Tag Archives | Separation of Church and State

Arizona Republicans Propose Bill Requiring Belief In God To Graduate High School

By JacobSloan on January 28, 2013 in News, stories 163

Patheos reports on the effort to make high school a little more cult-y:

A group of Arizona politicians — all Republicans, of course — have proposed a law (House Bill 2467) requiring public high school students to recite the following oath in order to graduate:

I, _______, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge these duties; So help me God.

It’s bad enough the Republicans are demanding loyalty of the kind normally reserved for members of Congress and beyond. If this were to become a law, atheists would either not be allowed to graduate…or they would be forced to lie so they could graduate.

… Read the rest

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Texas School District Investigates Muslim Bias, Finds Christian Bias Instead

By Breshvic on December 17, 2012 in News 9

Picture: Flickr user derek7272 (CC)

Despite having the most wealthy and politically powerful voice in the country, some zealous Christians never feel secure or safe enough. When radical right-wingers aren’t decrying the insidious secularism of those shifty-eyed atheists, they’re more often than not found using law enforcement, legislation and military strength to discriminate against Muslims whom they feel, without a sense of irony, are going to trample on their religious freedom.

Public school policies are no exception. After the paranoid complaints of an Irving, Texas resident with the email header ‘IRVING ISD INDOCTRINATING ISLAM’, (which would have gone directly in my SPAM folder with the other psychotic FWDs and conservative rantings), school board members and district officials leapt at the opportunity to ”stand up against the pro Islamic teaching in our public schools.”

Via AlterNet:

The alleged indoctrination had to do with the fact that the district uses a state-wide teaching program called CSCOPE, which is put together by the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative, administered by an organization called Region 10 .

… Read the rest

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On Fox News, Mike Huckabee Says The Sandy Hook Massacre Was Caused By Lack Of School Prayer

By JacobSloan on December 17, 2012 in News 85

For U.S. conservatives, it’s time for lawmakers to stop beating around the bush and finally put a halt to the epidemic of mass shootings — by mandating the Bible in public school. Via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a 2008 Republican presidential candidate who is now a pundit and host on Fox News did not mention guns, gun culture, or assault rifles in talking about the country’s latest mass killing, but said, “We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools. Should we be surprised that schools would become places of carnage?”

Huckabee seemed to see church-state separation as responsible for the horrors Friday at an elementary school, where 20 pupils died: “We’ve made it (school) a place where we don’t talk about eternity, life — that one day we stand before, you know holy God in judgment,” said Huckabee.

… Read the rest

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Breaking God’s spel?

By Nick Margerrison on November 18, 2012 in News 12

Users of magick are pretty hot on the idea that the bedrock of their reality manipulation techniques are linguistic. If words are thought control and if you want to become a good spell caster it’s vital you brush up on your articulacy. That includes the basics such as, err, spelling. So, if The Gods really are magick users who manifest their intent with language I suspect this story will annoy them a little more than their followers here suspect. From Oklahoma’s NewsOK:

A Ten Commandments monument is up on the grounds of the state Capitol, but it didn’t pass spell check.

“Remember the Sabbeth day, to keep it holy,” reads one.

“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidseruent,” reads the last one.

Rep. Mike Ritze, whose family paid for the monument that was put up Thursday, said the monument company has been contacted and will correct the errors to the words Sabbath and maidservant.

… Read the rest

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IRS Sued For Not Enforcing Ban On Political Endorsements By Churches

By JacobSloan on November 18, 2012 in News 11

Religious institutions should have had their tax-exempt status, which is contingent on not telling congregants how to vote, stripped a long time ago. This court case is largely symbolic, but hopefully it awakens discussion on this issue. The Freedom From Religion Foundation announces its legal action against the IRS:

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is taking the Internal Revenue Service to court over its failure to enforce electioneering restrictions against churches and religious organizations, calling it a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and of FFRF’s equal protection rights. FFRF filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

A widely circulated Bloomberg news article quoted Russell Renwicks, with the IRS’ Tax-Exempt and Government Entities division, saying the IRS has suspended tax audits of churches. Other sources claim the IRS hasn’t been auditing churches since 2009.

As many as 1,500 clergy reportedly violated the electioneering restrictions on Sunday, Oct.

… Read the rest

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Texas Church: ‘Vote for the Mormon, Not the Muslim!’

By Matt Staggs on October 23, 2012 in News 17

In what should in a just world result in an instant revocation of its tax-exempt status, the pastor of a Leakey, Texas church has endorsed Mitt Romney in the upcoming election:

The sign reads, “Vote for the Mormon, not the Muslim! The capitalist, not the communist!”

That marquee standing outside a non-denominational church has become the talk of the town in Leakey — about 90 miles northwest of San Antonio.

The Church in the Valley is run by Pastor Ray Miller. Miller declined an interview but did say the sign was solely his idea. He said he changes the sign weekly and this isn’t the first bold statement to be displayed.