Religious Rights

A Christian student in the Los Angeles Community College District is carrying his free-speech case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Jonathan Lopez had an assignment in a public speaking class and was required to give an informative speech on any topic. Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney David Hacker tells OneNewsNow that Lopez chose to speak about his Christian beliefs. "And during that speech, when he mentioned that marriage is between a man and a woman according to his Christian beliefs, the professor called him this horrible name, refused to let him finish the assignment, and told other students in the class, 'If you're offended, you can leave,'" Hacker explains.

When no students left, the professor dismissed the class. Hacker adds that Lopez is an "A" student -- "but the problem is he never got a grade on that informative speech, and in fact, the professor wrote on his evaluation form, 'Ask God what your grade is.'"....

A judge in Montana has ruled against a high school valedictorian who wasn't allowed to speak at her graduation ceremony because she wanted to give God credit for her success. (See earlier article)

Rennee Griffith is now in her second year of college. She graduated from Butte High School in 2008 as one of the valedictorians, but when she submitted a draft of her speech to school authorities, her First Amendment rights were violated.

"She was asked, as were the other valedictorians, to speak about what helped them get through school. Some people wanted to thank the football coach or the track coach or their uncle or a particular teacher, and they were permitted to do that," explains Griffith's attorney, Bill O'Connor. "The only thing they would not permit, by their own admission, was...her to attribute any achievements to her belief in God."....

School officials are awaiting a federal court decision concerning the "period of silence" law in Illinois schools.

David Cortman, senior counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), tells OneNewsNow the moment of silence is designed for students, not teachers.

David Cortman (Alliance Defense Fund)"During that time [students] could think about whatever they want to, and heaven forbid they could pray, and some local atheists -- with the help of our friends at the ACLU -- decided to bring a challenge based on the so-called 'separation of church and state,'" Cortman explains.

The lawsuit was filed by an atheist who has filed other lawsuits in the past targeting religion. The ADF attorney notes: "What's interesting here, this is not only a challenge to vocal prayer, this is actually a challenge to silent prayer. Apparently the idea of prayer is so threatening that it's something he doesn't even want people to be able to perform silently or even think about."....

Georgetown, South Carolina, will have a student prayer group at the local high school, in spite of complaints by Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU).

A private citizen had been conducting a before-school prayer session for years and passing out literature until Americans United complained that the practice violated the federal Equal Access Act. Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel believes AU has an agenda to wipe out Christian viewpoints and Christian expression, and he believes the prayer group was constitutional.

"I know that at the end of the day, the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State have to bite their tongues because they know that they don't have any defense other than intimidation and smokescreen," Staver comments.

Matt StaverHe also cites a legal case that would have protected the private citizen who led the sessions...

A federal lawsuit has been filed against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, challenging the constitutionality of the recently enacted federal "Hate Crimes Act."

The lawsuit was filed against Holder by the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) on behalf of three Michigan pastors and the president of the American Family Association of Michigan. Robert Muise, senior trial counsel for the TMLC and the attorney handling the case, tells OneNewsNow this law, attached to a defense authorization bill that the president signed last October, is political payoff.  read more »

More than 150 leaders across a spectrum of conservative Christianity on Friday released a 4,700-word document vowing civil disobedience if they are forced to take part in "anti-life acts" or bless gay marriages.

Called the "Manhattan Declaration," the six-page, single-spaced document was drafted by Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, an evangelical, and Princeton University professor Robert P. George, a Roman Catholic, and included a bevy of Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox bishops, archbishops and cardinals as signatories along with dozens of clergy and laity...

WASHINGTON — The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington says it won't continue social service programs it runs for the District if the proposed same-sex marriage law isn't changed.

The bill states religious organizations wouldn't have to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings, but they must obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

Opponents say the religious liberty exemption is too narrow...

A Christian evangelist who was once arrested, jailed, and charged under Pennsylvania's hate crimes law says the federal hate crimes bill signed into law by President Obama is one of the most dangerous laws in the history of the United States.

With the stroke of President Obama's pen yesterday, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act became law. It creates additional penalties for violent crimes motivated by the victim's "actual or perceived" gender, "gender identity," sexual orientation, or disability.

Michael Marcavage, director of Philadelphia-based Repent America, was one of 11 Christians who were jailed and charged with a hate crime for carrying Bible verse banners and preaching at a 2004 homosexual pride event in Philadelphia...

The legal effort to halt prayer at presidential inaugurations continues.

Atheist Michael Newdow -- along with numerous other individuals and atheist groups -- filed the lawsuit which was lost in federal district court. They have now appealed to the federal DC Circuit Court of Appeals, continuing their efforts to ban prayers they say make them "sick to their stomach."

Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) says complaints from atheists in the appeals court are extreme...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is taking up a long-running legal fight over a cross honoring World War I soldiers that has stood for 75 years on public land in a remote part of California.

The cross, on an outcrop known as Sunrise Rock in the Mojave National Preserve, has been covered in plywood for the past several years following federal court rulings that it violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment prohibition against government endorsement of religion.

The justices were to hear arguments Wednesday in a case the court could use to make an important statement about its view of the separation of church and state. The Obama administration is defending the presence of the cross, which court papers describe as being 5 to 8 feet tall...