February 7, 2001 President George W. Bush plans
to appoint Professor John J. DiIulio, Jr., as the head of
a new White House office that would oversee the partnering
of government with faith-based charities (click
Freedoms Ring for full update)
February 7, 2001 California Apeals court ruling
deprives churches of the right to hire members of their own
faith. (click Freedoms Ring for full update)
October 2000 Vice-presidential candidate Joseph
Lieberman in a speech to a Catholic school decried the state
of morality in the United States. He talked about how society
tolerates and even endorses sex and violence in the media.
September 2000 President William Jefferson Clinton
signed into law bill S2869
protecting religious freedom in two narrow areas: land use
and prisoners. (To view the details of the bill click on the
Library of Congress link and enter the bill number eg. S.2869)
Plainfield CT- 2000 Board of Education voted
5-4 to not open up the weight room on Sunday because it would
violate a policy prohibiting Sunday athletics practices. Some
board members voiced a need for a family day as the reason
for their vote.
Oklahoma Passes Religious Liberty Law - Oklahoma
is the eleventh state to pass a religious freedom restoration
act. August 2000 "Americans are taking action to protect
our country's most precious freedom-the right to worship according
to the dictates of conscience." Richard Fenn, associate
director of public affairs and religious liberty for the Seventh-day
Adventist Church.
A federal appeals court upheld the First Amendment
protection for churches known as the "ministeral exemption."
This protection allows churches to make employment decisions,
free from state oversight, about employees involved in preaching,
teaching or ministering on behalf of the church. May 2000
Should Evangelical Christians be the champions
or critics of the First Amendment requirement for separation
of church and state?
A federal judge ruled that a Mississippi public
school system had violated the First Amendment rights of a
mother whose children had to sit through religious teachings
in the classrooms. 2000
By more than a 2-to-1 margin, voters in Hawaii
approved a state constitutional amendment clearing the way
for the state legislature to implement existing law that only
recognizes unions between a man and a woman. At the same time-
by a margin of more than 2-to-1 Alaskans voted for a gay-marriage
ban into their constitution. 1998
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
overturned a federal court order that restricted school prayer
in DeKalb County, Alabama. July 1999
If you would like to learn more about Religious
Liberty please contact
us.