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| White House 'Values Campaign' part
of crusade to blur Church and State, says Americans United
Bush 'swore on the Bible to uphold the
Constitution, not the other way around,' says AU's Lynn
[8-2-01]
Press release from Americans United for Separation of Church and
State, July 31, 2001
President George W. Bush's new "values campaign" is the latest
evidence of an administration that is determined to merge religion and
government, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and
State.
According to multiple media accounts, Bush is in the
process of slowly implementing a broadly based agenda to promote
conservative Christian religious principles through government policies.
"Bush is the nation's president, not the national
pastor," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of
Americans United. "He swore on the Bible to uphold the
Constitution, not the other way around.
"Bush is working tirelessly and recklessly to
permanently blur the line between government policy and church
doctrine," Lynn continued. "These assaults on the First
Amendment are unprecedented in presidential history. There's nothing
wrong with supporting commonly shared values, but it's terribly wrong to
shape the law to mirror religious dogma. Unfortunately, it appears Bush
fails to appreciate the difference."
Lynn noted multiple recent examples to demonstrate
Bush's ongoing crusade to merge church and state:
 | Promoting religious revival: Media reports indicate
that Bush believes the nation is "on the cusp of a religious
revival," and he hopes to "break through" by means of
his leadership and policy initiatives. The president's recent
high-profile meeting with Pope John Paul II was designated by the
White House as the kick-off of a broader initiative. (U.S. News
& World Report, 7/23/01) |
| President as moral leader: Bush intends to use his
"values agenda" to position himself as the moral leader of
the nation. The administration will downplay theological
motivations. The White House Office of Strategic Initiatives, headed
by Karl Rove, said in a memo the "project should not be seen as
religious-based." (The Washington Post, 7/29/01)
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| Stem cell policy and religion: On the controversy
surrounding publicly funded stem cell research, Bush is working
closely with religious leaders and advisors to help ensure that
government policy is consistent with the principles of conservative
Protestant leaders and the Catholic hierarchy. White House staffers,
for example, take part in weekly telephone conferences with
conservative Catholic activists to discuss strategy on the issue. (Los
Angeles Times, 7/8/01; The Washington Post, 7/30/01) |
| Abstinence-only education: The Bush administration
is also promoting abstinence education policies with religion in
mind. A Catholic deacon working in the Department of Health and
Human Services recently expressed doubt about a sexual health
program developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
because he thought it was inconsistent with the Catholic beliefs of
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. In addition, the White House is
working to scale back traditional family planning programs while
diverting public resources to "abstinence-only" programs
run by evangelical Christian groups. (The Washington Post,
7/30/01)
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| Faith-based initiative: For sixth months, Bush has
aggressively promoted a "faith-based initiative," which
would provide billions of tax dollars to religious groups to provide
social services. On several occasions, while promoting this
campaign, the president has indicated his willingness to "fund
faith" and recognize the "power of faith" by awarding
grants to ministries.
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| Religious school vouchers: After unsuccessfully
promoting voucher subsidies for religious schools in its education
plan, the Bush administration has now urged the Supreme Court to
grant an appeal from Cleveland pro-voucher activists. The White
House, with assistance from Solicitor General Theodore Olson and Ken
Starr, urged the justices to hear the case, despite the fact that
the federal government has played no role in the lawsuit. |
"The president's 'values campaign' would be far more constructive
if it recognized the value of the First Amendment," concluded AU's
Lynn. "Bush is not only blurring the line between church and state,
he's also crossing the line between president and missionary."
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.
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Visit
our lively
new website! |
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GA actions
ratified (or not) by the presbyteries
A number of the most important actions of the 219th
General Assembly have now been acted upon by the presbyteries,
confirming most of them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Order.
We provided resources to help inform the
reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.
Our three areas of primary interest have been:
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Amendment 10-A,
which removes the current ban on
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender persons being considered as
possible candidates for ordination as elder or ministers.
Approved! |
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Amendment 10-2,
which would add the Belhar Confession to our Book of
Confessions. Disapproved, because as an amendment
to the Book of Confessions it needed a 2/3 vote, and did not
receive that. |
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Amendment
10-1, which adopts the new Form of Government
that was approved by the Assembly. Approved. |
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If you like what
you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep Voices for Justice going ... and
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Please consider making a special
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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