alt.education

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You can view an HTML version of this email at the following address:
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April 10, 2008

Is The 'Religious Right' Dead?

New Book Says Rumors Of Religious Right's Death Are Greatly Exaggerated



Despite rumors to the contrary, the Religious Right's influence over the
government
and the 2008 campaign remains alarmingly strong, say two nationally known
ministers and interfaith leaders campaigning for protection of individual
religious liberties in America.

Religious liberty the right of an individual to worship or not was
established
in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the resulting
church-state
divide is a defining American value. But in today's political climate,
where
the Religious Right wields undue influence and the 2008 presidential
candidates
publicly proclaim their religious credentials, this "first freedom" is at
risk.

In a new book released this week, the leaders of The Interfaith Alliance
Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State provide
a citizens' guide to understanding and navigating the intersection between
faith
and politics.

First Freedom First: A Citizens' Guide To Protecting Religious Liberty And
The Separation Of Church And State, co-authored by the president of The
Interfaith
Alliance Foundation, the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, and the executive
director of
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Rev. Barry W.
Lynn,
illustrates the threats facing religious liberty in this country. Their
book offers
simple ways individuals can preserve our nation's fundamental freedoms and
First
Amendment rights.

Gaddy provides a religious-political perspective that takes readers on the
campaign
trail and into the halls of Congress. Lynn provides a legal perspective on
religious freedom that takes readers from the creation of the U.S.
Constitution's
First Amendment to contemporary issues of religious freedom moving through
the U.S.
legal system, including those dealing with end-of-life care, academic
integrity,
evolution and creationism in public schools, and religious discrimination.

"This year's presidential election has often seemed to be more of a race
for pastor
-in-chief, than commander-in-chief," said Gaddy. "We seem to have become
obsessed
with the candidates' religion to the point of distraction. It is one thing
for
a candidate to talk about their faith; it is quite another to imply that
you should
vote for them because of it. Faith can play a positive role in public life,
but
not as a political tool."

Said Lynn, "The forces that would merge religion and government are alive
and well
in this country. We need to make sure the Religious Right does not
dominate
the public square in this election year. The American people want to know
where
the candidates stand on the critical issues of the day, not what their
favorite
Bible verse is."

First Freedom First is the latest collaboration between The Interfaith
Alliance
Foundation and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. In
2006, the
organizations launched the

First Freedom First campaign to engage Americans in defense of church-state
separation and individual religious freedoms.

In March, First Freedom First broadcast a historic, nationwide production
featuring
celebrities, community leaders, religious liberty heroes and others to
focus
on the need for more discussion of issues related to church-state
separation in the
2008 election. The simulcast featured actors Peter Coyote, The Bacon
Brothers
(Kevin Bacon with his brother Michael), Michael J. Fox, Jack Klugman, James
Whitmore
, Wendie Malick, Dan Lauria and Catherine Dent. This production was
simulcast for
free in movie theaters in 37 cities across the country.

Due to overwhelming demand, the full-length presentation is available on
the
First Freedom First Web site,
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=9ucjCdXd7hvB-KJd_hDHyg..


------------------------------------------------------------

What others are saying about the book:

"This is a book for every American. Gaddy and Lynn have provided us with a
volume
that informs and challenges, as well as inspires and guides us on issues of
vital
importance to all of us our founding fathers' vision for religious liberty
and
their constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state. I applaud
this book as a tool for preserving our democracy's greatest treasure."
Walter Cronkite

"If we forsake our freedom of religion, it's not the kind of thing we can
ask nicely to have returned to us when we realize later how much we need
it.
First Freedom First explains why we ought to avoid this mistake, but,
crucially,
also how to avoid it how respect for the First Amendment can unify even the
most
disparate elements in America's spiritual life." Rachel Maddow, Air America
Radio



http://www.au.org/site/R?i=BxWBrFne19R7Cmfx3ggbew..

************************************************************

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington,
D.C.
Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance
of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

************************************************************
Americans United Press Contacts:
Joe Conn, Rob Boston
www.au.org/press

************************************************************
The First Freedom First Campaign is a joint project of
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
and The Interfaith Alliance Foundation

If you haven't signed the petition yet, visit www.firstfreedomfirst.org.
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=BtQajBk6v4YjhkrpF-bhqw..

************************************************************
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
518 C Street NE,
Washington, DC 20002
auactivist@au.org
www.au.org

***************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:

The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm

American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm

The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html

[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]

HRSepCnS · Historical Reality SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/

***************************************************************
. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
. . .
****************************************************************
USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote

"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"

That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.

It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.

*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************