Atheists sue to keep god out

[Zimzum]

I am not really against anyones god. But religion has no business in our governments affairs. The church is the largest land owner in America and pays no tax, yet they can receive funds based off tax money? Put the money into the health system and let doctors help those who need treatment from addiction.

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.


Wis. atheist group takes on Bush in high court
(Published Friday, February 23, 2007 09:10:23 AM CST)

By Ryan J. Foley
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. - Annie Laurie Gaylor speaks with a soft voice, but her message catches attention: Keep God out of government.

Gaylor has helped transform the Freedom From Religion Foundation from obscurity into the nation's largest group of atheists and agnostics, with a fast-rising membership and increasing legal clout.

Next week, the group started by Gaylor and her mother in the 1970s to take on the religious right will fight its most high-profile battle when the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on its lawsuit against President Bush's faith-based initiative.

The court will decide whether taxpayers can sue over federal funding that the foundation believes promotes religion. It could be a major ruling for groups that fight to keep church and state separate.

"What's at stake is the right to challenge the establishment of religion by the government," Gaylor said.

The 51-year-old once donned a nun's habit as a college student in 1977 to protest a judge who blamed rape on women who wear provocative clothing.

She uses different tactics these days, though her activism remains strong.

Among its victories, the group has stopped funding for a Milwaukee charity that Bush visited during the 2000 campaign and an Arizona group that preached to children of prisoners.

The case in front of the high court claims White House conferences to promote the faith-based initiative turn into unconstitutional pep rallies for religion.

The initiative helps religious organizations get government funding to provide social services.

George Washington University law professor Ira Lupu called the Madison-based foundation "by far the most aggressive litigating entity against the faith-based initiative."

"When they can prove there's religious content in those programs, they've been quite successful and they've won a few cases," Lupu said. "When they've tried to go after the initiative as a whole, they've been less successful."

Critics say the group imposes such an extreme view of the First Amendment that religious groups can't receive tax dollars for even laudable purposes.

"They are successful in the sense that they have disrupted government funding for faith-based initiatives," said Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund, which defends religion in the public arena. "But real people with real problems are no longer getting help because of some of their lawsuits."

The group has grown as its legal challenges mount. It claims 8,500 members in 50 states, with the most coming from California, after adding a record 400 in December.

Members consider themselves freethinkers who form opinions based on reason, not faith.

Gaylor is hoping an advertising campaign on progressive talk radio, the Internet and in liberal magazines helps the group reach 10,000 members this year.

She and husband Dan Barker, a former fundamentalist minister who turned against religion, are co-presidents. Her mother, Anne Nicol Gaylor, founded the group in 1978 to counter religious influence in government after clashing with religious leaders over abortion.

Its leaders say the surge in membership reflects a U.S. population that is becoming less religious and growing liberal alarm since Bush's re-election.

"There was a feeling that there was almost a near religious-right takeover of our government and that we better speak up now," Gaylor said.

The American Religious Identification Survey in 2001 estimated that 29 million Americans had no religion, double the number from 1990. The survey, which was conducted by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, estimated that 1.9 million identified themselves as atheist or agnostic.

Before its battle against the faith-based initiative, the group stopped prayers during the University of Wisconsin's commencement and overturned Good Friday as a state holiday in Wisconsin.

"We've applied some very needed pressure through going to court on keeping state and church separate," said the elder Gaylor, 80. "We hope we've done some educating that will be lasting."

Zimzum Reviewed by Zimzum on 02-27-2007. Atheists sue to keep god out I am not really against anyones god. But religion has no business in our governments affairs. The church is the largest land owner in America and pays no tax, yet they can receive funds based off tax money? Put the money into the health system and let doctors help those who need treatment from addiction. Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the Rating: 5

[iPot]

Oh what is wrong with these Atheists, these people are in denial. Religion and science are where the seeds of our collective minds grow, they are what bind societies together. Of course not these lunatics blinded by their own fear, the union between the human race, the earth and the cosmos.

Hey man that's all I wanna say now, I just wanna chill and smoke my pipe.

[Matt the Funk]

LOL to the post above. I don't see anything wrong with this....

[mrdevious]

I'm cool with churches recieving some money to refund their human-aid work, assuming everything can be proven with reciepts (for supplies) and the such. But I don't like the idea of giving churches money prior to charitable action, since it's much to hard to track what is used properly and what is just thrown into the pot.

[Breukelen advocaat]

One problem that arises is which churches do we give the money to.

Is the Church of Satan eligable? How about Hawaii Cannabis Ministry" That ought to get some support here. There's one called Demon Church, http://demonchurch.com/ and the picture of their deity below is from their website. In my opinion, the mainstream churches are no more eligable than the Demon Church, and similar organizations.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is a part of the United States Bill of Rights. It prohibits the federal legislature from making laws that establish a state religion or prefer a certain religion (the "Establishment Clause"), prohibit free exercise of religion (the "Free Exercise Clause"), infringe the freedom of speech, infringe the freedom of the press, limit the right to assemble peaceably, or limit the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
First Amendment to the United States Constitution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Nochowderforyou]

Oh what is wrong with these Atheists, these people are in denial. Religion and science are where the seeds of our collective minds grow, they are what bind societies together. Of course not these lunatics blinded by their own fear, the union between the human race, the earth and the cosmos.

Hey man that's all I wanna say now, I just wanna chill and smoke my pipe.

We're in denial?

Religion has caused more wars than Athiesm ever has, so maybe you should take a look at what religion is doing to the young minds of today.

[iPot]

So what we should just deny all forms of spirituality because the Muslims, the Jews and the Christians can't settle their differences?

I'll be back with a funny cartoon that is quite salient if I can manage to google it....

[Gatekeeper777]

what about the church of the holy phalix. They worship penises.
Now thats what i call taking it litterally"THY ROD AND THY STAFF ARE WITH ME!"
religion is a way to control people. Did you hear they MAY have found the tomb of JESUS. It was on CNN last night.
His tomb had names on it Jesus son of joseph and mary and father of JUDAH.
this was found 27 years ago and its what started the loosly based divinci codes.

[iPot]

Every other tomb in my local graveyard has got stuff like that written on it.

[delusionsofNORMALity]

the simple fact is that no church should be allowed to receive public monies in order to further their own beliefs. all of these social programs the that the churches are funding with our money have prayer tacked onto them, that is the basis for these suits. if the churches were able to keep their religion in their pants, we might be a bit more forgiving.