Recently in Separation of Church and State Category

Today, our country has lost one of its strongest defenders of the Constitution, Sen. Edward M.Kennedy. He was a longstanding civil rights advocate and will be greatly missed.

I issued this statement about Sen. Kennedy this morning via Americans United's Web site: 

"Sen. Ted Kennedy was a great champion of church-state separation. It's not just that he consistently voted to support that principle - he really got it. He deeply understood that only a high and firm wall of separation between church and state could protect our liberties. He knew the reasons why our Founders established church-state separation and why we need to preserve it. He got how church-state separation protects the rights of both religious and non-religious people.

"One of the things that made Sen. Kennedy so effective was his powerful presence. I first met him in the 1970s during a meeting designed to address issues of concern to residents of Washington, D.C. There were probably 40 people in the room, all squabbling about how to proceed. When Sen. Kennedy walked in, all talking stopped. He outlined a plan of action, and we divided up the work.

"In subsequent years, I had many occasions to work with Sen. Kennedy and his staff. Although he belonged to a powerful political family, I always found him to be down to earth and engaging.  He always took the time to intensely study whatever issue came before him, and his command of the facts and the workings of the Senate were impressive.

"When Sen. Jesse Helms tried to push a school prayer amendment through the Senate, Ted Kennedy stood up to block it. When President Ronald Reagan sought to put Robert Bork on the Supreme Court, Ted Kennedy led the charge to stop him. When bills were introduced in Congress to fund religious schools with tax funds, Ted Kennedy was the first to speak up in opposition.

"At the same time, Sen. Kennedy was a consistent supporter of the free exercise of religion and deplored any effort to chisel away at this cherished right of the American people.

"At Americans United's 50th anniversary celebration in 1997, Kennedy sent videotaped remarks commending AU's work. 'Through the years,' Kennedy said, 'we have worked well together to ensure that when the First Amendment says [Congress shall make] no law [respecting an establishment of religion], it means no law. May it always be so.'

"Sen. Kennedy truly cannot be replaced. He was an institution and will be remembered as one of the great heroes of religious liberty and church-state separation. Americans United sends its condolences to the senator's family. We mourn his passing but honor his legacy - a legacy of freedom that will stand for many years to come."

I welcome all of you to join in this conversation and share your thoughts about Sen. Kennedy, a truly great American.

To subscribe to "Lynn v. Sekulow" click here. 

 

Barry, "sectarian" programming should not be excluded from public broadcasting at a time when matters of faith and religion are so much in the news and in the hearts and minds of viewers.

 

Local public broadcast programming is supposed to be tailored to the unique needs and characteristics of the community. This unfortunate decision serves to further nationalize the control of public broadcasting and undercuts the ability of local stations to provide a full, diverse, and relevant community service. The fact that this decision came after twenty-five years of lax enforcement is telling.

A breathless nation awaited yesterday's decision by the PBS board about whether to actually require its member stations to adhere to a basic rule.  OK, maybe it wasn't exactly the whole country holding its breath, but a handful of people were interested.

The PBS board met to decide whether member stations must actually follow bylaws passed in the mid-l980s. These bylaws stated that those stations receiving PBS programming should not air partisan, commercial or sectarian programming. For 25 years, the board has turned a blind eye to enforcing its restriction on sectarian programming, but after yesterday's vote, no longer. 

Stations will not be allowed to carry sectarian programming from here on out or they will lose their membership status, the board said. (This means that those stations would not have access to popular shows like "Sesame Street" and "The News Hour.") That's a good decision. There's no reason for PBS stations to show proselytizing or evangelistic programming, particularly with the explosion of television channels available in recent years.  With PBS paid for partly with taxpayer dollars, it's perfectly defensible constitutionally to forbid religious programming. And with plenty of other broadcast opportunities for religious programming, PBS is by no means required to provide them a forum.

Jay, I'm certainly aware that some of the most "liberal" justices on the Supreme Court agree with your arguments in some cases.  I even agree with your arguments in a few cases.  My question to you earlier, though, was why, in Establishment Clause challenges, you claim she is "very, very strict" (as indicated in the aforementioned television appearance).  Are there decisions she has made to lead you in that direction?  As I pointed out earlier she has rather moderate views in the few cases she has examined that touch on this important issue.  Am I missing something?

Of course, we all want America to know about her "judicial philosophy", but Judiciary Committee hearings, with time limits and political posturing by some Senators, is rarely a way to get a coherent view.  The best thing we have is the record before us. And, then, on occasion nominees just say what they need to say in order to get confirmed.  Remember, Clarence Thomas said he was a big supporter of the separation of church and state.  In turns out, he must have been supporting that construct from some other nation's (perhaps some other planet's) legal system.

Barry, we're preparing to file an amicus brief in a matter of weeks in a case that I know you are closely watching at the Supreme Court.  The high court agreed in February to take the case of Salazar v. Buono, which involves a challenge to a memorial cross displayed in the Mojave National Preserve in California.

The case will affect the legal standing of those who seek to challenge government displays that include symbols with some religious significance as well as the government's ability to cure actual or potential Establishment Clause violations through a sale of land to private parties.  Like many of these cases, this one has a long history and a lengthy legal battle.

I have been amused over the weekend by the "sky is falling" rhetoric of the Right about the impending retirement of David Souter from the Supreme Court. Curiously, Jay, many of your colleagues concede that they don't like Souter's record,...

Barry, the big news, of course, is the reported retirement of Supreme Court Justice David Souter.  The news comes just 102 days into the Obama Administration and sets the stage for President Obama to move to put his liberal stamp on...

Barry, I think the one thing we can agree on is that as long as graduation ceremonies take place across the country, there will be questions - concerns - and ongoing debate about what's proper and what it not. What...

Jay, let me assure you and all our commentators that I would be similarly upset about a public school graduation in a mosque or in a predominantly GLBT Metropolitan Community Church. The doctrine of this particular church is, of course,...

Barry, as you know, many graduation ceremonies are held in churches around the country every year.  The reason for this is simple and has nothing to do with religion:  the church facility, in many communities, provides the space needed to...

Maybe  James Dobson was just having a particularly bad day.  As the top Religious Right leader gave a "farewell speech" to the staff at Focus On the Family he noted that "we are awash in evil" and that "humanly speaking,...

Jay, I don't see American history helping you much on your bootstrapping argument about past practice and the National Day of Prayer. Remember that Thomas Jefferson actually vetoed day of prayer resolutions as President-and those were usually focused on some...

Barry, regarding the National Day of Prayer, it is certainly strong evidence that a practice is consistent with the First Amendment if it predates the Amendment and was supported by our Founding Fathers. This is especially true where, as here,...

Well, Jay, I enjoyed our debate last week at Gettysburg College and look forward to doing more live and in-person events.  I hope you are now satisfied that no students in Kentucky were threatened with arrest and that all of...

Yes, Jay, even I was shocked by your report of "prayer police" in Kentucky.  However, having heard these tales in the past on so many occasions, I got myself under control and immediately realized that many facts are missing.Students do...

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I'm sorry, Jay, but I can't say "amen" to your characterization of Rick Warren's participation in the inaugural ceremony.  Although once you pass the threshold of having two Protestant ministers, it is not unexpected that one or both (in this...

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Well, Jay, Americans United won a very significant victory late last week in a case in South Carolina involving license plates.  U.S. District Court Judge Cameron McGowan Currie granted a preliminary injunction against the state continuing to market or actually...

Barry, the First Amendment does not require the government to strip the public arena of references to holidays that the vast majority of Americans observe.   In the Rhode Island case you referred to, the Supreme Court noted that "[i]t...

Barry, we should not expand federal or state reporting requirements for churches that support or oppose legislation/ initiatives, just as we should not continue the gag rule on political speech from the pulpit.   On a different note, you've probably...

Barry, the reason that you had "many moments of doubt" during the argument is that the Pleasant Grove City v. Summum case is about the meaning of a different provision of the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law ....

Jay, I must say publicly what I told you privately after the oral argument in the Pleasant Grove City v. Summum argument.  You did a very fine job.  You also know, though, that I believe it was a great job...

It was an hour of spirited, lively debate before the Supreme Court.  And, now that oral arguments have concluded and the case is in the hands of the Justices, I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will determine that the...

Your latest post on Summum should make it clear to lawyers and non-lawyers alike that this case was, is and should forever be seem as a case about whether the government can prefer some religions over others and promote their...

Pleasant Grove City, Utah, has a website.  It also has a park.  In that park is a monument containing the Ten Commandments.  Some years back, a religious group called Summum asked to put up its own monument in the same...

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Barry, I am sympathetic with the frustration felt by many pastors who try to fully articulate their religious worldviews during the election season while having to censor themselves due to the IRS gag rule. As I have stated before, I...

Barry, we both agree that our constitutional tradition continues to recognize the freedom to speak from the pulpit about the moral issues of the day. We obviously disagree, however, on whether "Big Brother" government surveillance, investigation, and punishment of churches...

Jay, I know you were at the annual Religion Newswriters Conference the other day and may have seen first-hand pollster John Green's startling-to-some news that after all the hyped up effort by Democratic Party officials to go after evangelicals, evangelicals...

It sounds like we may agree on some points again. The government is on shaky ground when it interferes with private speech due to its content, especially when private religious speech is targeted due to government disagreement with the message...

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As I mentioned previously, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, signed a proclamation which declared a week in October 2007 as "Christian Heritage Week" in Alaska. Governor Palin's acknowledgment of our nation's history and heritage is welcomed...

As some posters have already relayed to you, if this ticket doesn't deliver the conservative evangelical vote it is hard to imagine what would.You are certainly accurately describing her "Christian Heritage Week" resolution as a "real controversy". As you know,...

Let's me return to the Pew poll one more time.  It is a rich document for the statistically inclined.  I just wanted to reiterate that two thirds of the public does not like pastors, priests and other leaders using their...

The trends that Barry cited are interesting, but the Pew Research poll has other important findings that should be noted:   ·         "Roughly comparable numbers say political leaders express their religious beliefs too much (29%), too little (36%) or the...

It sounds like we have some agreement here, at least with respect to a conscientious refusal to take human life.   For example, we would both likely support a Louisiana conscience clause that states that no doctor or other person...

Barry, I am still waiting for the call to moderate The Saddleback Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion with you.  But alas, no offers.  Look, I think it's absolutely fine for the candidates to appear at Saddleback Church.  If the NAACP offers...

Let me say at the outset, that I am a fan of Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church in California.  His book, The Purpose Driven Life, has encouraged tens of thousands of people, and his ministries have had a global...