Written by Don ByrdI have to hand it to Alabama State Representative Steve Hurst. Despite clearly established First Amendment law prohibiting school-sponsored prayer in public schools, he is still trying to find some way to make it a reality. Via Religion Clause, House Bill 318 would require schools to open the day with a 15-minute session that includes a prayer. How does he try to sidestep that pesky thing called the Constitution? Well, according to Hurst, it’s not really prayer as a religious exercise. It is instead an education in civic history because schools will be merely reading prayers that have been delivered in Congress and the state legislature to open their days.
Written by Don ByrdBilly Coleman, the superintendent of Alabama’s Cullman County schools also happens to be Reverend Billy Coleman, a minister in a local church. When he organized a traveling community prayer event to be held outside each public school, it raised some church-state eyebrows. The Freedom From Religion Foundation accused Coleman of using his official public office to promote the prayer event, an allegation the school board
Written by Don ByrdTroy University, a public institution in Alabama, is under scrutiny from church-state advocates for opening “faith-based dormitories” on campus for students who with to integrate their faith more fully into the college experience. The faith-based forms are being leased by private institutions, but some believe that may not be safeguard enough to ensure church-state separation.
Written by Don ByrdThe City Council of Mobile, Alabama cited traffic and parking concerns in denying an Islamic Center’s request for expansion. Echoing controversies in Murfreesboro, TN and New York, this dispute pitting religious freedom against zoning regulations may be headed to court as well.
Written by Don Byrd
Disgraced former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has regained his seat after winning election yesterday for the post.
