Americans United - Massachusetts Chapter

AMERICANS UNITED URGES MASSACHUSETTS COUNTY TO
CUT TIES WITH SECTARIAN DRUG COUNSELING PROGRAM

Americans United for Separation of Church & State is urging Bristol County to discontinue its support of a religious group's drug treatment program for former prisoners. Massachusetts should not be funding a religious conversion program.

According to media reports, Bristol County purchased a house for $375,000 and the county's sheriff granted it to Teen Challenge to operate a drug recovery program for ex-inmates. Teen Challenge's drug treatment program is based entirely on religious principles. The group's Web site states that it "believes in the faith model and concentrates on focusing attention on God and His will for those that enter the program." "Massachusetts taxpayers should not be forced to support Teen Challenge's religious mission," says Ron Madnick, president of Americans United's Massachusetts Chapter. "The county's aid to this religious conversion program is contrary to the constitutional principle of church-state separation. The county should stop supporting Teen Challenge's religious work."

The national office of Americans United sent a letter on May 2 to county officials and the sheriff noting the unconstitutional nature of providing a building to Teen Challenge for a religion-based drug treatment program. "There can be no doubt that Teen Challenge's programming is permeated by religion and that Teen Challenge attempts to convert program participants to a particular version of Christianity," wrote Americans United attorneys Alex Luchenitser and Dena Sher. "There can also be no doubt that providing a building - free of charge - to house Teen Challenge's religious-indoctrination program is a type of government assistance" that violates the First Amendment principle of church-state separation. Americans United's letter explains that Bristol County's support of Teen Challenge violates not only the First Amendment, but also the Massachusetts Constitution, which includes a provision barring "the use of public money or property" for religious groups or causes.

The Dover PA Evolution/Creationism Trial
In the decision in Kitzmiller v. Dover, Judge John E. Jones III concluded, "The proper application of both the endorsement and Lemon tests to the facts of this case makes it abundantly clear that the Board's ID Policy violates the Establishment Clause. In making this determination, we have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science. We have concluded that it is not, and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents." For more see:

The National Center for Science Education collection of information on Kitzmiller v. Dover at:
http://www.ncseweb.org/kitzmiller

Judge Jones's decision in the case (PDF), at:
http://coop.www.uscourts.gov/pamd/kitzmiller_342.pdf

Federal Court Ruling On 'Under God' In Pledge Shows Respect For Religious Diversity

Public Schools Should Not Require Students To Affirm Belief In God In Order To Express Patriotism. The insertion of "under God" into the Pledge in 1954 was in dirct conflict with the First Amendment. The Pledge should be restored as originally written. There can be no freedom of religion without freedom from government promoted religion.

Supreme Court Ducks Controversy Over Ten Commandments

The Supreme Court decisions on display of religious symbols by government reaffirms the important principle that the state may not promote religion. This is a mixed verdict, but on balance it's a win for separation of religion and government.
See also: Why The Ten Commandments Shouldn't Be Posted In Government Buildings

Supreme Court Ducks Controversy Over
Pledge Of Allegiance

On June 14th the Supreme Court dismissed, on technical grounds, a legal challenge to the use of "under God" in public school recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance. It ignored the first Amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,..." which Congress blatantly violated in 1954 when it added "under God" to the Pledge.

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