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• Alaska Christian College (ACC) will no longer receive funding from the federal government, the U.S. Department of Education announced in October. The department suspended an unspent 2005 federal grant of more than $431,000. The department agreed with the Freedom from Religion Foundation that ACC does not adequately differentiate between its religious and secular activities. ACC attorney Derek Gaubatz told Covenant News that if the Department of Education applied this reasoning to other Christian schools, none “could ever get any government money, because anything that such a school does would be ‘tainted’ by its religious mission.”
• The Bush administration decided in October that faith-based community-service organizations and religious schools affected by Hurricane Katrina can receive federal aid. Buildings used primarily for worship will not be eligible.
• Police in Punjab state, India, jailed several Christians—supposedly to protect them from Hindu extremists—but instead beat them, Compass Direct reports. About 40 Christians were praying at a home in Maloud on September 29 when a mob that included Hindu extremists stormed the house. The mob threatened some Christians, who called the police. In police custody, two Christians sustained serious injuries. The police superintendent has called for an investigation.
• Marilyn Hickey’s Happy Church in Denver can claim damages from the Colorado Department of Transportation for erecting a 30-foot-high retaining wall that prevents travelers on Interstate 25 from seeing the church. In October, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled for the church, which is seeking $1.9 million. A trial-court commission will decide how much the department must pay the church.
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Related Elsewhere:
CT earlier covered the controversy over Alaska Christian College‘s government support.
Articles elsewhere on federal aid to churches ministering after Katrina includes:
Churches Play Key Role in Katrina Aid | Jason DeRose reports on the role Mississippi churches are playing in the gathering and distribution of food and medical supplies to victims of Hurricane Katrina. (NPR, October 10, 2005)
FEMA plans to reimburse faith groups for aid | As civil libertarians object, religious organizations weigh whether to apply (Washington Post, September 27, 2005)
Church, state get closer after Katrina | The Mississippi agency that promotes President Bush’s faith-based initiative usually draws about 25 church groups to its sessions on tapping government funds for social service projects. This month, that number nearly doubled. (Associated Press, October 28, 2005)
Compass Direct has more information about the Indian Christians who were jailed and beaten.
The Rocky Mountain News reported on the Marilyn Hickey Church lawsuit.
