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Religion & Law

Blog From The Capital

Blog from the Capital is the weblog of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, a Baptist church-state separation advocacy group in D.C. for the last 70 years.

Post Frequency: 8.8/day

Last Entry: March 30, 2009 at 16:22:09

DOJ Memo Generates Scrutiny From Some...

Posted on October 23, 2008
It's no surprise that, given the current focus on all things election-related, questionable new revelations about the outgoing administration are avoiding media scrutiny. Case in point, last week's "quietly posted" Justice Department memo outlining a new and controversial (to say...

Frustration of American Muslims

Posted on October 23, 2008
NPR's Day to Day ran a story yesterday detailing the reluctance of many Muslim Americans to associate with either major political party. Both sides, they say, have too readily embraced a fear-based campaign targeting their faith. Osama Siblani publishes the...

The BJC on TV

Posted on October 23, 2008
If you are a Comcast cable subscriber and receive The Comcast Network, tune in tonight at 10 Eastern to see Baptist Joint Committee director Brent Walker on Art Fennell Reports. They will be discussing the issue of politics in the...

Will Supreme Court Overhaul Establishment Clause Outlook?

Posted on October 22, 2008
In today's LATimes, David Savage reports that the Supreme Court will shortly decide whether to hear the appeal of a case involving a memorial cross in the Mojave Desert. The Appeals Court ruled against the display, even rejecting Congress' attempt...

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Congressman Equates Being American with Belief in God

Posted on October 21, 2008
I know the last few weeks of a hotly contested presidential election will inevitably turn into silly season. But recent days have seen outrageously divisive outbursts (tactics?) including a statement today on a religious note. North Carolina Congressman Robin Hayes,...

Vouchers for Me, Not for Thee

Posted on October 21, 2008
There are so many reasons to oppose school vouchers - they drain the public school system, they offer barriers to oversight, and they don't seem to work, to name a few - public debate often misses the very compelling religious...

Colin Powell and the "Really Right Answer"

Posted on October 20, 2008
General Colin Powell is getting lots of attention for his presidential endorsement on Meet the Press Sunday. But from my point of view, the most important - moving, really - part of his statement came near the end as he...

Louisiana's Jindal Also Attends Church on the State's Dime

Posted on October 20, 2008
Americans United responds to a story in Baton Rouge's Advocate that Governor Bobby Jindal has made frequent use of state resources - including a helicopter - to travel to and from church services. In his first eight months of office,...

Justice Department Memo Made Public: Religious Funding Protections Don't Apply

Posted on October 18, 2008
The Bush Administration has spent 8 years trying to remove the constitutional safeguards that regulate the flow of taxpayer money to religious organizations. Fortunately, Congress has declined to go along with those efforts and has held firm that public money...

Religious Discrimination Claims Rise

Posted on October 17, 2008
It seems like we've come across stories like this about once every six months. The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported that claims of religious discrimination in the workplace are on the rise. UPI summarizes the findings: Worker discrimination filings over...

Presidential Debate Ends on School Voucher Dispute

Posted on October 16, 2008
The debate between Senators McCain and Obama last night spent a fair amount of time on the issue of school vouchers. You can read the debate transcript here, or I excerpted the voucher section in the extended entry below.

Flashback: DC Vouchers Put Students at Risk, Don't Work

Posted on October 16, 2008
Since the DC school vouchers played such a prominent role in last night's debate discussion on education, it's worth revisiting the study conducted by the GAO just one year ago. Here's how the Washington Post reported it: A voucher program...

Texas Inserts Religion Advocates into Science Curriculum Discussion

Posted on October 16, 2008
Via Religion Clause, Dallas News reports that the Texas Board of Education has named 3 creationists to the 6-member committee that reviews the science curriculum. Two of the appointees are authors of a book that questions many of the tenets...

Oklahoma Town's Stirs Church/State Pot Again

Posted on October 15, 2008
Edmond, OK - a city with a history of church/state legal woes - has authorized taxpayer money to purchase a statue of Christ to be placed downtown. [AU's Barry] Lynn said using public funds on the project is a clear...

Florida's Forced Haircut of Sikh Prisoners Challenged

Posted on October 15, 2008
The Sikh community has been calling attention to Florida's policy allowing jails to forceably cut inmates' hair, despite religious beliefs that require hair to be unshorn. Late last week, the ACLU wrote to Governor Crist, asking him to rescind the...

Football Coach Asks Supreme Court to Hear Prayer Appeal

Posted on October 14, 2008
East Brunswick, NJ Football coach Marcus Borden has asked the US Supreme Court to hear his appeal over the right to pray with his public high school team before games. "The Supreme Court needs to hear this case because it...

Atheist Soldier to Drop Suit Against Military, New Case Takes its Place

Posted on October 14, 2008
The Army's Jeremy Hall, plaintiff in an extensive lawsuit against the Defense Department - alleging systemic religious discrimination in the military - is dropping the suit as he is leaving the service. [T]he Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which filed the...

Don't Tell Justice Stevens: Speculation on the Future of the Court

Posted on October 13, 2008
At legaltimes.com, Tony Mauro asks a handful of constitutional experts their opinion on how a McCain or Obama presidency might affect the makeup of the Supreme Court in their field. Commenting on church-state affairs, professor Douglas Laycock predicts: [A] McCain...

Liberty Counsel Takes Graduation Speech Punishment to 10th Circuit

Posted on October 13, 2008
The Denver Post reports that a contentious case involving a 2006 high school graduation prayer has been appealed to the 10th Circuit. [Erica] Corder is seeking a declaration that the school violated her First Amendment rights and an injunction against...

Campaign Invocation Flaunts Religious Divisiveness, Ignorance

Posted on October 12, 2008
Kudos to the McCain campaign for repudiating the invocation given at his rally in Davenport, IA by Rev. Arnold Conrad. There are so many offensive notions packed in, it's difficult to know which outrage to emphasize. "I would also pray,...

Palin's Travel Reimbursements Raise Church-State Questions

Posted on October 11, 2008
An investigative report from the Associated Press found that Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin often charged the state for expenses involved with religious activity and the promotion of "religious causes". Since she took state office in late 2006, the governor and...

ABP on Religious Voter Survey

Posted on October 10, 2008
Associated Baptist Press' Rob Marus reports on that recent study of young adult Americans of faith: [A] significant shift has occurred in religious voters who attend religious services once or twice a month. Those voters narrowly preferred Bush over Kerry...

Pulpit Endorsement Toxicity

Posted on October 10, 2008
World Magazine profiles the recent dispute over politics in the pulpit, quoting the Baptist Joint Committee's Brent Walker in noting the Supreme Court has not found tax exemption to be a right. Another important point was made by Stan Hastey...

Survey of Religious Americans Highlights Young Adults

Posted on October 09, 2008
Faith in Public Life released results of a new survey of religious Americans, focusing in on young adults and their attitude toward politics, government and issues of the day. There is plenty to browse - and I recommend it. But...

Religious Violence Ramps Up in India

Posted on October 09, 2008
Christianity Today reports on increased violence against Christians in India. Nina Shea, vice chair for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said the attacks are essentially pogroms "to rid the state of the Christian minority." The World Christian Database...

Progress

Posted on October 08, 2008
Get Religion notices something about last night's presidential debate in Nashville: The transcript includes none of the following words: God, faith, pray(er), church, Islam, or Christ(ianity).And yet, they still managed to discuss the values involved in health care policy, peace-keeping...

White House Proposes Voucher Push for Inner-City Faith-Based Schools

Posted on October 08, 2008
Via Religion Clause, the White House has released a report (pdf) exploring the troubles faced by inner-city faith-based schools. Not surprisingly, they recommend taxpayer money go to prop them up. From the introduction: Fortunately, this problem is solvable...

Dr. James Dobson Presents: Great Moments in Hair-Splitting

Posted on October 07, 2008
James Dobson on his radio show today (my emphasis): It's probably obvious which of the two major candidates' views are more palatable to those of us who embrace a pro-life, pro-family world view. While I will not endorse either candidate...

Supreme Court Declines Bible-Consulting Jury Case

Posted on October 07, 2008
The Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear the appeal of a death row inmate who argued that the jury foreman's reading of the Bible during sentencing deliberations was inappropriate. At issue in the appeal was whether reading the Bible aloud...

Army Responds to Religious Discrimination Complaint

Posted on October 07, 2008
The Army has disciplined 2 drill sergeants for religious discrimination involving Jewish soldier Michael Handman, and are investigating his assault by other trainees at Fort Benning. Handman wrote to his parents after a drill sergeant refused to let the 20-year-old...

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