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• Bush's band of brothers | Will a revived Promise Keepers drive Bush voters to the polls? (Bill Berkowitz, WorkingForChange)
• Leftist groups target pastors in the fall elections | Americans United and the Mainstream Coalition may claim they are acting in good faith to ensure that churches do not engage in illegal political activity. But what they are really doing is engaging in Orwellian tactics to intimidate pastors into silence (Gary Palmer, The Demopolis Times, Demopolis, Ala.)
• Spies in the pew | The infiltration of churches by political zealots signals a social decline that goes beyond parties (Editorial, The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.)

Religion & politics:

• A GOP struggle for the podium | Conservative Christians feel slighted by party's moderate picks for prime convention slots (Los Angeles Times)
• Religious experts ponder Jesus as a voter | It's a complex topic that can't be boiled down to simple political terms, said religious leaders who attended a Texas Faith Network conference in Austin on Tuesday (Associated Press)
• Bush's faith-based changes scrutinized | He has made changes without Congress' okay (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Muslim vote and Bush converts | Almost no Muslims will vote for Bush. Does it matter? (The Christian Science Monitor)
• Does God belong in politics? | Religion shouldn't be used in such an earthly manner. (Emmanuel De Veirman, The Baltimore Sun)

Education:

• Falwell integrates faith into law school | The Rev. Jerry Falwell will open a law school this month in hopes of training a generation of attorneys who will fight for conservative causes (Associated Press)
• Christian controversy | The broken record plays on at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with critics once again charging that the school's administration is anti-Christian. The critics are wrong (Editorial, The Winson-Salem Journal, N.C.)
• Anti-bias policy that's silly | A group based on common interests, such as religious beliefs, is by definition discriminatory. By following even well-intentioned anti-discrimination principles off an illogical cliff, we make it harder to fight real discrimination when it slithers into our society (Dennis Rogers, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.)
• Christians belong in public schools | Even God sent his people to secular schools (Mark Thieme, The News-Leader, Springfield, Mo.)

Religious freedom:

• Jew can distribute fliers on campus | The University of New Orleans has settled a yearlong First Amendment lawsuit by allowing a Messianic Jew to distribute pamphlets on campus that contain the words: "Jews should believe in Jesus" (The Washington Times)
• Also: UNO settles suit over distribution of religious tracts (Associated Press)
• We must be free to criticize without being called racist | Liberals appease Muslims for fear of association with anti-immigrant thugs (Polly Toynbee, The Guardian, London)
• No charges against 'race row' pastor | A religious leader who sparked on outcry when he branded the Islamic faith "evil" will not face prosecution (Evening News, Norwich, England)
• States of denial | A rape, a visit to the ER, a request for emergency contraception, a refusal on religious grounds. Welcome to the new front in the battle for reproductive rights, where state law says it's okay to deny prescriptions (Abby Christopher, AlterNet)
• Federal judge tosses challenge to N.Y. city's noise ordinance | A federal judge has dismissed a preacher's complaint that Ithaca authorities selectively used their noise ordinance to silence him in violation of his constitutional rights to free speech, equal protection and freedom of religion (Associated Press)

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August (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48