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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

Covering the New Evangelical

Posted on June 02, 2008
Today's NYTimes offers a piece on a growing theme this year: a new generation of religious activists who reject partisan politics as a primary expression of their faith. They say they are tired of the culture wars. They say they...

Obama Leaves Trinity UCC, Answers Questions About Choosing a Church

Posted on June 02, 2008
For the relationship between pastors and candidates, and the attention and scrutiny it can bring, this political season has been pretty unprecedented, hasn't it? From Obama's rejection of his church of 20 years, to McCain's about-face on Rev. Hagee and Parsley after seeking their support, candidates have found that the perils of endorsement run in both directions...

Illinois Moment of Silence Ban Made Statewide

Posted on May 31, 2008
The Chicago Tribune reports that a federal judge has expanded his injunction against that state's "moment of silence" law to include all school districts in Illinois, pending a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality. Judge Robert Gettleman's decision follows his ruling turning...

Analysis Sees CA Court Rejecting Doctors' Religious Grounds for Discriminating

Posted on May 30, 2008
Writing at law.com, Mike McKee sees California Supreme Court justices delivering a defeat to the doctors who refused to perform an artificial insemination procedure on a lesbian. In a hearing earlier this week, they argued that religious objections should overrule...

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Iraq Investigating Marines for Pushing Christianity

Posted on May 29, 2008
McClatchy has a brief report announcing an investigation by officials of Iraq's Falluljah into allegations of Christian proselytizing. [R]esidents are abuzz that some Americans whom they consider occupiers are acting as Christian missionaries. Residents said some Marines at the western...

"Zoning for Jesus": RLUIPA Causes More Hand-Wringing

Posted on May 29, 2008
In an article entitled "Zoning for Jesus", The Nashville Scene tells of the city's precarious position after killing a local church's desire to build a "halfway house" for alcohol and drug addicts, leading to a lawsuit that Nashville seemingly concedes...

Philly Boy Scouts File Lawsuit in the Face of Discrimination Deadline

Posted on May 28, 2008
If there's one axiom that writing this blog has taught me applies to church-state jurisprudence, it's this one: be careful what you wish for. In 2000, the Supreme Court gave the Boy Scouts the ruling they sought. Scouts are a...

More Voucher Plans, This Time Texas

Posted on May 28, 2008
The Houston Chronicle reports on a new proposal that would turn a dropout program into a voucher scheme, sending public money to private schools for attracting dropout students. Texas lawmakers set aside about $50 million last year for a more...

The God Primaries

Posted on May 28, 2008
Jane Lampson looks back over the 2008 presidential primaries in both parties so far for the Christian Science Monitor and sees one distinctive mark holding them together: lots of God-talk. There was Mitt Romney's speech to try to dispel concerns...

California Court Debates Doctors' Right to Discriminate on Religious Grounds

Posted on May 28, 2008
The Supreme Court of California today heard arguments on a controversial issue, after a Doctor was sued for refusing to perform an artificial insemination procedure on a lesbian couple. At stake ion this hearing is not the outcome of the...

Tax-Exempt Institutions Receive New Scrutiny

Posted on May 27, 2008
Yesterday's NYTimes explored a growing concern among non-profit entities: increasing scrutiny by both federal and local governments. When does a tax-exempt organization fail to live up to the expectations of that privileged status? In a ruling last December that sent...

Texas' FLDS Mistake Leads to Church-State Controversy

Posted on May 27, 2008
A Christian Science Monitor piece today surveys the potential constitutional mess over the FLDS children seized by Texas, as critics say investigators may have focused too broadly on the religious beliefs of the group. Are the beliefs of the Fundamentalist...

Suit Explores Church Autonomy, Hearing Wednesday

Posted on May 26, 2008
Saturday's Washington Post reports that several denominations have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in a lawsuit surrounding an Episcopal congregation's ability to break with the church. The filings loosely connect millions more U.S. Christians to the complex Virginia case, which blends U...

Supreme Court Watch

Posted on May 23, 2008
Friday's New York Times takes a look at the Supreme Court term to date, and finds a significant difference from the last. A year ago at this time, the Supreme Court had decided 13 cases by votes of 5 to...

South Carolina Creates State-Wide Policy For Government Invocations

Posted on May 23, 2008
Via Religion Clause, the Alliance Defense Fund is boasting of a bill that has passed the South Carolina legislature, that lays out the procedure for opening official government meetings with prayer. The law provides that state or local governing bodies...

Disagreeing with the IRS

Posted on May 22, 2008
AU's Rob Boston doesn't agree with the IRS' recent decision to clear Wiley Drake of electioneering charges, but is glad for one thing: Now that he?s been cleared, maybe Drake will stop praying for our deaths....

Holly Hollman on the "Evangelical Manifesto"

Posted on May 22, 2008
In the newest issue of the Baptist Joint Committee's Report from the Capital, general counsel Holly Hollman examines the "Evangelical Manifesto" signed by a number of religious leaders that seems to argue, among other things, for less politicization of the...

More School Boards Try Religion in Class

Posted on May 22, 2008
The Roanoke (VA) Times reports on Craig County's decision to institute a Bible class next year, raising the concern of the ACLU. The group says the course would use the controversial National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools curriculum,....

IRS Clears United Church of Christ in Tax-Exempt Probe

Posted on May 21, 2008
According to a UCC press release, the IRS has sent a letter to the denomination clearing it of wrongdoing when Barack Obama - a member of the church - spoke at their national convention. ?We are pleased that the IRS...

Wisconsin School District Settled Religious Freedom Suit

Posted on May 21, 2008
The Tomah School District, sued for its policy that in student artwork religious beliefs may not be depicted, has settled with the Alliance Defense Fund, according to the Chicago Tribune....

Controversial Minnesota Charter School Given Directives to Comply With Law

Posted on May 20, 2008
Minnesota's Education Department has spelled out necessary changes for a controversial charter school emphasizing Middle East language and culture after charges of improper uses of religion. Most of the school's operations follow state charter school law and federal guidelines on...

Ted Kennedy on Religious Liberty

Posted on May 20, 2008
The focus is rightly on Senator Ted Kennedy today, as his cancer diagnosis has left heavy the hearts of Americans. Among other virtuous positions, Kennedy has been a stalwart defender of religious liberty and the separation of church and state....

Study: 1 in 8 Biology Teachers Teach Creationism as Valid Science

Posted on May 20, 2008
Via Wired, a new study headed by Penn State political science professor Michael Berkman investigates the attitudes and practices of high school biology teachers with regard to the teaching of evolution. His discovery includes this (my emph): We also asked...

SBC's Former VP Admits Pulpit Endorsement, But IRS Clears Wiley Drake of Wrongdoing,

Posted on May 19, 2008
Pastor and former SBC Vice President Wiley Drake has been under investigation by the IRS for his endorsement of presidential candidate Mike Huckabee - in an email using church letterhead, and on his radio show broadcast out of the church....

Violence is Not the Answer

Posted on May 19, 2008
After spending the weekend (here and here) posting about the threats to a Florida pastor over his sensible removal of the flag from the sanctuary, Charles Haynes' new column seems an appropriate follow-up. Here, too, the topic is a resort...

Brent Walker on Sanctuary Flag Controversy

Posted on May 17, 2008
In today's Daytona Beach News-Journal, BJC Director Brent Walker has a powerful op-ed on the recent threats to Rev. Sean Allen over his theological belief that the American flag should not be in the altar of the sanctuary. Read the...

Arizona Court Throws Out State's Voucher Program

Posted on May 16, 2008
A panel of the Arizona State Court of Appeals declared the state's 2-year-old school voucher initiative illegal yesterday. The program, for foster and disabled children, has been described as a test effort leading to a more sweeping, statewide voucher program...

Florida Pastor Receives Threats for Separating State-Worship from God-Worship

Posted on May 16, 2008
In a sad story, a Baptist pastor in Florida has taken leave pending an investigation into threatening notes he received. What did he do to incur such hateful, un-Christian animus? Rev. Sean Allen dared to remove the American and Christian...

How Much Room is There for "Play Between the Joints" of the 2 Religion Clauses?

Posted on May 15, 2008
In Colorado, a law prohibits the state from giving public tuition assistance money to students enrolled in "pervasively sectarian" institutions, in an effort to avoid conflicting with the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution. Colorado Christian University is challenging their...

Washington Post on Upcoming Florida Church-State Amendments

Posted on May 15, 2008
In today's Washington Post, Jacqueline Salmon profiles the upcoming ballot initiative in Florida which will remove a key religious liberty provision from the state Constitution and would pave the way for a new school voucher scheme after other attempts have...

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