Oklahoma Representative Mis-Represents Founding Fathers

Posted with permission of the author. The original letter sent by Rep. Ritze, can be sent to you upon request. Just include your email address and name in the comment box below this article. Rep Ritze is also the patron paying for the recently passed and sited "10 Commandments Monument" on the north side of the Oklahoma Capitol building ---

I sent the following letter to Rep Ritze, and have submitted a small extract
from it to the Tulsa World as a Letter to the Editor.

As a member of the Board of the ACLU of OK and as the President of the
Ne OK Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, I have
been informed by some of MY constituents that you sent out a letter to your
constituents that states that "our Constitution ... demonstrate(s) that the
United States of America is a Christian Nation".

This is a myth that you are attempting to propagate.

It involves conflating America's two foundings - the earlier colonial
founding of Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, etc. - with the Founding
of the federal government from 1776-1789. To distinguish between the two, I
suggest that we use different terms to describe these two "foundings." The
federal Founding Fathers were Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison,
Franklin, et al. Men like John Winthrop, John Smith, Thomas Hooker, and
Roger Williams were planting fathers.

It is true that the earlier colonial charters of the planting fathers used
explicitly biblical language and otherwise covenanted with the Triune
Christian God (save for Roger Williams' Rhode Island).

However, whatever useful ideas the Founding Fathers took from the earlier
colonial charters were secular. When comparing the language in the earlier
colonial charters to that of the US Constitution what is striking is just
how different their approaches are to religion and government. The US
Constitution completely and utterly lacks explicitly biblical language or a
covenant to the God of the Bible, but instead imposes a religiously neutral
"no religious test" clause in Article VI, Clause 3.

For example, the Mayflower Compact gives us a crystal-clear example of how
a charter is worded by people deliberately founding a Christian polity. We
are told directly that the colony is being "undertaken for the glory of God,
and advancement of the Christian faith." The Founding Fathers could have
used similar wording, but didn't. The rationales for creating the Union are
purely secular: insuring tranquility, providing for defense, promoting the
general welfare, and securing the blessings of liberty.

On religion and government, if the Founding Fathers followed any of the
planting fathers' models, it was Roger Williams' Rhode Island, the man who
coined the term "wall of separation" between Church and State. And whose
government was in principle a secular entity, not founded on a covenant to
the God of the Bible.

The document that was finally approved at the constitutional convention
mentioned religion only once, and that was in Article VI, Section 3, which
stated that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to
any office or public trust under the United States." Now if the delegates at
the convention had truly intended to establish a "Christian nation," why
would they have put a statement like this in the constitution and nowhere
else even refer to religion? Common sense is enough to convince any
reasonable person that if the intention of these men had really been the
formation of a "Christian nation," the constitution they wrote would have
surely made several references to God, the Bible, Jesus, and other
accouterments of the Christian religion, and rather than expressly
forbidding ANY religious test as a condition for holding public office in
the new nation, it would have stipulated that allegiance to Christianity was
a requirement for public office. After all, when someone today finds a tract
left at the front door of his house or on the windshield of his car, he
doesn't have to read very far to determine that its obvious intention is to
further the Christian religion. Are we to assume, then, that the founding
fathers wanted to establish a Christian nation but were so stupid that they
couldn't write a constitution that would make their purpose clear to those
who read it?

Clearly, the founders of our nation intended government to maintain a
neutral posture in matters of religion. Anyone who would still insist that
the intention of the founding fathers was to establish a Christian nation
should review a document written during the administration of George
Washington. Article 11 of the Treaty with Tripoli declared in part that "the
government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian
religion..." (Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States,
ed. Hunter Miller, Vol. 2, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1931, p. 365).
This treaty was negotiated by the American diplomat Joel Barlow during the
administration of George Washington. Washington read it and approved it,
although it was not ratified by the senate until John Adams had become
president. When Adams signed it, he added this statement to his signature
"Now, be it known, that I, John Adams, President of the United States of
America, having seen and considered the said treaty, do, by and within the
consent of the Senate, accept, ratify and confirm the same, and every clause
and article thereof." This document and the approval that it received from
our nation's first and second presidents and the U. S. Senate as constituted
in 1797 do very little to support the popular notion that the founding
fathers established our country as a "Christian nation."


As to your statement: "The principles and laws that govern us find their
basis in the Bible".
Dr. Gregg Frazer, himself a Christian historian at a Christian university,
lays this record bare:

In the hundreds of pages comprising Madison's notes on the constitutional
convention (and those of the others who kept notes), there is no mention of
biblical passages/verses in the debates/discussions on the various parts and
principles of the Constitution. They mention Rome, Sparta, German
confederacies, Montesquieu, and a number of other sources - but no Scripture
verses.
In The Federalist Papers, there is no mention of biblical sources for any of
the Constitution's principles, either - one would think they could squeeze
them in among the 85 essays if they were, indeed, the sources; especially
since the audience was common men who were familiar with, and had respect
for, the Bible. The word "God" is used twice - and one of those is a
reference to the pagan gods of ancient Greece. "Almighty" is used twice and
"providence" three times - but neither is ever used in connection with any
constitutional principle or influence. The Bible is not mentioned.

1. None of the men who were at the Constitutional Convention noted any
discussion at all of Biblical sources. They mention many historical sources
for their ideas, from ancient Greece and Rome to Enlightenment philosophers,
but there is no mention of any Biblical principle anywhere in those
discussions.

2. In the Federalist papers, which were written by Madison, Hamilton and Jay
for the purpose of explaining and justifying the provisions of the
Constitution, nowhere mention any Biblical source for any of those
provisions. Remember, they were writing for a predominately Christian
audience and trying to convince them to vote for the Constitution. If they
could have pointed to Biblical justifications for the various provisions of
that document, that would have been a powerful and persuasive argument that
would have served their purposes. That they did not - indeed, could not -
make such an argument speaks volumes.

3. There are no Biblical analogs for the provisions of the Constitution.
There is no support to be found in the Bible for the notion of political
liberty, much less for religious liberty. Indeed, Romans 13 makes it quite
clear that all governments, including tyrannical ones, are instituted by God
and are to be obeyed. The very idea of revolution is antithetical to this
idea.

4. At no point in history prior to the Enlightenment is there a single
example of a Christian government that established anything even remotely
like a free and democratic society. Christian theology prior to that time
supported the divine right of kings and imposed punishments for things like
blasphemy that are entirely contrary to the notion of freedom of conscience.
The Constitution, by eliminating religious tests for office and forbidding
religious establishments, is completely opposed to that entire history.

--
Karl Sniderman
ksniderman@valornet.com

Americans United Urges Army Officials To Alter ‘Church Retreat’ Program At Missouri Base

Watchdog Group Says Further Changes Are Necessary To Avoid Religious Coercion At Fort Leonard Wood

December 18, 2009

U.S. military officials should make further changes at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri to ensure that soldiers are not subjected to unwanted religious proselytism, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.


In July of 2008, Americans United wrote to Department of Defense officials to raise concerns about the “Tabernacle Baptist Church Retreat” (previously known as “Free Day Away”), a program sponsored by a church in Lebanon, Mo. Under the program, soldiers are taken to the church for food and recreational activities but are required to attend an evangelistic service while there.

Soldiers who chose not to attend were left behind at the base to continue with their military responsibilities. The fort is a training center for new recruits, and the “Church Retreat” program is the only day (other than the day before graduation) off base allotted to enlistees. Officials at the fort had been promoting the program for 36 years.


Shortly after AU sent its missive, Department of Defense officials issued guidelines stating that it should be made clear that attendance is voluntary and that soldiers who remain behind should be allotted free time and not made to work.


Read the full press release at www.au.org

Read the follow-up letter sent to Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates

Americans United Praises Senate Vote Against Nelson-Hatch Amendment

Health-Care Reform Package Should Not Reflect Religious Doctrine, Says Church-State Watchdog Group

December 8, 2009


Americans United for Separation of Church and State today commended the U.S. Senate for rejecting a religion-based amendment to the health-care reform bill that would have limited women’s access to abortion.


By a 54-45 vote, the Senate tabled the Nelson-Hatch amendment, which would have eliminated abortion coverage from insurance plans that receive federal funds, even if the coverage is paid for with private funds. The proposal, promoted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is similar to a controversial amendment added to the health-care bill in the House at the behest of the church hierarchy.


The Catholic bishops and allied Religious Right forces are lobbying aggressively to enshrine their doctrines about abortion in the health-care reform package.
Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “I am glad the Senate defeated this proposal. Health-care legislation should be based on the needs of the American people, not the doctrines of powerful religious interest groups.

Read the full press release at www.au.org

Supreme Court Should Reject Religious Discrimination At Public Universities

Supreme Court Should Reject Religious Discrimination At Public Universities, Says Americans United

Church-State Watchdog Group Calls On High Court To Affirm Lower Court Ruling In Calif. Law School Case


December 7, 2009


The U.S. Supreme Court today announced it will hear a dispute from California involving an evangelical Christian club at a public law school that wants recognition and funding as an official campus organization, even though it discriminates on religious grounds.


Americans United for Separation of Church and State urged the high court to use the case as a vehicle to make it clear that groups seeking public funding and official recognition on public college campuses must be open to all.
“This case is about fundamental fairness,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “If the student religious group wins, it will mean some students will be compelled to support clubs that won’t even admit them as members. That’s just not right.”


The dispute involves a branch of the Christian Legal Society at Hastings College of Law at the University of California in San Francisco. The group sought funding and official status from the school, even though it effectively bars gays and non-Christians from membership by requiring all officers and voting members to sign an evangelical Christian statement of faith.


Read the full press release at www.au.org

Federal Appeals Court Blows Whistle On Wisconsin Sheriff’s Religious Proselytism

December 4, 2009


A federal appeals court made the right call today by striking down religious presentations given at mandatory meetings at the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s office, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. ran afoul of the law by inviting the Fellowship of the Christian Centurions, a group that seeks to evangelize law-enforcement officers in its religious doctrines, to give proselytizing talks at meetings that deputy sheriffs were required to attend.


Americans United Executive Director the Rev. Barry W. Lynn welcomed the decision, which he called “a strong reaffirmation of religious liberty.”
Said Lynn, “Sheriff Clarke is free to engage in whatever religious activities he wants in his personal time, but he has no right to use official channels to impose religion on his staff.”

Read the full press release at www.au.org

Religious Right, Catholic Bishops Seek To Impose Religion On All Americans Through Law

‘Manhattan Declaration’ Signals Conservative Church Groups’ Intention To Undercut Separation Of Church And State, Says AU’s Lynn

November 20, 2009

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today expressed grave concern about a renewed push by a coalition of conservative church groups to impose religious teachings on all Americans through government action.

At a press conference today, Religious Right leaders and Roman Catholic bishops unveiled a joint statement criticizing laws that allow reproductive choice and same-sex marriage. The “Manhattan Declaration” indicates that participating religious leaders will defy such laws if they conflict with church doctrines.

Americans United charges that the real agenda is not protecting the religious freedom of churches, but rather attempting to impose those doctrines on all Americans by government decree.

Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “This declaration is certain to be deeply divisive. These religious leaders want to see their doctrines imposed by force of law, and that goes against everything America stands for.

“The United States is an incredibly diverse nation,” he continued, “and it would be a disaster if government started favoring one religious perspective over others.”

Lynn said most Catholics and evangelical Christians do not want to see their houses of worship drawn into politics.

“I am optimistic that the people in the pews will not heed their leaders’ misguided call to action,” Lynn said. “Polls show that most church-goers do not want to see their faith politicized. But I am also well aware that religious leaders have vast lobbying power that cannot be ignored.”

Lynn noted the House version of health-care reform was revised at the behest of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to curtail women’s access to abortion.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.




Read the full press release at au.org

Is House Health Care Bill a Threat to Our Constitution?

By Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
www.au.org
Posted on November 18, 2009,
Printed on November 20, 2009
http://www.alternet.org/story/144045/

EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece was delivered as a statement at a press conference called by the Religious Coaltion for Reproductive Choice at the National Press Club on November 16, 2009. The topic was the anti-choice amendment, authored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., that was attached to the House health-care reform bill.

In the United States, the institutions of government and religion are separate.

This is not just my opinion. It is the law of the land. Our Constitution prohibits Congress from making laws “respecting an establishment of religion.” The Supreme Court has stated more than once that laws must not advance religion or have a religious purpose.

How surprising and appalling, then, to see that a provision designed to curtail women’s right to abortion was slipped into the health-care bill at the behest of a powerful religious group, a provision that reflects the doctrines of that group.

A few days ago, Rep. Bart Stupak, the prime mover of this provision, told the Associated Press, “The Catholic Church used their power — their clout, if you will — to influence this issue. They had to. It’s a basic teaching of the religion.”

Therein lies the problem. It is not the job of government to enforce religious teaching. Abortion is a constitutionally protected medical procedure in this country. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church has sought to change that fact, but the bishops have been unable to persuade the American people that their view is correct. Indeed, polls show that the church hierarchy has been unable to persuade even its own members to adopt the church’s narrow view on legal abortion.

The church hierarchy now seeks through legislative action to accomplish something it has failed to get through its own efforts at moral suasion. Is it any wonder that those of us who are not even members of the church are upset and angry about this? We wish to live in the 21st Century, not an echo of medieval Spain. We do not wish to have the doctrines of the Catholic Church – or indeed any faith – imposed on us through law.

I understand the desire of the House leadership to pass a health-care bill. The issue has been on the national agenda in some form or another since the days of Theodore Roosevelt.

But health-care reform that attacks the rights of more than half of the population by subjecting some of their basic and most intimate decisions to a large and powerful church’s governing body is not reform at all. It is a huge step backward. As the director of a constitutional rights group – and I
say this sadly -- it would be better to dump the entire bill than to allow it to become law with these noxious provisions intact.

I suppose those of us standing here today may be accused of “anti-Catholicism” for what we have said. Nothing could be further from the truth. We know that across this country, Catholics of goodwill have joined us in opposing this heavy-handed move by the bishops and their Washington lobbyists. You can feel the anger stirring across the land; a backlash is building. It will not be silenced, and we are here today to give voice to that movement.

I have always taken as one of my guiding lights America’s first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy. In a famous 1960 speech he said, “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act…. I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish, where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source -- where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials….”

Those were wise words. We best honor them today not by enshrining them in books and nodding in agreement when we read them. We honor those words by putting them into practice and ensuring that America upholds the separation of church and state

That’s why we are calling on the Senate to not include this amendment in their version of the bill. There is still time to stop this from becoming law.

This lobbying effort by the Roman Catholic Church was as well-orchestrated and ruthless an assault on the rights of the poor as any campaign waged by any other corporation. At a minimum, the church should voluntarily register as a federal lobbyist and disclose the costs of this attack on women’s constitutional rights. This would be consistent with an ethos of transparency, without even raising the specter of undue government interference with religion.


Rev. Barry Lynn is executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Proposed ‘Christian’ Prison In Oklahoma Raises Serious Legal Issues, Americans United Warns

November 18, 2009

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today warned Oklahoma corrections officials that a proposed “Christian” prison cannot be supported with public funds.

In a letter to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Americans United attorneys said the U.S. Constitution prohibits public aid for worship and religious instruction. Thus, public funds for Corrections Concepts’ Christian-themed prison would violate the First Amendment.

According to news media accounts, sponsors say the Wakita, Okla., prison will hire only Christian staff and inmates will be required to participate in a Christ-centered curriculum.

The AU letter noted that the 8th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against a similar religious program in Iowa in its 2007 Americans United v. Prison Fellowship Ministries decision.

“If the Department provides funding to Corrections Concepts’ prison,” Americans United attorneys insisted, “indoctrination will be the inevitable result, just as it was in Prison Fellowship Ministries. And, just as inevitably, the funding of such indoctrination will violate the Constitution.”

The letter was signed by Americans United Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, AU Senior Litigation Counsel Alex J. Luchenitser and AU Staff Attorney Ian Smith.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, says the issues at stake are critically important.

“It is wrong for government to take taxpayers’ money and spend it on religious indoctrination,” Lynn said. “That’s a violation of the fundamental rights of every American.

“I strongly believe that inmates should have access to religious services of their own choosing,” he continued, “but government should never favor one faith over others or coerce inmates to participate in religion.”

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/11/proposed-christian-prison.html

Proposed ‘Christian’ Prison In Oklahoma Raises Serious Legal Issues, Americans United Warns

Church-State Watchdog Group Says Government Cannot Fund Religious Indoctrination

November 18, 2009

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today warned Oklahoma corrections officials that a proposed “Christian” prison cannot be supported with public funds.

In a letter to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Americans United attorneys said the U.S. Constitution prohibits public aid for worship and religious instruction. Thus, public funds for Corrections Concepts’ Christian-themed prison would violate the First Amendment.

According to news media accounts, sponsors say the Wakita, Okla., prison will hire only Christian staff and inmates will be required to participate in a Christ-centered curriculum.

The AU letter noted that the 8th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against a similar religious program in Iowa in its 2007 Americans United v. Prison Fellowship Ministries decision.

“If the Department provides funding to Corrections Concepts’ prison,” Americans United attorneys insisted, “indoctrination will be the inevitable result, just as it was in Prison Fellowship Ministries. And, just as inevitably, the funding of such indoctrination will violate the Constitution.”

The letter was signed by Americans United Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, AU Senior Litigation Counsel Alex J. Luchenitser and AU Staff Attorney Ian Smith.

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, says the issues at stake are critically important.

“It is wrong for government to take taxpayers’ money and spend it on religious indoctrination,” Lynn said. “That’s a violation of the fundamental rights of every American.

“I strongly believe that inmates should have access to religious services of their own choosing,” he continued, “but government should never favor one faith over others or coerce inmates to participate in religion.”

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/11/proposed-christian-prison.html

Fair-Minded Judicial Nominee is Under Attack!

This link will provide you all the details you need to send your own email or to make contact in another way with your two Senators.
Act now!

Urge Your Senators to Support Judge David Hamilton


Next week, the U.S. Senate may vote on President Obama’s first judicial nominee, Judge David Hamilton, who has been nominated to fill a seat on the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Judge Hamilton is an experienced, fair-minded judge who has spent years at the District Court level, but conservative groups are targeting him and portraying him as anti-God. We cannot let a judicial nominee go down for his application of the basic principles of religious liberty found in the U.S. Constitution!


In 2006, Hamilton wrote an opinion in the legislative prayer case, Hinrichs v. Bosma, in which he ruled that a pattern of sectarian prayer in the Indiana General Assembly was unconstitutional. In doing so, Hamilton applied the clear mandates of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and followed Supreme Court and other federal court precedent. The prohibition on sectarian prayer has been well-established in the courts, and Hamilton had a duty as a District Court Judge to uphold established law. The attacks on him for this reasonable decision are unacceptable.


Judge Hamilton has proved to be a highly qualified nominee, and he enjoys broad support. Yet some Senators including those who demanded an up-or-down vote for all past nominees have threatened to vote against a cloture motion on Hamilton next week. Judge Hamilton clearly needs your support. Write a letter to your Senators now urging them to confirm Judge Hamilton speedily.

This link will provide you all the details you need to send your own email or to make contact in another way with your two Senators.

Tell Your Senators to Support Judge David Hamilton

D.C. Council Should Not Cave In To Catholic Church’s Demands On Marriage Exemption, Says Americans United

Public Funds Should Not Subsidize Religious Discrimination By ‘Faith-Based’ Charities, Church-State Watchdog Group Asserts


November 13, 2009
The religion exemption in a proposed same-sex marriage bill adequately protects religious freedom, and the District of Columbia Council should not give in to demands from the Catholic Archdiocese that it be broadened, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.


In a Nov. 10 statement, the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington threatened to drop contracts with the District government to provide social services, unless church programs are broadly exempted from civil rights provisions that will protect same-sex couples.


Catholic Charities DC, the social service arm of the archdiocese, received $16 million of its $23 million budget last year through governmental contracts.
Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “The church’s demand is outrageous. If ‘faith-based’ charities cannot or will not obey civil rights laws, they ought not benefit from public funds.


Read the full press release at www.au.org

Keep Religious Doctrine Out of the Law

Urge Your Representatives to Reject Efforts Like the Stupak Amendment


After months of negotiations and compromise, the House of Representatives was set to vote on landmark healthcare reform legislation last week. But before the legislation could make it to the floor, Speaker Pelosi and a handful of anti-choice Members of Congress received some high-level phone calls from members of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.


Pelosi's comprehensive healthcare legislation was abortion-neutral, thanks to a compromise amendment included in committee by Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA). And when House Leadership heard objections from some anti-choice lawmakers that the Capps language was not strong enough, they were open to small additional compromises on language. But the Catholic bishops took things much further.


Demanding, in essence, a new ban on abortion coverage in any insurance plan participating in the new insurance "exchange," the Church hierarchy threatened to use its clout in Congress to derail the entire healthcare reform package unless its particular religious view was enshrined in the legislation. Thanks in large part to the extreme influence of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Rep. Stupak's (D-MI) and Rep. Pitts' (R-PA) amendment was passed on the House floor, adding restrictions on access to abortion in the U.S. that are unprecedented and frightening.


For those of us who believe deeply that religion and government must function separately, these events are highly disturbing. As supporters of Americans United, you are well aware that the Constitution mandates a separation between church and state. Yet last week, we saw a new and upsetting development - the Catholic bishops have used their immense power to undermine constitutionally guaranteed rights.
This is unacceptable, and your lawmakers need to hear from you.


We simply cannot allow the interests of a politically powerful religious denomination to undermine the rights guaranteed by the Constitution to Americans of all faiths and none. Please contact your members of Congress to express your views on this issue!


Tell Your Representatives Not to Enshrine Religious Doctrine Into Law

Federal District Court Rules Against South Carolina’s ‘Christian’ License Plate

Americans United Says Decision Reminds Officials Of Their Duty To Uphold Separation Of Church And State

November 10, 2009

A federal district court ruled today that a special Christian license plate mandated by the South Carolina legislature violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie held that the plate, which was to feature a large yellow cross, a stained-glass window and the words “I Believe,” clearly gives favored government treatment to one faith. In a summary judgment ruling, she ordered state officials not to issue the plate.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which served as counsel in the case, praised the decision.

“This is great news,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “Government must never be allowed to express favored treatment for one faith over others. That’s unconstitutional and un-American.

Read the full press release at www.au.org

Tulsa Muslims send their heartfelt sympathy concerning Ft. Hood shooting

For Immediate Release

11-5-09

RE: Fort Hood Shootings

Tulsa Muslims send their heartfelt sympathy to the soldiers and their families who were victims of today’s tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas. As Americans and as Muslims, we categorically condemn the shooting of the soldiers. We value the voluntary service of all who serve in the military and the sacrifices they make in defense of our country. No words can express the sadness we feel that Fort Hood’s moment of celebration and graduation was destroyed in such a horrific way. We trust that a thorough and fair investigation will be pursued and that the responsible parties will be held accountable.

Contact: Sheryl Siddiqui, Director
Community Relations and Outreach
Islamic Society of Tulsa
(918)638-2670


Oklahoma Muslims feel the loss of the murdered soldiers deeply and strongly condemn this despicable act. Thousands and thousands of Muslims have honorably served in the American military since the founding of this nation. The victims of this Fort hood shooter are our compatriots, brothers and sisters in arms protecting this country. We can only imagine that this was an act of illness because no cause, religious or political, is served by such a horrific act.

Jihad is the struggle to do good in this world seeking God’s Pleasure. When it comes to killing, Jihad is a call to war that only a legitimate head of state can make. Individuals and groups cannot unilaterally take this action. This is called murder.

Election Results Suggest Religious Right Remains Force To Contend With, Says Americans United

Movement’s Allies Win Public Offices In Virginia And New Jersey, Roll Back Marriage Rights For Gays In Maine
November 4, 2009

Election results in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Maine serve as a reminder that the Religious Right remains an influential force in political life, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
“I wish I could say the Religious Right is dead, but this election shows that reports of its demise are inaccurate,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “The pundits who announced the Religious Right’s demise in 2008 were simply wrong.


“Many factors played a role in the outcome of yesterday’s elections,” Lynn added, “so it’s important not to exaggerate the Religious Right’s influence. But at the same time, Americans need to know that this movement’s leaders are still influential in American politics. They haven’t given up on their crusade to impose their fundamentalist beliefs on everyone through government action.”


In Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell won the governor’s office and GOP candidate Ken Cuccinelli won the attorney general’s post. Both men are close allies of the Religious Right. McDonnell is a graduate of Pat Robertson’s Regent University, and the TV preacher and his family made large contributions to McDonnell’s campaign. Cuccinelli is also a Religious Right favorite, drawing financial and logistical support from an array of Religious Right organizations.


Read the full press release at www.au.org

Americans United Urges IRS To Take Necessary Steps To Limit Partisan Activity By Churches

Church-State Watchdog Group Offers Comments On Tax Agency’s Proposed Regulations To Enforce ‘No Politicking’ Rule

November 3, 2009

Partisan electioneering by tax-exempt churches is a significant national problem so the Internal Revenue Service must have clear and effective policies in place to respond, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told the federal tax agency.

The IRS is soliciting comments for new rules governing the enforcement of provisions in federal tax law that bar churches and other tax-exempt religious organizations from endorsing or opposing candidates.

Earlier this year, a federal court issued a ruling about IRS procedure that has required the government agency to clarify its internal policies regarding investigations of houses of worship.

“The rules need to change to get necessary investigations back on track,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “The law forbids tax-exempt churches to intervene in partisan politics, and the IRS needs an effective mechanism to enforce that mandate.”

Read the full press release at www.au.org

AU Issues Update On Proposed Congressional Land Transfer To Michigan Religious School

Michigan Representative Says Coast Guard Property Will Be Sold At Fair Market Value, Not Given To Religious School
October 21, 2009


Americans United for Separation of Church and State today expressed appreciation to a Michigan member of Congress for taking steps to ensure that Coast Guard property in Cheboygan will be sold at fair market value, rather than freely granted to a religious school.


On Oct. 14, Americans United wrote to U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) with concerns about a proposal (H.R. 1291) that would give seven acres of public land to a religious school that has been renting the property.


Americans United subsequently learned that Rep. Stupak will actively pursue an alternative approach to H.R. 1291, contained in the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3619), which is expected to be considered by the full House of Representatives later this week. Crafted by Stupak, the alternative proposal will ensure that the land will be sold at fair market value, rather than given to Cornerstone Christian School without compensation to the government.


In an Oct. 20 letter to Rep. Stupak, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, said Americans United is “very pleased to learn from your letter and e-mail from your staff of the same date that you are not seeking to move H.R. 1291 forward because of the constitutional problems with the bill’s proposed land transfer.” Americans United also restated that “the constitutional problems are not fully addressed by the provision in H.R. 3619 because it grants the right of first refusal to the School.”

complete at: http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/10/au-issues-update-on-proposed.html

Americans United Opposes Proposed Congressional Land Grant To Religious School In Michigan

Giving Seven Acres Of Land To Religious School Would Be Unconstitutional, Asserts Church-State Watchdog Group

October 16, 2009

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has urged U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak (D–Mich.) to withdraw legislation that would grant seven acres of Coast Guard land to Cornerstone Christian School in Cheboygan, Mich.

The school has rented the property from the Coast Guard since 1986. Stupak’s measure, H.R. 1291, would allow the government to convey the land to the school for free.

In a letter to Stupak, Americans United explained that the land transfer would run afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s church-state separation provisions and circumvent federal law governing the disposal of public property.

complete at: http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/10/au-opposes-proposed.html

Prayer Effort Seeks 'Right Thinking' From Liberals

Prayer Effort Seeks 'Right Thinking' From Liberals
by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113453702

--------

October 4, 2009
You can see why Christian conservatives might be in a funk. Democrats control the White House and both houses of Congress. They see a liberal drift in the country's leadership and worry about social issues like same-sex marriage, abortion, stem cell research, health care and immigration.

Now Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit legal, education and policy group associated with the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, is pulling out the heavy artillery: prayer.

"We believe in the power of God. We are commanded to pray for our leaders, even those we disagree with," says Mat Staver, who, as head of Liberty Counsel, spends most of his time fighting for Christian causes in court. "And so we are asking people to pray so that our leaders are restored to right thinking."

So far, 11 leaders are on the "Adopt a Liberal" roster: President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Republicans Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made the list for their support of same-sex marriage. Then there's Democrat Barney Frank, Massachusetts' openly gay congressman who, Staver says, is "100-percent committed to the homosexual agenda."

Watchdog Group Leader Says Liberty Counsel’s ‘Adopt a Liberal’ Program Beats Prayers For His Death

http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/10/au-executive-director-barry.html

------------

October 1, 2009
Watchdog Group Leader Says Liberty Counsel’s ‘Adopt a Liberal’ Program Beats Prayers For His Death
Americans United for Separation of Church and State Executive Director Barry W. Lynn today said he’s thankful for the prayers being said on his behalf by supporters of a Religious Right group.

Liberty Counsel, a far-right legal organization affiliated with the late Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, has unveiled a program called “Adopt a Liberal.” Supporters are exhorted to pray for one of 11 liberals on a list. (See more here.)

Lynn is the only person to appear on the list who is not an elected leader or government official.

“This is quite an honor,” Lynn said. “I’m pleased that Liberty Counsel considers me such a threat that I rank alongside President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.”

Liberty Counsel hopes the prayers of its supporters will lead Lynn and the others to change their political views.

“Please pray daily for the liberal(s) of your choice, so each can become a good influence on our Nation’s culture,” says the group. “Prayer is powerful! It allows God to change the minds of those for whom we are praying. In fact, we fully expect that many of our adoptees will ‘graduate’ from this prayer program with vivid testimonies of God having changed their lives and worldviews!”

Recently, two Religious Right activists, Gordon James Klingenschmitt of Colorado and the Rev. Wiley Drake of California, have announced that they are praying for Lynn’s death. Lynn said he much prefers the approach of the Liberty Counsel.

“As a Christian minister, I obviously believe in the power of prayer,” Lynn said. “I’m also thankful to live in a country where, thanks to the separation of church and state, people have the right to pray whenever, however and for whatever they like.”

But Lynn added that Liberty Counsel shouldn’t expect him to change his views. He also noted that any Liberty Counsel supporter who chooses to adopt him had better be prepared.

“I like to stay up late, and I’m not doing any chores around the house,” Lynn quipped.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

'Religion in the Public Schools' Is Being Distributed Free Online

September 28, 2009


'Religion in the Public Schools' Is Being Distributed Free Online


A new book published by Americans United for Separation of Church and State gives educators and families detailed information about the law governing religion and the public schools.

Religion in the Public Schools: A Road Map for Avoiding Lawsuits and Respecting Parents’ Legal Rights is a 129-page guide that provides a clear and concise account of court rulings on a variety of religious issues related to the classroom.


“This book will be help educators, parents and students navigate sometimes-tricky issues regarding the role of religion in the classroom,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Given all the disputes about this topic around the country, it is extraordinarily timely.”

Heated controversies over religion and schools have erupted recently in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Iowa and other states.

Topics discussed in the book include school prayer, the teaching of evolution and creationism, student-run religious clubs, religiously based censorship, teaching about religion as an academic subject and students’ religious rights.

Court rulings in these areas and others are surveyed, and what the law allows – and what it does not – is explained. Legal cases are fully cited with extensive endnotes.

Lynn said the book makes it clear that religion can be studied as an academic subject and that students have the right to pray on their own voluntarily. But, he added, public schools may not promote worship, advocate a theological viewpoint or pressure students to take part in religious activities.

Religion in the Public Schools was written by Anne Marie Lofaso, an associate professor of law at West Virginia University. A Harvard graduate, Lofaso has law degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the University of Oxford.

Lofaso’s book tells what the law says about religion and schools, not what activists on either side of the conflict wish it were.

“All too often, disputes over religion in public schools end up in court,” said AU’s Lynn. “This book provides a better way. When school officials know what the law says and follow it, everyone benefits.”

Lynn said print editions of the book will be distributed to educators, school attorneys and others nationwide. The full text is also available online without cost at: religioninthepublicschools.com/

The book project is supported by a grant from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/09/new-book-offers-road-map-to.html

Religious Right Organization Misleads Clergy On Church-Based Politicking

Religious Right Organization Misleads Clergy On Church-Based Politicking, Says Americans United


Watchdog Group Urges Pastors To Refrain From Using Tax-Exempt Church Resources To Endorse Or Oppose Candidates


September 25, 2009




The Alliance Defense Fund has announced that Sept. 27 will be “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” during which evangelical Christian pastors are asked to endorse or oppose candidates for public office in violation of federal tax law.

“It’s reckless and irresponsible for any organization to urge houses of worship to knowingly violate our nation’s tax laws,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Smart pastors know to keep far away from this misguided and partisan initiative.”

In 2008, more than 30 churches took part in the ADF scheme, with all of them either endorsing Republican John McCain or advising votes against Democrat Barack Obama. Americans United reported eight of them to the Internal Revenue Service.

Federal tax law bars the use of tax-exempt resources by churches and other non-profits to support or oppose candidates. It does not, however, restrict comment on public issues.

This year, the ADF claims that more than 80 pastors are taking part in the scheme. A press release from the organization says that some of the pastors “will address the positions of candidates in current state governor’s races.” (New Jersey and Virginia have gubernatorial contests, and other states have local elections.)

But the ADF also says other participating clergy will “speak about biblical truths” and “address the positions of existing government officials….” Neither of those activities would run afoul of federal tax law.

“It’s time to turn off the ADF’s fog machine,” Lynn said. “This isn’t about the right to preach the Bible or talk about issues in the pulpit. It’s about the ADF’s crusade to turn houses of worship into a partisan political machine to help elect Republicans.”

Lynn noted that polls have consistently shown that the American people overwhelmingly oppose pulpit politicking. According to a survey taken last year by LifeWay Research, an affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention, 75 percent of Americans do not believe “it is appropriate for churches to publicly endorse candidates for public office.”

In addition, 85 percent think it is not “appropriate for churches to use their resources to campaign for candidates for public office.” Eighty-seven percent do not “believe it is appropriate for pastors to publicly endorse candidates for public office during a church service.”

The ADF, a group founded by TV preachers and other right-wing leaders, has been strongly criticized for this gambit. Lynn noted that in October of 2008, clergy in Ohio asked the IRS to investigate the ADF, arguing that the group ran afoul of professional ethical standards established for tax attorneys by advising religious leaders to violate the law.

Lynn said Americans United will monitor this year’s “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” and report any churches that flagrantly violate the law to the IRS.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/09/religious-right-organization.html

AU Urge Attorney General To Reverse Bush-Era 'Faith-Based' Rule

Americans United, Allied Groups Urge Attorney General To Reverse Bush-Era 'Faith-Based' Rule

Coalition Of Religious And Public Policy Groups Says Legal Memo Threatens Core Civil Rights And Religious Freedom Protections

September 17, 2009

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today joined a coalition of 58 organizations urging Attorney General Eric Holder to revoke a Bush-era rule regarding "faith-based" funding that the groups say threatens civil rights and religious freedom.

In June of 2007, the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued a legal memo asserting that a federal law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) gives religious organizations a blanket right to discriminate on religious grounds when hiring staff in taxpayer-funded programs.

In a joint letter to Holder today, a broad coalition of organizations said RFRA does no such thing.

“The Bush administration twisted federal law to buttress its misguided policies and allow religious discrimination in taxpayer-funded ‘faith-based’ programs,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “It’s time for the Obama administration to correct this error.”

Click this line to read the full press release at au.org

Fundamentalist Political Movement Focuses On Defeating Obama Health-Care Proposals; Electing Republicans To Congress, White House

An Americans United Special Report

Fundamentalist Political Movement Focuses On Defeating Obama Health-Care Proposals; Electing Republicans To Congress, White House

September 15, 2009

Religious Right leaders and activists will meet in Washington, D.C., at the end of the week for their first major gathering since President Barack Obama took office. These fundamentalist forces have an ambitious - and highly partisan - political agenda that ultimately seeks to merge religion and government.
Read the Special Report at http://www.au.org/homepage/features/archive/2009/less-pious-more-partisan/
For more information, visit the AU Media Center.
Call (202) 466-3234—or email americansunited@au.org

© 2009 Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Federal Appeals Court Made Correct Call On Religion At School Graduation, Says Americans United

September 8, 2009

Court Rules That Washington State School Officials Had Right To Omit ‘Ave Maria’ From Graduation Ceremony

A federal appeals court ruled today that officials at an Everett, Wash., school district were within their rights to omit religious music from a graduation ceremony.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case siding with the school district, hailed the ruling.

“This is a good decision,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Public schools serve students from diverse backgrounds, so it’s vitally important that commencement ceremonies be inclusive.

“Graduation is an important event, and all students and their families should feel welcome,” Lynn continued. “Public school administrators are right to ensure that the program doesn’t appear to favor one religion over others. Hymns are appropriate for church, but not public school graduations.”

The dispute began in 2006 when students at Everett School District No. 2 sought to perform an instrumental version of “Ave Maria,” (Latin for “Hail Mary”) during graduation ceremonies.

School officials, mindful of a controversy that had erupted the year before over religious music at graduation, removed the song from the program and replaced it with a non-religious piece.

One of the student members of the wind ensemble, Kathryn Nurre, subsequently sued school officials, asserting that her free-speech and equal-protection rights had been violated.

The 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals disagreed, ruling in Nurre v. Whitehead that school officials have the right to ensure that a public ceremony like graduation does not have religious overtones.

“[T]he District’s action in keeping all musical performances at graduation ‘entirely secular’ in nature was reasonable in light of the circumstances surrounding a high school graduation, and therefore it did not violate Nurre’s right to free speech,” the court held.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/09/federal-appeals-court-made.html

Americans United Denounces Arizona Preacher’s Death Prayers Against Obama

AU’s Barry Lynn Who Has Also Been The Target Of Death Prayers Calls On Religious Right Leaders To Repudiate Violent Rhetoric

September 2, 2009

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today denounced the violent rhetoric of an Arizona preacher who is praying for the death of President Barack Obama and called on Religious Right leaders to repudiate such extremism.
The Rev. Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church told his Tempe, Ariz., congregation he prays that Obama “dies and goes to hell.” In an Aug. 16 sermon that recently came to public attention, Anderson said, “If you want to know how I’d like to see Obama die, I’d like him to die of natural causes. I don’t want him to be a martyr, we don't need another holiday. I'd like to see him die, like Ted Kennedy, of brain cancer.”

Anderson’s sermon took place just before an Obama visit to Arizona, and a member of the congregation showed up outside the Obama event in Phoenix carrying an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle.

“This has gone much too far,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “When preachers call for the death of the president or others that they disagree with, it provides a justification for acts of intimidation and violence. It’s grossly irresponsible, and the American people ought to rise up and say ‘enough is enough.’”

Read the full press release at au.org

Judge: Ky. can't legislate dependence on God

Judge: Ky. can't legislate dependence on God
By Janet Cappiello Blake, Associated Press Writer
Yahoo! News
August 27, 2009

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It is one thing to trust in God, but quite another to be ordered to rely on protection from above during national emergencies, a judge has ruled.

Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate said in Wednesday's decision that references to a dependence on "Almighty God" in the law that created the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security is akin to establishing a religion, which the government is prohibited from doing in the U.S. and Kentucky constitutions. Ten Kentucky residents and a national atheist group sued to have the reference stricken.

SNIP--

Kennedy Was Champion Of Church-State Separation

Americans United Church-State Watchdog Group Mourns Passing Of Massachusetts Senator
August 26, 2009

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, today issued the following statement on the death of U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.):


“Sen. Ted Kennedy was a great champion of church-state separation. It’s not just that he consistently voted to support that principle he really got it. He deeply understood that only a high and firm wall of separation between church and state could protect our liberties. He knew the reasons why our Founders established church-state separation and why we need to preserve it. He got how church-state separation protects the rights of both religious and non-religious people.


“One of the things that made Sen. Kennedy so effective was his powerful presence. I first met him in the 1970s during a meeting designed to address issues of concern to residents of Washington, D.C. There were probably 40 people in the room, all squabbling about how to proceed. When Sen. Kennedy walked in, all talking stopped. He outlined a plan of action, and we divided up the work.

complete at: http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/08/kennedy-was-champion-of.html

AU Praises Appeals Court Decision Upholding Separation Of Church And Post Office

Decision Says Connecticut Church Cannot Display Proselytizing Materials In Contract Postal Unit
August 21, 2009


Americans United for Separation of Church and State today commended a federal appeals court decision requiring a church to separate its religious outreach from the activities at a church-run postal unit.


The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Full Gospel Interdenominational Church must separate its preaching and proselytizing from the work it does on a contract basis for the U.S. Postal Service.

Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “Americans look to houses of worship if they need religious counsel, not post offices. We expect Uncle Sam, and those he contracts with, to deliver the mail, not preach or pass the plate.”


Read the full press release at au.org

Read the federal appeals court decision

Army officer speaks out against religious persecution

August 20, 2009

“U.S. Army Officer, Combat Vet, West Point Grad Speaks Out Against Religious Persecution”

August 19, 2009

I am a United States Army Captain. On a spring day at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York several years ago, I took a solemn oath to support and defend the United States Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic as an officer in the United States Army. I took a legally altered oath which omitted the words “So Help Me G-d.” When I submitted my first signed copy, with those words neatly crossed out and initialed, I was informed that it was not valid. When threatened with the prospect of not graduating and being refused a Commission, I stood by my refusal to sign the Oath as it read. I could not in good conscience do so because I was deeply disturbed by fusion of religion and military service. I could not reconcile the suspicion that the Oath itself was establishing religion in a way which contradicted the spirit of the Constitution with the intensity of my commitment to defend same. I believed, and still believe, that my personal metaphysical experience of the universe must be separate from my role as a military professional. In the passing years, I have come to the unsettling conclusion that the sentiment in the Oath which so disturbed me is a practical reality in my United States Army.

Based on my alteration of The Oath, you may be tempted to label me “non-religious.” I find this odd, because religion has broadly influenced my life and values. I was born into a mixed Jewish and Catholic family. The family I belong to now is mixed Buddhist and Agnostic. I attended Catholic high school where I excelled in my religious studies. I was one of a literal fistful of non-Christian students voluntarily attending a religious institution, and I never once felt pressure to conform. In our mandatory religious classes we studied Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Quaker, Mormon, Jewish, Protestant, Wiccan, and other religions and we were taught that mere “tolerance” was abhorrent and basic “acceptance” was the absolute minimum standard. I learned during my second semester as a Plebe (freshman) at West Point that even lowly tolerance is a privilege not to be bestowed on all Soldiers in the United States Army.

complete at:
http://markcrispinmiller.com/2009/08/army-officer-speaks-out-against-religious-persecution-mrff/#comments:

Get Local

A special message from Barry Lynn

AU Executive Director Barry Lynn reminds us that August Recess is an excellent time to talk with your Senators and Representatives about why separation of church and state is so important. We've heard a lot about heath care reform at town hall meetings, and we understand its importance to many of you. But while your officials are home during this break it's equally important to let them know how much you care about preserving core constitutional principles. August Recess is for letting your Senators and Representatives hear from you on ALL the issues of importance to you.
Please take a moment to watch this message. With your help we can make a difference!




Watch the video

http://www.au.org/take-action/now/2009-08/

Didn't We Invade Afghanistan and Iraq to Secure Freedom?

Anything But Straight
August 18, 2009
http://www.waynebesen.com/2009/08/didnt-we-invade-afghanistan-and-iraq-to.html


or http://tinyurl.com/p85dqm


Didn't We Invade Afghanistan and Iraq to Secure Freedom?

In the not too distant past, most Americans couldn't tell a Pashtun from a cartoon, a Sunni from a Moonie or a Kurd from bean curd. Then came 9-11 and we learned our very survival depended on securing freedom for people we barely knew existed. Exorcising the region's demons through democracy was so important, we were told, that America would pay for the effort in blood and bankruptcy.

Despite the bumbling and fumbling of the war effort, the bitter divisions in our country and the wheelbarrows of dough dumped in the desert, there was always the faint hope that a better Middle East might just emerge from the mess. And, whatever one thinks of the two wars, Saddam Hussein and the Taliban were real villains who were vanquished.

The idea, of course, was that once these monsters were slain, they'd be replaced with the sane. But, the monsters have multiplied and Sasquatch has morphed into a bevy of Big Foots (or is it Big Feet?). It appears that for all of our sacrifice - and that of the secular Iraqi and Afghanistani people - the crazies are back in control. Or, at least fanatics have instilled enough fear that "mainstream" Iraqi and Afghanistani politicians are tripping over themselves to please and appease.

snip--

complete at http://tinyurl.com/p85dqm

Christian magazine publishes expose on C Street

Christian magazine “World” published an expose on the C Street house and the secretive group who runs it called The Family. Rachel Maddow talks to Harper’s Bazaar contributing editor Jeff Sharlet about what they found out.



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/32454682#32454682

Federal Court To Hear Arguments In Case Challenging City-Sponsored Prayer In Greece, N.Y.

Church-State Watchdog Group Urges New York Town To Respect Constitution And Religious Diversity

August 12, 2009


A federal court will hear oral arguments Thursday in a lawsuit challenging the use of sectarian invocations before meetings of the Greece, N.Y., Town Board.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed suit on behalf of two town residents last year. The residents say the near-unanimous use of sectarian prayers sends a message of exclusion to non-Christians.


“This case is a good reminder of why government needs to stay out of the prayer business,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Inevitably, some people are made to feel like second-class citizens.”
The Greece Town Board has a longstanding practice of inviting clergy to open the Board’s monthly meetings with a prayer. The Town Board does not require that the prayers be inclusive and non-sectarian. As a result, over the past decade, the vast majority of the prayers have been Christian.

Read the full press release

Haskell County Has to Fork it Over $$$$

County to pay ACLU legal fees
Tulsa World - Tulsa,OK,USA
Haskell County commissioners must pay the legal fees of the ACLU of Oklahoma in its lawsuit against a Ten Commandments monument in Stigler.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090814_12_A11_DENVER243855

or http://tinyurl.com/my2oa8

Two Roads to Religion and Civil Law

Moderator's note: Below is posted the remarks of Jim Huff, executive secretary of the Oklahoma City chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State (www.au.org) He and I attended the July Reclaim event in Edmond, and Mr. Huff attended the New Baptist Norman event. Decide for yourself which venue had a better representation of what it means to be religious, as well as supportive and understanding, of the necessity of maintaining a viable and meaningful separation of religion and civil law in the United States.

You can read my own summary of the Reclaim event at my own blog--
http://apollosbrain.blogspot.com/2009/07/did-you-feel-earth-move.html


FYI: Those of faith convictions and those of secular convictions.

I attended the JULY 24-25 "Reclaiming Oklahoma For Christ" conference at the
Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond and the AUGUST 7-8 "New Baptist
Covenant" in Norman Embassy Suites Hotel. Oklahoma is NECK DEEP IN THE
CULTURE WAR. The DIFFERENCES in Christian responses to the social,
healthcare, political and economic issues of today WERE STARK AND SERIOUS.

Rep. Sally Kern and (Independent Baptist)Pastor Paul Blair ARE PUSHING HARD
FOR THEIR BRAND OF RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL INTOLERANCE AND THEIR PERSONAL
POLTICAL-ECONOMIC POLICIES. "R.O.C" sees President Obama as the anti-Christ,
poverty as laziness, the congressional healthcare reforms as socialism, the
Bible as the answer to ALL of the economic needs of today. Their list of
important issues are: stop the "gay agenda", promote Fundamentalist
"creationism" in science classes, promote militarism in the name of
Christian values, oppose socialism, reduce taxes and use tax dollars for
religious ministries.

Those were not the multiple topics at the conference on "The New Baptist
Covenant." The sermons and speeches(J.C. Watts, Documentary Film-"Beneath
the Skin: Baptists and Racism", Wilford Brown (Native American, Pastor),
Ellis Orosco (Texas Pastor), Brad Henry, Jimmy Carter, Major Jemison (OKC
African American, Pastor), Wade Burleson (Oklahoma Pastor), were all focused
on: opposing racism, dealing with the health and daily needs of those
trapped in poverty, emphasis on the Biblical principles of "loving your
neighbor as yourself", emphasis on the Biblical responsibility to be
involved (there's work to do)in resolving the realities of cultural
injustices, defending the rights of all citizens BECAUSE IT IS BOTH
BIBILICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL. Religious tolerance is more than accepting
persons because you can't change them. Jesus' teachings and Christian
ethics involves respect for those having different views and values (both
faith related and secular related), and going the extra mile to protect all
persons from bigotry and violence.

The two different gatherings of professing believers in Jesus as the Messiah
WERE MILES APART IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF NEW TESTAMENT TEACHINGS ABOUT
CHRISTIAN PARTICPATION IN A SECULAR DEMOCRACY. The gathering in Norman was
by far the largest and the most ethnic and racially diverse. The gathering
in Edmond was the loudest and most flamboyant.

The booths at Norman were educational, informational, pro-persons. The
emphasis was personal religious or social convictions being put into action
outside of government. Learning how to live together with those who have
differing religious (Islam) or social views (the homosexual communities and
the abortion choice advocates). NO, not everyone there has reached the
place of religious and social tolerance. That was the point of the meeting.
Participants were not required to give up their personal convictions. The
attendees were encouraged to rethink the application of their convictions.
The separation of church and state was held up as a positive and valuable
socio-constitutional, Biblical value.


The speakers at "R.O.C." were focused on political electioneering
involvement(Janet Porter, Peter LaBarbera, Ret. Gen. Jerry Boykin and Dr.
John Morris). If you want more information on the issues of the speakers,
Google their names. The booths in Edmond were issue oriented, angry at large
segments of the social structure (public education, government at all
levels, Democratic Party political leaders, non-conservative political
leaders, government taxes at all levels.) The "R.O.C" agenda was angry at
being in the minority (kept referring to themselves as a remnant of the true
faith)and EMPHASISED GETTING INTO PARTISAN POLITICS TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR
GOALS. The concept of the separation of church and state was demeaned. The
participants were warned that they were not being faithful to their God if
they were not involved actively in the 2010 elections. And, that is why
candidates, Fallin, Brogdon, Calvey, Wesselhoft and others were introduced
as being supporters of the R.O.C. viewpoints.

At some point in the future, I'll set up meetings or conferences for the
general public to see and discuss the various "N.B.C." sermons, testimonies
and speeches. Being in a Republican Party dominated state is not the issue.
The issue is candidates that USE "CHRISTIAN" THEOLOGY AND BIBLICAL
PRINCIPLES AS THE BASIS FOR THEIR ELECTIONEERING. That's bad. The general
public needs to see and discuss those Christian theological and Biblical
principles of a large segment of Oklahoma's citizens THAT DIFFER from Rep.
Kern and Pastor Blair.

The differences must be examined and candidates and elected officials
informed.

Jim Huff

Exposed: ‘C Street’ and The Military

Exposed: ‘C Street’ and The Military
By Chris Rodda
The Public Record
Aug 10th, 2009

------------------------

Making the connections between the Family and the military is “a new front” — a front that is leading to new revelations about some old discoveries. For example, the participants in the Campus Crusade for Christ Christian Embassy Video — a video that led the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to demand an investigation by the Department of Defense Inspector General in which seven officers were found guilty of ethics violations — also included, in addition to the military officers, many other government officials and politicians.

One of the regular features in the monthly newsletter of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is a section containing a “Violation on Video,” in which we show a video clip of a military regulation being violated by a service member or at a military event, and “Captured on Camera,” a photo of a violation being committed. The video and photo that we planned to feature in our August newsletter are typical — a video of a Marine officer appearing on a Christian television show in uniform, and a photo of an Army officer giving a briefing while standing in front of a Christian flag. What’s not typical about this month’s video and photo is how I happened to come across them. So, rather than just presenting this video and photo in our newsletter in the usual format, I decided to write about the bigger story that led me to find them.

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Americans United Urges Supreme Court To Reject Scheme Designed To Keep Cross On Public Land

Church-State Watchdog Group Says Government-Sponsored Religious Symbols Are Bad For Adherents And Nonadherents Alike
August 4, 2009


Americans United for Separation of Church and State has urged the Supreme Court to overturn a congressional scheme to maintain a cross on public land in California, insisting that government should refrain from displaying sectarian symbols.
Americans United made the argument in a friend-of-the-court brief filed yesterday in Salazar v. Buono, a legal battle centering on the display of a cross at the Mojave National Preserve in California.


The case will come before the high court Oct. 7.
The cross at issue in the dispute was originally erected by the Veterans of Foreign Wars in 1934 and has since been replaced several times by private citizens.


“The cross is a powerful symbol of the Christian faith,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “It does not represent all Americans. Arguing that the cross is ‘non-sectarian’ or that it is a generic symbol for all war dead is offensive to non-Christians and many Christians as well.”


Read the full press release at au.org

Americans United Urges Senate Armed Services Committee to Question McHugh On Religious Liberty Issues

Press Release

Nominee To Be Secretary Of The Army Has Poor Record On Church-State Issues, Says Watchdog Group

July 29, 2009


Americans United for Separation of Church and State today asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to question U.S. Rep. John M. McHugh about his views on religious liberty and the rights of religious minorities.

McHugh, who currently represents New York’s 23rd District in the House of Representatives, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be the Secretary of the Army. His confirmation hearing is tomorrow.

Americans United says McHugh has a troubling record when it comes to separation of church and state.

Read the full press release at au.org

Americans United Commends Appellate Court Decision Against Bible Distribution In Mo. Public School

School-Sponsored Evangelism Is Wrong, Says AU’s Lynn
July 16, 2009

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today praised a federal appeals court decision barring Bible distribution in a Missouri public school district.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the South Iron R-1 School District may not allow distribution of Bibles to children in elementary school.

Americans United, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, hailed the ruling.

Read the full press release at au.org

No religious belief need be respected

Editor:

GOPer Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern's recent "morality proclamation" consists solely of religious divisiveness. The First Amendment requires our government--local, state and federal--to make no law respecting religion. ( http://tinyurl.com/lmhn5p )

No religious belief need be respected if it is advocating that certain citizens who have broken no law must be separated from their civil rights. Just because the religion has a dogmatic disagreement with other people who are NOT members of that religion is no reason gays/lesbians must be subjected to religious opprobrium and denial of the benefits and privileges that hetero people enjoy only because of the accident of their birth.

James Nimmo, Oklahoma City

Americans United Urges Senate Judiciary Committee to Ascertain Sotomayor's Views on Church-State Separation

Supreme Court Nominee’s Religious Liberty Decisions Are Few, Watchdog Group’s Report Says

July 9, 2009


Americans United for Separation of Church and State today reiterated its call for the Senate Judiciary Committee to question Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on issues relating to religious liberty and church-state separation.
The committee is scheduled to begin hearings on Sotomayor on Monday. In advance of that, Americans United has released a report listing Sotomayor’s rulings on church-state issues.


“Sotomayor’s church-state rulings are few in number,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “We need more information, and we’re relying on the Judiciary Committee to get it.”


Read the full press release at au.org

next meeting of our AU Chapter -- Wednesday, July 8th at 7 PM

Greetings fellow supporters of church/state separation.

I hope all is well with you and that you survived 4th of July festivities.

I wanted to remind you that the next meeting of our AU Chapter is set for this coming Wednesday, July 8th at 7 PM. We will meet in the same place and at the same time as our last meeting. Downtown Library, Will Rogers room at 7 PM.

The major goal of this meeting will be to confirm people who are willing to serve in elected positions in our Chapter. We came a long way on this at our last meeting, but we still need to firm things up in preparation for our annual meeting, which is fast approaching on 9-11-09. I spoke with Damion the other day and he said he would serve as treasurer. This is great news!

I have included the minutes of our last meeting for your review. Please look them over and bring questions or changes with you to the meeting.
I have also included the agenda for this upcoming meeting.
Hope to see you on the 8th.
Mike


AGENDA FOR MEETING ON JULY 8TH, 2009
Call to Order-Mike
Minutes for approval or correction-Mike
Brief report on checking account balance-Jim Huff
Review the organization chart: positions filled and vacancies-Mike
Preliminary plans for the annual meeting.-Mike
Next meeting date-Mike
Adjourn-Mike





MINUTES

CHAPTER BOARD MEETING Downtown Library Tuesday, June 9, 2009

7:00pm Will Rogers Room

Six participants in attendance.

Officers present : Mike Fuller, Jim Huff

Activists present : Jeanette Schreiber, James Nimmo, David Wrenn, Nick Singer,

►Call to order. Mike, President

Proposed agenda adopted with no additions.

►Financial Report. Jim H.

►Annual meeting update. Mike

Friday, September 11, 2009, “Ryan’s Buffet” 6500 SW 3rd OKC (off I-40 between Rockwell and Macarthur.

Agenda for the meeting will be developed including the election of four officers.

►The organizational chart of the Chapter was discussed. In addition to the 4 elected officers, there are 3 key committee chairs and approximately 8 network contacts needed. A total of approximately 15 persons are needed to fill organization charts key positions.

►Of the elected positions: *Janette has agreed to accept the role of president, *Mike has agreed to continue as vice president, secretary is vacant, *The nominees will be presented to the membership at the Annual Meeting for election to their offices.

►Jim Nimmo is willing to chair the Communications Committee.

David Wrenn has agreed to be the CONTACT PERSON for the Peace Festival and Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education.

Those willing to take a leadership role in the committees, projects, and networking structures will be nominated by the president and voted on by the elected officers.

►Jeanette and Nick will work on possible names for filling the various vacant positions and present the names at the July Chapter Board Meeting.



►Next meeting:

7:00p Wednesday, July 8th – Downtown Library.

8:00 Adjourned



Jim Huff

Secretary.

Americans United Urges Attorney General to Act On Unlawful ‘Earmark’ Funding Of Nine Religious Institutions

Americans United Urges Attorney General to Act On Unlawful ‘Earmark’ Funding Of Nine Religious Institutions

Church-State Watchdog Group Asks U.S. Department Of Justice To Cut Off
June 24, 2009

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to terminate or investigate nine federal grants awarded to faith-based groups that proselytize and that discriminate in hiring.
In the 2008 fiscal year, Congress approved earmarks that directed the U.S. Department of Justice to award grants to these religious organizations. The Department of Justice, under the Bush administration, approved the constitutionally dubious funding without conducting anything more than a cursory review.


Now Americans United, in a letter to Holder, has asked for that Bush-era decision to be reversed.

Read the full press release at au.org

Stand Up for Justice

In Kentucky there lives a very brave woman named Alicia Pedreira. Alicia reminds us here at Americans United that our fears about the "faith-based" intiative are not abstract or based on paranoia. They are very real.

In 1998, Alicia was hired by the Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children as a youth counselor, a job that she trained for and dreamed of for years. During her job interview, she informed KBHC - an organization that receives public funding for its work with troubled children - that she is a lesbian, but was told that it wasn't an issue.

Six months later, KBHC officials saw a picture of Alicia and her partner taken at an AIDS charity walk. And despite the excellent performance reviews she had received for her work, the institution did an about-face. It fired her, claiming that her "admitted homosexual lifestyle is contrary to Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children core values."

complete at: http://tinyurl.com/ngm7w6

Oklahoma Religious 10-Commandment Monument Unconstitutional

Brandi Simons / AP
A federal lawsuit is seeking the removal of the Ten Commandments from the grounds of the Haskell County courthouse in Stigler, Okla.

June 8, 2009
Ruling Prevents Government From Co-opting Religious Symbols, Church-State Watchdog Group Says

American United for Separation of Church and State today praised a federal appeals court for striking down a government display of the Ten Commandments in Haskell County, Okla.

Reversing a lower court, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously declared unconstitutional the eight-foot-tall religious display, which was erected at the local courthouse in 2004 after a campaign by a local minister and his supporters.

“This decision should send a clear message to politicians and religious leaders: Thou shalt not mix church and state,” observed the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Our courthouses should focus on the Constitution and civil law, not religious law.”

Americans United, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Green v. Haskell County Board of Commissioners case, noted that the monument displays the Protestant version of the Commandments and that it contains the text of the Mayflower Compact on the other side.

The appeals court traced the history of the monument, noting that commissioners frequently invoked religious language in defending it. One commissioner said, “I’m a Christian, and I believe in this. I think it’s a benefit to the community.”

The appellate panel, composed of three George W. Bush appointees, ruled that most people would perceive the display of the monument and the battle to keep it up as religious efforts.

“We conclude, in the unique factual setting of a small community like Haskell County, that the reasonable observer would find that these facts tended to strongly reflect a government endorsement of religion,” wrote the court. “In particular, we find support for this conclusion in the public statements of the Haskell County commissioners.”

Lynn said the court made the right call.

“The display of religious documents like the Ten Commandments properly belongs to religious leaders, not government officials,” he said. “I hope county officials have learned an important lesson about launching ill-considered religious crusades.”

Lynn noted that Oklahoma legislators recently passed a law calling for a display of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol. In light of this ruling, he said, lawmakers might want to reconsider the wisdom of that action.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

complete at: http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/06/au-applauds-court-decision.html

Read the Appeal's Court Decision here:

http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/06/haskell-county-ten.pdf