c. 1998 Religion News Service
Clinton, others attack school prayer amendment as vote nears
(RNS) With a congressional showdown nearing, President Clinton and other opponents of a controversial school prayer measure have stepped up efforts to defeat the proposed Religious Freedom Amendment pushed by Christian conservatives.
The House of Representatives is expected to hold a floor vote on the amendment as soon as Thursday (June 4).
The measure would guarantee individuals the right to pray or display religious objects on public property and would allow public funds to go to religious schools. Hot-button issues that would be impacted by the measure include school prayer and the display of the Ten Commandments in courtrooms.
Proponents say the amendment is needed to offset decades of Supreme Court decisions they say have hampered religious expression in the public sphere and are a misapplication of the First Amendment’s church-state separation guarantees.
However, passage of the amendment, sponsored mainly by Rep. Ernest J. Istook, R-Okla., is considered doubtful because as a constitutional amendment it requires a two-thirds plurality in both the House and Senate. At least 38 states must also ratify the amendment for it to become law.
Gary Bauer, president of the Family Research Council and a chief proponent of the amendment, said Monday (June 1)”it will be tough to get the two-thirds.” Previous House votes on similar measures since Republicans with links to Christian conservatives won control of the chamber in 1995 have all fallen far short of the required vote.
Despite the measure’s bleak outlook, opponents have stepped up their public attack in recent days.
Saturday, Clinton devoted his weekly radio address to the issue, saying the amendment is the”wrong way”to protect religious freedom. Addressing school prayer, Clinton said”nothing in the Constitution requires schools to be religion-free.” Students, added the president, have the right to”pray privately and individually in school”and say”grace at lunch. They have the right to read the Bible or any other religious text during study hall or free class time. They also have the right to be free of coercion to participate in any kind of religious activity in school.” Other critics of the measure also chimed in.
The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a church-state watchdog group, called the amendment”foolish.” Ron Barrier, national spokesman for American Athiests, said the upcoming House vote is a”clear choice between defending our liberties or pandering to right-wing interests.”
Religious conservatives join attack on Clinton’s China trip
(RNS) President Clinton is being harshly criticized by religious conservatives and some human rights activists for his planned late-June trip to China, which will come just weeks after the ninth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.
At a Monday (June 1) news conference, Family Research Council president Gary Bauer urged Clinton not to go to China _ a suggestion the White House has already rejected. Republican congressional leaders have also urged Clinton not to go.
Bauer _ a leader in last year’s failed effort by some religious conservatives to deny China”most-favored nation”trading status _ said Clinton is following a China policy”based only on commerce and not on American values”of democracy and individual freedom.
Bauer, who is considering a run for the Republican nomination for president, also said the president’s China policy is endangering U.S. security through the export of satellite technology _ an issue that is currently at the center of a gathering Washington political storm.
Bauer’s criticism followed an earlier letter to the president signed by some three dozen religious conservative and human rights leaders. The letter said that by formally being received by Chinese leaders in Tiananmen Square, as is planned, Clinton would be”bestowing legitimacy to the ground where innocent blood was needlessly shed.” Hundreds of Chinese pro-democracy activists were killed in Tiananmen Square when China forcibly ended demonstrations there on June 4, 1989.
Among the other religious conservatives who signed the letter were James Dobson, president, Focus on the Family; Phyllis Schlafy, president, the Eagle Forum; William Bennett, co-director, Empower America; Steve Snyder, president, International Christian Concern; Don Wildson, president, American Family Association; Chuck Colson, president, Prison Fellowship; and Don Hodel, president, Christian Coalition.
Jesus’ baptism site may be reopened to tourists
(RNS) The Jordan River site where many believe Jesus was baptized may reopen to the public after being off-limits for more than 30 years.
An Israeli newspaper said Monday (June 1) that Israel’s tourism minister hopes to reopen the site to visitors by the year 2000, when large numbers of Christians are expected to visit the Holy Land.
The biblical Gospel of Mark refers to Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. The spot along the west bank of the river where the baptism is believed to have occurred is part of a closed military zone opened to tourists for just three days a year.
Israel gained control of the site in the 1967 Six-Day War. The spot was previously controlled by Jordan. Some 600,000 tourists visited the site annually until its closure.
Under terms of the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords, the site’s final status is supposed to be negotiated. Palestinian officials want the site to come under their control.
Jordan, which still controls the east bank of the Jordan opposite the traditional baptism site of Jesus, is expected to also encourage tourism to the area in 2000.
Greek Orthodox dissidents reject archbishop’s call for dialogue
(RNS) A dissident group within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has rejected an invitation to meet with the church’s U.S. head, whose removal they have called for.
Greek Orthodox American Leaders (GOAL) is at odds with Archbishop Spyridon, claiming, among other things, that his autocratic management style has limited participation of lay members of the tradition-minded church.
In March, GOAL voted to give Spyridon until May 1 to respond to their list of concerns or resign. On May 21, Spyridon offered to meet with GOAL representatives at his New York offices.
Sunday (May 31), GOAL said its board of directors has unanimously voted to reject the invitation because”mutually acceptable conditions for the meeting”could not be agreed upon.
Spyridon responded Monday (June 1) with another invitation to dialogue. He said he was”disappointed”at the board’s rejection of the earlier invitation.
Swiss churches ask: What kind of future do you want?
(RNS) In a unique millennium-related exercise, the Swiss Roman Catholic and Protestant churches have joined in asking the Swiss people what kind of future they want the country to have.”For many, social peace and prosperity are jeopardized,”the Swiss Roman Catholic Bishops Conference and the Protestant Church Federation said in a joint statement announcing the initiative, including an open letter to the Swiss people soliciting their comments on a discussion paper,”What Sort of Future Do We Want.” The religious groups said they hope they receive a large number of responses to the open letter and that the position paper will serve as a discussion starter in congregations, schools and small group settings.
A conference on the issue is planned for October.”After careful examination of the answers and responses, the churches’ decision-making bodies will draw their own conclusion and publish them in a final document in the year 2000,”said Ecumenical News International, the Geneva-based religious news agency.
In the paper, the Swiss church bodies noted that the globalization and”technologicalization”of the Swiss economy, including mergers in the all-important chemical and financial industries,”are causing concern among Switzerland’s population. … Economic development is making the rich richer and causing poverty to spread.”The mandate of the gospel includes action the social realm and the churches insist the unsolved problems be dealt with in a socially acceptable way,”it added.
Quote of the day: Johnetta Cole, former president of Spelman College
(RNS)”Your education has surely reinforced lessons you have heard in your church, your synagogue, your temple or your mosque _ that from those who have been given so much, a great deal is expected. To put that in the language of my Southern African-American upbringing: Doing for others is just the rent you must pay for living on this Earth.” _ Johnetta Cole, the first African-American president of Spelman College, in a commencement address at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass., as quoted by USA Today.
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