Church State

In spite of pressure from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, California's Travis Air Force Base says it is keeping its Nativity scene and Menorah displays right where they are.

"While we appreciate the concerns raised by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, the Office of the Air Force Judge Advocate General, upon review, concluded the inclusion of a Wing Chaplain sponsored nativity scene and Menorah as part of a broader, secular holiday seasonal display does not violate the establishment clause of the United States Constitution," read a statement, which was provided to Fox News & Commentary.

In a letter sent to Col. Dwight C. Sones, commander of the 60th Air Mobility Wing, MRFF attorney Katherine Ritchey said the displays are a violation of the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause. Part of the MRFF's complaint, she explains in the letter sent Dec. 19, is that it appears the display was given preferential treatment because of its location on the base. more >>

New York City officials are handing a local church an eviction notice this Christmas season.

The Associated Press reports that the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has asked the Bronx Bible Church to stop worship services at a public community center. The church began renting the Judge Sonia Sotomayor Community Center in September to service its growing congregation, but now is ordered to leave by Dec. 31.

"It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach when I heard the news," said the church's pastor Joseph Fletcher. "It was like someone let all the air out of our sails." more >>

A federal court issued an order Tuesday that will permit two Christian men to share their faith and pass out Gospel tracts during a Duluth, Minn., holiday lights show held in a city park, temporarily reversing the city’s decision last year to ban their evangelism from the event.

Although the court ruling is a temporary injunction, the Alliance Defense Fund claims a victory in its case defending the two Duluth-area residents, saying that they have prevented the city from enforcing what amounts to a “First Amendment ban on people desiring to share their faith at a city park.”

Last year, non-government organizers of the “Bentleyville Tour of Lights” alerted city officials about the men’s actions at the park, according to ADF. Police then told the two men to leave the event based upon objections of an event official who called their views “religious crap.” more >>

A letter signed by 61 non-Catholic faith leaders was sent to President Obama Wednesday expressing solidarity with Catholic concerns over government regulations mandating the provision of contraceptive services and a narrowly-written “religious employer” exemption.

“We write to you specifically as organizations and leaders that are not part of the Catholic community. We write not in opposition to Catholic leaders and organizations; rather, we write in solidarity, but separately – to stress that religious organizations and leaders of other faiths are also deeply troubled by and opposed to the mandate and the narrow exemption,” the letter states.

The letter was driven partly out of concern that, due to press reports on the issue, the White House might be under the impression that only Catholic leaders are concerned about the contraception mandate and narrow employer exemption, according to Stanley Carlson-Thies, president of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance, in a Wednesday interview with The Christian Post. more >>

A Catholic civil rights group says that the attempt by atheist activists to remove nativity scenes and faith-related symbols from the public square during Christian holidays is proof that they have targeted Christianity.

The Catholic League, considered the denomination’s largest civil rights organization in the U.S., stated on its website that the “War on Christmas” is getting “crazy.”

League President Bill Donohue said that because atheist activists often become most visible in their actions against Christian symbolism during the Christmas and Easter seasons, it “is proof that their real hatred is of all things Christian.” more >>

A Pagan mother in North Carolina is upset that her son received a Bible while at school, claiming the school has no right to give her son religious texts – Christian, Pagan, or otherwise.

Ginger Strivelli, a practicing Pagan, was upset when her son brought home a Bible he received at his public middle school, North Windy Ridge in the city of Weaverville. But what made her more upset was that school officials refused to apologize, reported the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Jackie Byerly, principal at the school, said the Bibles were not “handed out,” but were simply made available for students to take one if they wished. The Bibles were brought to the school by Gideons International, who left an open box of Bibles in the school's front office. more >>