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Religion & Law

Blog From The Capital

Blog from the Capital is the weblog of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, a Baptist church-state separation advocacy group in D.C. for the last 70 years.

Post Frequency: 8.8/day

Last Entry: March 30, 2009 at 16:22:09

Baptist Joint Committee Statement on Summum Argument

Posted on November 12, 2008
The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty released the following statement about this morning's Summum monument argument in the Supreme Court: WASHINGTON? A case to be heard today by the U.S. Supreme Court is a reminder that governmental involvement in...

Summum and the Establishment Clause: Silent but not Absent

Posted on November 11, 2008
The First Amendment Center's Tony Mauro analyzes the issues in tomorrow's Summum argument. His starting point is the fact that, despite appearances that this is an establishment of religion case, religion has not been a factor in the briefs filed...

Milwaukee Voucher Program Strains Public School Resources

Posted on November 10, 2008
Milwaukee's school voucher program has reached new levels of enrollment, putting an increasing stress on the public school system as tax money flows to religious and other private schools. The number of Milwaukee children attending private schools using publicly funded...

Does RFRA Allow Doctors to Determine the End of Life?

Posted on November 10, 2008
In a heart-breaking case, Eluzer and Miriam Brody, a Jewish couple whose cancer-stricken son is in Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C, are arguing that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act requires the hospital to keep 12-year-old Motl on life...

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Are Religious Voters Really Changing?

Posted on November 09, 2008
Mother Jones blogger Kevin Drum dissects an LATimes piece repeating this week's conventional wisdom that Democrats made significant inroads among churchgoing voters. So Obama did better among every religious group and he did better among seculars. Hmmm...

Becket Fund to Sue Over Amish Rights, Hopes to Set National Precedent

Posted on November 08, 2008
Watertown, NY has been engaged in a year-long battle with a local Amish community over building codes. They are not alone. 2008 has seen a rise in similar disputes across the country as the Amish way of life increasingly finds...

Preparing for the Summum Argument

Posted on November 07, 2008
Wednesday of next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Summum monument case. The Pew Research Center offers background and a preview. It correctly notes that regardless of whether the debate centers on Establishment Clause issues - as...

Election Recap: Religious Voters Increase Partisan Blur, Slightly

Posted on November 06, 2008
AP looks at the exit polls and determines a very subtle shift in religious voter preference. In building a winning coalition of religious voters, Barack Obama cut into the so-called God gap that puts frequent worshippers in the Republican column,...

Pastor Joel Hunter Relays Conversations with Obama, Hints at Common Ground on Discrimination (I think)

Posted on November 06, 2008
Time Magazine profiles Orlando pastor Joel Hunter, who gave the closing benediction at the Democratic National Convention, and apparently prayed with Senator Obama hours before election results came in on Tuesday. He is described as a "new evangelical", at odds...

Final Election Notes

Posted on November 06, 2008
At Religion Clause, Howard Friedman has compiled a helpful list of President-elect Obama's campaign statements regarding religion and public policy. The new administration's organizational actions regarding the Faith-Based Office will be one of the first things to watch in January...

What Next for Religious Right?

Posted on November 05, 2008
AU argues that the Religious Right's "access to power in Washington, D.C., has been seriously diminished" thanks to the results of yesterday's election. ?James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Richard Land and Company did everything but declare Obama the Antichrist,? said Lynn...

Maybe It's the Economy...?

Posted on November 04, 2008
Get Religion wonders what happened to all of that important religion talk from earlier in the presidential campaign. Finding "holes" in recent stories about Obama, dpulliam writes: Religion and faith have been apart of the Obama narrative in the past...

Monday Roundup: (Mostly) Campaign Edition

Posted on November 03, 2008
In USAToday, Stephen Prothero writes that religion has undergone a "tectonic shift" politically this campaign cycle. Americans United argues that America has "reached a new low in muddling faith and politics." A group of clergy from the African Methodist Episcopal...

Final Campaign Push for Church Votes

Posted on November 03, 2008
Via Religion Clause, AP reports on yesterday's get-out-the-vote efforts targeting church-goers. Officials with both the John McCain and Barack Obama campaigns said their efforts are careful to keep churches out of trouble, but it's hard to know whether lines are...

Religion in the 2008 Election

Posted on November 01, 2008
AP's Eric Gorski offers an analysis of the role of religion in the 2008 election season. With a few exceptions, whatever seemed odd or fringe trumped serious discussion about how candidates' religious beliefs shape their approach to governance. As the...

BJC Director at Stetson University Law School

Posted on October 31, 2008
You might not want to tell your friends at the gym that you're working out while listening to a lecture on religion in politics on your iPod, but you could be doing just that! The audio (MP3) of a presentation...

AU Questions Michelle Obama Appearance at Baptist Convention

Posted on October 31, 2008
Americans United has filed a complaint with the IRS urging an investigation into Michelle Obama's recent appearance before the General Baptist Convention of North Carolina During her Oct. 29 appearance before the group, Obama praised her husband and told the...

Senator Attacks Opponent For...Being at Fundraiser with Atheists?

Posted on October 30, 2008
This is getting a little ridiculous. November 4 can't come soon enough to put divisive electoral politics behind us (for 2 years anyway). Last week a North Carolina Congressman claimed that "real Americans" were those who believe in God. And...

2 Days To Go: Help Put the BJC Over the Top

Posted on October 30, 2008
In thge last 2 days, contributors have helped the Baptist Joint Committee capital campaign jump from 50% to 80% of the $300,000 fundraising goal this week! Only a little more left to do and a day and a half remaining...

Arizona Supreme Court to Hear School Voucher Appeal

Posted on October 30, 2008
Earlier this year an Arizona appellate court invalidated a school voucher program for disabled and foster children on the grounds that it violated the state constitution's ban on sending taxpayer money to support religious organizations. "Only by ignoring the plain...

Politics: A Threat to a Baptists' "Sacred Space"?

Posted on October 29, 2008
Associated Baptist Press's Rob Marus raises some important issues about political involvement by churches, in "Constitution aside, why should churches avoid partisanship?" Jeffrey Haggray, executive director of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, said risking congregational or denominational unity is...

3 Days To Go!

Posted on October 29, 2008
The thermometer on the right is keeping up with contributions to the Baptist Joint Committee's capital campaign during this matching-funds drive, with a goal of $300,000. As posted below, through the end of the month (Friday), your gift will be...

Join the Fight for Religious Liberty!

Posted on October 28, 2008
For the rest of the week, supporters of the Baptist Joint Committee have an incredible opportunity to get involved in the preservation of religious liberty in Washington, D.C. All pledged donations for the BJC's capital campaign received through the end...

Becket Fund Echoes Summum Case, Argues for Roadside Crosses in Amici Brief

Posted on October 28, 2008
On Friday, the Becket Fund filed an amicus brief with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in a case challenging the Utah Highway Police Association's practice of commemorating fallen state troopers with a roadside cross. ?American Atheists argue that the...

11th Circuit Deems State-Sponsored Sectarian Invocations Permissible Under Rotating Faith System

Posted on October 28, 2008
Via How Appealing, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that a panel of the 11th Circuit by a 2-1 majority today upheld as constitutional Cobb County, GA's practice of opening official commission meetings with sectarian prayers given by rotating clergy members from a diversity of faiths...

The Ordeal of Teaching Evolution

Posted on October 27, 2008
In Atlanta, it's nearing time in the biology curriculum when many teachers begin teaching the principles of evolution - for some, a frightening ordeal. Some students burst into tears when a high school biology teacher told them they?d be studying...

Florida Judge Orders Church to Open Records to Member

Posted on October 27, 2008
Via Religion Clause, a Florida court has ordered a Palm Bay's Zion Christian Church to turn over financial documents to a church member. [Stephany] Eley made the request under a Florida statute that allows inspection of records by members of...

Politics and the "Moral Force" of the Church

Posted on October 26, 2008
Believing that engaging in politics threatens the church's "moral force", Seattle University pastoral theology professor Rev. Patrick Howell offers wisdom about the role of religious institutions in political discussion. First, the role of the church, synagogue, temple or mosque is...

Should Voters Consider Religion in Choosing a Candidate?

Posted on October 24, 2008
The Baptist Standard's Ken Camp takes the issue of a "religious test" for office a step further than the Constitution's ban on religious qualifications, and asks whether or not it's appropriate for voters to consider the religious views of candidates...

City Council Prayer Case Appealed to Supreme Court

Posted on October 24, 2008
The Fredericksburg, VA City Council prayer case recently decided by the 4th Circuit has been appealed to the Supreme Court. Via Religion Clause, the Petition for Cert was filed Monday. A panel of the 4th Circuit including former Justice Sandra...

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