Lisa Graybill, of the Texas ACLU, spoke in Houston to the local chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
     Lisa is the legal director of the organization.  She directed her audience to understand that the biggest complaint she had about the mingling of church and state is in the arena of public education.  

We are delighted to welcome Dan Quinn, Communications Director of the Texas Freedom Network, as a guest front pager. His post is a reminder that the culture war remains hot as a wildfire and is being waged on many fronts. -- FC

In March the Texas State Board of Education succeeded in opening public school science classrooms to creationist attacks on evolution. Having done what it could to muck up the science curriculum, the board's far-right bloc is now moving to politicize the state's social studies classrooms. How? By stacking an important "expert" curriculum panel with religious extremists like David Barton and the Rev. Peter Marshall -- two prominent names in the movement to destroy church-state separation and convince Americans that the country should be run on conservative Christian biblical principles.

Each of the past few springs I have helped man a period display at the Sam Houston Museum.  About thirty miles from my home is what is billed as the largest statue of its kind...a huge statue of Houston.  When Sam Houston was baptized in a tributary of the Barzos River, the Baptist pastor asked the  leader how it felt to have his sins washed away? Houston was supposed to have responded, "Lord help the fish down stream."  The famous Texan was known as the general who defeated Spanish troops. His largest legacy, for which he lost friends and influence in the state, was to call for Texas to stay in the union after the Civil War.  Houston, like Lee, wanted to keep the country united as one.  Such a vision would make it the most powerful nation in the world in the future.

From time to time I have made note of the actions of the Slavic Evangelical immigrants here in Sacramento. A couple of days ago a group of Slavic Evangelical students were able to pull off a coup which is unprecedented in California community colleges or university history as they sit on the Student Council of the American River Community College, Sacramento, and passed a resolution to support Proposition 8, a ballot initiative which would overturn the recent California Supreme Court ruling allowing same sex marriage in California.

(In light of the recent decision of the Louisiana House to allow the teaching of creationism in the state's public schools, and Governor Bobby Jindal's recent notoriety, Barbara Forrest's guest front page post last Fall is as timely now as it was then.) We are honored to welcome Barbara Forrest back as a guest front pager. She was a key expert witness in the landmark federal case Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District. Her testimony proved that "intelligent design" was nothing more than hastily dressed-up creationism -- the teaching of which had already been found to be unconstitutional. She is a member of the board of the National Center for Science Education -- FC

There are times when “neutrality” isn’t neutral, when a desire to appear unbiased betrays a bias. The Texas Education Agency’s reluctance to appear biased in favor of evolution and against intelligent design (ID) creationism is one of those times.

Proponents of the intelligent design theory of the universe have apparently forced out the science curriculum director of the Texas Education Agency. What precipitated the resignation  the Austin-American Statesman reports, was that Chris Comer forwarded an email from her office computer promoting a public talk by Barbara Forrest, a prominent academic critic of ID. Comer is accused of being biased over the matter, which is still a matter of considerable contention in Texas education politics.

The 2006 federal court decision in Kitzmiller vs. Dover, which thorougly debunked ID as legitimate science, was based in considerable part on Forrest's testimony.

We are honored to welcome Barbara Forrest as a guest front pager. She was a key expert witness in the landmark federal case Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District. Her testimony proved that "intelligent design" was nothing more than hastily dressed-up creationism -- the teaching of which had already been found to be unconstitutional. She is a member of the board of the National Center for Science Education -- FC

When Bobby Jindal ran for governor of Louisiana in 2003, his support for teaching creationism surfaced during the campaign. Since his defeat in that race and subsequent election to the U.S. House of Representatives, he has continued to tour the state, often speaking at churches. Last fall, he toured north Louisiana churches with Republican Religious Right operative David Barton, who promotes the myth that the United States was founded politically as a Christian nation. During his 2007 campaign for governor, Jindal has largely avoided public forums in which he might be asked unexpected questions, and the media either are unaware of or have avoided covering Jindal's activities with Barton. The Louisiana Democratic Party launched a series of ads regarding Jindal's religious views that have obscured the true issue: his alliance with the Religious Right. What follows is a letter I wrote to a local Louisiana newspaper in order to accurately inform the public about Jindal's creationism and alliance with Barton.

Aired last Wednesday and scheduled again for the 10PM to Midnight slot this evening, a segment entitled "God, Faith, and Hard Science" on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees show featured Robert Boston of Americans United For The Separation of Church and State and Charmaine Yoest of the Family Research Council sparring over what should be included in the science curriculum of American public schools [ here's a transcript ] The segment has gotten fair play in the blogosphere, on PZ Meyers' Pharyngula and elsewhere, and I would like to highlight an aspect of what Dr. Yoest said that intrigues me. Now, I want to preface this by saying that I haven't been able to reach the Family Research Council to verify that Dr. Yoest was actually speaking as an official representative for the FRC... [ note : don't miss the Blogswarm Against Theocracy this April 6-9 ]

Last March 31, 2006, I covered the Christian right's war on public education and a Department of Education commissioned study that revealed public schools, if anything, outperform their private school counterparts. But, does Amway fortune heir Dick Devos care, or does he view institutions of public education, that Jefferson saw as integral to American Democracy, as obstacles in the way of a long range scheme to undermine democracy ? In a 2002 Heritage Institute address Devos, a leader in the war on public education who wants Intelligent Design in schools, is associated with Christian Reconstructionist views, and has been a significant funder of the "Council On National Policy" and served as the CNP's president in the late 1980's, outlined a "stealth strategy" for eliminating public schools. If DeVos succeeds in his jihad against public schools and American Democracy, maybe his brother-in-law Erik Prince, who owns Blackwater USA, the subject of a new expose by Jeremy Scahill and possibly the most powerful private mercenary army in the world, could help out with the ensuing anarchy... for a price, of course. (See Nation article on Blackwater, or full story for video with Jeremy Scahill )

'Christian Nation' Mythos Enters America's Public Schools, As 'Bible Curriculum' Reportedly in 382 School Districts [ note: see full story for Norris video ]

Martial arts maven Chuck Norris, legend has it, can defeat packs of savage wild animals, hordes of vicious, armed goons, and even onrushing Mack trucks with nothing more than his hands and feet. Now, Norris wants to kick secularism's ass - he wants the Bible back in public schools. But roundhouse kicks or even the "claw of death" are not especially useful for slipping a sectarian Bible course curriculum touting fake history into public schools. Stealthy, social tactics are needed. Will Chuck Norris become a Liar For Jesus ? We don't yet know but Norris has touted the work of the National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools as it sneaks, in a slick wrapper of dubious and flat-out fraudulent takes on American history, its Christian nationalist Bible course curriculum into public schools, cities, and towns across America. Meet the The National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools (NCBCPS), a stealth effort associated with the far right Council On National Policy and led by a woman who has said God has commanded her to bring the Bible back into public education.

Those who still doubt there are links between Southern Baptists and theocratic Christian Reconstructionists should look inside the front cover of the December 2004 issue of the Chalcedon Report. There the chief publishing house for Reconstructionist thought, Chalcedon, announces that it has published Bruce Shortt's book, The Harsh Truth About Public Schools. Bruce Shortt, along with T.C. Pinckney, leads the movement against public schools within the Southern Baptist Convention.

Ethics Daily quotes a leader of the movement to get Southern Baptists to leave public schools as saying,

"This year has actually been a breakthrough year."

His resolution to devise an "exit strategy" from public schools was replaced by a resolution for Baptists to, in effect, takeover the boards of education at public schools.

Reconstructionist thought has a special attraction for rural Americans.  A glance at R. J. Rushdoony's explanation of the biblical tithe in his Institutes for Biblical Religion reveals why.

Rural America subsists mostly on farming and ranching.  Every decade, for more than a generation, greater challenges have threatened the economic survival of those that live in these communities.  Every year the population of small towns decline as the elderly die, the young move to the cities to find work, and the rest live from one day to the next.  Foreclosures by banks for unpaid mortgages and by local governments for unpaid taxes have been commonplace.  Bad weather, bad luck and bad policies by civil bureaucrats have caused thousands of small farmers and ranchers to lose homesteads that have been in their families for generations.  Resentment is strong, conspiracy theories are rampant, and every possible scapegoat is actively pursued.

Ethics Daily has posted a free 20 page resource guide for advocacy and action in support of public schools.

This is a very good way to begin moving from Talk to Action on this issue of vital importance to democracy.

Below the fold is a section that I prepared for the guide on "Rights and Responsibilities" in regard to religion in the public schools.

The Baptist Center for Ethics has issued a Pastoral Letter Affirming Public Schools. It has been signed by scores of Baptist pastors and moderate Baptist denominational leaders.

Here's a quote from an article about the letter in today's Ethics Daily:

Years ago I was asked to participate in a panel discussion of Charles Haynes and Oliver Thomas' Finding Common Ground:  A First Amendment Guide to Religion and Public Education.  The book examines the controversies that are making public schools the frontline in America's culture wars and seeks to find some common ground on which to restore confidence in our schools.  Below are some of the remarks I made at that panel discussion.

In "The Manufactured Crisis: "Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America's Public Schools" Dr. David Berliner and Bruce Biddle argued that ongoing criticism of America's public schools is baseless and partisan.  [read review of book in Christian Ethics Today]. A new study released January 2006, funded by the US Department of Education, by researchers at the University of Illinois at Champagne Urbana rebuts  claims on the alleged low performance of public schools [ click here for PDF of full report ]. Meanwhile, the ongoing assault on America's public schools comes from many quarters   [ see full story ]

Thomas Jefferson was convinced that democracy depended on a well-educated citizenry and he was right.  Our nation's founders rejected the rule of divinely ordained aristocratic elites.  We were to be governed by the common consent of the people.  That meant every citizen would need an education.

All of us need to be able to comprehend the issues and weigh the opinions necessary to render an informed decision whenever we are called upon to fulfill our civic duties.  The duties of free citizens are not responsibilities that anyone should take lightly.  They range from voting in elections, to holding public office, to serving on juries that make decisions over matters of life and death.

Evolution and religion:  Do they conflict?  

Not necessarily.  

Whether evolution conflicts with religion depends upon the context in which the theory of evolution is presented.  When evolution is discussed within the context of scientific inquiry and experimentation, there is no conflict.  When evolution is discussed within the context of philosophical and religious inquiry, conflicts may arise -- but such conflict is neither necessary nor inevitable.

Pat Robertson doesn't bother to take his foot out of his mouth before he puts the other one in.

Now he's calling professors "termites" and "killers."

Public Schools are the frontlines in the culture war that conservative Christians are waging in this country.   They have been since the day that they were integrated.

Ethics Daily has published a couple insightful articles regarding the latest developments in the battle to destroy America's public school system.  Bob Allen has written an essay about a new "Christian book" that "says Public Schools Subvert Parental Rights."  He goes on to describe recent challenges to public schools coming from every quarter of the political and religious right.   Ed Hogan has written about his "Concerns about the 'Exodus' Movement."  The "Exodus" movement is an organized effort to get Christians to remove their children from public schools.

While most mainline Protestant denominations and evangelical churches have jettisoned some of the core tenets of Calvinism, ideas about punishment and retribution brought to our shores by early Calvinist settlers are so rooted in the American cultural experience and social traditions that many people ranging from religious to secular view them as simply "common sense." What Lakoff calls the "Strict Father" model gains it power among conservatives because it dovetails with their ideas of what is a common sense approach to morality, public policy, and crime.

Focus on the Family Vice President Tom Minnery wasn't very happy about my piece on James Dobson and the Christian right's ties to Jack Abramoff, "Abramoff's Evangelical Soldiers." Of course, he can't -- and doesn't -- dispute one single fact in the article. The Nation received this today:

It is good to see that The Evangelical Climate Initiative has received a great deal of media attention.
The interesting story here is that a group of relatively conservative Christians have come together to not only shake up the Republican status quo on environmental issues, but to directly challenge the loyal pro-Bush faction of the Christian Right.

One of my friends on Live Journal had an interesting post in her blog yesterday. In it, she talked about a chilling conversation she had with some Christian friends of hers, and their perception of 'persecution' and what it means for the rest of us.

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The infamous anti-Mohammed cartoons from Denmark have been published online by the Christian Communications Network (CCN), a Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm run by Christian right activist and anti-abortion crusader Gary McCullough. McCullough distributed press releases calling for even wider publication of the inflammatory cartoons, including one caricature of Muhammad with a fuse-lit bomb tucked in his turban, and another of the prophet on a cloud in paradise, telling newly arrived suicide bombers, "Stop, Stop! We have run out of virgins!"

Islamic tradition forbids any depiction of the religion's holiest figure; such stereotypical, bigoted cartoons have sparked protests across the Muslim world.

McCullough stated in interviews that no one paid him to post the cartoons, and that he is not "speaking on behalf of the Christian faith." McCullough claims to be making a brave stance against terrorist violence and intimidation by Islamic fundamentalists. However, he has a history of condoning intimidation and violence -- including killing -- in the name of Christ.

An article in a December 2005 issue of The Economist entitled
Churches as Businesses - Jesus, CEO adds info to the recent discussion on these pages about American Mega churches, with more focus on their power, organization and potential viral spread to Europe and beyond. Following in the footsteps of the rise of sales and business training combined with Christianity in the early 1900's ("Jesus as the greatest salesman"), the article illustrates how Christian churches are taking on corporate business models and terms, even coining the term "PastorPreneurs." As business models go, it's educational for progressives wondering how to build movements and organizations, and at the very least wondering how these churches got so large - and where they might be headed.

Are you a dominionist?  I'll skip over formal definitions, but suffice to say that it's a general category of people who are theocrats -- or people who may be headed in that direction.

Given the way things are going, it's probably good to check ourselves every once in awhile -- just as a precaution. We did this early in the life of this site, and I think it is time to do it again.

Fortunately, there is a free online test.

One of the hardest things to understand is how conservative Christians have become so politically active over the last 20-30 years. The political mobilization of conservative Christians has had to overcome significant resistance. Conservative Christians have not traditionally been that interested in politics and even to this day, the leadership in the churches, both small and large, are mostly not pushing an explicit political agenda. A recent study of mega-churches gives further evidence that political activity in these churches is mostly overstated by the media.