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Religion and Belief
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Federal Court Says Religious Monument At Oklahoma Courthouse Is Unconstitutional
A unanimous federal appeals court yesterday ruled that county commissioners in Haskell County, Oklahoma unconstitutionally sought to promote their personal religious beliefs by erecting a Ten Commandments monument on the front lawn of the county's courthouse. MORE >>
Federal Judge Approves Order Requiring Santa Rosa, FL Schools To Abide By First Amendment
A federal judge today made public a consent decree requiring school officials to stop promoting their personal religious beliefs in public schools. MORE >>
ACLU Wins Ruling Protecting Kindergartener's Religious Expression
A federal judge ruled that Needville Independent School District violated the Constitution and state law by punishing an American Indian kindergarten student for practicing and expressing his family's religious beliefs and heritage by wearing his hair long. MORE >>
ACLU Files Lawsuit To Protect Religious Liberty Of New Jersey Prisoner
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of New Jersey today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a New Jersey prisoner, an ordained Pentecostal minister, who is asking the state to respect his religious freedom by restoring his right to preach. MORE >>
San Bernardino County Agrees To Allow Religious Head Scarves In County Jails
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Southern California reached an agreement with San Bernardino County to institute policies that accommodate the First Amendment right to wear religious head scarves in jail. MORE >>
ACLU PROGRAM ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF
The American Constitution and Bill of Rights introduced a new relationship between religion and government. Prior to 1789, almost every European country maintained a close relationship between church and state. James Madison, the principal drafter of the First Amendment, proposed that, unlike European states, the government should not tax its citizens to support religious activities, nor should it promote religious beliefs, and that all religious beliefs should be treated equally and fairly. He believed that religion would thrive best when the government did not promote some religious beliefs to the exclusion of others.
Madison's ideals, now embodied in the Constitution, were exactly right. Americans enjoy more religious freedom than do people in any other country in the world.
Unfortunately, some people are now trying to use government power to promote religion in exactly the way the Constitution wisely rejected. The ACLU works to ensure that people remain free to choose which religious beliefs (or none) they wish to express and that governments, school boards, and legislatures do not become involved in deciding which religious beliefs should be promoted or in spending taxpayer dollars to support religious activities and symbols.
FAQs ABOUT THE ACLU AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
> Does the ACLU want to remove crosses from federal cemeteries?
> Does the ACLU object to federal employees bowing their heads? |
Federal Court Says Religious Monument At Oklahoma Courthouse Is Unconstitutional (6/9/2009)
DENVER – A unanimous federal appeals court yesterday ruled that county commissioners in Haskell County, Oklahoma unconstitutionally sought to promote their personal religious beliefs by erecting a Ten Commandments monument on the front lawn of the county's courthouse. The decision by the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals comes in a challenge filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Oklahoma on behalf of a local resident.
Federal Judge Approves Order Requiring Santa Rosa, FL Schools To Abide By First Amendment (5/8/2009)
PENSACOLA, FL – A federal judge today made public a consent decree requiring school officials in Santa Rosa County, Florida to stop promoting their personal religious beliefs in public schools.
Appeals Court Overturns Decision to Dismiss ACLU Lawsuit Challenging Constitutionality of Arizona Individual Tax Credit Program (4/21/2009)
PHOENIX – In an important victory for religious freedom, the United States Court of the Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today ruled that a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's individual tax-credit funded scholarship program can move forward. The unanimous ruling comes in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
ACLU Applauds Arizona Supreme Court Decision Striking Down School Voucher Program (3/25/2009)
PHOENIX – The ACLU of Arizona applauds today's decision by the Arizona Supreme Court striking down two state-funded voucher programs as a violation of the so-called "Aid Clause" of the Arizona Constitution.
Senate Votes Down More Federal Funds for School Vouchers (3/10/2009)
WASHINGTON – An amendment that would continue an expiring program to provide federal funds for private and religious school vouchers in the District of Columbia was defeated today in the Senate. The amendment would have extended the federally-funded District of Columbia school voucher program, the nation’s first and only federally-funded private and religious school program of its kind. Federal funding for private and religious school vouchers are currently set to expire at the end of the next school year. The amendment, number 615, was proposed to H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 by Senator John Ensign (R-NV), but was defeated by a vote of 58-39.
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