The Air Force Academy has constructed a $80,000 outdoor worship center — a small Stonehenge-like circle of boulders — high on a hill for the benefit of cadets who practice “Earth-based” religions. Those include pagans, Wiccans, druids, witches and followers of Native American faiths.

National Day of Prayer ruled unconstitutional

U.S. District Court Judge Barbara B. Crabb ruled that the National Day of Prayer violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause because it calls on citizens to take part in religious activity. 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.” Ceremonial deism is a term sometimes used in place of civil religion. See Crabb's full opinion in Freedom From Religion Foundation v. Obama.

Court gives nod to Pledge ‘under God’

The Pledge of Allegiance to “one nation under God” doesn't violate a citizen's right to be free of state-mandated religion, a divided federal appeals court ruled, thus reversing one of its most controversial decisions. The 9th Circuit had ruled in 2002 in a case brought by Sacramento atheist Michael Newdow that the wording violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. See full opinion by Judge Carlos T. Bea. The Newdow case is further discussed in the University of Massachusetts Press book, Religious Liberty in America: The First Amendment in Historical and Contemporary Perspective by Bruce T. Murray.

No religious tests?

Cecil Bothwell declined to mention God in his swearing-in ceremony to the city council of Asheville, N.C., contrary to a clause in the state constitution that disqualifies from elected office "any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God." The U.S. Constitution states, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States,” as is discussed in Chapter 1 of Religious Liberty in America.

Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi again ...

At its Sept. 30 meeting, the Lodi City Council resolved to continue prayer invocations before its meetings, and also to allow specific phrases such as “in Jesus' name.” Public prayer has become battlefield in several Central California cities, including Turlock, Tracy, Tehachapi and Lancaster. "It was just our summer for Jesus prayers," said Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation. She said the group is planning to sue over the issue in California, though it's still unclear which city will provide the strongest case. Religious Liberty in America defines the meaning of "no establishment" as laid out in the First Amendment. See press release.

Spiritual or religious?

A Kabbalah-based program called "Spirituality for Kids" is offered in several Los Angeles public elementary schools. Some embrace the program as a nondenominational effort to teach children how to make wise choices, while others say it illegally brings religion into public schools under the guise of ethics training. The University of Massachusetts Press book, Religious Liberty in America: The First Amendment in Historical and Contemporary Perspective by Bruce T. Murray, features a chapter on religion in public schools. See press release.

Roundup of California cases

California courts will consider numerous First Amendment cases in 2009, including a challenge to the cross atop Mt. Soledad in San Diego, a bible club in Yorba Linda, and classroom banners that declare "one nation, under God." Religious Liberty in America includes numerous First Amendment cases in California. See press release.

Faith-based initiatives

Time Magazine's Joe Klein reports on the impact of faith-based social service programs. See the SageLaw newsletter on faith-based initiatives, SageLaw primer on the issue and Chapter 6 of the University of Massachusetts Press book.

Catholic adoption orgs battle same-sex regulations

Roman Catholic bishops in Illinois have shuttered most of the Catholic Charities affiliates in the state rather than comply with a new requirement that says they must consider same-sex couples as potential foster-care and adoptive parents in order to receive state contracts.

Faith-based orgs: Conform

Faith-based groups that accept government grants and contracts must be willing to do work that contradicts their values, including providing contraceptive and abortion services, according to a Los Angeles Times editorial.

County awards $315,000 to faith-based groups

San Diego County has awarded more than $315,000 to local faith-based organizations and groups with religious ties during the past two fiscal years, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. The University of Massachusetts Press book, Religious Liberty in America: The First Amendment in Historical and Contemporary Perspective by Bruce T. Murray, chronicles the development of government and faith-based partnerships; and how such partnerships are conducted under the mandate of separation of church and state.

Obama appeals to religious leaders on healthcare

The president addresses more than 1,000 leaders of different faiths in two conference calls, hoping they will take up his cause on health care reform. News update: Aug. 20, 2009.

Obama administration continues faith-based initiatives program

President Barack Obama announced Feb. 5, 2009, the establishment of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, continuing the theme of George W. Bush's Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. The University of Massachusetts Press book, Religious Liberty in America: The First Amendment in Historical and Contemporary Perspective by Bruce T. Murray, chronicles the development of government and faith-based partnerships; and how such partnerships are conducted under the mandate of separation of church and state. See press release. Also see Washington Post news story and Los Angeles Times editorial, and Oct. 3 L.A. Times editorial on faith-based hiring.

Catholic Church issues D.C. ultimatum

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said it will refuse to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law. Catholic Charities, the church's social services arm, serves 68,000 people in the city, including the one-third of Washington's homeless people who go to city-owned shelters managed by the church. The church said it supplements funding for city programs with $10 million from its own coffers. Los Angeles Times Editorial.

Mixing religion and diplomacy

A report by the inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development determined that some USAID-awarded funds were used for religious activities. According to a Los Angeles Times editorial, "It would be unwise for Washington to subsidize aggressive proselytizing by American missionaries, a source of serious tension in some Islamic countries. But in a world in which religion is often inseparable from politics, diplomacy can't always be conducted from behind Thomas Jefferson's wall of separation." Religious Liberty in America includes a chapter on faith-based initiatives. See press release.

The ‘unitary power’ of the president

A new book by Barton Gellman details how Vice President Dick Cheney advocated and implemented the "unitary executive" theory, whereby the president exercises powers was beyond the reach of legislative or judicial review. Chapter 6 of Religious Liberty in America details how this theory was applied to Faith-Based Initiatives. See press release

The Supreme Court

Stevens supported church-state separation

John Paul Stevens ruled for a strict separation of church and state, opposing moves to permit prayers in public schools or public aid for parochial schools. Stevens, 89, who will step down from the High Court at the end of its term this summer, is the Court's only Protestant. See Los Angeles Times op-ed by Christopher L. Eisgruber; news analysis, Why Religion Could Affect Obama's Court Nomination, and column, An atheist for the Court?
The University of Massachusetts Press book, Religious Liberty in America: The First Amendment in Historical and Contemporary Perspective by Bruce T. Murray, includes a chapter on the Supreme Court.

Sotomayor confirmation

Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor focused more on her “wise Latina” remark than her legal processes and reasoning. Although Sotomayor is the Court's first Hispanic, her appointment brings the number of Catholics on the Court to six (out of nine justices). The University of Massachusetts Press book, Religious Liberty in America: The First Amendment in Historical and Contemporary Perspective by Bruce T. Murray, shows the incongruity between religious affiliation and rulings on abortion, the death penalty, and other issues on which the Catholic Church has stated positions. See news release.