Tag Archives: first amendment

Atheists Target Military Memorials. Again.

On June 6th, many outlets highlighted the 69th anniversary of the D-Day landings that would ultimately free Europe from the reign of Nazi terror.  They also highlighted the fact that thousands of US servicemembers died storming the beaches, many of whom are buried in France and Luxembourg.  Iconic images recall the price:

Kneeling at Normandy

WWII and D-Day veteran Raymond Moon kneels before the grave of a fallen comrade at the American cemetery at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France on Friday, June 4, 2004. Moon served in the 29th Division and returned to France for the 60th anniversary of D-Day. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch) / ASSOCIATED PRESS

As the world remembered that sacrifice, however, inappropriate timing by atheists tried to doom the memory of Read more

Reminder: Constitution Restricts Government, not Citizens

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, recently received a national religious liberty award at the annual Religious Liberty banquet.  In his speech, he reminded listeners of something they should have learned in American government in high school:

“I’m always fond of pointing out to people that when you look at our First Amendment to the Constitution, which is in large part there because Baptists insisted that it be there in order for them to vote to ratify the Constitution, all of the restrictions are on the government, not Read more

Mount Soledad Case Review Denied

The Mount Soledad war memorial cross in San Diego has been previously ruled as unconstitutional, violating the Establishment Clause.  The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently refused to rehear the case or grant an en banc review.  Notably, however, 5 of the 11 judges dissented in the denial of an en banc rehearing.  The premise of their dissent was that the court had inappropriatelly analyzed the memorial:  Read more

JFW: The Religious Rights of Those in Uniform

The Journal of Faith and War has published a lengthy set of articles on “The Religious Rights of those in Uniform.”  The series was written by Jay Sekulow and Robert Ash.  Dr. Sekulow is chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (and debated Michael Weinstein at the US Air Force Academy in 2007).  Robert Ash (USA, Retired) is a West Point graduate, served 22 years in the Army, and teaches law at Regent University.

The articles originally appeared as “Religious Rights and Military Service” in Attitudes Aren’t Free: Thinking Deeply about Attitudes in the US Armed Forces, which contained the infamous article by Chris Rodda denigrating the celebration of Easter by Christians in the military.

The publication is a refreshingly positive perspective on what men and women of faith can do while serving in the US military.  So often critics have emphasized (or created an environment focused on) impermissible conduct; as a result, some military members (or religious persons considering military service) may assume their religious exercise is restricted.

That is not the case, as the JFW articles show.

The first article covers the “General Legal Principles” Read more

Mount Soledad Cross “UnConstitutional”

The long-running ACLU lawsuit against the Mount Soledad cross in San Diego reached another milestone at the 9th Circuit, with a three-judge panel ruling the cross is unConstitutional.

A war memorial cross in a San Diego public park is unconstitutional because it conveys a message of government endorsement of religion…The court said modifications could be made to make it constitutional, but it didn’t specify what those changes would be.

The 9th Circuit panel did not direct that the cross be torn down.  Instead, Read more

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