Tag Archives: Congress

President Proclaims National Day of Prayer, 6 May 2010

President Obama issued the annual proclamation marking the National Day of Prayer, which will be 6 May this year.

We are blessed to live in a Nation that counts freedom of conscience and free exercise of religion among its most fundamental principles, thereby ensuring that all people of goodwill may hold and practice their beliefs according to the dictates of their consciences.  Prayer has been a sustaining way for many Americans of diverse faiths to express their most cherished beliefs, and thus we have long deemed it fitting and proper to publicly recognize the importance of prayer on this day across the Nation…

Let us pray for the safety and success of those who have left home to serve in our Armed Forces, putting their lives at risk in order to make the world a safer place.  As we remember them, let us not forget their families and the substantial sacrifices that they make every day.

It is interesting to note what is missing from the proclamation.  Read more

House Rep Calls for Hearings on Graham, Perkins

Updated with statement from Tony Perkins.

US Senator Roger Wicker expressed concern, and a US House member is now calling for hearings on the US military’s treatment of “prominent conservative Christian leaders.”

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) said

“I am concerned about it,” Kingston said. “It shows that the Pentagon is using a systematic practice of weeding out preachers and leaders of the clergy who are willing to give biblically-based messages and sermons Read more

Congressional Research Service Report on Religion in the Military

The Congressional Research Service is a statutory office that provides research services at the request of members of Congress.  The CRS says its work is “authoritative,” “accurate,” “objective and nonpartisan.”

The CRS recently published a report entitled “Military Personnel and Freedom of Religious Expression: Selected Legal Issues,” by attorneys R. Chuck Mason and Cynthia Brougher.

The 20-page report  Read more

5th Circuit Vacates Suit Against School Board Prayers

An interesting split-decision [pdf] found that an anonymous plaintiff, represented by the ACLU, lacked standing to sue a school board for their opening invocations.

While the ADF called this a “blow” to the ACLU’s practice of suing with “offended observers,” it is worth noting that the court did not rule on the merits of the case.

[The “offended observer” refers loosely to accusations of “planting” people in public meetings who are suddenly offended.  Those who accused groups of using that tactic claimed they were unable to find a “real” offended person and thus had to create their own.  This supposedly led to lawsuits where plaintiffs were virtually unknown to the community that was in support of the challenged activity.]

A concurring opinion noted:  Read more

Weinstein’s Crusade, or Tilting at Windmills

Mr. Michael Weinstein has said his “fight is far from over” in his self-described war against evangelical Christianity in the military, despite the recent dismissal of his lawsuit against the Air Force Academy.  According to his blog, Weinstein believes that the suit was dismissed on a “technicality;” once that technicality is overcome, the suit will be renewed.  Judge James Parker dismissed the suit because it contained only “vague allegations” and no evidence of harm from people who lacked standing—because they weren’t cadets.  Weinstein was unfazed and said:

“Religious bias and the outrageous violations of the separation of church and state continue to spread rampantly throughout our military” and that the “military is full of evangelizing fundamentalists.”

Read more

Chaplains and Congress: The Defense Authorization Act of 2007

Congress has passed the 2007 Defense Authorization Act and forwarded it to the President, who signed it on 17 October 2006. Generally only controversial as the battleground for district military pet-projects, the 2007 Act has become the unlikely forum for the continuation of the debate of religion in the military. In response to the recent changes in military policy regarding religion, the Republican-controlled House Armed Services Committee included language in the bill specific to the prayers of chaplains. From H.R. 1522 section 590, Read more

1 … 27 28 29