Inside DC| More...
 

Separation of Church and State

Gay Marriage Loss in Maine Is a Straight Loser

Michael B. Laskoff | Posted 11.04.2009 | Politics

Read More: California Gay Marriage, Proposition 8, Maine Gay Marriage, Racism, Libertarian, Separation of Church and State, Gay Marriage, Civil Rights, Church and State, Maine, John Baldacci, Same-Sex Marriage, Politics News
Michael B. Laskoff

Gay marriage is a civil rights issue; it will take a Supreme Court decision or an amendment to the US Constitution to make this right. That's almost inconceivably hard work, but ending slavery was no picnic either.

Read Post

Crucifix Banned From Italy's Schools By New EU Court Ruling

AP | ALESSANDRA RIZZO | Posted 11.03.2009 | World

Read More: Public Schools, Islam, Crucifixes Banned, Atheism, EU Courts, Catholicism, Italy Schools, Immigration, Italy, Eu, Catholics, Religion, Education, Italian Schools, Courts, Vatican, Pope, Separation of Church and State, Faith, World News

ROME — The Vatican on Tuesday denounced a ruling by the European court of human rights that said the display of crucifixes in Italian public sch...

Read Whole Story

Does the Left Understand the Faithful?

Peter Henne | Posted 10.15.2009 | Politics

Read More: Supreme Court, Progressive Christianity, Salazar v. Buono, Evangelical Christians, Barack Obama Religion, Evangelical Vote, Barack Obama Christian, Religion and Politics, Obama Evangelicals, Separation of Church and State, Barack Obama, Politics News
Peter Henne

Progressive Christians will never whole-heartedly embrace Democrats as long we feel the need to justify our faith during waves of Left-Right tensions over religious symbols.

Read Post

The Spirit of the Illinois Constitution

Edwin Yohnka | Posted 10.16.2009 | Chicago

Read More: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois Budget, Chicago West Side, Pat Quinn, Earmarks, Separation of Church and State, Pat Quinn Budget, ACLU of Illinois, Religion and Politics, Chicago News
Edwin Yohnka

Is it really possible that a school whose mission is based on teaching a specific set of religious values can distinguish which parts of the building are religious and which are not?

Read Post

Marriage Rights Should Not Be Determined By Popular Opinion

Fred Silberberg | Posted 10.14.2009 | Politics

Read More: Jim Crow, Tyranny-of-the-Majority, Constitutional Law, Equal Protection, Discrimination, Full-Faith-and-Credit-Clause, Minority, Constitution, Separation of Church and State, Defense of Marriage Act, Gay Marriage, Marriage Equality, Activist Judges, Inside DC, Politics News
Fred Silberberg

Allowing marriage to become the subject of a popular opinion poll, as has taken place in this country, disturbs the very principles upon which this nation was founded.

Read Post

Of Columbus Day and Crosses

Kenneth C. Davis | Posted 10.12.2009 | Politics

Read More: Supreme Court, Crosses, Religion, George Washington, Christopher Columbus, Antonin Scalia, Touro Synagogue, Founding Fathers, Fort Matanzas, Christianity, New England, Separation of Church and State, Politics News
Kenneth C. Davis

The litany of sectarian killings that has been such a grotesque piece of America's "hidden history" is the reason that some of the Framers thought the First Amendment was so necessary.

Read Post

Churches Have No License to Harm Our State

Leah Anthony Libresco | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics

Read More: Catholic Church, Aclu, Religion and Politics, Religion, Discrimination, Separation of Church and State, Politics News
Leah Anthony Libresco

If we distort the framework of nondiscrimination for religious organizations it privileges prejudice. We would, in the name of separating church and state, give the church license to harm our state.

Read Post

The Court's Cross to Bear

Jay Wexler | Posted 09.16.2009 | Politics

Read More: First Amendment, Salazar v. Buono, Seperation of Church and State, First Amendment Rights, Separation of Church and State, Church and State, Politics News
Jay Wexler

The government should surely honor our fallen war heroes, but erecting a massive, stand-alone symbol of Christian faith is not the way to do it.

Read Post

Egyptian Police Arresting Those Who Publicly Breakfast During Ramadan: Frown or Jail?

Wael Nawara | Posted 09.12.2009 | World

Read More: Egypt, Religion, Secularism, Hosni Mubarak, Police, Separation of Church and State, Ramadan, World News
Wael Nawara

Living in a conservative society, I can understand that there would be quite a few people who would be offended by those publicly breakfasting during the days of Ramadan.

Read Post

Bobby Jindal: Soaring to New Heights For New Orleans

Patrick Sauer | Posted 10.19.2009 | Comedy

Read More: Helicopters, New Orleans, Harry Shearer, Louisiana, Separation of Church and State, Bobby Jindal, Evangelicals, Southern Decadence, Parishes, George W. Bush, Fema, Hurricane Katrina, Army Corps of Engineers, Barack Obama, Big Easy, Superdome, Comedy News
Patrick Sauer

When I was a teenager, I overcame my Hindu upbringing to become a Catholic. Jesus spoke to me and told me Vishnu doesn't vote.

Read Post

Bible Study in Public Schools: Let's Pray on It

Jeff Schweitzer | Posted 09.10.2009 | Politics

Read More: Public Schools, Religion, New Testament, God, Bible, Old Testament, Biblical Stories, The Bible, Biblical Literalism, Separation of Church and State, Exodus, Church and State, God's Creation, Politics News
Jeff Schweitzer

Let's agree to teach the bible in all of its bloody, misogynous, murderous, fratricidal glory. Let's teach our impressionable children the following facts about the word of god.

Read Post

Hello, Iran

Giles Slade | Posted 07.20.2009 | World

Read More: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran Demonstrations, Iranian Revolution, Iran Election, Shah Reza Pahlavi, Democracy, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader, Guardian Council, Separation of Church and State, World News
Giles Slade

Injustice and arrogance are powerful catalysts, aren't they?

Read Post

Republican Party Bankrupt; Reorganizes As A Church

Lee Stranahan | Posted 07.07.2009 | Comedy

Read More: Meghan McCain, Religion, Church, Liz Cheney, Jesus, Religion and Politics, Gop, Liz Cheney Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, Separation of Church and State, Republican Party, Dick Cheney, Republican, Comedy News
Lee Stranahan

Republican officials wasted no time in taking advantage of their new found status as a religion and began punishing infidels, giving each other impressive titles and handing out funny hats.

Read Post

Holy Crap: Donald Rumsfeld's Crusade Memos

Disgrasian | Posted 06.18.2009 | Politics

Read More: Military Religious Freedom Foundation, Pentagon, US Military, Department of Defense, Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Holy Wars, Pentagon Propaganda, Iraq War, Bush Administration, Military, Donald Rumsfeld Crusade Memos, Religion and Politics, Crusades, Iraq, Separation of Church and State, Politics News
Disgrasian

They used to put Scripture like this on t-shirts in my Southern Baptist youth group, to get us kids pumped about spending the first week of summer, the first taste of freedom...quietly studying the Bible.

Read Post

Public Education: DC Vouchers Program Isn't the Answer

Rabbi David Saperstein | Posted 06.14.2009 | Politics

Read More: Public Schools, School-Vouchers, Vouchers, Public Education Reform, School Vouchers, Education Reform, Public Education, Separation of Church and State, Politics News
Rabbi David Saperstein

Taxpayer dollars should go where they are needed most: to improve public education for all of our nation's children.

Read Post

Marriage -- Not Just a "Gay Rights" Issue

Anne Dilenschneider | Posted 05.29.2009 | Politics

Read More: Religious Marriage, Gay Rights, Separation of Church and State, Civil Unions, Gay Marriage, Civil Rights, Civil Marriage, Politics News
Anne Dilenschneider

Separating the elements of civil and religious marriage, as the French have done since 1792, might provide a way to solve the heated debate over marriage.

Read Post

Tibet: Polar Perspectives. Can Both Sides Be Heard?

Jim Luce | Posted 05.21.2009 | World

Read More: Serfs, Hanificiation, East Asian Studies Major, India, Taiwan, Mandarin, Family Planning, Dalai Lama, Colonialization, Puritans, Poverty, Native American, Han Chinese, Togo, Hong Kong, Ghana, Theocracy, Iran, Tibet, Priest Class, Anti-Chinese, Appalachia, Slaves, Singapore, U.S. Healthcare System, Ewe, Buddhist Clergy, Birth Control, Middle Kingdom, Buddhism, Separation of Church and State, Sharia, Thomas Friedman, World News
Jim Luce

The truth about Tibet is perhaps more nuanced than it has been presented by either side of the highly polarized debate.

Read Post

Newsweek is Wrong: Christian America is as Strong as Ever

Jeff Schweitzer | Posted 05.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: Religion, Turkey, Prop 8, Religion and Politics, Christian Right, Separation of Church and State, Politics News
Jeff Schweitzer

Elated by Obama's election, we forgot that we have won a battle but not the war. The far Christian right pushes on, fighting to ban the teaching of evolution, stem cell research, and gay marriage.

Read Post

Is the United States a Judeo-Christian Nation?

Judith Ellis | Posted 05.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: Religion, Separation of Church and State, Islam, Turkey, Constitution, Judeo-Christian Nation, President Obama, Thomas Jefferson, Christianity, Judaism, Politics News
Judith Ellis

While I and many Americans are Christians, we are most certainly not a Judeo-Christian nation.

Read Post

President Obama Straddles the Wall of Separation

Bruce Ledewitz | Posted 04.30.2009 | Politics

Read More: Obama Church and State, Obama Church, Judge Hamilton, Separation of Church and State, Barack Obama, Secularism, David F. Hamilton, Politics News
Bruce Ledewitz

The nomination of Judge David F. Hamilton would be important if it tells us something about President Obama's preferred position on the separation of church and state.

Read Post

New York Times' Gay Marriage Nothing New

Emma Ruby-Sachs | Posted 03.26.2009 | Politics

Read More: South Africa, Gay Rights, Evangelical Christians, Religious Freedom, Equal Rights, New York Times, Canada, Constitution, Netherlands, Deaf, Separation of Church and State, Gay Marriage, Marriage Equality, Evangelicals, Politics News
Emma Ruby-Sachs

Imagine my surprise when the New York Times published an op-ed yesterday describing a new "great compromise" on gay marriage that essentially provided for marriage rights with religious exemptions.

Read Post

Why Is Religion Taboo in American Schools?

John W. Whitehead | Posted 03.23.2009 | Politics

Read More: Public Schools, Religion and Politics, Religion, Religion in Public Schools, Separation of Church and State, Church and State, Politics News
John W. Whitehead

Some elites cite the "wall of separation between church and state" as justification for censoring, silencing and discriminating against religious individuals, especially in the public schools.

Read Post

Obama: What He Said and What We're Getting

Reese Schonfeld | Posted 03.21.2009 | Politics

Read More: White House Office for Faith-Based Programs and Neighborhood Partnerships, Barack Obama Faith Based Groups, Lyndon Johnson, Marx Brothers, Separation of Church and State, Equal Opportunity Order, George W. Bush, President Obama, Politics News
Reese Schonfeld

President Obama appears to be running scared -- scared of the Republican minority in Congress, scared of faith-based groups, scared of boldness.

Read Post

One Nation Under Democracy

Michael DeJong | Posted 03.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Jerry Falwell, Scientology, First Amendment, Rovian, Hell, Pat Robertson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Obama, Rastafarianism, Fundamentalists, Republican Party, Agnosticism, Christians, In God We Trust, Separation of Church and State, Islam, Atheism, World, Beltway Insider, Bahá'í, Presidential Prayer Breakfast, Country, Religion, Confucianism, Jimmy Swaggart, Strange Bedfellows, Jainism, Environment, Hinduism, Buddhism, Neopaganism, Sikhism, Sufism, Wiccanism, Shinto, Politics News
Michael DeJong

One might have thought that Obama would slant more towards the Constitutional First Amendment of Separation of Church and State, and forgo the tradition of "Prayer Breakfasts."

Read Post

Wall of Separation Becomes a Low Fence

Craig Crawford | Posted 03.14.2009 | Politics

Read More: Religion, Thomas Jefferson, Faith-Based Initiatives, Separation of Church and State, Politics News
Craig Crawford

With two presidents in a row institutionalizing federal funding of churches, Jefferson's "wall of separation of church and state" is crumbling.

Read Post