The U.S. State Department has announced a partnership with faith-based organizations to distribute nearly $2 billion in international humanitarian aid. The move follows the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the cutting of at least $26 billion…
Federal court urged to uphold ban on religious charter schools in Oklahoma
Seven mostly Jewish Oklahoma taxpayers urged a federal court to uphold the state’s February denial of an application to open a publicly funded Jewish charter school. Attorneys for the citizens argued during an Aug. 5 federal court hearing in Oklahoma…
Texas schools given conflicting advice on Ten Commandments
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has ordered school districts unaffected by a recent court ruling to comply with a state law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms beginning Sept. 1. The Aug. 25 directive came less than a…
Ruling coming soon on Texas Ten Commandments law
A federal judge will issue a decision within two weeks on the constitutionality of a new Texas law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms. Senate Bill 10 mandates the presence of donated 16-by-20-inch posters or framed copies of…
Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick threatens to expel those who won’t stand for Christian prayer
As the Texas Senate convened its second special session Aug. 15 — primarily to gerrymander five more Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick threatened to remove anyone who doesn’t stand for the invocation….
The Scopes ‘Monkey’ Trial isn’t done shaping America
If the Scopes “Monkey” Trial is discussed nowadays, the tone usually is pejorative. The events of July 1925 — in which a small-town substitute teacher was charged with a misdemeanor for teaching evolution in a public high school — are…
Federal judge stops Arkansas from posting Ten Commandments in public schools
A federal judge has blocked Arkansas from implementing a new law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public-school classrooms. In issuing the Aug. 4 preliminary injunction, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks described Arkansas Act 573 as “plainly unconstitutional” under the…
Abbott signs Texas Ten Commandments bill, setting up court fight
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed legislation mandating Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms beginning Sept. 1 despite the threat of litigation from civil liberties groups. Abbott’s office said the governor signed the measure June 21 along with more…
Get ready for lawsuit, groups warn Abbott over Ten Commandments bill
Texans will sue once Gov. Greg Abbott signs a bill requiring Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms, three national civil liberties groups said May 29. The announcement came a day after state senators voted to approve an amended version…
21 groups urge senators not to confirm Russell Vought
A coalition of 20 organizations dedicated to the separation of church and state have written to leaders of the U.S. Senate urging them not to confirm President Donald Trump’s nomination of Russell Vought at director of the White House Office…
Freedom from Religion Foundation dissolves honorary board in spat over trans issues
The nation’s largest freethought organization has dissolved its honorary board after three of its prominent members resigned in an ideological battle over transgender issues.
Louisiana calls lawsuit aimed at Ten Commandments in classrooms ‘premature’
A lawsuit challenging a new Louisiana law requiring posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms is premature because the measure has yet to be implemented, state Attorney General Liz Murrill said. Signed into law June 19, the legislation mandates…