Supreme Court Should Rule Against Sectarian Prayers Before Town Board Meetings, Says Americans United

http://inkandvoice.com/2011/11/church-state/

 

Church-State Watchdog Group Urges High Court To Use Greece, N.Y., Case To Affirm Government Neutrality Toward Religion

May 20, 2013

                  

The U.S. Supreme Court today announced that it will hear a lawsuit challenging Christian invocations before town board meetings in Greece, N.Y.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the organization that is sponsoring the lawsuit, urged the high court to affirm government neutrality on religion.

“A town council meeting isn’t a church service, and it shouldn’t seem like one,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Government can’t serve everyone in the community when it endorses one faith over others. That sends the clear message that some are second-class citizens based on what they believe about religion.”

Americans United brought the litigation on behalf of two community residents, Susan Galloway and Linda Stephens. They objected to the Greece Town Board’s practice of inviting clergy to open its meetings with sectarian prayers.

The board does not require that the invocations be inclusive and non-sectarian. As a result, the prayers have almost always been Christian. Official records showed that between 1999 and June 2010, about two-thirds of the 120 recorded invocations contained references to “Jesus Christ,” “Jesus,” “Your Son” or the “Holy Spirit.”

In a unanimous May 2012 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the town’s prayer policy. Judge Guido Calabresi said “a given legislative prayer practice, viewed in its entirety, may not advance a single religious sect.”

AU Legal Director Ayesha N. Khan, who directed the litigation for Americans United and will argue the Town of Greece v. Galloway case before the Supreme Court, said the justices should uphold the lower court’s ruling.

“Legislative bodies should focus on serving the community and stay out of the business of promoting religion,” Khan said. 

 

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

 

https://www.au.org/media/press-releases/supreme-court-should-rule-against-sectarian-prayers-before-town-board-meetings?utm_source=AU+main+email+list&utm_campaign=c99567f9bc-2013-05-20+Greece+NY+Case&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_39ed39e994-c99567f9bc-269714717

Rev. Barry Lynn Executive Director, Americans United for Separation of Church and State

               

 

                                                           

Church Electioneering and the IRS: Another Example of Tax Agency Failure

clip 
You might have noticed that there has been a little controversy about the Internal Revenue Service lately.

It appears that officials in a Cincinnati IRS office subjected some conservative organizations that were seeking a form of tax exemption to heightened scrutiny and additional procedures because they had words like "Tea Party" and "patriot" in their names.

Lois Lerner, the director of the IRS's tax-exempt division, has conceded this was wrong. I agree. It's also frustrating.

Here's why: For some years now, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has been urging the IRS to crack down on tax-exempt religious organizations that engage in blatant partisan electioneering. These are clear violations of the law, and yet the IRS seems to have done nothing to penalize scofflaws.

When I say clear violations of the law, I mean clear. I'm talking about religious organizations using their tax-exempt personnel and resources to intervene in elections. I'm talking about pastors standing up and telling their congregants which candidates to vote for or against, endorsing candidates in church bulletins or taking other actions that step way over the line.

These activities are not permitted. No tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization -- religious or non-religious -- can engage in behaviors designed to intervene in an election by endorsing or opposing a candidate. This is so because one of the conditions of tax exemption (which is very lucrative benefit) is that the groups holding it must refrain from this type of overt partisan politicking.

complete story here--

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barry-w-lynn/church-electioneering-and_b_3267250.html

This is the Student Who Blew the Whistle on Muldrow High School’s Ten Commandments Plaques

 

May 11, 2013 By Hemant Mehta

 

Earlier today, I posted about the Ten Commandments plaques that hang in every classroom in Muldrow High School (Oklahoma). As the story went, after an anonymous atheist student contacted the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the FFRF contacted the school and the plaques will now almost certainly be taken down after the school board discusses the incident at Monday’s meeting.
But the plaques won’t be coming down without a fight.

“It’s Christianity under attack within our own country,” said Josh Moore, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Muldrow, Okla.
…
Parent Denise Armer told KHOG she supports the students’ efforts to save the Ten Commandment plaques.
“If other kids don’t want to read the Ten Commandments, then they don’t have to,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that they have to make everyone else do what they want.”

I guess no one taught these Christians the way the law works. Give it a couple of days, though, because they’re about to find out.

complete story at: 
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/05/11/this-is-the-student-who-blew-the-whistle-on-muldrow-high-schools-ten-commandments-plaques/

Minnesota Senate Clears Way for Same-Sex Marriage

clip “It was only a matter of time before people would realize that we’re just folks — we’re in people’s congregations, we’re in the grocery store, we’re everywhere.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/us/minnesota-senate-clears-way-for-same-sex-marriage.html?_r=0

 Minnesota Senate Clears Way for Same-Sex Marriage

Video of 2013 OKAU Spring Dialogue

Video of 2013 OKAU Spring Dialogue

With many thanks to Damion and Chas, our chapter's treasurer and secretary, the video of OKAU's 2013 Spring Dialogue is available at the link below.  It's divided into segments to provide ease of access.

Prepared remarks from the four panelists--
http://blog.oklahomaatheists.com/2013/05/okau-spring-dialogue-video.html

Q & A with the panelists and audience--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZXirmp-XpM&feature=youtu.be&a

Comments from the moderator, Chas Stewart, are posted here--
http://blog.oklahomaatheists.com/2013/05/okau-spring-dialogue.html

Article from Red Dirt Report, an Oklahoma news website, is here--
http://www.reddirtreport.com/Story.aspx/25611

Red Dirt Report--Fifth Annual OKAU Spring Dialogue

Fifth Annual OKAU Spring Dialogue

By Andrew W. Griffin

Red Dirt Report, editor

Posted: May 8, 2013

reddirtreporter@gmail.com

Andrew W. Griffin / Red Dirt Report

OK-AU Spring Dialogue panelists (l-r) William Tabbernee, Clayton Flesher, Bilal Erturk and James Nimmo.

Andrew W. Griffin / Red Dirt Report

OK-AU Spring Dialogue panelists (l-r) William Tabbernee, Clayton Flesher, Bilal Erturk and James Nimmo.

 

OKLAHOMA CITY – Covering issues as diverse as capital punishment, Turkish secularism, marriage equality and the pragmatic and principled reasons for supporting the separation of church and state, Tuesday night’s fifth annual Spring Dialogue, sponsored by the Oklahoma City chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church & State at the Raindrop Turkish House, drew a nice crowd while providing fodder for conversation and debate.

This year’s panel – with the theme being “Advantages and Disadvantages of Religious Involvement with Civil Government” - included James Nimmo, communications chair for OK-AU, Clayton Flesher, and atheist and co-founder of Odd Oklahoma, Dr. Bilal Erturk, a finance professor at Oklahoma State University and the Rev. Dr. William Tabbernee, executive director of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches.

..............

“We are the number one state in the U.S., per capita, for capital punishment, and the third in actual numbers, after Texas and Virginia,” Tabbernee said. “And the question is ‘why’?”

As Tabbernee explained, the state embrace of the death penalty is religiously linked to the “divine right of kings,” as interpreted in the Bible, particularly the archaic, monarchist-endorsed King James version.

....................

lesher, meanwhile, tackled the separation of church and state from the perspective of its pragmatic usefulness. He talks about Adam Smith’s 18th century book The Wealth of Nations, and the idea of “the economics of religion.”

Noted Flesher on Smith’s findings: “Government involvement in religion would likely decrease pluralism or the variety of religions in a country and decrease religiosity.”

Flesher reminded the diverse audience that “The United States is founded on enlightenment principles.”

“We do not want the government deciding winners and losers on the subject of religion," he said.

 

............

Erturk, a native of Turkey, shared his thoughts on the Turkish Republic’s secular model which is different in that while the state is secular, they still control much of the Muslim-majority country’s involvement in religion.

“One area, which is a hot button issue in Turkey, is women wearing headscarves,” Erturk said, banned for having religious connotations.

The law there acts like Clorox bleach, he said, wiping away religious symbols and lifestyle from social life, although in recent years, those authoritarian views are being somewhat relaxed.

Erturk said this approach is not all that different from the centralized, government approach seen in Saudi Arabia with the thuggish Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices that force women to wear coverings.

..............

 

The final speaker, James Nimmo, addressed marriage equality for taxpaying, American gay and lesbian citizens and how the state collaborates with the dominant religion in denying them marriage rights.
 

“I believe morality comes from empathy and not from religion,” Nimmo said. “Most of us know people steeped in religion, but who have little empathy or understanding for those with differing backgrounds or points of view.”

 

Nimmo continued, explaining that religious minorities “frequently to have to defend their 1^st Amendement rights against the stereotypes held up by the dominantly and politically misinformed.”

 

Nimmo reminded those in the audience that the dominant religious views in a place like Oklahoma, where conservative interpretations of Christianity take the dominant position.

 

Marriage, he said, is allowed for those in prison, as an example of where “morality” is more or less moot. Therefore, the state, embracing “religious dogma,” denies LGBT couples from marrying.

 

He also made the point that the state is in violation of the Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of religion by not allowing religious groups that allow same-sex marriage to perform those ceremonies.

Complete article at ---http://www.reddirtreport.com/Story.aspx/25611

OK-AU Spring Dialogue Event Examines Mixing Religion and Civil Government

For Immediate Release

OKC Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church & State

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Contact: James Nimmo, Communications Chair,

james.nimmo@gmail.com

OK-AU Spring Dialogue event examines

mixing religion and civil government

What:    OKC Chapter of Americans United Spring Dialogue Event 

When: Tuesday, May 7, 2013, 7 to 9 p.m.

Where: Turkish Raindrop House, 4444 N. Classen Blvd., Oklahoma City

Who: OKC Chapter of Americans United for Church & State and the public!

OKLAHOMA CITY - On Tuesday, May 7, 2013, the Oklahoma City Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church & State will host its annual Spring Dialogue.  The free event will begin at 7 p.m. at the Turkish Raindrop House, 4444 N. Classen Blvd., in Oklahoma City, and will conclude at 9 p.m.  

The theme is; “Advantages and Disadvantages of Religious Involvement with Civil Government.”

"Our AU chapter looks forward to presenting speakers who can provide an interesting inside look at important issues concerning the First Amendment support of separation of religious views from civil laws,” said OK-AU Communications Chair, James NImmo. 

"The United States supports hundreds, if not thousands, of religious denominations.  Not a single one of them can be allowed to gain political strength over any other denomination."

The event will be a four person moderated panel discussion that will explore the advantages and disadvantages of mixing religion and civil government.

Panelists will include the Rev. Dr. William Tabbernee, Executive Director Oklahoma Conference of Churches; Dr. Bilal Erturk, Assistant Professor, Department of Finance at Oklahoma State University; Clayton Flesher, co-founder of Odd Oklahoma; and James Nimmo, OK-AU Communications Chair.

Dr. Tabbernee will speak on capital punishment. The death penalty is carried out by the State but opposed by many religious groups, including the Oklahoma Conference of Churches. 

"The Death Penalty is literally 'a matter of life and death,'" Tabbernee said.  "Like all such matters, people have strongly held opinions on the subject. Opinions influenced by their religious beliefs and values." 

Tabbernee has extensive experience in ecumenical and interfaith relations, including more than 20 years as a member of the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order. 

A volunteer in various capacities for the Raindrop Turkish House, Dr. Ertuck was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and is a finance faculty member at the Spears School of Business, Oklahoma State University.

“The topic of my talk will be ‘Secularism: Lessons learned from the Turkish experience,” said Ertuck. “My talk will be generally centered around experiences of the idea of separation of church/mosque and state in Turkey.”

Flesher, is a contributing writer for OKC.net and the website Odd Oklahoma. He is the Education Chair for the Oklahoma Atheists group. He will look at both the pragmatic and principled reasons for supporting a strong separation.

"I'll talk about what role separation has had in keeping religion robust in the US while keeping religious violence relatively low,” said Flesher.

“I am convinced that the best way to make progress politically is through non-partisan state and national organizations,” said Nimmo.

Chas Stewart, OK-AU Chapter Secretary will be the event moderator.

A question and answer period will be held following the panel discussion.  Turkish refreshments will be served. 

Hosting the event, the Turkish Raindrop House promotes education about the culture and history of Turkish life. The event is open to the public with free street parking available.

Interested citizens who support or want to know more about the importance of the First Amendment and the wall of separation between religious dogma and civil laws are encouraged to attend. 

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., founded in 1947. The organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom. 

For more information about the Oklahoma City Chapter of Americans for Separation of Church & State or the Spring Dialogue event, please visit www.okau.org

Spring Dialogue for 2013--Save the Date

Colleagues and friends who support separation of religious views from civil law,

The annual Spring Dialogue sponsored by the Americans United for Separation of Church & State, Oklahoma City chapter (www.okau.org)
will be held on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 in the facilities of our new friends and co-host, the Turkish Raindrop House.

We will have a moderated four-person panel discussion with topics ranging from marriage equality to how keeping religion separate from government helps reduce violence in society.  There will be time for discussion with the audience and panelists.

The Turkish Raindrop House promotes education about the culture and history of Turkish life and is located at 4444 N. Classen in Oklahoma City with easy access from I-40 and east of Penn Square Mall.  Free street parking is available.  (http://www.raindropturkishhouse.org/)

Confirmation of the speakers and topics will be forwarded soon.

The Spring Dialogue will begin at 7:00pm and conclude by 9:00pm.

Turkish refreshments will be served.

Protect Americans’ Access To Birth Control

Protect Americans’ Access To Birth Control, Americans United Tells HHS

Church-State Watchdog Group Says No More Exemptions Are Needed To Health-Care Regulations

Apr 9, 2013

The federal government should protect Americans’ access to contraceptive coverage, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

In comments submitted to HHS, Americans United urged the department to reject demands from conservative religious interest groups that seek to curb access to contraceptives under the guise of religious liberty.

“Americans want and deserve access to safe and affordable birth control,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Put simply, the decision to use contraceptives is a personal matter and should be governed by the individual, not powerful sectarian lobbies.”

Under the Obama administration’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act, most employers are expected to offer a health-care policy that includes no-cost birth control. Houses of worship and ministries are exempt from the requirement, and other accommodations have been made for religiously affiliated entities, such as church schools and hospitals.

But the Roman Catholic hierarchy and some Religious Right groups say that’s not enough. They are pressing for a broad exemption that would permit even secular corporations to deny their workers contraceptive coverage if the business owners have personal religious objections to birth control.

Americans United says the demands by religious groups go too far and argues that they subject employees to dogmatic views held by a corporation’s owners.

AU’s April 8 comments note that the proposed HHS regulations don’t force anyone to use birth control. Furthermore, contraceptives are just one of many benefits offered under comprehensive health-care plans, and the decision to use them rests with the individual employee as guided by his or her doctor.

“In the end, the provision of a comprehensive set of health-care benefits is really no different than the provision of a paycheck; employees are free to utilize both kinds of benefits in any manner that they wish, and the employer cannot reasonably be perceived to support or endorse any particular use thereof,” asserts AU in the comments. “Thus, the requirement that entities include insurance coverage for contraceptives as part of group insurance plans places no substantial burden on the employer.”

The comments also say that more than enough has been done to accommodate religious groups.

“The current exemption and accommodation far surpass necessity, and the Administration should reject further arguments to extend them,” argues AU.

The comments were drafted by AU Legislative Director Maggie Garrett.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

https://www.au.org/media/press-releases/protect-americans-access-to-birth-control-americans-united-tells-hhs?utm_source=AU+main+email+list&utm_campaign=c45bce9082-2013-04-09+BC+Access+HHS&utm_medium=email

Americans United Urges Federal Appeals Courts To Uphold Contraceptive Access

 

Church-State Watchdog Files Four Friend-Of-The-Court Briefs Defending Workers’ Access To Birth-Control Coverage

Mar 28, 2013

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told federal courts now considering the constitutionality of the Obama administration’s birth-control mandate that employers do not have a religious liberty right to deny their employees access to contraceptives.

Americans United said the mandate, which requires most businesses to provide workers with health insurance that includes no-cost birth control, should be upheld. If a “conscience” exemption is approved for corporations, the church-state watchdog group says, thousands of Americans will be denied birth-control coverage.

“Conservative religious interest groups are waging an all-out legal war on Americans’ access to birth control,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “We cannot let them win this battle. No corporation should ever be able to tell its employees that they can’t have access to contraceptive coverage simply because it offends the boss’ religious preference.

“This is clearly one of the most important church-state conflicts now before our courts,” Lynn added. “The Constitution and common sense tell us that Americans should not be denied basic health coverage because of the bogus ‘conscience’ claims of business interests.”

Americans United filed four friend-of-the-court briefs dealing with this issue in the past week. They concerned the following cases:

* Autocam Corporation, et al. v. Sebelius – A Michigan-based for-profit business that manufactures fuel systems, power-steering systems and medical devices seeks an exemption from the mandate due to the objections of its Roman Catholic owners. (6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals)

* Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., et al. v. Sebelius – The evangelical Christian owners of this Oklahoma-based chain of for-profit craft stores and for-profit bookstores say they should be exempted from the mandate because of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. (10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals)

* Grote Industries, LLC, et al. v. Sebelius – The Indiana-based corporation’s Catholic owners say their business, which is a for-profit, secular corporation that manufactures vehicle safety systems, should not have to provide health insurance that includes free contraceptives because it violates their religious conscience. (7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals)

* Legatus, et al. v. Sebelius – Weingartz Supply Company is a Michigan-based for-profit corporation that provides outdoor power equipment. Its Catholic owner objects to the contraceptive mandate on religious grounds.(6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals)

In addition to amicus briefs in these four cases, Americans United has previously filed friend-of-the-court briefs in three other contraceptive-access cases pending at federal appeals courts.

The broad legal attack on birth-control coverage is being waged by Religious Right legal groups such as the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, TV preacher Pat Robertson’s American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal outfit founded by TV and radio preachers.

"If secular, for-profit corporations win the right to impose their owners' religious beliefs on employees, the consequences will be felt well beyond the issue of contraception,” said Gregory M. Lipper, senior litigation counsel for Americans United and a primary author of the briefs.

“Corporations with owners who object to blood transfusions, psychiatric treatment or even gelatin-covered pills would be able to micromanage their employees' medical care.

“Decades-old laws that protect employees, consumers, and tenants from religious-based discrimination,” Lipper continued, “would also be on thin ice if the plaintiffs prevail here. For a nation with increasing religious diversity, that would be a giant step in the wrong direction."
 

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

https://www.au.org/media/press-releases/americans-united-urges-federal-appeals-courts-to-uphold-contraceptive-access?utm_source=AU+main+email+list&utm_campaign=724ef0c39c-2013-03-20+KY+Lawsuit+Kids+Home&utm_medium=email