church and state
Supreme Court to Hear Public Prayer Case
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case during its next term about whether a town that opened its public meetings with prayer violated the Constitution.
Georgia Governor Orders Bibles Returned to State-Owned Parks
Ed Buckner, an atheist, didn’t like the fact that Bibles were in cabins at Georgia state parks, so he protested and they were removed while the state attorney general looked into the matter. Not long afterwards, however, the attorney general issued a ruling saying the state was on firm legal ground because it hadn't paid for the Bibles and therefore wasn't officially endorsing religion.
New Jersey Substitute Teacher Fired for Giving Student a Bible
New Jersey's Phillipsburg School District Board has suspended a longtime middle school substitute teacher, Walter Tutka, for breaking two district policies -- handing out religious literature on campus and not being neutral when talking about religious material – when he gave a student a Bible.
Holiday Intimidation: The Grinches vs. the First Amendment
It's almost Christmas, and you know what that means: candy canes and holly, mistletoe and reindeer -- and local Grinches who to try to steal Christmas.
Parents Say Christmas Carols are Form of Bullying
A group of parents in Missoula, Mont., are upset over the religious nature of Christmas songs performed at a local elementary school -- alleging the songs about Jesus are unconstitutional and a "form of bullying."
Church Cancels 'Charlie Brown' Over Atheist Outrage
A Little Rock church has canceled a matinee performance of "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown" for local school children after critics complained the show was too religious and therefore violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.
School Tells 6-Year-Old to Remove God from Poem Honoring Her Two Veteran Grandfathers
A North Carolina community is community is embroiled in controversy after a school ordered a 6-year-old girl to remove the word "God" from a poem she was supposed to read during a school assembly marking Veterans Day at West Marion Elementary School.
Judge Blocks Christmas Displays in Santa Monica After Atheist-Christian Spat
A federal judge on Monday denied a bid by churches to force city officials in Santa Monica, Calif., to reopen spaces in a city park to private displays, including life-sized Christmas nativity scenes.
Atheist Group Sues IRS Over Churches Endorsing Politics
After 1,586 pastors purposely broke the law Oct. 7 by endorsing political candidates from the pulpit, an atheist group has taken the bait and sued the Internal Revenue Service Wednesday for not taking action against these pastors’ churches.
Do We Need to Protect Religious Freedom in the Pulpit?
On October 7, pastors across the nation addressed issues during their Sunday sermons that should cause the IRS to come after them for "political speech." And that was precisely their intention.
