'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