Freedom of Religion Watch Update

Reposted with permission from Rick Roberts, 760 KFMB AM Radio, San Diego, Ca. Rick is an excellent talkshow host and a great blogger. Visit his site at 760 KFMB for daily updates on news and the latest happening in the media.

ATTACKS ON RELIGION IN AMERICA… Posted By Rick November 16th, 2005

Now the anti-religion group Freedom from Religion wants prisons to be free from God.

You got it. The people that need God’s influence the most, may not be able to study his works because of the liberal’s hatred of religion.

From The Capital Times:

In a federal lawsuit filed this week, Freedom From Religion Foundation charged that a state-funded Christian ministry program in a women’s prison there violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits government funding of activities that endorse or promote a specific religion.

The suit asks the court to bar the state of New Mexico from continuing to fund such faith-based initiatives, which have been a hallmark of President George W. Bush’s administration.

(Well…we all knew it was Bush’s fault somehow right?)

Tia Bland, spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Corrections, said in an interview Wednesday that she had not yet seen the complaint.

But, she added, “Obviously we don’t think we’re violating the Constitution by devoting resources to faith-based programs. These types of programs are well established in correctional systems throughout the country.”

She said the prison system is merely responding to demand.

“These programs exist because the inmates want to and are allowed to practice their religious beliefs,” Bland said. “As a result, we have to have some kind of support structure for that.”

According to the complaint, the Women’s Correctional Facility offers a segregated religious program - called the “God Pod” by prisoners - in which women live apart from other inmates and are given more privileges and amenities than other prisoners.

The women, according to the complaint, are provided Christian Scripture-based books and movies, undergo spiritual counseling, attend religious meetings, and are required to stay involved in a “faith community” upon release from prison.

(Well that’s just awful isn’t it. )

Bland said such exclusivity breaks no rules because inmates are not forced into the program.

“The people who are in the program are voluntarily saying, ‘I identify with the Christian faith and I sure would like to be a part of this program.’ ”

This is the sixth time the Freedom From Religion Foundation has launched a challenge to faith-based initiatives.

AND THEN THERE’S THIS….

First, prayer was taken out of schools. Next, it was being pulled from football games and graduations. The latest attack on faith in America was an effort by atheist Michael Newdow to have the words “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance. Now, he is at it again, and this time the focus is the money in your pocket.

The atheist from the Sacramento-area Michael Newdow says he’s going after U.S. coins and currency. Newdow will ask a federal court to remove “In God we trust” from them.

Newdow will file suit this week in which he will ask a federal court to order the removal of the motto “In God We Trust” from U.S. money.

Newdow says that the motto “violates the religious rights of atheists who belong to his ‘First Amendment Church of True Science.’”

Here are more of Newdow’s idiotic comments:

Michael Newdow told the ACLU of Oklahoma that he would file a lawsuit on the grounds that it is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion and “excludes people who don’t believe in God.”

“The key principle is that we’re supposed to treat everybody equally especially in terms of religious belief. Clearly it’s not treating atheists equal with people who believe in God when you say ‘In God We Trust’ or we are a ‘nation under God.’”

“People say, ‘Are you an atheist activist?’ And I’m not. I couldn’t care less what anyone believes. I just care that our government treats everybody equally.”

Makes you want to barf, doesn’t it.

Technorati tags:
Religious Tolerance, politically correct, Religious Freedom, Wal-mart, Opinion, Rick Roberts, atheist activist, In God We Trust, One Nation Under God, Liberal Left, Anti-Religion, ACLU, Newdow, Christian ministry program, and Freedom From Religion Foundation

Cross-posted:
Knickerbocker News, Bosun also at MSN