Home : Religion and Belief

ACLU Wins Open Access for All Visitors to Martin’s Cove National Historic Site in Wyoming (06/07/2006)
CHEYENNE, WY – The American Civil Liberties Union today announced a settlement granting unfettered access to the Martin’s Cove National Historic Site, which had been leased to the Church of Latter-day Saints by the federal government. Prior to the settlement the only way to reach the area was through the church’s privately owned and operated Visitor’s Center.

House Judiciary Panel Seeks to Bar Federal Courts from Hearing Pledge Cases; ACLU Urges Lawmakers to Keep Doors of Justice Open to All (06/07/2006)
WASHINGTON - As the House Judiciary Committee met to consider a controversial measure to deny access to the courts on certain first amendment issues, the American Civil Liberties Union today urged lawmakers to reject this deeply misguided and unconstitutional proposal. The bill, H.R. 2389, or the "Pledge Protection Act of 2005," would strip jurisdiction from all federal courts, including the Supreme Court, in any First Amendment case involving the Pledge of Allegiance. It is the latest of several similar politically motivated measures that would interfere with our independent judiciary and that would jeopardize American’s access to fair and impartial courts.

ACLU of New Jersey Defends Second-Grader's Right to Sing Religious Song (06/05/2006)
NEWARK, NJ - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a case seeking to uphold an elementary school student's right to religious expression.

Federal Judge Rules Against School-Mandated Prayer at Kentucky High School Graduation Ceremony (05/19/2006)
LOUISVILLE, KY – The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky announced today that U.S. District Judge Joseph H. McKinley, Jr. has issued a temporary restraining order to prevent Russell County High School from including prayer during its graduation ceremony tonight.

Maine High Court Upholds School Tuition Program (04/26/2006)
PORTLAND, ME -- In a 6-to-1 decision, the Maine Supreme Court today ruled that the state is not required to fund religious education with taxpayer money.

ACLU of Georgia and Baptist Church File Religious Discrimination Lawsuit (04/19/2006)
ATLANTA - The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia today filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Tabernacle Community Baptist Church, charging that the city of East Point, Georgia violated a federal religious discrimination law when it denied the church a zoning permit needed to establish its house of worship.

Prominent Chicago Religious Leaders Ask Federal Appellate Court to Protect Government Neutrality in Religion and End Pentagon's Extraordinary Funding for Boy Scout Jamboree (04/05/2006)
CHICAGO - Two well-known Chicago religious leaders have asked a federal appellate court in Chicago to uphold the basic constitutional principle of government neutrality between religious groups and secular groups and bar the Pentagon from the extraordinary spending of millions of dollars to support future Boy Scout Jamborees (the only youth organization event so funded by the Pentagon). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is hearing arguments on Thursday April 6 in Winkler v. Rumsfeld, a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

NYCLU Challenges Coast Guard Ban on Religious Head Coverings in License Photographs (03/28/2006)
NEW YORK -- The New York Civil Liberties Union, working with the New York University Law School Civil Rights Clinic, filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan today challenging a Coast Guard regulation that withholds merchant marine licenses from people who do not remove their religious head coverings.

ACLU Announces Settlement in Challenge to Government-Funded Religion in the Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Program the “Silver Ring Thing” (02/23/2006)
BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today announced a settlement with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a case challenging federal funding of religious activities in a nationwide abstinence-only-until-marriage program, the Silver Ring Thing.

ACLU of Virginia Defends Fredericksburg’s Decision to Ban Sectarian Prayers at Open City Council Meetings (02/16/2006)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia today announced that it intends to file a friend-of-the-court brief in defense of the Fredericksburg City Council’s non-sectarian prayer policy adopted in November of 2005.

ACLU of Ohio Demands Schools Stop Teaching Intelligent Design as Science (02/14/2006)
TOLEDO, OH -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today sent a letter to the Toledo Public Schools demanding that they cease allowing staff to teach intelligent design in science classrooms throughout the district.