On April 15 a federal court in Wisconsin decided Thursday that the country's National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional because it calls on citizens to take part in religious activity.
U.S. District Court Judge Barbara B. Crabb ruled that the statute that created the National Day of Prayer violates the Constitution's prohibition against the government establishment of religion.
Judge Crabb, an appointee of former President Jimmy Carter, wrote in her decision that '"some forms of 'ceremonial deism,' such as legislative prayer, do not violate the establishment clause." But she said the National Day of Prayer goes too far.
Read more at The Washington Times.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is considering the passage of Bill No. 66 which if passed will be known as "the Sunday Observance Act, 2010." The Act labels "Sunday to keep holy."
Fox News analyst Brit Hume said "widespread media bias against Christianity" was to blame for criticism of his suggestion that Tiger Woods should embrace Christianity to find redemption. "Instead of urging that Tiger Woods turn to Christianity, if I had said what he needed to do was to strengthen his Buddhist commitment or turn to Hinduism, I don't think anybody would have said a word," Hume told Christianity Today. "It's Christ and Christianity that get people stirred up."
I don't know about you, but I think it's awesome that Christ is still stirring people up! It's easy to become discouraged, as a Christian, when surrounded by so much negativity towards Christ and Christianity. But then I think, if Christ wasn't really the Way the Truth and the Life no one would care, so we must be on the right track!
Religious Freedom a Casualty of Growing Information Curtain
21 January 2010, Washington, DC-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a major policy speech on internet freedom in Washington today in which she warned, "With the spread of...restrictive practices, a new information curtain is descending across much of the world." She identified religious freedom as one of the casualties of this growing information curtain. Secretary Clinton elaborated:
Reported by Dr. C. Norman Farley
NARLA West Newsletter, July-August
On May 10, at a Freedom Day Celebration hosted by the Carlsbad Northcoast Christian Fellowship of Seventh-day Adventist, Judge Victor Ramirez spoke about how rights protected by Habeas Corpus (Amendments 4, 5, 6 & 14) have been affected since 9/11. He touched on the USA Patriot Act, the Homeland Security Act and the Military Commissions Act, emphasizing the unprecedented degree of secrecy and secret courts prevalent since 9-11. The following article is based on the author’s recollection, and his continued research, since no recording or transcript was made of Judge Ramirez’ presentation. No transcription or recordings of the event were made so the opinions expressed represent the recollections of the author. Judge Ramirez (R) was Judge of the Superior Court in San Diego and was the recipient of the University Of San Diego School Of Law’s Most Distinguished Alumni Jurist Award. A brief constitutional history was presented to lay a foundation for Judge Ramirez’ presentation.
Between 1992 and 1993, claims of employment discrimination based on religion jumped 82%! To put this in perspective, during the same period, claims involving race dropped by 3.5%.
Many employment discrimination claims based on religion involve instances in which employers refuse to provide an accommodation for an employee's religious practices. Three primary problem areas arise out of conflicts between work requirements and holy day observance, religious garb, and religious grooming requirements. A few claims arise out of conflicts between religious faith and a specific assigned duty. It is not only members of small or poorly understood faiths whoe experience trouble in the workplace. Cases coming before the courts have included Roman Catholics denied time off on Christmas Day; Evangelical Christians denied time off to attend church on Sundays; Sikhs whose employers require them to remove turbans; Jews and Seventh-day Sabbath keepers for refusing to work on Saturdays; Muslim women for wearing head scarves; and attempts to force Rastafarians to cut their dreadlocks.
With special thanks to the board which voted approval of my going to Washington, DC, for the Capitol Hill Summit last month, I want to devote this post to sharing with you what happened, and why I came home so excited to have been able to participate.
Slightly more than 2% of India's one billion people are Christian.
The South Asian Connection website has a great article about the persecutions this Christian minority face. READ MORE
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Have you noticed this Amendment appears in the Montrose Daily Press on the editorial page several times a week? Mr. Woody receives Liberty Magazine. Do you think there is a connection? Take a moment to email him a note of thanks for recognizing the importance of this very first amendment? (SteveW@montrosepress.com)
No religious tests for public office, but what about political tests to receive religious sacraments?
