National Issues - and don't forget our local event Friday!

Religious Right Activists Use Wide Variety Of Tactics To Evangelize In The Classroom by Rob Boston

excerpt: "Religious Right leaders often heap abuse on public schools, calling them “godless” and recommending that fundamentalists put their kids in private academies or educate them at home. At the same time, the Religious Right lusts for influence over public schools, seeing them as a “mission field” for new recruits.

Most public school officials want to do the right thing and realize that pushing religion is not among their duties. But a few won’t accept that and insist on bringing proselytism into the classroom. At the same time, public schools are often assailed by outside forces – local Religious Right groups and right-wing state and local legislators – determined to use them to stoke the flames of the culture wars."
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Election Results Suggest Religious Right Remains Force To Contend With, Says Americans United

"Election results in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and Maine serve as a reminder that the Religious Right remains an influential force in political life, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

'I wish I could say the Religious Right is dead, but this election shows that reports of its demise are inaccurate,' said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “The pundits who announced the Religious Right’s demise in 2008 were simply wrong..."
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Americans United Urges IRS To Take Necessary Steps To Limit Partisan Activity By Churches

"Partisan electioneering by tax-exempt churches is a significant national problem so the Internal Revenue Service must have clear and effective policies in place to respond, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told the federal tax agency.

The IRS is soliciting comments for new rules governing the enforcement of provisions in federal tax law that bar churches and other tax-exempt religious organizations from endorsing or opposing candidates.

Earlier this year, a federal court issued a ruling about IRS procedure that has required the government agency to clarify its internal policies regarding investigations of houses of worship..."
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