Church State

A federal appeals court in Chicago will review a lawsuit decision against a Wisconsin school district that held high school graduation ceremonies at a local church.

Elmbrook School District was sued for using the auditorium at nearby Elmbrook Church for graduation ceremonies for its two high schools. The case will be going to the full Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals for review.

"Students at Brookfield Central and Brookfield East High Schools respectively chose to schedule their graduation ceremonies offsite at the Elmbrook Church Auditorium due to lack of space," said Melinda Mueller, communications manager for Elmbrook Schools, to The Christian Post on Thursday. more >>

Lawsuits over the Obama administration's ruling requiring employers to pay for contraception, abortifacients and sterilization in their health coverage, without a broad religious exemption, have already begun. Based upon previous Supreme Court rulings, it is unclear how the courts will rule in these cases, a legal expert told The Christian Post.

Ambassador Douglas Kmiec, professor of constitutional law at Pepperdine University School of Law, does not agree with the president's decision, but his analysis of Supreme Court rulings suggests that it is uncertain how courts will decide these cases.

"I would have to tell [President Obama], that my honest answer about the law is that I think it is unclear as to what is required here," Kmiec said, because of the Supreme Court's ruling in Employment Division v. Smith (1990). more >>

The U.S. Air Force has garnered backlash from GOP lawmakers after it removed a reference to God that appears on the patch logo for the Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO).

The RCO, which was created in 2003 to communicate weapons system reports to the U.S. Air Force's top officials, changed its patch logo several weeks ago after the atheist group, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers (MAAFA), complained about the logo's reference to God.

The logo originally read in Latin "Doing God's Work with Other People's Money." However, it has been changed to read: "Doing Miracles with Other People's Money." more >>

A former Obama official expressed his disappointment in the Obama administration's decision to mandate coverage of contraceptive, abortifacient and sterilization services without an exemption for all religious institutions morally opposed to using those services.

The contraception mandate is "inconsistent with who Barack Obama is, at least as I see him," Ambassador Douglas Kmiec, professor of constitutional law at Pepperdine University School of Law, said in a Tuesday interview with The Christian Post. "I've always admired him for his desire to find common ground among people and his desire to not divide people in any way that can be avoided."

Kmiec, a Catholic, was a Republican and had worked in the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations, but he supported Obama in 2008. He wrote an editorial about a month before that election arguing that a Catholic can, in good conscience, vote for Obama, because, Obama is a "bridge builder" and someone who seeks to lessen political division in the nation. more >>

Renowned Pastor Tim Keller is speaking out for the first time against New York City's ban on church use of public school buildings.

"Grieved" that more than 60 churches will be forced out of public schools this month, Keller called the city's ban "unwise" and is hoping for a reversal.

"It is my conviction that those churches housed in schools are invaluable assets to the neighborhoods that they serve," the senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church said in a statement Tuesday. "Churches have long been seen as positive additions to communities. Family stability, resources for those in need, and compassion for the marginalized are all positive influences that neighborhood churches provide." more >>

New York City and state officials and religious leaders on Monday urged the state legislature to pass a bill authorizing religious meetings in public school property.

Assemblyman Nelson L. Castro organized a press conference in Albany, N.Y., to discuss State Assembly Bill A8800 and State Senate Bill 6087A, that would allow houses of worship to rent empty spaces in public schools during non-school hours.

New York City Councilmember Fernando Cabrera told The Christian Post that the Senate is set to vote on Senate Bill 6087A today and he believes "it's going to pass." The assembly is not expected to consider Bill A8800 today, according to Cabrera, and the only other time it will meet this week is Tuesday. more >>