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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

At Least a Strand or Two of Barb-Wire

Posted on February 04, 2008
I'll have more quotes later from the last day of the New Baptist Covenant celebration. In the meantime, this ABP piece by Rob Marus is a good report of Friday's religious liberty session featuring James Dunn and the BJC's Holly...

Most Inaccurate Headline Award

Posted on February 02, 2008
I was a bit shocked - even through my advanced cynicism - to roll open The Tennessean today to see the headline spanning across the front page...

Day Three: What's Next?

Posted on February 01, 2008
Last night, President Carter asked participants of the New Baptist Covenant to send ideas for how this historic gathering could and should move forward as a movement and not just a moment. And in group discussions today I'm hearing more...

Religious Liberty Challenged by Diversity, Majoritarianism

Posted on February 01, 2008
The Baptist Joint Committee's Jeff Huett writes about yesterday's religious liberty panel at the New Baptist Covenant. Cheryl Townsend-Gilkes, professor of Sociology and African-American Studies at Colby College in Waterville, Me., suggested that the very definition of religious liberty in...

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New Baptist Covenant -- Second Night Reaction

Posted on January 31, 2008
Afternoon sessions I attended included Brent Walker of the BJC in a discussion of religious liberty matters, and Suzii Paynter of the Texas Christian Life Commission discussing religion and public policy, both on impressive panels, and shockingly well-attended given the...

New Baptist Covenant -- Day 2

Posted on January 31, 2008
The energy and enthusiasm here in the Georgia World Congress Center has been palpable. Some of it is excitement about the possibility of a new coalition, but also a sense of urgency about the state of the world, the state...

Religious Freedom vs. "Security and Cultural Integration"

Posted on January 30, 2008
In today's Washington Times, Angela Wu of the Becket Fund discusses the implications of a law recently passed by the Parliament in the Netherlands to ban the face-covering burqa worn by many Muslims. The banning of religious wear in several...

New Baptist Covenant -- First Night

Posted on January 30, 2008
I didn't get in until late tonight, so I missed the first session that included President Carter's message. Lucky for you, lots of folks were there - more than 10,000 - and I think they each have their own blog....

Former Bush White House Officials Criticize Faith-Based Funding Program

Posted on January 29, 2008
In the wake of President Bush's call last night to make permanent the "charitable choice" programs that send taxpayer money to religious organizations that provide social services, a NYTimes op-ed today by two former officials in the Faith-Based Office -...

Criticism of Bush's Voucher Plan Proposal

Posted on January 29, 2008
The Carpetbagger Report's Steve Benen offers a critique of the voucher plan President Bush proposed in last night's State of the Union Address, though the President called them "Pell Grants for Kids." Congressional Republicans rammed through a voucher scheme for...

State of the Union Watching: Vouchers and Faith-Based Funding

Posted on January 28, 2008
I have the sneaking suspicion that I'm the only one watching, but President Bush just called for yet another effort to implement federal school vouchers, despite the public's routine repudiation of vouchers in the ballot box. This time around, the...

"God in the White House" Excerpt

Posted on January 28, 2008
I posted this morning about NPR's interview with Randall Balmer, author of "God in the White House", to be aired today on Fresh Air. The show's website now has an excerpt from the book online that is well worth a...

What's Liberal/Conservative in Church-State Matters?

Posted on January 28, 2008
Marc Fisher's column in today's Washington Post remarks on some recent findings within the National Opinion Research Center's database of social attitudes. An article in Education Next by Robert Slater compares teachers' views with those of Americans generally, finding that...

Balmer Interviewed on NPR

Posted on January 28, 2008
I see that today's "Fresh Air" on NPR will feature a conversation with author Randall Balmer, whose new book is entitled "God in the White House." Balmer was the featured speaker at last summer's Religious Liberty Council luncheon hosted by...

Churches in Primary States Prepare for Election Restraint

Posted on January 25, 2008
With the revamped primary schedule, and the close races in both parties, states that aren't accustomed to having contested presidential elections are this year anticipating lots more activity. Churches, too, are concerned with taking note of the important decision-making process,...

Earmark to Religious Group Questioned

Posted on January 25, 2008
Via the Rountable, the Kansas City Star reports on a troubling earmark inserted into the budget. Sens. Sam Brownback and Kit Bond used earmarks last year to direct about $1 million to an area group "empowering the un-churched urban poor...

Brent Walker on "Huckabee's Mischief"

Posted on January 24, 2008
At Washington Post's On Faith site, Baptist Joint Committee Director Rev. Brent Walker responds to Mike Huckabee's recent shocker, calling on the Constitution to be changed to align with "God's standards." First, whose God and which standards? In our incredibly...

9th Circuit Emphasizes Prison's Burden Under RLUIPA

Posted on January 24, 2008
Thanks to Religion Clause for pointing to this decision by the 9th Circuit on Tuesday, further refining the appellate court's interpretation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Inmate Darin Greene sued under RLUIPA after his request for...

BeliefNet Interviews Obama on Religion and Politics

Posted on January 23, 2008
Thanks to Steve Benen at the Carpetbagger Report for pointing to Dan Gilgoff's recent beliefnet interview with presidential candidate Barack Obama. Question topics included the difference between speaking at a pulpit and speaking at a podium, and whether his view...

Arkansas Town Argues Gideon Bible Distribution in Schools

Posted on January 23, 2008
A reasonable School Board President, looking out for the taxpayers' money, argued against allowing Gideon Bibles to be distributed to school children, noting that the inevitable lawsuit would be lost and would cost lots of money that could be better....

The Roles of Church and State

Posted on January 23, 2008
A nice companion to Marv Knox's story I linked to over the weekend is Jim Wallis' compelling piece currently at beliefnet. It begins this way: There is a biblical role for the state, just as there is for the church,...

Religious Right Judge Thinks Proselytizing Movie is A-OK

Posted on January 22, 2008
I wrote last week about a Christian movie being shown in a Tuscaloosa public school, drawing criticism from church-state separation advocates. And now, former Alabama judge Roy Moore has gotten in on the act, writing a letter of his own...

Supreme Court Throws Out Muslim Prisoner Harassment Lawsuit

Posted on January 22, 2008
A lawsuit filed by Muslim prisoner Abdus-Shahid Ali claiming harassment for exercising his religion, including the improper loss of detained personal property, was short-circuited by the Supreme Court after a 5-4 ruling determined that prison guards may not be sued...

Politics and the Religious Calendar

Posted on January 22, 2008
Via Religion Clause, after Nevada received criticism for holding its caucuses on a Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, the state's Democrats have further riled Jewish observers by scheduling its Convention at the start of Passover. Even less-observant Jews generally attend a...

The New Baptist Covenant

Posted on January 21, 2008
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previews the importance of the upcoming New Baptist Covenant meeting in Atlanta. William Leonard, a Baptist scholar from Wake Forest University, said, "This gathering is historic if for no other reason, it has the potential to be...

The Politics, and Religion, of Helping People

Posted on January 20, 2008
When it comes to helping people in need, the job is an awfully big one. And while it is a Christian mandate, it also falls under the realm of government's responsibility, particularly for essential and large tasks. A story in...

NYT on Huckabee's Religious Balancing Act

Posted on January 19, 2008
Today's NYTimes explores presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's challenge in attempting to use, but not overuse religion in his campaign. Ed Rollins, Mr. Huckabee?s national chairman...described a two-pronged pitch, playing up Mr. Huckabee?s Christian convictions to fellow evangelists and his empathy...

Judge Overturns University Policy Denying Funds for Religious Purpose

Posted on January 18, 2008
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has been denying religious groups access to student activity fee money on the grounds that such funding would violate the separation of church and state. Yesterday, a federal judge declared that policy unconstitutional, ruling that the...

When Church Conflict Becomes Legal Conflict

Posted on January 18, 2008
Many churches today are taking on more and more societal roles. They run small businesses and recreation facilities, offer day care and elementary schools, marriage counseling and financial planning seminars. It should be no surprise then when the kinds of...

The Overzealous Detractors (and Supporters) of Barack Obama

Posted on January 18, 2008
Earlier this week, I wrote about presidential candidate Barack Obama's appearance at a Nevada church, at which the pastor seemed to clearly demonstrate his support with a pulpit endorsement of the Illinois Senator. Apparently I wasn't the only one to...

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