Tag Archives: separation of church and state

The Satanic Temple, which is actually a group of atheist activists and pranksters, has trolled the Phoenix City Council into ending its practice of opening their meeting with prayers. The Washington Post reports: For weeks now, Phoenix lawmakers have wrestled with the idea of allowing members of a Satanic group to give the invocation before an upcoming city meeting. Phoenix …

Antonin Scalia yesterday declared that religious neutrality has no basis in the Constitution and that God has been good to the United States because the government shows him favor. The Associated Press: Scalia was speaking at a Catholic high school in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, Louisiana. Scalia, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 is the …

It will be a very gay Festivus at the Florida Capitol Building this year: The Florida Department of Management Services on Thursday approved an application by Deerfield Beach political blogger Chaz Stevens to set up the display to honor the Festivus “holiday,” agency spokeswoman Natalee Singleton said. Stevens’ application for his 2015 “Rainbow gay edition” display — a 6-foot-6-inch pole …

Arkansas Matters reports: A Florida man applied on Monday afternoon to place a “Gay Pride Festivus Pole” at the state Capitol grounds in Little Rock. Executive Director for the Humanity Fund Chaz Stevens said he sent in an Arkansas Secretary of State Temporary Display application around 1 p.m. on Monday. Stevens said that he erected his first Festivus pole in …

“Our history tells us that faith and public life are complementary parts of American life. But invocation of the “wall of separation” between church and state has become shorthand for a particular narrative about the history and status of religion in American life. This narrative is wrong. “Such an approach undermines religious liberty and limits the ways in which faith …

As we all know, the Liberty Counsel spends every minute of every day jumping up and down and screaming about religious liberty. But apparently that religious liberty only applies to Christians and it CERTAINLY doesn’t apply to non-Christians seeking to give the invocation before a governmental body in the Liberty Counsel’s backyard. The Orlando Sentinel reports: Lake County Commission Chairman Jimmy …

“We have been appalled at news reports of ISIS and the Islamic State tearing down all symbols of Christianity in the Middle East; but think about it—we’re doing it to ourselves here in the U.S. Atheists, activists, and anti-God groups like the ACLU, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the Military Freedom of Religion Foundation are on a quest to …

An Oklahoma commission has agreed to comply with the state Supreme Court’s order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the grounds of the state capitol. Christian activists had maintained that the monument was historical rather than religious, but the court sided with plaintiffs represented by the ACLU. Tulsa World reports: The Capitol Preservation Commission on Tuesday authorized a state …

According to Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, the Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the state capitol is not an endorsement of Christianity but a “tribute to historical events.” So it stays where it is. CNN reports: “Oklahoma is a state where we respect the rule of law, and we will not ignore the state courts or their decisions. However, …

“It happens every year. School officials hostile to religion, most especially the Christian religion, begin spouting the mythological ‘separation of church and state’ talking points spoon-fed them by the aforementioned secularist organizations. This disinformation campaign has had tremendous success over the years and so we must set the record straight. That’s what Liberty Counsel is doing. If you know of …

(Tipped by JMG reader Doug)

Via the Tennessean: The Holy Bible is the official book of Tennessee in the view of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Despite questions of constitutionality, lawmakers beat back an attempt to make Andrew Jackson’s Bible the official book and voted 55-38 in favor of Rep. Jerry Sexton’s original bill. “History’s going to tell us where we stand on this. I’m …

The Liberty Counsel yesterday filed an amicus brief with the Tenth Circuit Court in which they argue for the overturn of the so-called Lemon Test, an expression that arose from Lemon v Kurzman, the 1971 Supreme Court ruling which grants private citizens standing to complain when the government endorses a specific religion. From the Liberty Counsel’s press release: “Since 1971, …

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the public display of the so-called WTC Cross is a secular remembrance of the 9/11 attacks and not a religious symbol. “Thank God,” said Father Brian Jordan, the Franciscan priest who had the cross pulled from Ground Zero weeks after an excavator showed it to him. “In a way, we’ve been …

Via Raw Story: Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Tuesday grilled a pastor who supports the separation of church and state, asking him why he did not share the “good news” that non-Christians were going to Hell. At a House Judiciary Committee hearing about religious freedom on Tuesday, Gohmert told the Rev. Barry Lynn, who serves as the executive director for …

This is the nutjob who ran for lieutenant governor of Virginia.

“Liberty Counsel has been actively engaged in protecting the rights of Americans to pray in public forums. Monday, the fruits of our labor paid off in a big way. Today, to the consternation of anti-Christian segregationists, historical revisionists and Church-state separatists, prayer in the public square remains protected in the United States of America thanks to patriots like you and …

“The court today has upheld our first and most fundamental freedom. The court has rejected the idea that as citizens we must check our faith at the entrance to the public square. We applaud the majority on the court for getting that right. This is an historic victory for all Americans of faith and for the common-sense reading of the …