-Caveat Lector-
from: AMERICAN ATHEISTS
subject: AANEWS for August 26, 1999
A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
#630~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8/26/99
http://www.atheists.org
ftp.atheists.org/pub/atheists/
http://www.americanatheist.org
---------------------------------------------
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS
"Leading The Way For Atheist Civil Rights
And The Separation Of State and Church"
----------------------------------------------
In This Issue...
* Judge halts voucher program in Cleveland
* Southern Regional Atheist Meet, September 26 in Chattanooga
* Dobson claims pastors vulnerable to smut surfing!
* Jersey Atheist group organizing
* Resources
* About this list...
GRUDGE MATCH LOOMING IN COURT AS JUDGE BLOCKS CLEVELAND
VOUCHER PROGRAM FOR RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS
In a major setback to government funding of private, sectarian
schools, a U.S. District Court has put the brakes on Cleveland's
voucher programming, saying that it violated the separation of church
and state. The action put an immediate freeze on payments to the
parents of some 4,000 students covered by the four-year old program
who attend 56 private schools in the metropolitan area. According to
the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspapers, more than half of those
students are in schools operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Cleveland.
As a result of the decision, parents who have children in the voucher
schools will be responsible for any tuition if they decide to keep
their youngsters enrolled. Public school classes began yesterday, and
a spokesperson for the Cleveland school system that that there was "no
problem" in absorbing new students from the religious and private
schools.
U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr. ruled on Tuesday that "The
Cleveland program has the primary effect of advancing religion," and
noted that the voucher program "provided unrestricted grants to
parents as tuition reimbursement for their children to attend
nonpublic schools, the bulk of which is concededly sectarian in
orientation."
Oliver's decision had mixed impact on parents and students
participating in voucher schools. As of Wednesday, classes at 20 of
the 56 schools covered by the program had resumed; in some cases, like
St. Francis School, parents were told that they would not be held
liable for any tuition fees during the legal appeal to the judge's
ruling. Sister Karen Somerville, principle at the school warned, that
"If it doesn't get overturned, the parents may have to pay," but
added: "Judging from the phone calls I'm getting, parents will do
everything they can to keep their child here."
The Cleveland voucher plan began as an "experiment" four years ago,
and provides mostly lower-income families with up to $2.250 per child
that can be used for tuition at private and sectarian schools. The
first payments for this year's program are due in October; but Judge
Oliver opined that he was unlikely to reconsider his ruling. The
Cleveland program was considered a pioneering experiment, and was the
first voucher program to fund religious schools. An earlier voucher
scheme in Milwaukee which began in 1990 excluded sectarian schools,
but included Parochial and other religious schools once the Cleveland
program was established.
Reacting to Wednesday's ruling, Ohio Attorney General Betty D.
Montgomery filed an emergency appeal with the 6th Circuit U.S. Court
of Appeals in Cincinnati. Judge Oliver's decision was also criticized
by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which in an editorial titled "Voucher
vulture," said that the "last-minute" ruling inconvenienced families
and schools because of "an act of arrogance, carelessness and utter
disregard for the needs of children across the city." But opponents
of the voucher program had warned for years that it could be found
unconstitutional, and have a negative impact on Cleveland's already
cash-strapped public school system. In addition, state education
officials had recommended removal of three private schools from
coverage by the program due to unsafe conditions and unlicensed staff
members.
A Blatant Religious Message...
Oliver's opinion included citation of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court
ruling in COMMITTEE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION v. NYQUIST, where a New York
State law establishing vouchers for private schools was invalidated.
The high court noted that the program advanced religion and violated
the establishment clause of the Constitution since most of the schools
receiving public monies were sectarian. Oliver said that a similar
situation existed in the Cleveland scheme, and pointed to a section of
a handbook for parents from one voucher school which decreed, "a child
needs to hear and learn the word of God constantly, and this can be
done only when the entire curriculum and the life of the school is
grounded in the word of God and dedicated to the purpose of showing
the love of the Savior to a world which without Him, would be lost
forever."
Fallout from Judge Oliver's ruling may also confirm the dependency of
religious schools on state aid. In addition to the majority of the
schools covered by the voucher system being affiliated with the Roman
Catholic Church, "Nearly all of the 56 private schools that planned to
participate in the voucher program offer religious instruction," noted
the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A principal at one voucher school
operated by Westside Baptist Christian Church said that it may not be
able to survive without government assistance, and that more than 25%
of enrolled students attend thanks to the help of voucher
scholarships.
Legal Grudge Match Looming
In additional to pointing out the First Amendment problems with
voucher programs, Judge Oliver's decision is also significant since it
halts a program that has been operating for four years. It is only
the second time a Federal court has considered the issue of vouchers;
the first case was earlier this year when a request by three families
in Maine to use public money for tuition at a Roman Catholic school
was denied. In May, the Ohio State Supreme Court struck down
vouchers, but based its decision mainly on the technicality that the
legislation establishing the program was illegal since it was a
budgetary amendment rather than a separate bill.
The state is asking the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to freeze
Oliver's ruling and allow the voucher program to operate as an appeal
is launched. A decision on allowing the program to continue could
come this week. Voucher programs are underway elsewhere as well; in
Florida, that state's voucher scheme is already being challenged after
being implemented by the legislature. As legal challenges reach
federal courts, it becomes increasingly likely that the U.S. Supreme
Court will eventually be forced to decide whether or not programs in
Cleveland and other states do, in fact, violate the separation of
church and state.
**
SOUTHERN REGIONAL ATHEIST MEET (RAM) SCHEDULED FOR
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 IN CHATTANOOGA, TN.
Mark your calendar, and plan to get there -- by car, plane, or even
the famous choo-choo. American Atheists will host the Southern
Regional Atheist Meet (RAM) on Sunday, September 26 in Chattanooga,
Tennessee at the beautiful Radisson Read House at 827 Broad Street.
The Regional Atheist Meet (RAM) is a one-day conference organized by
American Atheists which features lectures, panels and social events.
Speakers for the Southern RAM include:
* Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists speaking on "The Need
for Atheist Activism."
* Carletta Sims, Tennessee State Director, American Atheists. Ms.
Sims will discuss her role as an activist defending the wall of
separation between church and state in the Bible belt.
* Allen Snyder, Department of Philosophy at West Virginia University
will discuss his intellectual journey toward Atheism.
* Michael Chandler, Assistant Vice Principle will discuss his fight to
preserve the First Amendment in DeKalb County, Alabama schools.
* Conrad Goeringer, Contributing Editor and Staff Writer for American
Atheist Magazine will speak on "Apocalypse Now? Date-Setting, 'Signs
& Wonders,' the Antichrist and Other Artifacts of the Millenarian
Imagination."
and... * A special guest appearance by a leading constitutional
attorney who will address the problems encountered with state and
countries infringing on the Bill of Rights!.
Check your membership newsletter or the American Atheists web site at
http://www.atheists.org/tn/ for more details -- but mark your calendar
now, and plan on attending the Southern RAM!
**
DOBSON GROUP: CHRISTIAN PASTORS "ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE"
TO SECRET SMUT SURFING, PORN
One would think that a regimen of prayer and total immersion in the
religious lifestyle would distract one from the temptations of the
flesh. Not so say Promise Keepers cheerleader Jack Hayford, family
values guru James Dobson, and a growing chorus of men of the cloth.
Religion Today news service reports, "The temptation to indulge in
pornography, and become addicted 'is increasingly a problem' among
Christian leaders," according to Steve Waters, an analyst for Dobson's
Focus on the Family group in Colorado. Waters adds that a steady flow
of letters and phone calls to the Focus group confirms the gravity of
the problem, and that the villains responsible are cable television
and the internet.
Indeed, Jack Hayford -- a "signs and wonders" evangelist active in the
Promise Keepers movement told a PK rally in Hartford, Conn. recently
that he was tempted just by flipping the television channels --
supposedly for CNN and ESPN -- when he happened to run across a
scrambled X-rated program. "As the fleeting image of a naked woman
crossed the screen," noted Religion Today, "he (Hayford) continued
flipping channels, but wondered what was on the X-rated Station."
Hayford told his fellow PKers, "I know the channel number still, but
it doesn't even tempt me, brother."
Or does it?
The Focus group, sensing a growing problem with the "vulnerability" of
Christian leaders to pornography, says that stress is somehow
responsible for this seduction of the flesh. "Pastors as a group can
be drained in their role as shepherds," declared Waters.. "After a
long weekend of giving, there is no one around on Monday morning to
talk to. Now something that has been off-limits is available
privately. It seems like a safe area to explore. Some justify their
exploring by wanting to know what the problem is all about, and then
get sucked in themselves."
As a result, Dobson has organized a Focus-sponsored website known as
Pure Intimacy, and expanded portions of his "Pasonage" internet page
to warn visitors, including fellow clergy, about the alleged seductive
potency of pornography. "1 in every 7 calls we receive on our
pastoral care line is regarding Internet pornography," Dobson claims.
"Some of the counseling centers we are in touch with who specialize in
clergy addiction are booked up months in advance with pastor clients."
Factors contributing to this are "Thousands of pornographic websites,"
the private and confidential nature of internet surfing, the
accessibility of pornography and the fact, according to Dobson, that
"Men are the most vulnerable to visual images." Another section on
the "Parsonage" page adds that "Many offenses occur in the pastor's
study at church during working hours..."
But beyond Dobson's claims and some anecdotal testimony from Christian
celebrities, there is little evidence to support the notion that
clergy are more "vulnerable" to smut surfing than any other
occupation, or suffer higher rates of stress. That hasn't prevented
Dobson from purchasing $24,000 in advertising from the LookSmart
search engine to promote his pre-execution interview with serial
murderer Ted Bundy, where Bundy blamed his killing spree on early
exposure to girlie magazines. The ad pops up when users key in words
such as sex, nude, addiction and pornography.
But the notion that Christian pastors or other religious activists
seek "release" amidst a life of lonely, high-stress work which
"drains" them, and then run into the church sanctuary to download
adult images is questionable.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the National Business Employment
Weekly and the Jobs Rated Almanac, the category of "clergy" is not to
be found in the list of the most 25 most stressful jobs. Indeed, Taxi
drivers, surgeons, astronauts, race car drivers, public relations
experts, realtors, stockbrokers, lumberjacks and other work categories
are listed. And stress may be caused by a number of factors, even
when affecting clergy -- everything from the "culture" of a work
environment to physical discomfort.
But dire warnings about stress and the seductive power of pornographic
imagery may be a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts in religious
circles. Statistics are hard to find, although it is known that many
clergy are "workaholics," especially at certain times of the year. A
mail survey conducted by Christianity Today, for instance, elicited
responses from 580 clergy and another group of 1,199 pastors. More
than two-thirds said they expected too much of themselves, and six out
of ten cited the burden of administrative duties and budget related
tasks, along with preparations for various meetings. Two-thirds said
that they felt some degree of emotional stress at least once a month.
But other occupations may be considerably more stressful The National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health examined 130 different
jobs, and found that that manual laborers, farm owners, and miners had
the highest rate of deaths due to stress-related conditions. A
keyword search at the NIOSH web site found 17 documents related to the
term "clergy," but these discussed the need for family members to talk
with neighbors, relatives and counselors (including clergy) in the
event of accidents or natural disasters.
The NIOSH survey "Stress at Work" discussed job stress at length
without mentioning the clergy. It noted that surveys indicate
somewhere between 26% and 40% of Americans workers say their job is
"very or extremely stressful." It cited a variety of conditions
resulting in stress including design of tasks, management styles and
work roles. "Pornography" or "addiction to pornography" was not
listed as a consequence of stress; instead, the NIOSH mentions
headaches, sleep disturbances, low morale, cardiovascular diseases,
increased risk of workplace injury, ulcers, short temper and other
behaviors.
Fabricating A Myth For A Religious Agenda?
Is "pornography" comparable to an "addictive" substance or activity?
And are clergy more prone to this "addiction"? Most of the material
in Christian publications and web sites relies primarily on anecdotal
testimony such as "I was a masturbation addict." In addition, a
common theme is that many "addicts" are not aware of their problem,
and that "recovery" can be found only through religious faith rather
than professional therapeutic regimens. And "pornography" has joined
a long list of other maladies lumped under the category of "addiction"
along with alcoholism, co-dependence, "debt addiction," "internet
addiction," "gambling" and "sex addiction."
All of this casts suspicion on the claims of Dobson, Hayford and many
religious-right leaders who, in their zeal to combat pornographic
materials, now elevate images in magazines or on web sites to the
status of a highly addictive substance like crack cocaine, which is
capable of infiltrating even the ranks of the spiritually righteous.
Pornographic materials may be a "temptation" for individual pastors,
but there is no evidence presented to support the claim that clerics
are more vulnerable as a group. Incidents involving clerical
infidelity or, especially in the case of Roman Catholic priests,
activities such as child molesting do receive considerable media
attention. There is no indication that any of this, however, is
related to the internet presence of adult materials, or pornography in
general.
But the angst over clerical vulnerability may reflect general
disapproval of sexuality, and the fact that adult materials often
(though not always) enjoy the protection of the First Amendment.
Religion Today, in reporting the story of alleged clerical addiction
to smut surfing, noted that Waters "said he has been astonished by how
little shame there is in society associated with internet
pornography." This is an expression of disdain for the burgeoning and
upscale market in adult materials, not proof that men of the cloth of
being captured against their will by pornographic images. Indeed, the
Focus campaign against alleged internet sex addition promotes an
agenda close to the heart of James Dobson. Waters segued from his
claims about pastoral sex addiction, and denounced extramarital
affairs saying, "We must realize that a higher level of intimacy is
found in three-way relationship: between a married couple and God."
**
NEW JERSEY GROUP ORGANIZING IN UNION COUNTY
Those AANEWS readers living in the Newark, N.J. metropolitan area may
want to check out a new Atheist/Freethought group being organized by
Joe Zamecki. Just drop the Dunkin Donuts at Elmora/439 and Grand
Avenue, or visit the group's new web site at
http://www.angelfire.com/nj2/atheists -- or contact Joe directly
through [EMAIL PROTECTED] The group meets at the Dunkin Donuts every
Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS...
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address.
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other products, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Kindly include
your postal mailing address.
* The American Atheist Magazine is now on the web! Check out select
articles from the current or back issues, as well as special web-only
features. Visit us at http://www.americanatheist.org
* If you are a current member of American Atheists, sign up for our
e-mail discussion group, aachat. We have over 120 participants who
discuss topics such as Atheism, religion, First Amendment issues and
lots more! Contact Margie Wait, the Moderator, through
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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