Appeals Court Should Strike Down the National Day of Prayer

Congress Has No Authority To Tell Americans When And How They Should Pray, Watchdog Group Says

October 08, 2010

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has asked a federal appeals court to find the congressionally mandated National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.

In a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Americans United urged the panel of judges to affirm a lower court decision that held the National Day of Prayer statute unconstitutional. Read more

Government Unconstitutionally Forced Idaho Inmate To Participate In Religion

Boise Rescue Mission Did Not Have Constitutional Right To Eject Woman From Religious Program And Send Her Back To Jail, Watchdog Group Says

October 06, 2010

Government may not force Americans to participate in religious indoctrination and courts must not interpret the Constitution in ways that allow such coercion, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

In a friend-of-the-court brief filed today, Americans United told a federal appeals court that an Idaho inmate was unfairly treated by a local judge and an Idaho homeless shelter that tried to force her to convert to Christianity and participate in Pentecostal worship. Read more

Iowa Church’s Election Campaign Against State Supreme Court Justices Merits IRS Investigation

Church’s Plan To Oust Judges Violates Federal Ban On Electioneering, Says AU's Lynn

September 30, 2010

 Americans United for Separation of Church and State today urged the Internal Revenue Service to investigate an Iowa church that is organizing a church-based campaign to unseat three justices from the Iowa Supreme Court.

Cornerstone World Outreach, a Sioux City congregation, is sponsoring Project Jeremiah, a church-based campaign to encourage voting against the judges in a retention election on the Nov. 2 ballot. Religious Right activists are seeking the defeat of the judges because they ruled in favor of extending civil-marriage rights to same-sex couples. Read more

IRS Should Investigate Oklahoma Church That Endorsed Gubernatorial Candidate, Says AU

Church-State Watchdog Group Calls On Tax Agency To Investigate Fairview Baptist Church For Illegal Electioneering

September 28, 2010

The Internal Revenue Service should investigate an Edmond, Okla., church whose pastor endorsed a gubernatorial candidate from the pulpit, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Pastor Paul Blair of Fairview Baptist Church endorsed Republican hopeful Mary Fallin from the pulpit during services Sept. 26.

Federal law prohibits all 501(c)(3) non-profit groups, which includes houses of worship, from intervening in elections by endorsing or opposing candidates for public office. Read more

Army Must Cancel Evangelistic Event At Fort Bragg, Says AU

Church-State Watchdog Group Demands Military Officials Drop ‘Rock The Fort’ Event Featuring Franklin Graham Ministry

September 23, 2010

An evangelistic rally jointly sponsored by U.S. military personnel and evangelical Christian churches and ministries violates the U.S. Constitution and must be cancelled, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Read more

AU Advises Churches To Reject Religious Right's Pulpit Politicking Scheme

Watchdog Group’s Letter Campaign Counters Alliance Defense Fund’s Misguided ‘Pulpit Freedom Sunday’

September 22, 2010

Americans United for Separation of Church and State is urging houses of worship to reject Religious Right appeals to politicize their pulpits.

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a group founded and funded by TV preachers, is urging evangelical pastors to openly break federal tax law this Sunday by using the pulpit to endorse or oppose candidates. The ADF calls its stunt “Pulpit Freedom Sunday.” Read more

AU, Allies Urge Federal Appeals Court To Rehear Case Challenging Religiously Based Hiring Bias

Religious Groups That Accept Tax Funding Should Not Be Able To Fire Staff For Being The ‘Wrong’ Religion, Says AU’s Lynn

September 20, 2010

Americans United for Separation of Church and State and allied groups have asked a federal appellate court to reconsider a decision dealing with religious bias in hiring at publicly funded “faith-based” charities.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently that World Vision, an evangelical Christian relief agency, had the right to fire workers who hold views that conflict with the agency’s religious viewpoint. Read more

Religious Right Hopes to Board the Tea Party Express and Ride Back Into Power

‘Values Voter Summit’ May Lead To Marriage Of Convenience

September 16, 2010

Religious Right leaders will be busy this weekend trying to line up a merger with the increasingly powerful Tea Party movement, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

With hundreds of Religious Right activists gathering in Washington, D.C., for the annual “Values Voter Summit,” analysts are examining the relationship between these two powerful political forces -- and the role of religion and politics in the 2010 election season. Read more

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