Sunday, May 26, 2013

AU Policy Analyst Rob Boston to Speak in Santa Monica June 3

AU Senior Policy Analyst
ROB BOSTON
“Freedom of Religion” vs.
Separation of Church & State
Monday Eve., June 3, 2013
The Santa Monica Synagogue
1448 18th St., Santa Monica
7pm
The Religious Right has recently seized an opportunity to impose their religious values and break down the Constitutional protection of separation of Church and State by framing their argument as “Freedom of Religion”.
Americans United recognizes this effort as only the most recent tactic to undermine the First Amendment and turn religious neutrality into religious privilege.
Rob Boston, AU’s Senior Policy Analyst, will review the background and precedent behind the RR’s claim, its likelihood to be upheld in US courts, and what it would mean for all Americans if it were upheld.
Rob Boston, Senior Policy Analyst and Assistant Director of Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, is recognized as a leading writer and researcher on church-state topics and the author of three books: Close Encounters with the Religious Right: Journeys into the Twilight Zone of Religion and Politics (Prometheus Books, 2000); The Most Dangerous Man in America? Pat Robertson and the Rise of the Christian Coalition (Prometheus Books, 1996) and Why the Religious Right Is Wrong About Separation of Church and State (Prometheus Books, 1993).
Sponsored by the Americans United for Separation of Church and State
– Greater Los Angeles Chapter

Court-Martialed for Being Christian? Don't Believe It

By Rob Boston, Communications Director, Americans United for Separation of Church & State
(Reprinted from Talk2Action.com, 20 May 2013)

So, have you heard the one about how the military is preparing to court-martial anyone who dares to say "God bless you" if someone sneezes?

OK, I'm being facetious. The stories being told about the Armed Forces by the Religious Right aren't that strange - yet. But they are getting there.


A few weeks ago, a firestorm erupted after word got out that Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, had met with Pentagon officials to discuss some of the concerns raised by his clients (the vast majority of whom are Christian, by the way) over heavy-handed proselytizing.The Pentagon has reportedly prepared a document that addresses this issue. Nothing official has been released yet, but Religious Right groups promptly began spreading wild tales about how anyone who dared to share his or her faith was going to be unceremoniously tossed out of the military.

That is not what this has ever been about. Weinstein's group is concerned about aggressive proselytizing operating down the chain of command, in other words, improper forms of coercion (something that is already illegal in the military). An invitation to a religious service is one thing. Constant, repeated efforts by superior officers to coerce subordinates to adopt a specific spiritual outlook is quite another.

The Family Research Council has been popping off about this issue with a series of increasingly hysterical emails. To hear the FRC tell it, you'd think every Christian is about to be tossed out of the Armed Forces.

In one FRC message, retired Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin, who now works for the FRC, blared, "If this policy goes forward, Christians within the military who speak of their faith could be prosecuted as enemies of the state. This has the potential to destroy military recruiting across the services as Americans realize that their faith will be suppressed by joining the military. Our brave troops deserve better. If chaplains and other personnel are censored from offering the full solace of the Gospel, there is no religious freedom in the military."

Once again, the problem is not "offering the full solace of the Gospel." It's offering it repeatedly to those who have made it clear that they don't want it.

(Read More...)