Is Religion Above the Law?

OPINION | October 17, 2011
Stanley Fish: Is Religion Above the Law?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/is-religion-above-the-law/
By STANLEY FISH
In supposedly avoiding certain questions, a ministerial-exception case raises other, unanswerable ones.

Government Neutrality Is Not "Anti-Religion"

Government Neutrality Is Not "Anti-Religion"
Understanding church-state separation.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/em/75869

This article illustrates what real anti-religion views would look like.

Compare it with a neutral POV.

Staunch Oklahoma Defender of Separation Receives Academic Honor

Dr. Hutchison has been given the "Jack Renner Distinguished Service to
Oklahoma Science Education Award" by the Oklahoma Science Teachers
Association!

Here's the announcement from the OSTA website.

2011 OSTA Awards – Jack Renner Distinquished Service to Oklahoma
Science Education Award

Dr. John W. “Jack” Renner taught science education at OU from
1962-1988, His work on the Learning Cycle in the 1970′s lead to its
use as foundation for the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS)
and the Full Option Science System (FOSS). The Learning Cycle
approach and it’s underlying teaching philosophy of constructivism
shows itself today in the inquiry approach defined by the National
Science Education Standards (NSES) and the process skill development
required by our own Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS). Jack was
recognized for his contributions by NSTA with the Robert H. Carleton
Award, which annually recognizes one individual who has made
outstanding contributions to, and provided leadership in, science
education at the national level and to NSTA in particular. It is
NSTA’s highest honor. In like manner, the Jack Renner Award is OSTA’s
highest honor given each year to a person or organization in
recognition for significant contributions to science education in
Oklahoma.

This year, we honor Dr. Victor Hutchinson, George Lynn Cross Research
Professor emeritus for the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Hutchinson’s
list of accomplishments is long and varied. A retired Colonel in the
Army Reserve, a fellow in the American Academy for the Advancement of
Science, a member of the American Institute of Biological Sciences,
holder of leadership positions in the American Society of
Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, author or co-author for nearly 150
peer reviewed scientific papers, supervisor for 28 PhD’s … The list
goes on and on and Dr. Hutchinson has had a very full and active
career as a research scientist and University professor.

But our story goes back to the dark days of 1999 when members of the
state textbook committee attempted to introduce creationist textbook
disclaimers into any textbook used in Oklahoma that discussed
Evolution. I attended those hearings and so did Vic Hutchinson and
through his efforts and those of others the disclaimers did not make
it into law. But from that experience was born Oklahomans for
Excellence in Science Education, founded by Vic with a small group of
educators, scientists, theologians, laypersons, and persons interested
in maintaining the constitutional separation of church and state.
There have been political efforts every year since 1999 to inject
religion into public schools and diminish or prohibit the teaching of
evolution in Oklahoma science classrooms. And every attempt has been
met by Dr. Hutchinson and his colleagues in OESE. He is a tireless
advocate for quality science education in our public schools, a
regular representative on our behalf in the halls of the legislature,
and is a frequent speaker to school and civic groups as well as a
commentator on radio and television. He maintains the Oklahoma
Evolution listserv, and the OESE website has become a treasure-trove
of resources about evolution, evolution education, and science and
religion. OESE also sponsors a number of education efforts and by
leveraging grants and donations, has made a Teachers Evolution
Workshop available to Oklahoma teachers for each of the last six
years. His efforts in this realm have been recognized by the Oklahoma
Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, with
their Constitutional Heritage Award, by the Tulsa Interfaith Alliance
with their Award for Science Education and Anti-creationism Efforts,
the National Center for Science Education, Friend of Darwin Award and
now by the Oklahoma Science Teachers Association with the Jack Renner
Distinguished Service to Oklahoma Science Education Award – Bob Melton



http://www.oklahomascienceteachersassociation.org/?p=3258

Pulpit Freedom Sunday’ Is Stunt To Lure Churches Into Illegal Electioneering

Clergy Should Be Wary Of Religious Right Attempts To Politicize Churches, Says Americans United

September 28, 2011

‘Pulpit Freedom Sunday’ Is Stunt To Lure Churches Into Illegal Electioneering, Watchdog Group Says

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today called on the nation’s clergy to reject Religious Right attempts to turn houses of worship into centers for partisan politicking.

This Sunday (Oct. 2) the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is sponsoring “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” an event in which evangelical pastors are urged to break the law by endorsing or opposing candidates as they conduct religious services.

“This is an appalling attempt by the Religious Right to turn houses of worship into houses of partisan politics,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Americans attend church for spiritual guidance, not to get a list of candidates to vote for on Election Day.

“I know the Religious Right would like to forge fundamentalist churches into a partisan political machine,” Lynn continued, “but the law doesn’t allow it, and the American people don’t want it.”

The ADF, a legal group founded by TV preachers, insists that pastors should have the right to endorse candidates from the pulpit. But Americans United points out that all non-profit groups in the 501(c)(3) category — whether religious or secular — are barred under federal tax law from using non-profit personnel or resources to intervene in elections.

AU’s Lynn noted that the American people do not support church electioneering. A recent study found that 73 percent of Americans agree that religious leaders should not intervene in elections.

Americans United sponsors Project Fair Play, a project that educates clergy and congregants about the requirements of federal tax law. Through Project Fair Play (www.projectfairplay.org), Americans United makes a variety of educational materials available that explain what houses of worship can and can’t do in the political arena.

In cases of flagrant violations of the law, Americans United reports offending religious institutions to the IRS.

“Church electioneering is illegal, and the people don’t support it,” Lynn remarked. “It’s time for the Religious Right to stop trying to drag churches into backroom politics.”

The Internal Revenue Service is charged with enforcing this tax law provision. Religious groups that have been either sanctioned or investigated include:

Christian Broadcasting Network, Virginia Beach, Va.: TV preacher Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network was stripped of its tax-exempt status retroactively for the years 1986 and 1987 for supporting Robertson’s presidential bid. CBN was required to make a “significant payment” to the IRS, pledge to avoid partisan campaign activities in the future, place more outside directors on its board and implement other organizational and operational changes to ensure tax law compliance.

Old Time Gospel Hour, Lynchburg, Va.: The late Jerry Falwell’s TV ministry lost its tax-exempt status retroactively for the years 1986 and 1987 after a four-year IRS audit determined that the ministry had diverted money to a political action committee. The ministry agreed to pay the IRS $50,000 for those years and to change its organizational structure so that no future political campaign intervention activities would occur.

Church at Pierce Creek, Binghamton, N.Y.: This church lost its tax-exempt status after running newspaper ads in 1992 urging people not to vote for Bill Clinton. Assisted by attorneys with TV preacher Pat Robertson’s American Center for Law and Justice, the church sued to get its exemption back but lost in federal court.

Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas: This prominent Texas church endured a three-year IRS audit after the church was reported to the federal tax agency for alleged involvement with a special project in 1996 designed to encourage members to attend a GOP precinct convention with the aim of electing certain individuals to local committees.

Allen African Methodist Episcopal Church, New York, N.Y.: This church was visited by IRS agents and its pastor, the Rev. Floyd Flake, was asked to sign documents stating that he would not intervene in election campaigns after he endorsed presidential candidate Al Gore from the pulpit in 2000.

Bill Keller Ministries/Live Prayer, St. Petersburg, Fla.: The founder of this ministry was contacted by the IRS, which sent him a list of detailed questions to answer about his political activity, after he issued a “devotional” on the ministry’s website in 2007 asserting that voting for Mitt Romney is the same as voting for Satan.

In addition, in 2006 the IRS issued a report stating that it examined 132 non-profits during the 2004 election cycle. The tax agency noted that “fewer than half” of the entities examined were churches and concluded that in many of the cases, significant violations of the law had occurred. Written warnings were issued in 55 cases.

In 2008, the IRS took the step of sending letters to officials in the national political parties, reminding them that houses of worship and other tax-exempt entities cannot endorse candidates.

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.

Being Fair versus Being Righteous

graphic courtesy of www.toppun.com

John Loghry was recently elected president of the Oklahoma City chapter of American United for Separation of Church & State (www.okau.org, www.au.org), one of the more publicly active chapters in the country.

In his acceptance remarks to the membership Mr. Loghry spoke of the age-old idea of fairness in a society based on civil law and a diverse population:

"I think we may already live by this mantra, but I want to make it explicit: it is more important to be fair than to be right. The people we oppose are so convinced they are right—so convinced of their righteousness—that they feel no compulsion to be fair to those of us that do not share their convictions. This is not to say their convictions are not valid; but being unfair makes a person wrong, no matter how right he was before. We are coming up against communities that demand bias from their members and their representatives, and it is important to remember that it is sometimes dangerous for persons in religious communities to be fair—that is, failing to act in a heavy-handed way is often seen by the community as a betrayal. We will be working with people who are wedged between these two demands—the demand for bias from their religious communities and the demand for fairness by the AU. As we move forward into the next two years, I would like us to carry this idea with us—that it is better to be fair."

John holds two Master’s degrees, one in Clinical Psychology from the Fuller Seminary School of Psychology, and one in Depth (or Deep) Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, and is completing a PhD in Depth Psychology.

His dissertation work is focused on artificial intelligence and its potential to critique and advance epistemological frames. He is a member of AOK (the Atheists of Oklahoma) and the Jungian Society for Scholarly Studies. His research interest is the psychology of religion, specifically what underlying factors cause certain religious behaviors, and he will be presenting a paper on this subject at a meeting of AOK in October.

Alabama Town’s ‘Jesus Or Jail’ Policy Violates The Constitution, Americans United Says

Bay Minette May Not Force Offenders To Choose Between Going To Jail Or Going To Church, Says Church-State Watchdog

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September 26, 2011

Bay Minette May Not Force Offenders To Choose Between Going To Jail Or Going To Church, Says Church-State Watchdog

Officials in Bay Minette, Ala., have crossed a constitutional line by creating a program that allows low-level offenders to choose between fines and jail or going to church for a year, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

“I have just two words for this ill-considered scheme: blatantly unconstitutional,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Government simply can’t put people in a position where their only choice is Jesus or jail.”

Bay Minette Police Chief Mike Rowland says 56 churches have agreed to take part in the program, dubbed “Operation Restore Our Community.” Rowland says the plan is legal because no one is forced to go to church – they can choose fines or incarceration instead.

Americans United says Bay Minette is offering no real choice at all and that the scheme will clearly have the effect of funneling people into houses of worship.

In a letter to Rowland and Mayor Jamie Tillery sent today, attorneys with Americans United urged the town to drop the plan.

“Under well-established decisions, the City may not force individuals – even those convicted of crimes – to choose between religion and jail,” reads the letter.

The letter goes on to say, “The Program would be unconstitutional even if participants could, as the City has asserted, attend the religious service of their choice. For one, any such choice is purely theoretical: only churches participate in the Program and so in practice defendants must attend Christian services. In any event, the Program would violate the Constitution even if other religions did participate because the First Amendment also requires the government to remain neutral between religion and non-religion.”

The letter requests a response within 14 days.

Americans United’s letter was drafted by Gregory M. Lipper, AU litigation counsel, and AU Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan.

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.

New Officers Begin Two-Year Term

(OKLAHOMA CITY) The Oklahoma City chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church & State (www.okau.org, www.au.org) held its annual membership meeting in September where it elected three new officers and returned one incumbent for two-year terms.

Elected president was John Loghry. John holds two Master’s degrees, one in Clinical Psychology from the Fuller Seminary School of Psychology, and one in Depth (or Deep) Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, and is completing a PhD in Depth Psychology. His dissertation work is focused on artificial intelligence and its potential to critique and advance epistemological frames. He is a member of AOK (the Atheists of Oklahoma) and the Jungian Society for Scholarly Studies. His research interest is the psychology of religion, specifically what underlying factors cause certain religious behaviors, and he will be presenting a paper on this subject at a meeting of AOK in October.

The new vice-president will be Sophia Hernandez who is employed at OETA . She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Film and Video Studies with a minor in philosophy. Ms.Hernandez looks forward to being a part of OKAU's healthy participation in honoring the First Amendment's separation of church and state.

The office of secretary will be held by Aimee Breeze. Aimee is originally from Salt Lake City, Utah and is a member of the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and American Atheists. Ms. Breeze is a Piping Designer for Chesapeake Energy. Her family includes two sons, a daughter, and three grandchildren.

Elected to another term as treasurer is Damion Reinhardt who is very active in atheist events in Oklahoma City and is the host of Oklahoma Atheists Godcast available on its website or iTunes.

The Oklahoma City chapter is considered one of the more active and influential chapters in the national organization. Annual events include a January legislative preview of proposed bills in the Oklahoma Legislature, a Spring Dialogue that discusses current events regarding First Amendment separation issues and a formal debate that provides some transparency on civil and religious viewpoints.

All of the OKAU chapter's events are open to the public.

Americans United For Separation of Church and State (AU) is a nonpartisan educational organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans. Americans United represents over 70,000 individual members and 5,000 churches and other houses of worship nationwide.

Coalition Of Organizations Asks Obama To Clarify Stand On Hiring Bias In ‘Faith-Based’ Initiative

President’s Recent Comments About Issue Have Sown Confusion, 56 Groups Say

September 19, 2011

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has joined a coalition of religious, education, civil rights and health organizations in a letter to President Barack Obama expressing concern over his approach to hiring bias in the “faith-based” initiative.

The 56 groups decided to write after Obama discussed the issue during a town hall meeting in College Park, Md., July 22. They assert that his remarks have only served to cloud the issue.

“The question here is simple: Has the president changed his position on subsidizing religious discrimination with tax funds?” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “If not, he should take action to restore civil rights protections in federally funded social services that were undercut during the Bush administration. Taxpayer dollars should never underwrite hiring bias.”

During the July 22 event, Obama was asked why he did not ban religious discrimination in taxpayer-funded programs operated by religious agencies, as he promised to do when running for president in 2008.

Obama made the original pledge while campaigning in Zanesville, Ohio, on July 1, 2008. He told a crowd, “If you get a federal grant, you can’t use that grant money to proselytize to the people you help and you can’t discriminate against them – or against the people you hire – on the basis of their religion.”

But after taking office, Obama failed to make this change, indicating instead that the Department of Justice would examine the issue. Nothing has happened since then.

“Your recent statement, combined with the Administration’s failure to take any concrete steps thus far to restore anti-discrimination protections, causes us great disappointment,” wrote the groups. “We write, therefore, to ask that you clarify your July 22 remarks and take steps to fulfill your commitment to end federally funded employment discrimination.”

During the College Park town hall event, Obama opined that religious organizations have “more leeway” to “hire somebody who is a believer of that particular faith.”

Observed the groups in the letter to Obama, “We hope that this statement does not reflect a reversal of your commitment to end federally funded religious discrimination.”

The letter went on to list a number of instances where Obama could have curbed hiring bias in these programs but did not do so.

Asserted the letter, “Mr. President, we have been patiently waiting. If you have reversed your policy position on the issue of government-funded religious discrimination, we need to know that. If not, we would ask you to take concrete steps to fulfill the commitment you made in 2008 in Zanesville.”

In addition to Americans United, signers of the letter include: African American Ministers in Action, American Association of University Women, American Civil Liberties Union, Anti-Defamation League, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Human Rights Campaign, Muslim Advocates, National Organization for Women, PFLAG, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Secular Coalition for America and United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society.

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/2011/09/coalition-of-organizations.html

Is the GOP a Religion

"The GOP, deep down, is behaving as a religious movement, not as a political party, and a radical religious movement at that." http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/7412-is-the-gop-a-religion

NYC Mayor Bloomberg Demonstrates Good Sense

Graphic courtesy of www.leftyparent.com/blog

Much to the consternation and umbrage of Catholic and Southern Baptist Convention leaders, Mayor Bloomberg has decided to not have any official religious speakers at the 9/11 ceremony this Sunday in NYC.

Bloomberg is to be congratulated for leaving religious devotions to one's own conscience and personal taste.

In observing the 10th anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center, that was in part brought on by religious fanaticism, we should be relieved that even more religious strife will not be a part of the official ceremony.

You can email Mayor Bloomberg at:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

You can listen to the NPR story at this link:

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/08/140279184/clergy-insulted-theyre-barred-from-speaking-at-sept-11-event