Q and A for SCOTUS: What if business gets religion, what if they don't believe in medicine at all?

Q and A for SCOTUS: What if business gets religion, what if they don't believe in medicine at all?

http://www.rawstory.com/.../the-hobby-lobby-lawsuit-is-a.../

The Hobby Lobby Lawsuit Is A Trojan Horse | The Raw Story
rawstory.com
You have to hand to right wing pundits. They kick ass at the bait-and-switch, particularly with their own people. They knew that throwing a major fit over the contraception mandate, no matter how much it’s dressed up in “religious freedom” as an excuse, would be understood by their followers as an a...

The Hobby Lobby Lawsuit Is A Trojan Horse | The Raw Story

www.rawstory.comYou have to hand to right wing pundits. They kick ass at the bait-and-switch, pa...

The Religious Right wants to redefine what “religious freedom” means in this country.

The Religious Right wants to redefine what “religious freedom” means in this country. These powerful factions are working around the clock because they want to run your life according to their rules. They claim that “religious freedom” means they have the right to ignore all sorts of laws they don’t like, no matter the consequences, and to force you to live by their religion's rules! That’s something I just won’t stand for. I value true religious freedom, which means the right to believe and worship — or not — as I see fit. It doesn't include using the law to promote a religious viewpoint or position.  I hope you feel the same way.

If you agree with me about what religious freedom really means, please make a donation to Americans United today.

We can’t stop these powerful sectarian groups without your sustained financial support, and they aren’t going down without a fight. Sectarian interests want to regulate your access to health care.  Under the Affordable Care Act, most employers are expected to offer healthcare policies that allow employees to access no-cost birth control.  Right now, dozens of cases brought by the Catholic and evangelical owners of secular, for-profit corporations are before federal appeals courts. These organizations have no religious purpose whatsoever, but they think they have the right to deny their employees access to birth control options.  Today, the US Supreme Court announced that it will hear two of these cases next Spring!  Americans United has filed thirteen amicus briefs against this Religious Right ploy to control people's lives - and we must now step up our efforts to defend true religious freedom! Radical religious groups are strategizing how to take away your rights.  Last month, several major Religious Right groups gathered in Washington for an annual meeting, the so-called “Values Voter Summit.”  It’s sponsored by the Family Research Council, which has a budget of around $17 millon; the American Family Association, which raised over $18 million in a recent year; and Liberty Counsel, which is part of the $628-million Jerry Falwell, Jr. empire.  With all of that money and power backing the event, it’s anything but some insignificant meeting of fringe extremists.  Instead, it’s an opportunity for about 3,000 Religious Right supporters from around the country to come together so they can figure out how to spread their radical agenda. With your help, Americans United will resist all of the threats to religious liberty from the Religious Right and Catholic hierarchy — whether in the courts, in legislatures, at the local level or in the public arena — and push back when they go too far. We can’t fight alone against those who yearn to use government power to impose their narrow theology onto you.  Please donate to Americans United today! www,au.org

Supreme Court to take up business exemption for contraception coverage

Press Release

Americans United Urges U.S. Supreme Court To Protect Workers’ Access To Birth Control

Church-State Watchdog Says Owners Of Secular Corporations Should Not Be Permitted To Impose Religious Views On Employees

Nov 26, 2013

The U.S. Supreme Court should find that the owners of secular, for-profit corporations have no right to impose their religious views onto employees by denying them access to contraceptives, Americans United for Separation of Church and State says.

Americans United urges this action in response to today’s announcement that the Supreme Court will consider the cases of Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. andConestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius. The cases challenge the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, which requires most businesses to provide their employees with health insurance that includes access to no-cost birth control.

“The Supreme Court needs to make it clear that religious freedom is not a battering ram to use against individual rights,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United.

Added Lynn, “The question before the court is simple: Does the owner of a secular corporation have the right to impose his religious views onto his employees? And the answer is equally simple: No.”

The cases were brought by the owners of Hobby Lobby, a nationwide chain of craft stores, and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., which manufactures products for home construction. The owners of both companies cite their religious beliefs in saying they do not want their employees to receive insurance coverage for certain types of birth control.

Hobby Lobby and Conestoga cite the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), legislation passed in 1993, in their defense. But Lynn says that measure was intended to protect individual religious freedom and church autonomy, not create new rights for profit-making corporations.

“RFRA was never intended to conjure up a sweeping ‘corporate conscience’ right that allows for-profit firms to restrict the rights of third parties,” Lynn said.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Hobby Lobby, but the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Conestoga, creating a split in the lower courts.

Americans United has filed briefs in both of these cases, urging the courts to reject the religious freedom argument and uphold the ACA’s contraceptive mandate.

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.

https://au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-urges-us-supreme-court-to-protect-workers-access-to-birth

The right cries over religious liberty but seems unwilling to extend that freedom to people with different beliefs.

Rev. Barry Lynn Understands Double Talk

clip My final example concerns a table that, while privately owned, could be big enough for lots of people – if only its owners had a more charitable vision. According to reports in the Kansas City Star, the Kansas City Rescue Mission has decided not to accept the offer of the Kansas City Atheist Coalition to help with distribution of 2,000 Thanksgiving meals to the poor and elderly.

The Mission apparently decided to include a religious message in this year’s meal boxes, and it was unclear if the atheists would go along with that. It seemed irrelevant anyway, as the Mission made it abundantly clear that it didn’t want the non-believers’ help, calling the partnership a bad fit. And that was the end of any communication.

/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/11/22/imagine-the-rights-religion/

Imagine the right’s religion

www.washingtonpost.com

The right cries over religious liberty but seems unwilling to extend that freedom to people with different beliefs.

Americans United Executive Director Wins Prestigious Social Activist Award

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Leader Of Church-State Watchdog Group Since 1992, To Receive Puffin/Nation Prize For Creative Citizenship

Nov 19, 2013

The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, will receive the annual Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship at a ceremony next month.

The award is co-sponsored by The Puffin Foundation, which funds “artists and art organizations who are often excluded from mainstream opportunities due to their race, gender, or social philosophy,” and The Nation Institute, a progressive nonprofit media center. It is given annually to an individual “who has challenged the status quo through distinctive, courageous, imaginative and socially responsible work of significance.”

Lynn reacted to the news with gratitude.

“It’s an honor to receive The Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship,” Lynn said. “When I look at the distinguished list of past honorees, I can’t help but feel humbled. Many of the men and women on that list have inspired me over the years, and I consider myself fortunate to have been able to learn from them.”

Continued Lynn, “For most of my adult life, I have worked to defend the separation of church and state. Unfortunately, this bedrock principle of American life isn’t appreciated by everyone. That’s why Americans United’s work is so important.”

Lynn earned the distinction because of his tireless dedication to ensuring that all Americans have true religious freedom. Lynn has been executive director of Americans United since 1992, and during his tenure AU’s budget has more than tripled. He has also overseen the creation of a highly effective in-house legal team and significantly boosted the organization’s national profile.

Lynn is the 14th winner of the award. Previous honorees include NAACP President Benjamin Jealous; playwright Tony Kushner; Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards; former Texas agriculture commissioner Jim Hightower; Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman; educator and author Jonathan Kozol; journalist and author Barbara Ehrenreich; labor activist Dolores Huerta and civil rights pioneer Robert Parris Moses.

The award comes with a $100,000 cash gift, which Lynn plans to donate to Americans United.
Lynn will receive the award on Dec. 9 at The Nation Institute’s Annual Dinner Gala in New York City.

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.

https://au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-executive-director-wins-prestigious-social-activist-award

Theocratic Thug Alert

I got this letter from a concerned citizen who's understands the importance of separation of religious views and civil society and the right of association. I have every reason to believe the letter is authentic.

It concerns the upcoming production of "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told" in Oklahoma City in December by the Oklahoma City Theater Company http://www.okctheatrecompany.org/.

I blaspheme daily the myths and superstitions of many religions, not only mainstream religions, but also the myths of the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Scandinavia, and Native Americans. I do it in public on public property. My very existence as a gay man is a blasphemy in the eyes and ears of Paul Blair and his gang of flat-earthers. Is Paul Blair and his Black Robe Posse going to have me arrested? Perhaps burned at the stake? Or bring down a wall on top of me? Stoning would be biblically appropriate.

The flat-earthers use the modern physical inventions of transportation and communications but prefer to think as the Bronze Age nomads did.  It makes a challenging duopoly in their minds that must contribute their anger and angst about the 21st century.

The greatest thrill I'm getting from this escapade in religious censorship is hearing and seeing that hairy-chested thug of a straight man Paul Blair say the word "fabulous."

***********************************

November 14, 2013

Regarding: “The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told”

To:
Governor Mary Fallin
Lieutenant Govenor Todd Lamb
Attorney General Scott Pruitt
Members of the Oklahoma Senate
Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives

In 1965, United Artists released an epic movie on the life of Jesus Christ called “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” Now in an overtly offensive play, the Bible is publicly mocked in the “The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told” which is scheduled to open in the City Space Theatre at the Civic Center in Oklahoma City just in time for Christmas.

On artistic merit alone, this play falls short. The New York Times review on this play included such comments as: “The evening still needs a bit of pruning” and “…it sometimes strains in its bad-boy impishness. (Not all jokes are created equal, even by Mr. Rudnick (writer)” or “this kind of blunt, conversation-reversing humor could grow weary.” When a newspaper known for its liberal point of view struggles to defend a liberal play; then that alone should cause concern.

Secondly, this play is an affront to the contemporary community standards of our fine city. In addition to a “fair amount of cursing” (N.Y. Times review), this just in time for Christmas gift to Oklahoma City calls for full frontal nudity, men simulating anal sex on stage, men simulating oral sex on stage and the promotion of bestiality. But instead of this kind of gross pornography being shown in a XXX theater, it is supported by public dollars and hosted in a municipal facility.

Finally, this play is openly offensive to Christians. The playwright intentionally mocks and provokes Christians as it “retells the Bible from a flamboyantly gay perspective, beginning with the Adam and Steve in the Garden of Eden.” In addition, the writer calls Eden a “myth” and says the Bible is “absurd.” He has a right to be wrong in his opinion, but not at the taxpayer’s expense and on city property.

One further note; applying contemporary community standards, it is quite possible that this production meets the definition of obscenity and might be in violation of Federal and State obscenity laws. Oklahoma Title 21. Chapter 39, Section 1021 law defines “Every person who willfully and knowingly either: 1. Lewdly exposes his person or genitals in any public place.” This play might have been within New York City’s contemporary community standards, but it is certainly not within Oklahoma City’s contemporary community standards. Since it is likely that a judge will determine whether the material in question meets the definition of obscenity, we are also bringing this matter to the attention of law enforcement.

Christmas is an official public holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and recognized as such by the United States. With the thousands of plays available from which to choose, why is it necessary to mock the Bible in the Christmas season? With 85% of the citizens of Oklahoma identifying themselves as Christians, why is it necessary to profane Jesus Christ? Furthermore, if someone wishes to promote something that is this overtly offensive, why is it being housed in a public facility? Likewise, why is the State of Oklahoma funding the Arts Council with tax dollars if they use the money to promote pornography, offend so many and violate the community standards of public decency?

We the undersigned pastors of Oklahoma call upon the OKC Theatre Company to reconsider this production, which is obscene and is an affront to Oklahoma City community standards. We call upon Oklahoma City community leaders to use greater caution in the future and take steps to ensure the protection of our contemporary community standards. We also call upon the Governor and State Legislature to cease funding the Arts Council. It seems that our taxes might be better spent on infrastructure or meeting the needs of the Department of Corrections and let private donations underwrite the OKC Theatre Company.

With respect, as elected officials, we request a detailed explanation regarding your position on this extremely important matter. Please send your responses to 1230 N. Sooner Rd., Edmond, OK, 73034, on or before December 1, 2013. We would like our congregations to know where their elected leaders stand on issues such as these.

Sincerely,

Pastor Paul Blair, Fairview Baptist Church/Edmond
Pastor Dan Fisher, Trinity Baptist Church/Yukon
Stephen Black, First Stone Ministries, OKC
Pastor Ken Smith, Sunnyside Baptist Church, OKC
Pastor Jerry Peterson, First Lutheran Church of OKC
Jim Vineyard, Pastor Emeritus, Windsor Hills Baptist Church of OKC
Pastor Bill Harris, Living Faith Ministries International
Pastor Donnie Edmondson, Anadarko
Pastor Bruce Delay, Heartland Church, Tulsa
Pastor Alan Conner, Northwest Bible Church, OKC
Pastor Rod Rieger, Newcastle Christian Church
Pastor Ken Merrihew, Calvary Chapel, OKC
Dan Adams, Administrative Pastor, Calvary Chapel, OKC
Pastor James Taylor, University Christian Church, Norman
Pastor Steve Meier, Gospel Light Baptist Church, Enid
David Story, Associate Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Edmond
Pastor Brad Lowrie, CBC Edmond & Lighthouse Ministries
Pastor Jason Murray, Draper Park Christian Church, OKC
Josh Bullard, Headmaster, Christian Heritage Academy
Pastor Mark McAdow, First Methodist Church of OKC
Pastor Keith Gordon, First Christian Church of Crescent
Pastor Tom Vineyard, Windsor Hills Baptist Church of OKC
Pastor Mark Hitchcock, Faith Bible Church of Edmond
Pastor Steve Kern, Olivet Baptist Church of OKC
Pastor Jerry Drewery, Norman First Assembly of God
Pastor Stephen Lopp, First Baptist Church of Jones
Pastor Jack Bettis, Associate Director of the Capitol Baptist Association
Pastor Rusty Canoy, First Baptist Church of Lexington
Pastor Danny Gandara, First Baptist Church of Fort Gibson
Pastor Travis Southern, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Purcell
Pastor Mateen Elass, First Presbyterian Church, Edmond
Pastor Glen Howard, International Ministries, Inc.
Pastor Chilles Hutchinson, Tri City Worship Center Assembly of God/Newcastle
Dr. Eddie White
Pastor J. T. Carvell, Central Baptist Church/Muskogee
Pastor Andy Busch, Open Door Baptist Church, Midwest City
Pastor Steve Eden, Grace Church, Choctaw, OK
Pastor Kevin Clarkson, First Baptist Church of Moore
Pastor Perry Greene, South Yukon Church of Christ
John Michener, Justice for All
John Roberts, Fairview Cowboy Church, Wetumka
Pastor Chris Reding, Community of Faith Fellowship, Stillwater
Pastor Jason Gaddis, Southwest Baptist Church, OKC
Paul Sublett, Associate Pastor, Olivet Baptist Church & General Manager of Bott Radio
Pastor John Ward, Associate, Church on the Rock & Pastor’s Prayer Network
Pastor Larry Baker, 40th Street Baptist Church of OKC
Pastor John Youell, The Crown Center/Moore
Pastor Stephen Burke, Springdale Baptist Church of OKC
Pastor George Samkuty, Shalom Church of God of Yukon
Pastor Joe Cannon, Crown Heights Baptist Church, OKC
Pastor Robert Fowler, First Baptist Church of Tryon, OK
Pastor Craig Wright, Faith Crossing Baptist Church of OKC
Pastor Gary Bostwick, Shields Blvd. Baptist Church of OKC
Pastor Rodney Derksen, Trinity Bible Baptist Church of Choctaw
Minister Jerry Pitts, First Christian Church, Jones
Minister Ricky Musgrove
Pastor James Fortune, Oasis Church, Edmond
Richard Peterson, Deliverance Ministries
Pastor Norm Wilkie, SpiritLife Church, Tulsa, OK
Pastor Tommy McLaurin, SpiritLife Church – Forest Ridge Campus, Broken Arrow
Pastor Randy Barnett, Riverside Church, Edmond
Ralph Bullard, Headmaster Emeritus, Christian Heritage Academy, Del City
Dave Mehlhaff, Headmaster, Liberty Christian Academy, Edmond
Pastor Charley O'Daniel, Maranatha Baptist Church of Western Oaks, Bethany
Carol Gordon, Co-Founder & Director, Heart Menders Int'l, Inc.
Pastor Wayne Stark, First Indian Church of the Nazarene
Pastor Richard Bond, Executive Director OKC Compassion
Pastor Larry Bowman, Sunnylane UMC
Pastor Steve Brant, Cornerstone UMC
Pastor Ed Cook, Tuttle UMC
Pastor Bob Canary, Putnam City UMC
Pastor David Cressman, Luther & Nicoma Park UMC
Pastor Randy Little, Harrah UMC
Pastor Shawn Money, Muldrow First Assembly of God"

Leaky Boat of Tax $$$ is Sinking the Ark Park

Leaky Boat: Kentucky Officials Labor To Keep Struggling ‘Ark Park’ From Sinking

Nov 15, 2013 by Simon Brown in Wall of Separation

It seems Kentucky lawmakers are bound and determined to do everything they can to stop from folding what surely looks like a losing hand.

Kentucky lawmakers seem to be doing all they can to plug holes in the perpetually leaky “Ark Park.”
We haven’t heard a whole lot lately about Ark Encounter, a proposed Christian fundamentalist theme park that’s built around a 510-foot replica of Noah’s Ark. That’s because the project has sailed into a sea of trouble.

The Ark Park is spearheaded by Answers in Geneses (AiG), a fundamentalist ministry that seeks to promote creationism and debunk evolution. AiG owns Kentucky’s perpetually embarrassing Creation Museum, an attraction where kids can be photographed sitting in a saddle atop a replica triceratops. (Just like the cave people did – or not)

Ark Encounter has faced one problem after another. According to multiple reports in LEO Weekly (a Louisville publication), AiG said in January 2011 that ground would be broken on the project that spring. Then in May of that year, AiG said groundbreaking would be over the summer. In June, AiG said construction would begin in August. By early August AiG still had not broken ground but promised that it would happen “in the next few months.”

Then in late August 2011, AiG bumped the timetable way back, saying groundbreaking would begin in the spring of 2012.

Last we heard, AiG President Ken Ham said he hopes the Ark Park will open in 2016.
In the meantime, AiG continues to take donations even though it is well short of the total it needs to build its theme park. According to LEO Weekly, the project had received just $4.3 million of the $24.5 million sought as of late 2011.

So what are the lawmakers who have backed this loony scheme going to do now? It seems they are bound and determined to do everything they can to stop from folding what surely looks like a losing hand.
The latest ploy comes courtesy of the city of Williamstown, which is not far from Cincinnati. The town already gave the overtly religious park a 75 percent property tax break, and Bloomberg News reported this week that the city plans to sell $62 million in municipal bonds in December for AiG affiliates. This means the city is actively taking on quite a bit of debt for the sole purpose of funding the Ark Park.

Anyone “generous” enough to buy $100,000 worth of these bonds will receive a lifetime pass to Ark Encounter for his or her family, Bloomberg said.

But the bond offering is far from the only government-backed bailout measure intended to get Ark Encounter up and running.

Kentucky has already committed more than $40 million in tax incentives to this project. The state allocated this support even though the park is the brainchild of a prominent fundamentalist Christian ministry that believes the Earth is only 6,000 years old, that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time and that unicorns once existed – ideas utterly rejected by mainstream science.

Gov. Steve Beshear (D) has backed this project under the guise that it will create jobs. A park like this might create some low-wage, part-time, seasonal work – but those types of jobs are hardly worth a $40 million incentive package.

The Kentucky legislature also planned to spend $2 million on a road project in a rural area, seemingly for the sole benefit of the proposed Ark Park.

Despite all the problems the Ark Park has thus far brought to Kentucky, Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner told Bloomberg he has “a lot of faith” in AiG’s attendance projections for the park.

Skinner is going to need that faith, because increasingly it looks like Ark Encounter will never open. If it ever does, it ought to be subsidized by private investors and true believers, not indirectly by the people of Kentucky.

It seems Kentucky has wasted its money on a “job-creating” venture that will never bear any fruit. Misguided legislators need to face up to an unpleasant truth: This ark is on a cruise to nowhere. It’s time to cut it loose.

https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/leaky-boat-kentucky-officials-labor-to-keep-struggling-ark-park-from

Government shutdown just the start for America's Biblical revolutionaries

Katherine Stewart: Texas evangelical leader David Barton threatened a Tea Party challenge to Senator John Cornyn – a truly apocalyptic scenario

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/07/government-shutdown-america-biblical-revolutionaries

clip The fact that this kind of discussion is even taking place helps put to rest two very common misperceptions about the right wing of the Republican party. The first is that the Tea Party is primarily about fiscal and economic issues. It is not; it is also about religion.

The second misperception that Barton's abortive candidacy exposed is that the Tea Party is a conservative and patriotic force in American politics. In fact, it is a radical movement that seeks to destroy our present system of government. There is nothing comparable to it on the left or the right in American politics.

Government shutdown just the start for America's Biblical revolutionaries | Katherine Stewart

www.theguardian.com

Prayer case at the Supreme Court: Debunking some myths

• By Barry W. Lynn

• November 11 at 6:43 am

Religious activists pray following oral arguments in the case of Town of Greece v. Galloway dealing with prayer in government, outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on November 6, 2013. The case deals with whether holding a prayer prior to the monthly public meetings in the New York town of Greece violates the Constitution by endorsing a single faith. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEBSAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has represented two courageous women from Greece, N.Y., since 2007 when they came to us for advice about how to deal with their town board, which began all of its monthly business meetings with a Christian prayer.

Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens, respectively Jewish and atheist, found this deeply disturbing. They said it created an atmosphere in which they felt like second-class citizens based on their views on the God question.

All efforts to negotiate a reasonable settlement of this matter failed, so we filed a lawsuit in 2008. This week, that suit ended up in the chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court.

I cannot recall another case in which so many red herrings have shown up in television studios and, yes, even during Wednesday’s oral argument at the court. If public venues were the sea, these false fish would have changed the clear cerulean blue to purple.
On Wednesday, the marshal of the Court opened the day’s proceedings with the words: “God save the United States and this honorable court.” Herring one: isn’t this a prayer before a governmental body just like what is happening in Greece?
Not quite. This platitude at the beginning of the Supreme Court’s morning is a genuinely longstanding practice instituted by Chief Justice John Marshall in the early 1800s. Frankly, it has essentially lost any spiritual significance from its repetitive use. Even if this practice should be deemed constitutionally permissible based on its historical roots, there is no such hoary background in Greece. Until 1999, the town council began its sessions with a respectful moment of silence. A board supervisor unilaterally changed the practice and instituted spoken Christian prayer.

But wait, notes herring two, every prayer since 1999 was not Christian; even a Wiccan gave a blessing once. Indeed, although the council apparently couldn’t find a rabbi, a Jewish person who knew a few prayers gave them twice, a Wiccan spoke once and a local Baha’i leader appeared as well.

The funny (and the legally important) thing is that invitations to non-Christians only arrived as the lawsuit became imminent. Within a few months, the Greece board went right back to its default policy of Christians only. The bottom line is that only a handful of the prayers uttered between 1999 to the closing of the official record in this case were non-Christian.

Herring three: Thirty years ago in a Supreme Court decision named Marsh v. Chambers, the court upheld the Nebraska legislature’s practice of hiring a chaplain to give prayers on the floor of the legislature, so Greece prayers must be fine, too.


There’s more to the story. In Nebraska, according to then-Chief Justice Warren Burger’s opinion, the chaplain’s prayers were “non-sectarian.” I believe that was highly significant for him and his five colleagues who upheld the practice.


Greece’s invited clerics, by contrast, fill their prayers (and some commentaries that read more like mini-sermons) with exclusively Christian beliefs including references to the resurrection, the “saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross,” the working of the Holy Spirit, the significance of Pentecost and so on. Some of the prayer-givers even had the audacity to not very subtly critique opponents of legislative prayer.


But if there are “non-sectarian” prayers, herring four sputters, there will have to be “prayer police” to determine if a prayer is sectarian or not. Justice Antonin Scalia has defined “sectarian” in a way that many of his bench colleagues have also endorsed: It can be monotheistic, but it can’t specify “details upon which men and women who believe in a benevolent, omnipotent Creator and Ruler of the world, are known to differ (for example, the divinity of Christ).”


Many theologians would quite convincingly argue that an assumption of “one God” is itself sectarian, but the court has set a different floor on that definition. Thirty-seven states have guidelines for chaplains and/or guest prayer-givers that at the very least strongly suggest (if not require) non-sectarian prayers, as do the guidelines of the U.S. House of Representatives, which note that the body consists of “members of many different faith traditions.”


A review of recent U.S. Senate prayers shows only 5 percent mentioning Jesus. Somehow, all of these bodies have found a way to have the preachers, pastors, priests, and imams before them limit the content of the prayers without generating a constitutional crisis of conscience. As a member of the clergy, I know what “non-sectarian” means and so does every other person of the cloth.

The fifth herring then arises: If the Supreme Court rules against Greece, it will put an end to prayers before the U.S. Congress. Not true. If you visit the gallery of the House early on a day the body is in session, you will look down upon the chaplain uttering a prayer of no more than 150 words (by its guidelines), specifically not with “any intimations pertaining to foreign or domestic policy” (also noted in the guidelines) to a virtually empty chamber.


Even if you are uncomfortable, no one will notice if you leave or do not bow your head up in the balcony. In addition, you will not be asked to come down to the floor to promote some cause of personal interest.
In Greece, however, if you are one of the handful of people who show up for the council meeting, you are probably there to make a case to the board during the prescribed time for such entreaties: You need a zoning variance for your small business, your child with disabilities needs special assistance, the neighborhood park needs cleaning up, the cable television service needs to be changed, etc. You will need a majority vote and you will be noticed – and indeed singled out – if you happen to reject the prayer-giver’s invitation to “bow your head,” “join with us” or “stand up.” What attorney would counsel a client to make herself known as a person not going along with the crowd as she, moments later, seeks special help from that body?


Also, if you visit Congress, you will note that the chaplain isn’t looking at you. He’s looking at the handful of members who actually show up to listen to him. That call to divine assistance is an “internal act” for those who hired him. In Greece, the prayer giver is not looking at the board; rather, the podium with the town of Greece seal on it, is facing the residents there because the prayer is for them. It has become a governmental invitation to accept Christian theology.

So, if the Town of Greece v. Galloway case is resolved in the favor of our clients, many things will not change. The House chaplain will not be fired. We will not need to sandblast any references to God from the walls of monuments in Washington. Greece politicians will still be able to pray – by themselves or in groups in their chambers or in the hallway before the business of the day begins. They can, in other words, pray in private just like that fellow Jesus reportedly urged them to do. (You can read about it in Matthew 6:6).

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


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/wp/2013/11/11/prayer-case-at-the-supreme-court-debunking-some-myths/

Passage of Non-discrimnation Act Would Ingrain Religious Discrimination

 

 Passage of Non-discrimination Act 

Would Ingrain Religious Discrimination

 

If this amendment should pass all with the main corpus of the bill it would mean business-as-usual for the flat-earth churches, schools, and other **non-religious** employers who only have a tenuous claim to religious work. This is the same tactic being used to evade female employee reproductive health care coverage by Hobby Lobby and other corporations owned by flat-earthers but who are **not** in the religious business as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt IRS classification.

clip The New York Times also rips the religious exemptions in the bill:

The Employment Nondiscrimination Act, however, has a significant flaw — a terribly broad religious exemption. The exemption would extend beyond churches and other houses of worship to any religiously affiliated institution, like hospitals and universities, and would allow those institutions to discriminate against people in jobs with no religious function, like billing clerks, cafeteria workers and medical personnel. The exemption — which was inserted to appease some opponents who say the act threatens religious freedom — is a departure from the approach of earlier civil rights laws. And though the law would protect millions of workers from bias, the exemption would give a stamp of legitimacy to the very sort of discrimination the act is meant to end. Any attempt to further enlarge the exemption should be rejected.

further clip Despite these unprecedented religious protections, Catholics are still trying to kill the bill.

Think Progress reports:

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has come out against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, asserting that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is essential to Catholics’ religious liberty. In a letter to Senators, the Bishops claimed to oppose discrimination, but then explained why they cannot support ENDA. Here are the five reasons they cite:

There Is No Exemption For “Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications”: With the exception of race, other protected classes like sex, religion, and national origin allow for discrimination in the case of “bona fide occupational qualifications” (BFOO), essentially leaving room for jobs in which a particular identity is necessary to perform the job. The Bishops argue that this exemption must be extended to sexual orientation, asserting that there are cases “where it is neither unjust nor inappropriate to consider an applicant’s sexual inclinations.” In other words, the Church should be free to discriminate against employees based on their private sexual behavior because some jobs require heterosexuality. They cite no such examples.

http://purpleunions.com/blog/2013/11/did-endas-broad-religious-exemption-just-get-broader.html