Baptist Joint Committee Supporting Bodies Church-State Matters:  Alliance of Fighting for Religious Liberty in Our Nation’s Capital  American Baptist Churches USA For nearly two decades, J. Brent Walker has fought to defend  Baptist General Association of Virginia and extend religious liberty for all and uphold the wall of separa-  Baptist General Convention of tion between church and state in our nation’s capital. Missouri  Baptist General Convention of In his new book, he articulates a cogent Baptist understanding  Baptist State Convention of North of the importance of the First Amendment’s religion clauses in Carolina protecting our God-given religious liberty. This collection of  Converge Worldwide essays, speeches, sermons and congressional testimony provides a  Cooperative Baptist Fellowship living history of the modern era the life of the Baptist Joint  National Baptist Convention of Committee, now in its eighth decade. America The book is available through Mercer University Press at  National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc. www.MUPress.org, Amazon.com and most other online retailers.  National Missionary Baptist Convention What others are saying...  North American Baptist Conference “No topic is as old for Baptists as religious liberty. No topic is as new for Baptists as reli-  Progressive National Baptist Convention Inc. gious liberty. It was relevant at the beginning and every step along the way. Brent Walker has  Religious Liberty Council done Baptists yet another service by compiling many of his articles, speeches and testimonies  Seventh Day Baptist General between covers in Church-State Matters. The collection is valuable for the general reader as Conference well as for ministers and teachers who need illustrations on the subject. It should be on every from the Capital Baptist's bookshelf.“ REPORT —Fred Anderson, executive director of The Center for Baptist Heritage & Studies “At a time when strident voices seek to monopolize public debate and hold themselves out as J. Brent Walker the only truly authentic ‘Christian’ voice, I can only say amen to Brent Walker. Brent reminds Executive Director us that when religious groups speak to power, they should insist that government uphold the Jeff Huett constitutional guarantees for all Americans. Church-State Matters is a powerful credo that Editor will speak to many Americans.” —Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Phallan Davis Church and State Associate Editor

Report from the Capital (ISSN-0346- “This book is a superb compilation of great stuff. Interesting facts, illuminating history, and insight- 0661) is published 10 times each year by ful analysis (with which I happen to agree) all rolled into one. This is a great contribution to the coun- the Baptist Joint Committee. For sub- try’s constitutional and religious trove.” scription information, please contact the — Oliver “Buzz” Thomas, executive director of the Niswonger Foundation and Baptist Joint Committee. former Baptist Joint Committee General Counsel

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Phone: 202.544.4226 Fax: 202.544.2094 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.BJConline.org REPORTfrom theCapital Florida Supreme Court rejects challenge to religious funding ban The Florida Supreme Court ruled Sept. 3 tect the vitality and independence of reli- that a state commission acted improperly in gious entities. placing two constitutional amendments “The religious freedom we enjoy depends harmful to religious liberty on on strong legal protections for the November ballot. A lower the institutional separation of court had upheld the initiatives religion and government,” in an Aug. 4 decision. Hollman said. “With this rul- Taken together, these consti- ing, the Court has rejected an Newsletter of the tutional amendments (Nos. 7 attempt to blur the line Baptist Joint Committee and 9) would have deleted between church and state and Florida’s “No-Aid” provision has protected the religious lib- Vol.63 No.8 from its constitution and erty of all Floridians.” added language that would Not everyone hailed the severely weaken the strong Court’s decision. Supporters of religious liberty protection that Floridians the initiatives assert that the constitutional enjoy. In essence, the proposals would allow restrictions were fueled by the anti-Catholic public funding of private schools, including sentiment prevalent in the late 19th century. September 2008 religious schools. These proposed amend- The Florida Catholic Conference and ments were to appear on the general election Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of ballot this November by order of the Florida Miami were among the religious organiza- Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, a tions that intervened in the suit. 25-member body appointed by the governor, In an interview with the Religion News the speaker of the Florida House of Service, Gary McCaleb, senior counsel for Representatives, and the Florida Senate the Alliance Defense Fund, which provided INSIDE: President. financial assistance for the case, called the The role of the Commission, which meets state’s current policy “obnoxious.” once every 20 years, is “to recommend statu- “Floridians should have had the right to  Reflections ...... 3 tory and constitutional changes dealing with vote on the matter, and obviously it’s very taxation and the state budgetary process,” sad when advocacy groups step in and  Churches & politics4 and it typically confines itself to such budget silence citizens from voting,” McCaleb said. and taxation matters that are legitimately Many states have strong religious liberty  within its jurisdiction. provisions (protecting both free exercise and Hollman Report . . . . .6 By directing that Amendments 7 and 9 no establishment principles) that provide appear on the ballot, the Commission more explicit protections than in the First  News ...... 7 exceeded its authority because these two Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. For amendments had, at best, only a tangential example, numerous state constitutions, connection to “taxation and the state budget- including Florida’s, have “No-Aid” provi- ary process,” and in reality were a Trojan sions that prohibit the expenditure of public horse vehicle for radically weakening the funds in aid of or to support religious insti- separation of church and state in Florida. tutions, including parochial schools. These Several Florida citizens filed a lawsuit mak- “No-Aid” provisions, and other state consti- ing this argument in June, and on Sept. 3 the tutional provisions that bar funding of reli- Florida Supreme Court ruled in their favor. gious institutions, are part of the broad, K. Hollyn Hollman, general counsel for multi-faceted legal tradition in this country the Baptist Joint Committee, said the Court’s that protects religious freedom. decision keeps in place safeguards that pro- — Staff Election & religion ‘08 Is voting a Christian rite or right? Jason Ford, 29, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., will be spend- Marty’s assertion, arguing that politics — and life — is a ing Election Day at home this year. compromise between the lesser of two evils, or as he puts A self-identified evangelical Christian, Ford cast his it, “the better of two less-than-perfects.” vote for President Bush in 2004, but says he and his wife Asked about the ethics of voting, former Arkansas gov- plan to stay away from the polls Nov. 4, ernor and Republican presidential candi- rather than vote for Sen. John McCain. date quoted “I’m not going to be able to vote for any- of Matthew: “Render unto God the things one who doesn’t take a 100-percent stand that are God’s, and render unto Caesar against abortion,” said Ford, “so right now the things that are Caesar’s.” I’m in a dilemma.” “Part of being a citizen in a society like Ford is concerned by McCain’s support ours, where we have the privilege of vot- for embryonic stem cell research, as well as ing, is the responsibility to exercise that by reports that the Arizona senator may privilege,” Huckabee said. “To not do so choose a running mate who supports abor- is to sort of forgo that part of what it tion rights, such as Sen. Joe Lieberman of means to be in a free society, and I think Connecticut. [Note: McCain has since it would be unfortunate.” selected Gov. of Alaska as his running mate.] Still, dissenters say there are reasons for staying home. “If he’s OK with that, then I’m not,” Ford said. Todd Whitmore, a professor of at the Ford is not alone. , founder of the evangelical University of Notre Dame and a contributor to the new youth movement, TheCall, says he may sit out the election book, Electing Not To Vote, argues that while Christians are if McCain selects a pro-choice running mate. Meanwhile, obligated to participate in civil society, the electoral sys- Focus on the Family founder , a leading tem has been reconfigured to the point where voting is conservative Christian voice, publicly vowed never to sup- not always an appropriate or efficient means of participa- port McCain in February. He softened his stance recently. tion. But while some remain less than enthusiastic about “If you don’t allow for situations like (abstaining), then their options this fall, conscientious abstention raises you basically make the earthly political order into a kind another ethical question: Do Christians have an obligation of God. The earthly political order is a good,” Whitmore to vote? said, “but it’s not the ultimate good.” Of the multitude of Christian denominations in the The motive behind not voting can be as significant as United States, few have a history of deliberate non-voting. the act itself. A supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton would Jehovah’s Witnesses, who demand full separation of not be justified in staying home rather than supporting church and state, may be the largest and most prominent Obama, according to Whitmore, because that would be “a example, along with some Anabaptist sects, such as the kind of political blackmail” rather than a moral stand. Hutterite Brethren. Shane Claiborne, a young evangelical leader of the Even in Anabaptist circles, however, the record is “emergent church” movement, offers a counter-culture mixed. The , uniquely situated in the ultra-competi- antidote to the get-out-the-vote drives that fuel America’s tive battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania, were civil religion. Claiborne, along with his friend , targeted by President Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004. embarked on a nationwide “ for President” tour this In Lancaster County, Pa., where Bush paid a visit, a record summer, reminding Christians that their primary alle- 13 percent of them voted that year. giance is not to a partisan agenda but to Jesus and his Among evangelicals, Catholics and mainline teachings. Protestants, where civil participation is encouraged, Regardless of the merits of voting or not voting, how- debate centers around voting itself, a hard-won freedom ever, conscientious abstainers make up just a small frac- that some say makes it a rite as well as a right. tion of the electorate. According to John C. Green, a senior According to Martin Marty, a professor emeritus at the fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, there University of Chicago Divinity School, the obligation to is no historical precedent for large groups of religious vot- vote can be traced back to biblical times. ers deliberately staying home and little evidence to sug-

September 2008 “I think most churches would say there’s a great moral gest that will change in the fall. suasion behind it,” Marty said. “In Christianity, for exam- “I think the bigger problem is not so much that folks Report from the Capital Report from ple, as nervous as they might be about any particular civil abstain out of principle or to punish their party, but order, the does say government was creat- they just don’t have the same level of enthusiasm,” ed by God. Most churches would say: Yes, get out Green said. “Lots of people, whether they’re religious Tuesday; get out and vote.” or not, need a lot of stimulus to get out and vote.” 2 Brian McLaren, a progressive evangelical leader, echoes — Tim Murphy, RNS REFLECTIONS

Saddleback Forum: civil but not without concern

Last month, in this column, I looked ahead to nondiscriminatory hiring process in the projects so the presidential candidates’ civil forum sponsored funded. If a church wants to promote religion in its J. Brent Walker by Saddleback Church and hosted by the Rev. Rick social service programs, it should use its own Executive Director Warren. I hoped that the forum would be a civil money. If it does not want to (and, therefore, quali- conversation about how Sens. McCain and Obama’s fy for federal funding), why does it need to impose faith influences their position on a variety of issues. a religious test in hiring? Simply stated, tax dollars My hopes for the event were only partially real- should not be used to subsidize religious discrimi- ized. It was certainly a civil discussion on the part nation. Real proponents of church-state separation of both candidates. Many issues were discussed: walk the walk, not just talk the talk. from the Supreme Court, to education, to foreign On balance, I thought the event well served our policy, to the faith-based initiative — in addition to democracy. It certainly avoided the worst excesses abortion, gay rights and stem cell research. I was of last spring’s CNN Compassion Forum, during delighted to hear a prominent, evangelical leader which questions concentrated too much on purely embrace the separation principle and say, as the theological issues without the BJC has over the years, that the separation of all-important “so what?” fol- “If a church wants to church and state does not separate faith and poli- low up question. tics. Now, the candidates should promote religion in its But there were disappointments. I thought the focus on the great issues of the social service programs, question about the candidates’ faith in Jesus Christ day: war, the economy, health it should use its own and what it means for them to trust Jesus went too care, civil liberties and poverty. money. If it does not far. It was a purely theological question that was And, yes, difficult cultural insufficiently connected to how that faith affirma- issues as well. To be sure, to want to (and, therefore, tion would influence the candidates’ ability to lead the degree religious convic- qualify for federal fund- or their position on issues. This kind of invasive tions naturally inform or bear ing), why does it need question violates the spirit of the no religion test upon how the candidates clause in Article VI of the Constitution and does address these issues, religion to impose a religious not promote the common good. can and ought to be a part of test in hiring?” I was less troubled by Warren’s question about the debate. But they should whether evil exists and what we should do about avoid resorting to divisive reli- it. Yes, “evil” is a term pregnant with theological gious language suggesting that significance. But, unlike the “testimony” question, God blesses their own position this one was directly tied to how the candidates or that the other candidate’s would deal with evil acts and actors as president. view is ungodly. Moreover, it is unfortunate that, despite We all, in the Apostle Paul’s words, see through Warren’s support for the separation of church and a glass darkly. The candidates should express their state, the one question directly related to the topic religious views with humility, respect and restraint was framed in a leading and biased manner that without presuming to know the mind of God or Report from the Capital brushed aside serious religious liberty concerns. claiming divine endorsement. Warren asked: “The Civil Rights Act of 1964 says This goes for their supporters and surrogates, September 2008 that faith-based organizations have a right to hire too, all the more. people who believe like they do. Would you insist that faith-based organizations forfeit that right to access federal funds?” Get Connected! Federal law does permit faith-based organiza- The Baptist Joint Committee wants you to learn about tions, when using their own funds, to engage in church-state developments as they happen. The best way preferential hiring practices for fellow adherents of to do this is to sign up for the BJC’s e-mail updates. their faith. But historically we have not permitted E-mail [email protected] to do so or to update your contact information. We want to hear from you. Also, faith-based organizations to do so in programs sub- send us an e-mail about any new church-state develop- sidized with federal money. Until recently, this was ments in your hometown or state and feel free to suggest not a controversial principle: receipt of federal tax ways we may assist you. dollars obligates the recipient to administer a 3 Poll:Poll: MostMost AmericansAmericans thinkthink churcheschurches shouldshould avoidavoid politicspolitics

A slim majority of Americans, including rising numbers discussing their religion. Forty-six percent now say they are of conservatives, say churches uncomfortable with that kind of should stay out of politics, accord- religious talk, compared to 40 ing to a survey released Aug. 21 by percent in 2004. the Pew Research Center for the Researchers found a sharper People & the Press. increase in the number of Fifty-two percent of Americans respondents who view the say they think houses of worship Democratic Party as friendly should not express their opinions toward religion, from 26 percent about political and social matters, in 2006 to 38 percent two years while 45 percent say they approve later. More than half — 52 per- of such expression. cent — view the Republican The center said this marks the Party as religion friendly, com- first time since it started asking the pared to 47 percent in 2006. question in 1996 that respondents The study, conducted by the who want churches to stay out of Sens. John McCain and appeared Pew Research Center and the with the Rev. Rick Warren (c) at his Saddleback politics outnumber those with the Forum on Aug. 18 to explain how faith informs their Pew Forum on Religion & Public opposite view. politics. —RNS photo Life, was based on telephone Conservatives, especially, have interviews from July 31-Aug. 10 reconsidered the issue, with 50 per- with a national sample of 2,905 cent saying congregations should stay out of politics. Only adults. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or 30 voiced that opinion in 2004. minus 2 percentage points. The survey also showed a slight increase in the percent- — RNS age of Americans who say they are bothered by politicians’

‘Ugly’ and ‘bunker-like’ D.C. church files lawsuit

WASHINGTON — A Christian Science church that some The lawsuit alleges that the designation ignores two have called the city’s ugliest church has filed a federal federal statutes that protect religious groups’ freedom of lawsuit challenging the historic landmark designation on exercise. the windowless 37-year-old building. Anita Hairston, chief of staff for the city’s office of plan- Leaders of the Third Church of Christ, Scientist on Aug. ning, said the department does not comment on litigation 7 called the current structure “bunker-like” and “unwel- that is pending or under way. coming,” and reiterated their desire to replace the stark Araldo Cossutta, an associate of the famed architect concrete building with a new church on the same location. I.M. Pei, designed the building, which was completed in “Little is more representative of a church’s religious 1971. Shortly thereafter, Kirkpatrick said, church members exercise than its architecture, and we do not feel this began to complain about their new house of worship. architecture properly represents us to our community,” Kirkpatrick said the building’s interior design forces the said Darrow Kirkpatrick, a former lay leader at the church to spend as much as $8,000 per year on scaffolding church. to replace light bulbs, and drives up heating and air con- The city’s Historic Preservation Review Board contends ditioning expenses. that the building, located three blocks from the White The board granted the building landmark status last House, offers a unique example of modernist architectural December over the protests of church members; on July style known as “Brutalism.” 24, a church application to demolish the building was

September 2008 “Third Church is a rare Modernist church in the city denied. Under city law, members now have a right to a

Report from the Capital Report from and the complex possesses amazingly high integrity ... hearing with a third party from the mayor’s office. down to the original carpeting and seat upholstery in the Kirkpatrick said a positive ruling from the mayor’s agent church auditorium,” said David Maloney, the state his- could cause him to reconsider the lawsuit. toric preservation officer for the District of Columbia, in a — RNS 4 statement. ReligiousReligious Liberty:Liberty: AA freedomfreedom thatthat belongsbelongs toto allall AmericansAmericans I hang onto the hope that we are mak- from Thomas Jefferson: ing progress in our thinking as Baptists By David R. Currie and yes, as Americans, but reality some- “History, I believe, furnishes no times bursts my bubble. example of a priest-ridden peo- This week, the San Angelo Standard Times, my local ple maintaining a free civil government. paper, published a letter to the editor that sent shivers up This marks the lowest grade of igno- my spine. rance of which their civil as well as reli- It told of the “horror” experienced by the writer upon gious leaders will always avail them- hearing a political candidate state, “We are no longer a selves for their own purposes.” — Christian nation” and acknowledge the diversity of faiths Thomas Jefferson to Alexander von held by Americans today. Humboldt, 1813 The writer went on to encourage everyone to show their support for “America as a Christian Nation” by con- “In every country and in every age, the tacting various TV network news organizations. Then she priest has been hostile to liberty. He is ended her letter by appealing to the readers to use their always in alliance with the despot, abet- votes to demonstrate “that we are, indeed, still a Christian ting his abuses in return for protection nation.” to his own.”—Thomas Jefferson to Horatio No, the “shivers up my spine” weren’t the same as the G. Spafford, 1814 writer’s “horror.” What gave me shivers was that her “hor- ror” was based on a total misunderstanding of the found- “Our civil rights have no dependence ing and history of America. upon our religious opinions more than America is not now and never has been a Christian our opinions in physics or geometry.”— nation, and all of us should get down on our knees every Thomas Jefferson: Statute for Religious night to thank God that it isn’t. America was founded as a Freedom, 1779 totally secular nation to protect the religious freedom of all of its citizens. Remember — we Baptists were I have said this over and over through the years but oppressed in other countries when our numbers were feel compelled to say it again. America is a nation that has small. So is it right for us, now that we are in a country many Christians precisely because America has NOT that has large numbers of Christians, to oppress others? made Christianity an official government-sponsored and What happened to the Golden Rule? government-sanctioned religion. We are a free nation that Regardless of what you hear, most wars are not about has many Christians, but we are not now and have never oil — they are mostly about religion. In most cases, one been a “Christian nation.” religious group tries to use political and military power to I thank God for this freedom — we are free to worship impose its religion on another country or group of people. a God who desires our devotion given freely, not coerced Thanks to the First Amendment, America has never by the state. On the other hand, those who do not wish to fought a war over religion. In America, all religions and worship God as we do are free to follow their beliefs as beliefs enjoy total and complete religious liberty. Thank well. This freedom is given by God — thank God that we God. live in a country that acknowledges that God-given free- Report from the Capital How did religious liberty in America come about? dom. I wish every single nation in the world had this reli- Well, before the First Amendment was adopted, several gious freedom. If they did, then our missionaries could September 2008 colonies made a habit of putting our Baptist forefathers in freely share Jesus without fear of punishment by any gov- jail — just for preaching the Gospel or, in some cases, ernment. specifically for preaching believer's baptism. Baptist lead- So I encourage you to thank God every day for this ers — for a start, go look up the name of John Leland — freedom — for you and for your neighbors. Then go out persuaded James Madison to insist on a constitutional and exercise it by worshipping and praising Him — and provision securing religious liberty. So the First sharing Jesus as you go. Amendment was born, containing 16 precious words: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” David R. Currie, a BJC board member, is exec- The founders of this nation understood that religious utive director of Texas Baptists Committed. This article originally appeared in his column persecution ALWAYS resulted from the joining of govern- “A Rancher’s Rumblings.” ment and religion. Let me illustrate with a few quotes 5 HollmanREPORT Controversies continue over legislative prayers Whenever I explain First Amendment principles courts that may eventually lead to a reconsideration about the relationship between religion and govern- of the constitutional status quo. ment, inevitably someone asks what rule governs leg- In a case before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of K. Hollyn Hollman islative chaplains and legislative prayer. It is not too Appeals, the ACLU represents citizens who chal- General Counsel difficult to understand government-sponsored chap- lenged legislative prayers in Cobb County, Georgia. laincies in the military and prisons — in those con- The prayers were given by invited guests, a strong texts religious freedom is otherwise restricted—but majority of whom made specific references to Jesus, what justifies official prayers in legislative sessions? pushing beyond the facts and rule in Marsh. Though The answer is not particularly satisfying given the the governmental defendant admitted the prayers constitutional ban on laws respecting an establish- could not be used to disparage or proselytize, they ment of religion, but it is well-established. More than maintained that it would be wrong to place any two decades ago, the Supreme Court upheld the restrictions on specific language to ensure prayers Nebraska legislature’s practice of opening with a were more inclusive. Reports from the recent oral prayer offered by a state-employed chaplain. arguments in the case cited some judges aggressively “While it is true Rejecting an Establishment Clause challenge, questioning whether they could determine when a the Court based its decision on the historical prayer crossed the constitutional line set in Marsh. that the Supreme record of prayer in public legislatures that Meanwhile, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Court has warned showed such prayer was “deeply embedded rejected a recent challenge by a councilman for in the history and tradition of this country.” Fredericksburg, Va., who claimed that the constitu- against government Marsh v. Chambers (1983). tion affirmatively protected his right to pray in the parsing prayers, the Devoid of analysis under the applicable name of Jesus Christ at the beginning of legislative warning under- legal standard at the time (Lemon), the major- meetings. The Fredericksburg City Council begins its ity’s decision has always seemed tenuous. meetings with a prayer by one of its members, fol- scores the problem; The practice escaped a finding of “establish- lowed by the Pledge of Allegiance. According to its it does not suggest ment” because it was a longstanding tradi- policies, the offered prayers must be nondenomina- tion at the time of the First Amendment’s tional. The councilman sued when the mayor refused the solution.” passage, the prayers were “nonsectarian,” to call on him because of his noncompliance with the and the context was less threatening than policy. government prayers in a public school classroom. In Analysis of these cases begins with a determina- the words of Marsh, such prayers are “simply a toler- tion of whether the speech at issue is attributable to able acknowledgement of beliefs widely held among the government. After all, if the councilman at issue the people of this country.” was praying in his church (he is also a Baptist pastor) For many religious liberty advocates, however, the or in a host of other venues, there would be no ques- practice of official prayers at governmental meetings tion that he could pray precisely as he chose. The remains awkward at best, illustrating the point that government has no business in prayers outside offi- just because something is constitutional does not cial business meetings. Next, courts analyze whether make it right. It is no wonder that some legislative the prayer is akin to the inclusive practice approved bodies eschew the practice entirely or opt for a in Marsh and its progeny. moment of silence. Others enact and follow guide- The first question is the key. Legislative prayers, lines to stay squarely within Marsh. Some employ a by elected officials or invited guests, inevitably are system of speaker rotation among the elected officials found to be government speech — part of an agenda or from local clergy to avoid the appearance of a called by officials, typically focusing on the work of denominational preference. the legislative body, and given according to its policy. Still, legislative prayers continue to pose difficul- The government is constitutionally restricted in mat- ties. For those who are most watchful about separat- ters of religion. While it is true that the Supreme

September 2008 ing the responsibilities of the government from the Court has warned against government parsing religious practices of the citizens it serves, the practice prayers, the warning underscores the problem; it does Report from the Capital Report from is something to be avoided or strictly constrained. For not suggest the solution. those who bristle at constraints on prayer, it is an Our lawmakers no doubt need our prayers. The offensive interference. These difficulties are evident in government, however, will always provide a limited 6 recent cases working their way through the federal opportunity for pursuing them. Former Summer 2003 intern is Court: University of California can reject Intern church-state scholar Christian school classes A California federal judge has ruled that the University of Spotlight Meredith Holladay California had a “rational basis” for rejecting science and

was an intern at the NEWS history courses taught at Christian high schools. Baptist Joint Committee during the Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murrieta, Calif., and summer of 2003. Following her intern- the Association of Christian Schools International had ship, Holladay attended Princeton charged that the university had an unconstitutional admis- Theological Seminary. sions process because it refused to certify courses that taught In 2006, upon earning her Master of creationism and other beliefs. Divinity from Princeton, she followed Private school students are required to meet certain high- her passion for church-state issues to school requirements before they can be eligible to apply to Baylor University’s Dawson Institute for Holladay one of the undergraduate campuses of the University of Church-State studies, where she is a California. third-year doctoral student in Religion, Politics, and Society U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero ruled Aug. 8 that program. Holladay is book reviews coordinator for the concerns about a course whose primary text was called Institute’s Journal of Church and State. She served as a co-edi- “Biology: God’s Living Creation” was deemed by UC tor for the Spring 2008 issue on church and state in the 2008 experts to have failed at teaching critical thinking or the the- presidential election. ory of evolution in an adequate manner. Court tosses challenge to Veteran Affairs The judge also said UC reviewers found that a text pub- ‘spiritual assessments’ lished by Bob Jones University titled “United States History for Christian Schools” taught that “the Bible is the unerring A federal appeals court in Chicago has ruled that an athe- source for analysis of historical events” and did not include ist organization lacks standing to challenge a Department of modern methods for historical analysis. Veterans Affairs policy that incorporates “spiritual assess- In these cases, and in reviews of English and government ments” into its treatment programs. texts, Otero said the Christian school defendants did not The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation adequately refute the findings of UC’s reviewers. The judge argued that the program violates the First Amendment of also found that the university system did not reject the the Constitution by asking patients to answer questions courses out of animosity. about their faith. — RNS The Aug. 5 ruling from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals nullified a lower court ruling, which had upheld Church-state group, Hindus and Jews the VA policy, by saying the atheist group does not have protest highway crosses legal standing to challenge the policy. A church-state watchdog group has joined Hindu and The ruling was the latest in a series of defeats for critics of Jewish organizations in arguing that a Utah court erred in taxpayer-financed federal programs. Judge Kenneth F. ruling that a highway cross memorializing a fallen state Ripple cited “Hein vs. Freedom from Religion Foundation,” a trooper is a “secular symbol of death.” 2007 Supreme Court decision that insulated President Bush’s A friend-of-the-court brief was filed Aug. 6 in the 10th faith-based initiative from taxpayer legal challenges. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver by Americans “Allowing taxpayer standing under these circumstances United for Separation of Church and State and several other would subvert the delicate equilibrium and separation of groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Union powers that the Founders envisioned and that the Supreme for Reform Judaism and the Hindu American Foundation. Court has found to inform the standing inquiry,” Ripple “When used as a burial marker, the cross does not signify wrote for the three-judge panel. death in the abstract,” they argued. “Instead it connotes the In a statement released two days later, the foundation said deceased’s Christian faith.” it intends to launch another challenge with new plaintiffs. Last November ruling, U.S. District Judge David Sam Report from the Capital “The courts are rapidly moving to the position that gov- ruled that the Utah Highway Patrol Association could con-

ernment can fund religious activities, and endorse religion, September 2008 tinue to erect 12-foot crosses, as it has for 14 troopers. without restraint,” said Richard Bolton, an attorney for the “The cross is the pre-eminent symbol of Christianity,” foundation. said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of the The group took issue with recent changes in VA policy Washington-based Americans United. “For the government that expanded a chaplaincy program to include outpatient to claim that the cross is a secular symbol is deeply offensive veterans and administered questionnaires to determine and betrays a poor understanding of religion and our patients’ spiritual health. Patients were asked questions such Constitution.” as “How often do you attend religious services during the The groups that filed the brief said they understood the year?” and “How often do you read the Bible or other reli- “noble” impulse to honor troopers but argued it does not gious literature?” “justify sacrificing the Establishment Clause and its animat- Last year, a federal judge in Madison, Wis., ruled in favor ing principle — that the political and the religious are both of the voluntary VA program, concluding that it does not better served when kept separate.” have “the principal or primary effect of advancing religion.” — RNS — RNS 7