If there is one church in America that anti-religious zealots love to go to its Riverside Church. Located on the upper west side of Manhattan, the church’s environment is such that non-believers are made to feel right at home while traditional-minded believers are made to feel like pariahs. No wonder, then, that this was the forum extended... [Read more...]
MOMENTUM BUILDING FOR SCHOOL CHOICE
The 2000-2001 academic year is now underway and never before has the case for school choice been stronger. Survey after survey concludes that vouchers work and no group benefits from school choice more than poor non-whites. The numbers don’t lie and that is one reason why prominent educators who previously resisted the idea of school vouchers... [Read more...]
THE SOUL OF THE SCHOOLS
The on-going battle over the soul of the schools got off to a quick start this fall. In Virginia, the issue is whether a minute of silence is constitutional; in schools down south, the question is whether students have the right to say a prayer in the huddle before a football game; in New Jersey, there is a protracted dispute over whether a first-grader... [Read more...]
“TRIAL” OF PIUS XII DROPPED
We learned from one of our members that an Adult Education course at a Long Island public school was planning to put Pope Pius XII on “trial.” The course, “The Jews of Italy: A Miracle of Survival,” will be taught this fall by the Herrick School District in New Hyde Park. The course catalog ends with the following: “A fascinating video... [Read more...]
WE WON WITHOUT A FIGHT
A producer of a tony religious website, beliefnet.com, asked us to review two proposed ads to see if they passed muster with us. The one with the pope was fine as it was a light-hearted quip that conjoined the pope with the Dalai Lama and a rabbi. It reads, “The Pope, the Dalai Lama and Rabbi Schmuley Boteach walk into a bar…” At the bottom,... [Read more...]
WE WON
In the June Catalyst, we asked our members to write to the senior warden at the Texas Department of Corrections. Our complaint was that inmates at the TDCJ Stevenson Unit were denied requests for meatless meals on Fridays during Lent while dietary rules were observed for those who practice other religions. We won. “Effective October 1, 2000,”... [Read more...]
A GOOD MOVE
On September 22, a law took effect that strengthens religious liberty. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 prohibits the government from placing a substantial burden on an individual or group’s free exercise of religion rights unless a compelling interest exists; it must also be the least restrictive means of achieving... [Read more...]