-Caveat Lector- from: AMERICAN ATHEISTS subject: AANEWS for May 7, 1999 A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S AANEWS #568 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5/7/99 http://www.atheists.org ftp.atheists.org/pub/atheists/ http://www.americanatheist.org --------------------------------------------- A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS "For Reason and the First Amendment" ---------------------------------------------- In This Issue... * Drug warrior calls for "Faith Initiative" * National Day of Prayer celebrated as Atheists protest * Canady ready to introduce new RLPA: ACLU balks at support * TheistWatch: Obedient, mindless kids? * Resources * About this list... DRUG CZAR USES NATIONAL PRAYER RALLY TO CALL FOR "FAITH" INITIATIVE White House drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey yesterday told the National Day of Prayer rally in Washington that the White House intends to enlist churches and other religious groups in its latest effort to combat substance abuse. Citing fond memories of his days in parochial school as well as the alleged power of prayer, McCaffrey unveiled the Anti-Drug Faith Initiative, declaring "Never before in our nation's history has it been more important to pray for our young people." The Washington Post noted, "The initiative is one of a growing number of partnerships between government, usually at the state level, and religious institutions." The drug war general declared that the program would "preserve the separation of church and state," since his Office of National Drug Control Policy would only make "suggestions to churches" about the various outreaches they could implement. "McCaffrey has already met with Christian and Jewish leaders around the country to try to start drug programs in their community," added the paper. McCaffrey's announcement was made at the Washington, D.C. rally for the National Day of Prayer forum on Capitol Hill. 400 people crowded into the Cannon House Office Building room, where Shirley Dobson -- wife of Focus on the Family head James Dobson -- opened the event. Press handouts noted that McCaffrey was "representing the executive branch" of government with his appearance at the controversial gatherings. Describing prayer and what he termed "the big S" of spirituality, McCaffrey opined that just as praying had helped soldiers in Vietnam, a generation later it could play a valuable role in the drug war. "Prayer comes before change," he said. "Insight precipitates behavior." "Faith-Based" Social Programs For state-church separationists, McCaffrey's remarks are a disturbing indicator of how far the rage with so-called "faith-based" initiatives and programs involving government and religion has gone. "Partnerships" between government agencies and religious organizations are widespread, and states like New Jersey have even established formal agencies to encourage such relationships. There is little oversight to guard against violations of the establishment clause. McCaffrey's "Faith Initiative" was presaged in June, 1997, when President Clinton signed into law the Drug-Free Communities Act. Gushing about the new legislation, Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH) declared that the legislation would "benefit communities that have mobilized key sectors -- parents, kids, businesses, churches, educators, law enforcement and others -- to reduce teenage drug use." While grants from such programs are theoretically not to be used for religious proselytizing, there is little oversight to ensure that faith-based organizations do not, in fact, use the funding in programs that subtly or overtly meld religious doctrine and "drug war" community efforts. McCaffrey's enthusiasm for prayer, as well as his willingness to share the podium with the fundamentalist-evangelical leadership of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, suggests that this "faith based" initiative could be another step in the goal of putting religious groups on the public payroll. ** Related Story... NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER CELEBRATED ACROSS NATION AS ATHEISTS PROTEST Organizers of Thursday's National Day of Prayer claimed that nearly 2 million people throughout the country turned out for breakfasts, lunches, rallies at government buildings and flagpoles and other activities to celebrate this year's event. 20,000 community gatherings were slated, including the NDOP rally on Capitol Hill at the House Office Building. Atheists responded with small but spirited and effective demonstrations in San Jose and Redding, California, and Dallas Texas. * In Washington, 400 "prayer warriors" crowded into the Cannon House Office Building to hear a battery of speakers introduced by National Day of Prayer Task Force head Shirley Dobson. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, told the group that "storm clouds are on the horizon and God is warning America." "We as a nation and we as a people must make a decision to accept God's authority," declared Graham. He added that the entertainment industry was responsible for widespread sex and violence throughout the culture. Graham is still being criticized for his remarks made recently at a state-sponsored memorial service for dead students in Littleton, Colorado. There, some religious leaders say that they were "hit over the head" by the Christian proselytizing of Graham and others, who turned the event into a pulpit for sectarian religious doctrine. The most controversial speaker at the Washington, D.C. gathering was Etowah County (Alabama) Judge Roy Moore, who has generated national controversy for displaying a Ten Commandments plaque in his courtroom, and opening judicial proceedings with a Baptist invocation. Citing the use of phrases such as "God save the court" at Supreme Court hearings, Moore scolded the nation's highest judicial body for restraining mandatory prayer and bible verse recitation in the public schools. "It is incongruous to forbid the states, in their courts or in their public schools, to acknowledge God in prayer." "The solution is not just to pray for schools," Moore declared. "The solution is to put prayer back in schools." Others speakers at the rally included drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey, Senate Chaplain Rev. Lloyd Ogilvie, Chicago Cardinal Francis George, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, and Rep. Steve Largent (R-OK). Congressman Largent told the congregation that "the single root problem" behind the Littleton shootings, the violence in Kosovo and disagreement in congress is alienation, which he said can be solved by prayer. "God has given His people a mandate when it comes to alienation." Chaplain Ogilvie declared that despite newspaper headlines in the secular press, "Some people in the political world are having an authentic experience with God. * Dallas was one of the two cities where Atheists actively turned out to protest National Day of Prayer activism. "Several hundred people" gathered in front of the "Old Red" courthouse, according to the Dallas Morning News. Also present was a contingent of First Amendment activists organized by Randall Gorman, Texas State Director for American Atheists. Mr. Gorman estimated the size of the NDOP crowd to be closer to 200, and noted that Atheists from as far away as Conroe, Texas made the trek to protest. "While the prayer group was setting up," noted Randall, "some of our protesters were mingling with the crowd which prompted two of the City of Dallas policemen on scene to lecture me on what our group could and could not do..." Local Christian radio talk jock Scott Wilder served as NDOP Master of Ceremonies, but singled out the American Atheist group to defend "our right to be there and our right to protest." Wilder interviewed Mr. Gorman later on his radio program. County Commissioner Jim Jackson also participated in the prayer events, insisting that the Atheist demonstration was a "compliment" to the Lord. "We had a couple of signs saying 'HONK IF YOU SUPPORT CHURCH/STATE SEPARATION,'" added Randall. "We got quite a bit of support from the passing motorists..." Other signs declared DON'T PRAY IN PUBLIC -- MATTHEW 6:5-6 and NO PRAYER IN GOVERNMENT. Randall informs us that a good time was had by all who participated, and that following the successful protest action, the contingent adjourned not for prayer and meditation, but a celebration at a nearby TGI-Fridays restaurant. * Atheists in San Jose and Reddington, California protested their local National Day of Prayer activities. We are still awaiting a report on the Reddington action, but in San Jose, activist John Messina attracted a crowd with his famous "Uncle Sam" outfit and signs defending the separation of church and state. Photos are now up on our web site at http://www.americanatheist.org * Minnesota Governor Jesse "The Mind" Ventura, an Atheist, refused to issue a proclamation supporting the National Day of Prayer. "I believe in the separation of church and state," the former wrestler declared. "We all have our own religious beliefs. There are people out there who are atheists, who don't believe at all. They are all citizens of Minnesota and I have to respect that." * In Colorado, the National Day of Prayer event in Denver was quickly turned into a memorial service dwelling on the religious implications of the Columbine High School shootings last months in Littleton. Former U.S. Senator Hank Brown told an audience of 1,100 "All of us must go out and make a difference from this moment on," adding that the gun play would reshape Coloradoans forever. Also in attendance were Gov. Bill Owen, Lt. Governor Joe Rogers and Public Safety Director Butch Montoya. According to a story in the Denver Rocky Mountain News, "The governor added that Coloradoans have a choice -- to forever associate Columbine with 'two horribly flawed killers,' or to associated it with two other teen-agers, Cassie Bernall and Valeen Schnurr, who at the point of a gun professed their belief in God." Brown, President of the University of Northern Colorado, cited Bible passage passages from the Book of Job, and questioned the idea that good people can expect to lead comfortable and safe lives. "What if the purpose of our earthly existence is not to live in a paradise, but to test and train us for the next life?" he mused. ** SUPPORT DISINTEGRATING AS CANADY PREPARES TO SUBMIT NEW RELIGIOUS LIBERTY PROTECTION ACT Amidst reports on capitol hill that Rep. Charles Canady will be introducing a new version of the Religious Liberty Protection Act (RLPA) , a key organization which had supported similar legislation has broken ranks and says it will oppose the rewritten bill. In midweek, the American Civil Liberties Union confirmed earlier rumors, and formally announced that it could not support RLPA or other attempts to trump the nation's anti-discrimination laws under the veil of religious practice. The move was made public in a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives released Wednesday, May 5 and signed by ACLU Director Laura W. Murphy, Legislative Counsel Christopher E. Anders, and Legislative Analyst Terri A. Schroeder. "The ACLU regrets that we have no choice but to ask you to refrain from supporting RLPA," declared the organization. Citing the group's long-standing commitment to the First Amendment and civil rights, it added "We are no longer part of the coalition supporting RLPA because we could not ignore the potentially severe consequences that RLPA may have on state and local civil rights laws..." ACLU had been a founder of the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion, the group which crafted and promoted the earlier version of RLPA known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, RFRA. The coalition included Roman Catholics, Jews, Protestants, Scientologists, Humanists, Muslims, Hindus and others, as well as ACLU and other separationist-civil liberties groups. American Atheists, however, opposed RFRA from the beginning, charging that the legislation was violative of the First Amendment and created "special rights" for religious groups. RFRA and RLPA both require government to use a "compelling interest/least restrictive means" test when dealing with churches and other faith-based organizations or practices. Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, charged that the measure "clearly favors religious groups over private individuals, secular organizations and businesses," and fostered a "dual standard of justice." The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the 1997 BOERNE v. FLORES case. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio had gone to court and cited RFRA when it was denied a permit to demolish most of an old church which had fallen under the control of local historic preservation laws of the City of Boerne, Texas. Concurring with the 6-3 majority in BOERNE, Justice John Paul Stevens declared that RFRA was violative of the establishment clause, and provided churches and other religious groups "with a legal weapon which no atheist or agnostic could hope to obtain." Technical aspects of the BOERNE v. FLORES decision, though, left the door open for state-level versions of RFRA, which have proliferated across the nation. In addition, the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion created a new "son-of-RFRA" measure which has been promoted as the Religious Liberty Protection Act. Different versions have been presented and are currently in legislative limbo in the House and Senate. ACLU now charges that under the version of RLPA about to be reintroduced by Rep. Canady, "applicants may soon find themselves without legal protections under state and local laws against landlords or employers who base their hiring or rental decisions on personally invasive questions... " They included, "Is that your spouse? Are those your children? Are you straight or gay? Are you pregnant? What is your religion..." Behind The Scenes: RLPA Supporters Divided Over Wor In addition to requiring a "compelling interest/least restrictive means" test which government must employ when dealing with religious groups or practices, RLPA legislation incorporates certain clauses to justify the application of the test. One version, for instance, used a "commerce clause" that empowered and justified the legislation, since money passed through churches or faith-based groups. Language in the proposal enjoined government from substantially burdening religious liberty "in or affecting commerce." This led to concerns among certain RLPA/RFRA boosters, though, such as the Home School Legal Defense group headed by Michael Farris. They feared that the "commerce clause" could backfire, and be used as a rationale to eventually tax churches. Farris warned the Constitution Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee last July that Congress could not "employ an expansive theory of the commerce clause to protection religious freedom without violating crucial constitutional principles and without denigrating the role and meaning of religious faith in our society." The clause was dropped in the last legislative session after behind-the-scenes dealing between Farris and capitol hill brokers. The "money" or "finance" clause is even more convoluted and obscure in its application. As with earlier versions, Canady's soon-to-be introduced Religious Liberty Protection Act will rely on Congress' constitutional power to spend public funds. Constitutional attorney Marci Hamilton, who successfully defended the City of Boerne, Texas in the BOERNE v. FLORES case, thinks that the Canady version will still be vulnerable not only on the First Amendment establishment clause grounds, but from the "money" clause as well. "There has to be some connection between the 'Spending' clause and the purpose of the legislation," she told AANEWS in an interview yesterday. Hamilton cited the Supreme Court's decision in the 1987 case SOUTH DAKOTA v. DOLE, where justices examined congressional legislation that required states to raise their legal drinking age to twenty-one as a condition for receiving federal highway funds. South Dakota challenged the stipulation, insisting that the requirement violated congressional power under the spending clause. The court ruled 7-2 that federal grants to the states could include restrictions if the spending was in the "general welfare," that the conditions were "Unambiguous," that they could not be unrelated to "the federal interest in particular national projects or programs," and finally did not run afoul of "other constitutional provisions..." Simply put, since the funds were for highway construction, the federal government could argue that drunk driving was a problem on highways and thus the conditions passed constitutional muster. Hamilton suggests that RLPA supporters may be hard-pressed to justify the legislation using the spending or "money" clause. She noted that the court may be demanding even stricter standards than were used in SOUTH DAKOTA v. DOLE, and noted shifts in the make of the present court. Coming to the fore along with Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas would be Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who dissented in the SOUTH DAKOTA case; she argued that even tighter standards were necessary, namely a "nexus" between the government financial involvement and the conditional stipulation. Thus, even a more conservative high court may not look with favor upon the Religious Liberty Protection Act if it attempts to use a spending clause as a foundation. RLPA -- What's Ahead? Sources tell AANEWS that the national American Civil Liberties Union began having serious concerns about RLPA late last summer following congressional hearings. In addition, organizations like the Christian Legal Society may be supporting RLPA and RFRA legislation in hopes that it will somehow allow religionists to trump local and state anti-discrimination ordinances, especially those which protect unmarried or same-sex couples. Meanwhile, the defection of the ACLU is a serious blow to the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion; it could lead to an exodus of liberal faith and political groups, including People for the American Way, which up to now have agreed to work with religious right RLPA boosters such as Traditional Values Coalition. ACLU also objected to state RFRA proposals that exempted prisoners from coverage of the legislation -- something which posed a major obstacle in Michigan, California and elsewhere. It is reported that Rep. Canady hopes to reintroduce his "new" Religious Liberty Protection Act shortly. ** THEISTWATCH SHORT SHOTS In our AANEWS for April 28, 1999 we profiled a "character education" program in Florida head by an evangelical extremist. Children at the Charter School of Excellence were being trained in this program, which included the mindless and repetitive recitation of the following frightening ditty... "Obedience is listening attentively, Obedience will take instructions joyfully, Obedience heeds wishes of authorities, Obedience will follow orders instantly, For when I am busy at work or play, And somebody calls my name, I'll answer right away! I'll be ready with a smile to go the extra mile As soon as I can say 'Yes, Sir!' 'Yes ma'am!' Hup, two, three!" That promoted the following letter from AANEWS reader Christian Sturh: Indeed. I was born in war-torn Germany in 1942. And my Grade One teacher was a veteran of that war. The first thing we learned was a little poem: "Grade sitzen Ohren spitzen, Haende falten, Schnabel halten." It rhymes in German. An English approximation: "Sit up straight, cock your ears, fold your hands, shut your mouth." The second thing we learned was that if we did not do any of those things, we would be caned mercilessly in front of the entire class. This passed for education in immediate postwar Germany. But hey! It did not require gifted teachers, and it enabled one teacher to maintain effective control over a very large class. So it was a bargain. Apparently, it is a fine model for North American schools in the cost-conscious 90s. 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