State/Church Bulletin

Student Wins Pledge Case

Public school students in Palm Beach County no longer have to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Boynton Beach High junior Cameron Frazier sued the school board, a teacher and an assistant principal in federal court last December, after he was scolded in front of classmates for refusing to stand during the pledge. Florida requires parental permission to allow students to "stand quietly" during the reading of the pledge. Florida's law, enacted in 1942, contradicts a 1943 Supreme Court decision protecting the right of students not to stand or recite the pledge.

School board members voted 6-0 in February to settle Frazier's case, agreeing students do not need parental permission to stay seated. The district must pay the ACLU $32,500 in damages and attorney's fees.

Maine Again Bans Vouchers

Maine's highest court in late April once again upheld a state law banning state funding of religious schools. In a 6-1 vote, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld Maine's 1983 law banning tuition vouchers to parochial schools.

Ohio Patriot Pastors Run Riot

A group of liberal pastors concerned about Ohio's "patriot pastors," which had filed a complaint three months ago with the IRS, filed a second document in late April with further charges.

The complaint alleges that two large Columbus-area churches, active in Pres. Bush's Ohio win in 2004, are violating their tax-exempt status by pushing the candidacy of J. Kenneth Blackwell. Blackwell, currently Secretary of State, is the religious-right's favored gubernatorial candidate. The pastors want "these churches to stop acting like electioneering organizations."

Maryland Churches Violate IRS

More than 100 churches in Maryland made unlawful contributions to political candidates in recent years, according to the Baltimore Sun (Feb. 26, 2006). The Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore made a dozen campaign donations between 2000-2004, spending more than $3,000. At least 115 churches gave money to about 40 candidates since 2000, directly flouting IRS regulations.

Contributions ranged from $5 to $2,000. Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr., a Baltimore County Democrat, garnered nearly $16,000 from churches since 2000, including $500 from Rising Sun First Baptist Church in Woodlawn, where he is pastor. Unrepentant, Burns complained the IRS should change its rules. IRS rules read: Churches "are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign."

Del. Adrienne A. Jones, speaker pro tem of the House of Delegates, announced in March she was returning more than $2,000 in campaign contributions from churches.

Montana Church Broke Law

A Baptist church in East Helena, Mont., broke state campaign laws when it failed to file required campaign disclosure documents, while working to support a referendum banning gay marriage in 2004.

Commissioner Gordon Higgins ruled the Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church was free to campaign for Constitutional Amendment 96. But it failed to file disclosure records when it hosted meetings, distributed petitions and engaged in other political activity.

Santorum Aided by Pastor Network

The Pennsylvania Pastors Network (PPN) has unlawfully aided U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn., a rightwing Roman Catholic, according to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics.

PPN represents Let Freedom Ring, the Pennsylvania Family Institute, the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and the Urban Family Council. A training session to get out the vote for Santorum took place on March 6, according to The New York Times (March 21, 2006). A videotaped message from Santorum, campaigning for reelection, was played. Copies of his book, It Takes a Family, were handed out.

BSA Jamboree Challenged

The ACLU argued against Defense Department funding of the National Boy Scout Jamboree, held every four years at Fort A.P., at a hearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in April.

The lawsuit contends the "duty to God" wording in the BSA oath makes it a religious group ineligible for preferential treatment by the government. The Justice Department appealed the ACLU's victory in Illinois federal court last year. The 2005 Jamboree cost taxpayers nearly $8 million, including first-aid and security costs. Since 1997, the government has spent about $22.3 million on the gatherings.

California Scuttles Grant

A $1 million grant to repair earthquake-damaged Mission San Miguel was rejected by the California Culture and Historical Endowment recently. The Roman Catholic facility would have benefited from funds raised by Proposition 40 in 2002 to fund parks, and cultural and historic sites. Mission supporters are still pressing for more public subsidy of the mission. They have asked FEMA for $7 million of the $15 million needed to repair the mission. The state parks department is expected to grant $300,000 to the Mission Foundation, to match a federal $300,000 appropriation last year from Save America's Treasures, a Department of the Interior program.