Establishment Clause

Jaweed Kaleem

Does The National Day Of Prayer Mix Church And State?

HuffingtonPost.com | Jaweed Kaleem | Posted 05.03.2012

Read More: National Day of Prayer, Prayer in Public School, Religion and Politics, Engel v. Vitale, First Amendment, National Day of Prayer Unconstitutional, National Day of Prayer 2012, Establishment Clause, Public Prayer, Religion News

Hundreds of Texans are expected to come to downtown Dallas Thursday for an eight-hour string of faith-based celebrations that will include Sikh drumme...

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School Reverses Decision To Cut 'God' From Song

The Huffington Post | Andres Jauregui | Posted 04.05.2012

Read More: First Amendment, God, Establishment Clause, Fox News, Bellingham, Massachusetts, God Bless the USA, Stall Brook Elementary, Lee Greenwood, Religion News

Parents at Stall Brook Elementary in suburban Massachusetts became upset after administrators planned to remove the word "God" from the Lee Greenwood ...

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Rick Santorum, You're No Jack Kennedy

Todd Green, Ph.D. | Posted 04.28.2012

Read More: John F. Kennedy, Rick Santorum, First Amendment, Santorum Church and State, Religion and Politics, Establishment Clause, Free Exercise of Religion, Rick Santorum 2012, Religion in America, Religion News
Todd Green, Ph.D.

JFK knew the First Amendment. He understood and articulated the importance of balancing both clauses in it. Santorum really doesn't understand.

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Justices Rely On 'Standing' To Dismiss Church-State Disputes

Posted 08.29.2011

Read More: Supreme Court, Church-State Separation, Arizona School Tuition Credit, Flast v. Cohen, Establishment Clause, Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, Separation of Church and State, Legal Standing, Plaintiff's Right to Sue, Religion News

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) As the U.S. Supreme Court ends its 2010-2011 term this week, legal scholars say a decision ...

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Vouchers Are a Scam

Steve Nelson | Posted 07.12.2011

Read More: Establishment Clause, Michelle Rhee, Privatizing Education, Vouchers, Education, Education Reform, Catholic Schools, Indiana, School Vouchers, Education News
Steve Nelson

Ms. Rhee's missive intentionally avoids some very glaring problems, leading one to suspect her motivation and the motivation of other conservatives who press for vouchers and school choice.

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Eviscerating the Establishment Clause

Geoffrey R. Stone | Posted 06.06.2011

Read More: Supreme Court, Religion, First Amendment, Conservatives, Constitution, Establishment Clause, Politics News
Geoffrey R. Stone

The five conservatives on the Supreme Court have now all but enabled government to violate the Establishment Clause at will by denying courts the authority to declare even unconstitutional programs unconstitutional.

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California Veterans Memorial Cross Ruled Unconstitutional

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Christianity, Aclu, Establishment Clause, Separation of Church and State, La Jolla War Memorial, Federal Appeals Court, Mount Soledad Memorial, California Cross Ruled Unconstitutional, Religion News

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday (Jan. 4) a veterans' memorial featuring a 43-foot cross ...

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Obama Clarifies Religious Liberty Protections, Strengthens Foundation Of Faith-Based Policy

K. Hollyn Hollman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Faith-Based Initiatives, Obama Executive Order, Obama Advisory Council, Obama Administration, First Amendment Rights, Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Bush Advisory Council, Separation of Church and State, Establishment Clause, Baptist Joint Council, Religion News
K. Hollyn Hollman

It was not fast and it did not finish the job, but the Obama administration's executive order clarifying policies on government partnerships with faith-based organizations is important.

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One Nation Under God?

Steve Nelson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: William Sloane Coffin, Religion, Establishment Clause, " Patriotism, "Under God, Pledge of Allegiance in Schools, Education News
Steve Nelson

Religion aside, children should not be required to utter pledges and oaths of any kind. Uncritical declarations of loyalty, to country or to God are anti-educational.

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Supreme Court Wrestles Over Religious Scholarship Program

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Supreme Court, Arizona Tuition Tax Credit, Arizona Education, First Amendment, National Association of Evangelicals, Student Tuition Organizations, Establishment Clause, Arizona Scholarship Case, Christian Educators Association International, Religion News

By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) Is a state law that allows tax credits for donations to scholarship programs unconstitution...

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The Separation Of Church And State In American Politics

Nomi M. Stolzenberg | Posted 05.26.2011

Read More: Christine O'donnell, Tea Party Constitution, First Amendment, Christine Odonnell Constitution, Religious Right, Establishment Clause, Separation of Church and State, First Amendment Constitution, Christine Odonnell First Amendment, Christine Odonnell Debate, Religion News
Nomi M. Stolzenberg

While there is broad agreement that the prohibition on state "establishment" of religion implies some sort of separation between religion and politics, it has always been open to interpretation just what form of separation is required.

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Bob the Islamic Center Builder

John Marshall | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: First Amendment, Establishment Clause, Freedom of Religion, Islamic Center Ground Zero, Comedy News
John Marshall

Rick Majestic Bob the Islamic Community Center Builder's new CD features songs about conflict resolution, cooperation and refusal to exploit a nati...

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How Three Letters Can Get You Fired in Texas

Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D. | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Evolution/Creation Controversy, First Amendment, Establishment Clause, Barbara Forrest, Intelligent Design, Texas Education Agency, Chris Comer, Evolution, Texas Education Agency Chris Comer, Chris Comer Fired, Chris Comer Texas Education Agency, Education, Religion Science, Tea Chris Comer, Chris Comer Tea, Religion News
Michael Zimmerman, Ph.D.

So what did Chris Comer, Director of Science for the Texas Education Agency, do to get fired? The TEA claims she violated their "neutrality" policy by taking a position in favor of teaching evolution over creationism.

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Week's Funniest Joke: GOP Demands Obama Nominate Mainstream Candidate to Supreme Court

Jeff Schweitzer | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Abortion, Supreme Court, Judicial Activism, Gore, Chief Justice John Roberts, Establishment Clause, Antonin Scalia, Gun Control, Strict Construction, Samuel Alito, Equal Access, Obama, Bush v Gore, Bush, Justice John Paul Stevens, Politics News
Jeff Schweitzer

Obama should nominate an overtly leftist candidate as a counterweight to the right wing extremism of Alito, Roberts and Scalia. Let the GOP filibuster, and bluster. Bring it on.

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Celebrating "Under God" Whether There is a God or Not

Brad Hirschfield | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Religious Freedom, Islam, Christianity, Pledge of Allegiance, Under God, Establishment Clause, Judaism, Religion, Religion News
Brad Hirschfield

The Ninth Circuit did a good thing by upholding the propriety of reciting the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

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The Super Bowl Slippery Slope: Advertising and Free Speech

Marcia G. Yerman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: The Pepsi Refresh Project, Charles C. Haynes, First Amendment, Freedom From Religion Foundation, MoveOn.Org, Gainesville Sun, Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad, The Center for Inquiry, Christian Right, Tim Tebow, Jim Daly, Peta, Cbs, Nfl, Placental Abruption, Super Bowl, First Amendment Center, Slate.com, Pam Tebow, Establishment Clause, New York Times, Christian Values, Focus on the Family, Separation of Church and State, Domestic Violence, William Saletan, Media News
Marcia G. Yerman

I have to start off with an admission. I haven't watched the Super Bowl in over twenty years. Bone crushing violence does nothing for me. I prefer...

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Blind Faith: Supreme Court Meltdown

Jeff Schweitzer | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Mojave Desert, Scalia, First Amendment, Cross, Establishment Clause, Scalia Cross Remarks, Scalia Cross, Religion in America, Antonin Scalia, Politics News
Jeff Schweitzer

If a Christian would not select a Star of David then why on earth would a Jew choose a cross? Yet that is exactly what Scalia proposes. The notion that the cross represents everybody is bizarre.

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"School Children Singing the Praises of President Obama" (Apparently as a Public School Class Project):

Eugene Volokh | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Laura Bush, Establishment Clause, Presidency, Barack Obama, Politics News
Eugene Volokh

Public school classrooms shouldn't be used to sing the praises of any sitting (or recent) political figure, whether Bush or Obama or anyone else.

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Netroots Nation Confronts Church and State

Bruce Ledewitz | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Hallowed Secularism, Wall of Separation, Establishment Clause, Secularism, Religion, Video, Books News
Bruce Ledewitz

Fighting against religious imagery has only helped the religious right. It is time to give up on the principle of the purely secular state and try to find common ground between secularists and religious believers.

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Inhofe: Obama's Judicial Nominee is a Secret Muslim

Ian Millhiser | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Filibuster, Judge David Hamilton, Establishment Clause, James Inhofe, Judicial Nominations, Politics News
Ian Millhiser

The fact that conservatives are planning to filibuster President Obama's very first nominee suggests that we can expect scorched-earth opposition to virtually all of Obama's nominees moving forward.

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It's Time for a War on the War on the "War on Christmas"

Mitchell Bard | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Robin Hayes, Communion, First Amendment, Happy Holidays, Ted Haggard, Establishment Clause, Merry Christmas, Slavery, Daniel Henninger, War on Christmas, Japanese Internment, Bill O'Reilly War on Christmas, Bill O'Reilly, Wall Street Journal, Gay Marriage, Politics News
Mitchell Bard

I would like to see a country where we don't seek to make non-Christian citizens feel like they are not part of the national fabric by pointing out to them, again and again, that they are different than a majority.

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