LifeWise, a growing Christian program in public schools, is sparking debate over student time, recruitment, religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
Strong support among U.S. adults for state-sanctioned religious displays
Half of U.S. adults favor displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools while slightly less, at 48%, oppose the practice, according to a new study by Pew Research Center. The April survey of 3,592 respondents also found 78% favor student-led…
From Augustine to Jefferson, the idea of separating church and state has deep religious and secular roots
As author of the book “Separating Church and State: A History,” I argue that the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission’s broadside on the concept of separation of church and state is misplaced, but not new. Critics have portrayed the idea…
Dan Patrick reiterates: ‘No separation of church and state’
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stood in the Oval Office last Friday afternoon and told the American people once again there should be no such thing as separation of church and state in America. Patrick, a Southern Baptist from Houston,…
Anti-Christian Bias report exalts Calvinism and lies as normative
It is no secret that Donald J. Trump is intent on exacting retribution on his perceived enemies. Top of his list is former President Joe Biden. While the recently released report by the Justice Department’s Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian…
When government claims God
The semiquincentennial celebration unofficially kicks off this coming Sunday, May 17, on the National Mall. The Marine Band will play. Fanfare trumpets will sound across the Reflecting Pool. From a stage at 12th Street, top government officials — the secretary…
Dan Patrick is wrong again
Yesterday morning, coffee in hand, I was met with a sobering claim. Our Texas lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, broke the news: “Separation of church and state is a lie.” Despite my “limitations” — a public-school education, a private college degree…
Dan Patrick says separation of church and state is a lie
The idea that the U.S. Constitution promotes separation of church and state is patently untrue, according to the chair of President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. In fact, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick described the concept as the “biggest lie that’s…
A Nazi walks into a bar
No, this is not the setup for a tasteless joke. On Thursday, Oct. 23, a 33 year-old white man named Kenneth Leland Morgan, wearing a tailored SS uniform, attempted to enter Cutter’s Pub in downtown Athens, Ga. Footage captured by…
‘Insert God here’
As a kid, I attended two elementary schools, three junior high schools and two high schools. Picture me this way: Scrawny, acne-faced, frizzy haired, shy. It is hard enough to make friends when you are 13; imagine always being the…
Interfaith work called key to preserving religious liberty in public education
“Interfaith work is at the center of the work to save this country,” Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum told a summit on religious freedom in public schools Sept. 15. Kleinbaum, senior rabbi emerita at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City,…
Religion and politics
I’m all in when it comes to separation of church and state. That’s why I oppose posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms in Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and wherever else legislators are clamoring to do so. That is The…