio Peck, the student whose poster was censored. When attending kindergarten at Baldwinsville Elementary School in Syracuse, New York, Antonio's teacher instructed the class to draw posters regarding their understanding of the environment. Antonio drew a poster depicting children holding hands...

University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly announced a proposal Wednesday that would allow resident assistants to lead and participate in all activities, religious and otherwise, anywhere on campus. The proposed system-wide policy would replace previous policies, which varied among individual UW campuses, many of which banned RAs from holding or leading Bible studies within their rooms or residence halls. “You have to weigh and balance everything,” UW System spokesperson Doug Bradley said. “This [proposed policy] is the best way to ensure all students have access to everything our campus has to offer.” According to Reilly’s recommended policy, RAs are...

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a small congregation in New Mexico may use hallucinogenic tea as part of a four-hour ritual intended to connect with God. Justices, in their first religious freedom decision under Chief Justice John Roberts, moved decisively to keep the government out of a church's religious practice. Federal drug agents should have been barred from confiscating the hoasca tea of the Brazil-based church, Roberts wrote in the decision. The tea, which contains an illegal drug known as DMT, is considered sacred to members of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, which has...

Regrettably, the decision by the media not to offend Muslims is motivated by fear, not ethics. Whenever the Catholic League criticizes a work of art, cartoon, movie or TV show, we are told that (a) we’re the intolerant ones (b) what is offensive is in the eye of the beholder (c) art is supposed to make people uncomfortable (d) no one can criticize anything until they have seen it (e) protests have a ‘chilling effect’ on free speech (f) it’s not real anyway, and (g) get over it. So why have Muslims been spared this lecture? Because the extremists in...

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- Sweden's highest court on Tuesday acquitted a Pentecostal pastor accused of hate speech for having denounced homosexuality as a "cancerous tumor" in a sermon. Ake Green's contentious sermon in 2003 was protected by freedom of speech and religion under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Supreme Court said in a 16-page ruling. Green, 64, became the first clergyman convicted under Sweden's hate crimes legislation, when a lower court found him guilty of inciting hatred against homosexuals. An appeals court overturned the ruling earlier this year, but Sweden's chief prosecutor appealed the acquittal to the Supreme...

Meadowlands sets aside prayer spaces at stadium for Muslims By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press Writer November 22, 2005, 4:49 PM EST NEWARK, N.J. -- The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority says it will provide a special area for anyone who wants a place to pray while at Giants Stadium or the Continental Airlines Arena _ a reaction to Muslim groups' outcries after several fans who prayed at a New York Giants game were detained and questioned by the FBI in September. Sohail Mohammed, the lawyer for the Totowa-based American Muslim Union, met Sunday with officials from the sports authority,...

A California high school says it will no longer prohibit a student from using religious music to accompany her dance performance audition for a January dance team concert. Officials with West High School in Torrance initially told student Lauren Stoudt she could not choreograph her dance to the song "In Your Presence" because of the song's religious content. The teenager's father contacted the legal defense organization Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which sent a letter to Torrance Unified School District Superintendent Dr. George Mannon, West High School Principal Tim Stowe, and other district officials. The letter warned them that legal action...

RenewAmerica alert! U.S. Air Force bombs freedom of religion September 23, 2005 RenewAmerica staff Friends, Your action is needed! Please send this to everyone you know. As many of you are aware, on August 29, 2005, the U.S. Air Force issued sweeping new guidelines that essentially prohibit public prayer at all official Air Force meetings and events, except at worship services and under "extraordinary circumstances"--such as "mass casualties, preparation for imminent combat and natural disasters." Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is now thinking of requiring all of the Armed Services to abide by these restrictions as well. As reported by...

TRADITION is making a comeback this Christmas, with Melbourne to include an old-fashioned nativity scene in a $200,000 outlay on festive decorations. Church groups are delighted Melbourne City Council has bowed to protests from Christians and returned Christ to Christmas. Council staff cannot remember another city nativity scene. The council will today announce a major revamp of its Christmas decorations and displays. The 17m Christmas tree will be at Federation Square opposite St Paul's Cathedral. Huge "Merry Christmas" banners will be hung throughout the city. A nativity scene of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and Feast of the Epiphany...

What a concept: Prayer in a public place As William Rehnquist's casket was placed in the rotunda of the Supreme Court, I asked myself: "What's wrong with this picture?" Then it hit me: A minister was actually praying, calling Rehnquist a "child of God," right there in the entrance hall of the Supreme Court! It is a fact that the Ten Commandments are posted above the bench in the chamber where these nine folks preside. And each session begins with the words " . . . and God save this honorable court." If an American child were to attempt that...

"Yasmeen Elsamra had a simple request: While her classmates were eating lunch, she wanted to go off by herself for a few moments to pray. The 14-year-old was told she couldn't, and went home distraught that afternoon in October 2003. Praying five times a day is a cornerstone of her Muslim faith."

Eventually, the school district acknowledged it had no policy preventing a student from praying during free time, and allowed Yasmeen to use an empty classroom to unfurl her prayer rug, face Mecca and touch her head to the floor in a few moments of worship. Her case was part of a nationwide grass-roots effort by Muslim parents to make public schools more friendly and accommodating to Muslim students. The movement has gained strength since the September 11 terror attacks. "The reality for many Muslim students in public schools is very difficult," said Ingrid Mattson, vice president of the Islamic Society...

Yasmeen Elsamra had a simple request: While her classmates were eating lunch, she wanted to go off by herself for a few moments to pray. The 14-year-old was told she couldn't, and went home distraught that afternoon in October 2003. Praying five times a day is a cornerstone of her Muslim faith. "If I wasn't allowed to pray my second prayer at school, I couldn't do it at home," she said. "When school finishes, the third prayer begins." Her family contacted a Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which asked the school district to reconsider. Eventually, the district...

Parents push public schools to be more Muslim-friendly 9/3/2005, 8:31 a.m. ET By WAYNE PARRY The Associated Press CLIFFSIDE PARK, N.J. (AP) — Yasmeen Elsamra had a simple request: While her classmates were eating lunch, she wanted to go off by herself for a few moments and pray. The 14-year-old was told she couldn't, and went home distraught that afternoon in October 2003. Praying five times a day is a cornerstone of her Muslim faith. "If I wasn't allowed to pray my second prayer at school, I couldn't do it at home," she said. "When school finishes, the third prayer...

The New Mexico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is objecting to the new logo for the Village of Tijeras. Some village residents are objecting to the ACLU. At issue is the village seal, an image containing depictions of a conquistador’s helmet, a sword and a Catholic rosary. It’s the last item that has the ACLU concerned. “Religious minorities cannot be made to feel like outsiders simply because the government endorses in an unenlightened way the majority faith,” says Peter Simonson, the executive director of the New Mexico ACLU. “It’s part of the culture that has been the Village...

Lynne Bloch was in a state of shock when her husband of 33 years died of a heart attack in June. When she returned from the cemetery to find the mezuzah missing from her front door -- forcibly removed by a condominium association that banned hall and doorway decorations after a remodeling -- she almost had a heart attack herself. The mezuzah is a religious symbol the size of a pen affixed to the door post of a Jewish home. Inside is a rolled piece of parchment that contains the essential tenets of the Jewish faith. "One of the rabbis...

BENTON, La. - In a settlement agreement negotiated by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union will no longer pursue its legal attack upon the Bossier Parish School District. ADF attorneys represent the district. One of the district's schools displayed a nativity scene during the Christmas season of 2003 and has allowed other forms of religious expression on campus. This prompted the ACLU to file suit against the district and school officials. "The ACLU's case was going nowhere fast," said Mike Johnson, an ADF attorney based in Shreveport. "Stockwell Place Elementary School's display of a creche...

The trouble with the Kentucky display of the Ten Commandments, said the Supreme Court, while approving a similar display in Texas, is that the it was motivated by a "predominantly religious purpose." The trouble with the court's confusing -- some say absurd -- rulings, says Kevin "Seamus" Hasson of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, is that they proceed from an impossible premise. "The 'predominantly religious' test suggests that anything not predominantly secular must be religious. It in fact has strong anti -religious overtones." Hasson, whose organization is devoted to defending the free expression of all religious traditions, believes the...

-- snip -- There is undeniably a need for more common ground between conservative Christians and the rest of the country. But injecting more religion in public life is the wrong way to go about achieving it. If government forums are opened to religious expression, we can look forward to bitter fights about what kind to permit. -- snip-- Opening up government forums to religion would almost inevitably prompt more fighting over exactly which religion gets to participate.

WHITLEY CITY, Ky. - It's one of the more conspicuous road signs on U.S. 27, a scenic route that meanders through the Daniel Boone National Forest on its way to a popular recreational area on Lake Cumberland. "WARNING. Jesus is coming. RU Ready?" Such proclamations, already common throughout the Bible Belt, could proliferate along roadsides in reaction to a Supreme Court ruling barring displays of the Ten Commandments in two southern Kentucky courthouses, said Don Swarthout, head of the Kentucky-based Christians Reviving America's Values. "People want to do something to reflect their principles, and that's one way they can legally...

Congressman John Hostettler, R-IN, wants to remove the financial incentive organizations like the ACLU have to attack religious expression in the public square.CitizenLink--Representative John Hostettler, R-Ind., has teamed with the American Legion to prevent the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others like them, from strong arming defendants. The Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005 (PERA) would prohibit attorneys' fees from being collected in cases against the establishment of religion clause. . . . The legislation comes at a time when the ACLU is challenging the mention of "Jesus" in the Indiana legislature, the cross on the California state...

DENVER On the eve of his graduation, the top cadet at the Air Force Academy sent out a religious-themed e-mail to thousands of fellow cadets, even as the school is grappling with complaints that some evangelical Christians are harassing others at the school. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the e-mail sent Tuesday by Wing Commander Nicholas Jurewicz to the freshmen, sophomore and junior classes, which is about 3,000 cadets. "Wing commander" is the title held by the top senior at the school in military ranking. Jurewicz lists his favorite quotations in the message, including several about Jesus. One...

(AgapePress) - A valedictorian at one Wisconsin high school did not have to hide her faith in Christ when it came to her recent graduation speech. When Miriam Cattanach, valedictorian of the Class of 2005 of Spencer High School, submitted her graduation speech to school officials, they said any reference to religion, God, or Jesus must go. Miriam, a committed Christian, said in her speech that Christ is the hope for the future. But when administrators censored her speech, her family contacted Liberty Counsel in Florida. After the legal group got involved, the school changed its tune, says Liberty Counsel...

NO INTRODUCTION NEEDED FOR THIS DU THREAD: (1000+ posts) Sat May-21-05 02:15 PM Original messageShould religious display be banned in public? I think most of us would agree that we're having a national problem with rampant religiosity, and that if we don't figure out how to solve it in a permanent way we're going to end up with a pseudo-theocracy as our form of government. There are scriptural exhortations to make one's prayer and religious affilation a private matter. So: how about making public religious display a misdemeanor? It would be similar to drinking alcoholic bevvies in public, or driving...

AN OFFICIAL REPORT DEALING WITH religious expression in French schools has become a must read for anyone interested in the Islamization of France. Written under the auspices of the top national education official, Jean-Pierre Obin, the report was not initially released by the Ministry of Education. But it was leaked on the Internet in March and now can be found in its entirety at www.proche-orient.info and other websites. The 37-page report is the product of a study carried out between October 2003 and May 2004 by a team of 10 inspectors, including Obin. In addition to examining the recent literature...

JACKSON, Miss. A new Mississippi law allows displays of the Ten Commandments, "In God We Trust" and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in public buildings. Governor Haley Barbour, who already has a Ten Commandments display in his Capitol office, signed the bill without a public ceremony. The Mississippi American Civil Liberties Union is awaiting a U-S Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments on public property before deciding whether to challenge the state law. In 2001, Mississippi passed a law that required "In God We Trust" to be posted in every public classroom, cafeteria and gym....

What are the ground rules for religious expression in public schools? Secretary of Education Richard Riley, at the direction of President Clinton, issued guidelines in 1995 and updated them in 1998 to reflect recent court decisions. A synopsis of the guidelines: • Students have the same right to engage in individual or group prayer and religious discussion during the school day as they do to engage in other comparable activity. • Local school authorities have "substantial discretion" to impose rules of order but may not structure the rules to discriminate against religious activity or speech. • Students may attempt to...

Federal Guidelines for Religious Expression in Public Schools What are the ground rules for religious expression in public schools? Secretary of Education Richard Riley, at the direction of President Clinton, issued guidelines in 1995 and updated them in 1998 to reflect recent court decisions. A synopsis of the guidelines: Students have the same right to engage in individual or group prayer and religious discussion during the school day as they do to engage in other comparable activity. Local school authorities have "substantial discretion" to impose rules of order but may not structure the rules to discriminate against religious activity or...

WEED - When the senior class at Weed High School was told it could not paint a Nativity scene on a window, student body president Jessica Hofer knew from her senior project research that the students had a constitutional right to do so and with her help they did. By school tradition, classes decorate the school for seasonal holidays with the work judged, earning the class "spirit points." The designs are approved by faculty advisors before the actual work begins. This year senior class president Becky James and her classmates designed a simple Nativity set painting for a small window...

700 lawyers ready to fight ACLU lawsuits Legal group's 'Christmas Project' designed to protect public schools -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: November 24, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Is it illegal to sing Christmas carols in public school? Or to display a manger scene or even to say the words "Merry Christmas" in those halls of learning? Many public school officials act as though such prohibitions were clearly laid on in the Constitution and defensively ban every vestige of "religious expression" out of fear of an expensive ACLU lawsuit. But this year, help is on the way: An army of 700...

A Boca Raton ordinance that bans upright crosses and Stars of David in a city cemetery doesn't violate a state law designed to protect religious freedom, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

From: American Family AssociationSent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 9:07 AMTo: *************Subject: URGENT: Call Gov. Schwarznegger today to oppose SB 1234 Bill That Criminalizes Speaking Against Homosexuality Passes CA State AssemblyURGENT: Call Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Today To Oppose SB 1234!Please call Governor Schwarzenegger TODAY - 916-445-2841 - and urge him not to sign SB 1234. Tell him that you believe all crimes should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law but SB 1234 could be interpreted by courts to make religious speech a crime if the "victim" considers it a threat. It is very important that Gov. Schwarzenegger's phone...

SYRACUSE- A federal judge's decision to dismiss a freedom-of-speech lawsuit over a kindergartner's picture of Jesus in a school assignment about the environment is "not only unconstitutional, it's unconscionable," the family's attorney said Friday. It is the second time U.S. District Court Judge Norman Mordue has thrown out the 1999 lawsuit brought by student Antonio Peck and his family against the Baldwinsville Central School District. "The appeals court voted 3-0 for a reversal the first time. We will take it back there again. This ruling couldn't be more wrong," said Mat Staver, the family's attorney and president of Liberty Counsel,...

Every workday for the past six months, Alan Blackburn of Pequot Lakes has parked a quarter-mile down the road from the state Department of Revenue office in Brainerd, Minn., and walked the rest of the way to his job there. Blackburn, 48, doesn't necessarily need the exercise. But, according to a lawsuit filed against his employer this week in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, his car has been barred from the state parking lot as long as it carries the religious and political messages he's posted on it. The suit, brought by a Virginia-based nonprofit legal center founded by...

<p>Over the past few years, the American Civil Liberties Union has intensified its attacks on religious symbols throughout America, arguing that religious activities or symbols that are implicitly or explicitly sanctioned by the government are prohibited by the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. From local communities that display nativity scenes to city seals that bear religious insignia, no public display of religion is exempt. Most recently, the ACLU has targeted the Los Angeles County seal, which bears an image of the cross. The ACLU seems to aim at nothing short of a complete eradication of religion from the public sphere.</p>

A federal judge has ruled that a Chicago family can put a religious phrase on a Chicago Park District fund-raising brick. The park district violated the First Amendment rights of Robert and Mildred Tong when it refused to allow them to inscribe the phrase ``Jesus is the Cornerstone'' on a brick they bought for $50, U.S. District Judge Ruben Castillo decided Thursday. The bricks are sold to raise money for Senn Park on Chicago's North Side. Individuals or families can buy the bricks to place in walkways in the park. Mildred Tong said she's happy about the judge's decision but...

Bible passage on Marion firetruck questioned Associated Press MARION - A biblical verse painted on the city's new firetruck should be removed because it mixes government and religion, a city councilwoman said. Marion Fire Chief Steve Gorrell said department members considering slogans to go on the new truck settled on part of the 23rd Psalm: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." "The firefighters wanted to put something on there to show the public how they represent themselves," Gorrell told the Chronicle-Tribune for a story Thursday. The department chose the...

EXCERPTED FROM a public-school history textbook sometime in the future: . . . so the Pilgrims came to America, motivated by a religious vision. As the Mayflower Compact put it, they undertook their voyage “for the glory of (deity reference deleted), and advancement of the Christian faith.” They agreed to “solemnly and mutually in the presence of (deity reference deleted), and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic” Later, the Great Awakening in the first half of the 18th century was, in the words of historian Paul Johnson, a “proto-revolutionary event” helping to create an...

Montana Governor: Commandments Displays a Matter of Free Speech By Bob Anez Associated Press Writer HELENA, Mont. (AP) - Montana's governor defended the placement of Ten Commandments monuments on government property, saying those troubled by such displays "have something going inside of them that would need a little help anyway." Gov. Judy Martz's comments Friday came in response to a question about a Commandments display in front of a courthouse in Kalispell. Opponents have said it violates the line between church and state, and have threatened legal action if the display is not removed. Martz, a Republican, said such displays...