Baptist Joint Committee Capital Campaign Update Supporting Bodies Alliance of Baptists American Baptist Churches USA Baptist General Association of Virginia Bill Harris: Baptist General Conference Baptist General Convention of Texas I support the BJC financially Baptist State Convention of North Carolina Cooperative Baptist Fellowship because ... National Baptist Convention of America National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc. National Missionary Baptist Convention The principle of attempts by both politicians and reli- North American Baptist Conference Progressive National Baptist separation of gious leaders to break down the wall Convention Inc. church and state separating church and state. I sup- Religious Liberty Council Seventh Day Baptist General has been important port BJC financially because I believe Conference to me as a Baptist every the freedom we enjoy to since my youth when I worship God as we please REPORTfrom the Capital learned about the life and depends on the continued “beliefs of Roger Williams. It separation, and because I J. Brent Walker became more important believe BJC is our best Executive Director when I was privileged to hope for its Jeff Huett count Dr. Emanuel Carlson preservation. Editor as a personal friend, who in Phallan Davis the 1960's was Executive Associate Editor Director of the BJC. It has become Bill and his wife, Virginia, Report from the Capital (ISSN-0346- even more important to me in recent are longtime BJC supporters and live in 0661) is published 10 times each year by years as I see more and more Alexandria, Va. the Baptist Joint Committee. For sub- scription information, please contact the Baptist Joint Committee. Our Challenge—Their Future ” Securing religious liberty for our children and grandchildren Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Riverdale, MD Permit No. 5061 200 Maryland Ave., N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002-5797 Return Service Requested Phone: 202.544.4226 Fax: 202.544.2094 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.BJConline.org REPORTfrom theCapital Carter endorses BJC effort to establish Center for Religious Liberty in D.C. Former U.S. President and 2002 Nobel The Center for Religious Liberty will be Prize laureate Jimmy Carter has a state-of-the-art education and training announced his support for the Baptist Joint center and the nerve center for the BJC’s Committee’s effort to secure funding for its activities in Washington. Center for Religious BJC Executive Director J. Brent Walker Liberty. Since leaving said, “We are delighted and honored to office, Carter has have President Carter endorse the BJC’s Newsletter of the worked with Habitat capital campaign. He cares passionately Baptist Joint Committee for Humanity and about human rights and religious liberty. has tirelessly promot- He understands the importance of a con- ed national and inter- tinuing presence of free and faithful Vol.62 No.1 national humanitari- Baptists in the nation’s capital. He also an causes. Carter’s appreciates the value of a full-blown center endorsement and dedicated to these purposes.” influence brings the Mark Wiggs, BJC board chair, points to BJC an important ally Carter Carter’s work, Our Endangered Values: January 2007 in its effort to create the Center that will America’s Moral Crisis, which echoes the serve as a visible monument to the princi- mission of the BJC. In the book, Carter ple of religious liberty for generations to asserts that not upholding church and state come. separation puts Americans’ civil liberties in Carter said, “The Baptist Joint peril. According to Wiggs, “In his recent Committee does important work under book, President Carter, writing with trying conditions. A Center for Religious prophetic urgency about reckless move- Liberty, and a capital campaign to make it ments to entwine church and state, identi- INSIDE: possible, is essential to allow the BJC to do fies religious liberty as one of ‘our endan- its work effectively.” gered values’ in this country. Reflections . .3 For seven decades, the BJC has worked Wiggs continues, “His timely warning, to quell attacks on religious liberty and to coupled with his words of affirmation and 110th Congress . .4 maintain the separation of church and encouragement for BJC’s work of protect- state. According to Reggie McDonough, ing this fragile freedom, should inspire capital campaign chair, Carter’s personal religious liberty supporters to give gener- Hollman Report . .6 identity extols the value of religious liberty ously to BJC’s Capital Campaign.” and recognizes the importance of the BJC A champion of Baptist distinctives, News . .7 in maintaining such an essential cause. Carter has taken an active role in another McDonough said “President Carter is a cause important to the BJC. Carter hosted champion of religious liberty in the United former President Bill Clinton, Walker and States and around the world. He under- others at the Carter Center in Atlanta Jan. 9 stands first hand the current struggle to to announce plans for a Celebration of a maintain religious liberty. He also under- New Baptist Covenant, tentatively sched- stands the crucial role of the Baptist Joint uled for Jan. 30 – Feb. 1, 2008, at the Committee in this struggle. His endorse- Georgia World Congress Center. The goal ment of the Capital Campaign to expand of the covenant is to create an authentic and enhance our facilities and capacity is a and cooperative prophetic Baptist voice in very significant expression of support.” North America. – Phallan Davis, BJC High court to hear case related to Faith-based Initiative WASHINGTON — Case to determine ‘standing’ to challenge Office relate to the First The U.S. Supreme Amendment’s Court decided Dec. 1 to take its first case related to church- Establishment Clause. state separation since it gained two new justices. Groups concerned about church-state separation say this The high court will consider whether three staffers of the case could help their cause. Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation have “We believe that no tax money should be spent to standing as individual taxpayers to advance religion,” said the Rev. Barry challenge aspects of the White House W. Lynn, executive director of Office of Faith-based and Americans United for Separation of Community Initiatives. Church and State. “It’s essential that The Bush administration appealed the justices uphold the principle that the case to the Supreme Court after taxpayers can go to court when their the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit money is being used to advance reli- Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the gion.” plaintiffs did have standing in the Lynn and Gaylor both said they case. were hopeful that Chief Justice John “We’re challenging the creation of Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel the White House and Cabinet-level Alito might show further evidence of faith-based offices and their conferences that they are hold- general support they expressed for church-state separation ing with taxpayer money,” said Annie Laurie Gaylor, co- during confirmation hearings. president of the foundation and one of the three plaintiffs, “We welcome this opportunity to make our case and hope in an interview. that they will uphold the separation of church and state,” “If we don’t have standing, nobody has standing and Gaylor said. Bush doesn’t have to answer anyone.” Arguments are scheduled for Feb. 28. If the high court The government, in its petition to the Supreme Court, sided with the Foundation, the case would return to a lower argued that the appeals court’s decision has “far-reaching court for arguments and a decision about its merits. implications” that might give individual citizens “a roving — RNS license” to challenge actions of the executive branch that See related column in HOLLMAN REPORT on page 6. Appeals court affirms law protecting inmate’s religious rights RICHMOND — Inmate filed suit after being denied kosher meals Congress, but the An appeals court appellate panel dis- has affirmed a federal law protecting the religious rights agrees in its unanimous Dec. 29 decision. of inmates, denying the state of “We hold that RLUIPA is a valid exercise of Congress’ Virginia’s second request that it spending power and that, because Virginia voluntarily be declared unconstitutional. accepted federal correctional funds, it cannot avoid the The Richmond, Va.-based 4th substantive requirements of RLUIPA,” wrote Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III. ruled in favor of Ira Madison, a He noted that their decision marks the fifth time a fed- Virginia inmate who sued the eral appeals court has ruled that RLUIPA falls within state after officials denied his Congress’ spending power. request for kosher meals. Virginia officials have doubted the sincerity of Madison claims he is a member Madison’s beliefs and cited a history of disciplinary of the Church of God and Saints problems. of Christ and a Hebrew Israelite They earlier had argued that RLUIPA was unconstitu- January 2007 who is required to eat a kosher diet. Madison argued that tional because it violated the First Amendment’s the denial of the kosher meals violated a provision of the Establishment Clause. A district court agreed, saying it Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of impermissibly advanced religion. But the 4th Circuit Report from the Capital Report from 2000. appeals court overturned that decision in 2003. Virginia officials argued that the law is unconstitu- 2 tional because it exceeds the spending power of — RNS REFLECTIONS We Baptists gotta stick together On a wall in the Baptist Joint Committee offices gious liberty and church-state separation and another hangs a framed blue line draft of a cartoon. Doug on faith in public policy. Several predominately Marlette, the Baptist creator of Kudzu, sent it to us 15 African-American Baptist denominations are plan- years ago soon after the Southern Baptist Convention ning to hold their national meetings in conjunction J.