c. 2005 Religion News Service
Bible Curriculum for Public Schools Draws Criticism
(RNS) A Bible curriculum that has been placed in hundreds of school districts across the country has been sharply criticized in a new report commissioned by a Texas religious right watchdog group.
The 32-page report, released Monday (Aug. 1) by the Texas Freedom Network, says the curriculum published by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools “on the whole is a sectarian document” that is inappropriate for the public school setting.
Author Mark A. Chancey, an assistant professor of religious studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, concluded that the curriculum seeks to persuade students to embrace conservative Protestant views about the Bible and the “distinctively Christian” nature of America.
“The issue at stake here is not whether individuals or groups should hold such beliefs, but whether such positions should be presented as fact in a public school setting,” Chancey wrote in the introduction. “The obvious answer _ both constitutionally and ethically _ is `No.”’
Chancey argued the curriculum is not merely a study of the Holy Book as literature, but a course that “adopts a tone of assumed historicity when it discusses miracles and divine intervention.” He also questioned its lack of inclusion of scientific literature.
“The curriculum’s discussion of scientific issues also appears designed to support the theological claim that the Bible is completely accurate,” Chancey writes.
The president of the Greensboro, N.C.-based council, discounted the criticisms of the curriculum, which she said is used by about 1,100 high schools in 37 states.
“The Texas Freedom Network is a well-known, fringe leftist organization,” Elizabeth Ridenour said in an interview Wednesday. “We’ve had over 300 school board attorneys approve it for their districts. We really don’t put any credibility in their report.”
In a statement released with the report, the Austin-based Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller defended the need for the critique.
“This curriculum is simply an attempt to use public schools to interfere with the freedom of families to practice their own faiths and pass on their own religious values to their children,” Miller said. “The curriculum’s supporters are demonstrating a fundamental misunderstanding of what religious freedom really means.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Bush Again Raises Veto Threat on Stem Cell Bill
WASHINGTON _ While empathizing with millions of Americans who hope embryonic stem cells will lead to cures for their diseases, President Bush refused on Tuesday (Aug. 2) to back away from a threat to veto increased funding for stem-cell research.
“I fully understand there are a lot of folks out there desperate for a cure,” Bush said during a discussion with a small group of reporters at the White House.
Faced with what he characterized as a dilemma over whether to “allow the destruction of life in order to advance science,” Bush said he achieved the right balance between science and ethics.
Prodded in part by the personal health experiences of lawmakers and lobbying by advocates such as former first lady Nancy Reagan and the late actor Christopher Reeve, bipartisan support has grown for legislation easing the restrictions that Bush put in place in 2001 to allow federally funded research on existing stem-cell lines.
A bill that passed the House in May was supported by 50 Republicans.
The Senate has not voted on legislation sponsored by Sen. Arlen Specter,R-Pa., who recently completed treatment for Hodgkin’s disease. But Specter estimates at least 62 senators support the measure to ease restrictions, including Majority Leader Bill Frist, who changed his position last week.
At least 67 Senate votes would be needed to overcome Bush’s promised veto.
“They have their prerogative to pass laws. I have the prerogative to set limits in what I think is right,” Bush said.
Bush described embryonic stem cell research as relatively new and only one of several potential avenues to curing diseases. He noted that research using adult stem cells may yield results and researchers are working on methods to extract stem cells without destroying embryos.
He said the federal limits do not restrict privately funded research, and noted that some states have provided their own funding _ a philosophy he disagrees with.
“My hope is that stem cell lines we have available will help advance science,” Bush said, adding, “I fully understand the anguish people have.”
Most researchers believe embryonic stem cells have the most potential for curing heart disease and cancer, repairing spinal cord damage and treating other diseases.
_ Brett Lieberman
Gay, Lesbian-Friendly Megachurch Considers UCC Affiliation
(RNS) The Cathedral of Hope, which dubs itself the world’s largest gay- and lesbian-friendly congregation, is considering affiliation with the United Church of Christ (UCC), church officials have announced.
On Wednesday (Aug. 3), the Dallas church began a five-week series of meetings to explore the affiliation option. If the congregation decides to affiliate, it would become the third-largest church in the 1.3-million-member denomination.
With 4,300 members, Cathedral of Hope says it is “considered to be the largest church in the world with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.”
Until 2002, the church was affiliated with the predominantly gay Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. In recent years, church officials say the congregation considered joining the UCC because of that mainline denomination’s activism on issues of gay and lesbian equality.
On July 4, the UCC’s General Synod voted to support gay civil marriage, a move that has drawn at least 15 churches to affiliate and a handful to leave.
Cathedral of Hope leaders say they realize that although the UCC is inclusive, there will be challenges if the church does affiliate.
“Not every church in the UCC is going to welcome us, but that to me is the blessing of this denomination,” Dennis Bollin, chair of the church’s affiliation and expansion committee, told UCC News.
“It will call us to be in relationship with persons that will not agree with us,” he said.
Cathedral of Hope will vote to affiliate in October, if its board of directors makes that recommendation at earlier meetings.
_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi
`Super Ranger’ Nominated as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican
(RNS) President Bush has tapped Laurence Francis Rooney III, a successful Oklahoma businessman and top Republican fundraiser, as his next ambassador to the Vatican.
Rooney, who has been active in the Catholic community of his home state, is the chief executive officer of Rooney Holdings, a multi-billion dollar building and construction company. He is most widely known for the key fundraising role he played during Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign.
Rooney earned the title of “Super Ranger” in the Bush camp during the 2004 campaign, after he raised $250,000 for the president’s re-election and $300,000 for the Republican National Committee. Rooney Holdings also contributed $250,000 toward President Bush’s inauguration.
Opensecrets.org, a Web site that tracks campaign finance data from the Federal Election Commission, ranked Rooney and his wife as the fifth largest individual campaign contributors in the country last year.
The appointment to the Holy See is likely to hold personal appeal to Rooney, who has been active on the boards of Catholic organizations including Tulsa’s Saint Francis Heath System, Cascia Hall prep school and the School of Architecture Council at the University of Notre Dame.
Despite the strong suggestion of political patronage, the general opinion of Rooney so far is favorable in Catholic circles, according to Raymond Flynn, the former mayor of Boston who served as Vatican ambassador under Bill Clinton.
“He’ll bring a lot of credibility, even though he doesn’t have diplomatic or political experience.” Flynn said. “He has the respect of the Catholic hierarchy in the U.S. and already some in the Vatican itself.”
Rooney would replace Ambassador Jim Nicholson, who resigned to become Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Rooney’s nomination requires Senate approval.
_ Jason Anthony
Quote of the Day: American Baptist Global Consultant Lauran Bethell
(RNS) “What everyone can do is to see those in prostitution _ see anyone we’d rather not see _ with new eyes, whether they be the homeless, the outcast, the terrorist, those who irritate us, our enemies. And each time we see them, repeat to ourselves that we are seeing a precious child of God. …”
_ Lauran Bethell, an American Baptist global consultant who was awarded the Human Rights Award from the Baptist World Alliance during the organization’s centenary congress in Birmingham, England. Bethell, who works with her denomination’s International Ministries to aid women trapped in prostitution, was quoted by American Baptist News Service.
KE/JL END RNS
