c. 2000 Religion News Service

Clergy Seeking `Living Wage’ Rebuffed at Bush Function

(RNS) One day after a Washington news conference in which they criticized presidential candidates of both parties for advocating”faith-based solutions”for the nation’s poverty problems, members of a group called the Industrial Areas Foundation _ East were turned away from a Delaware fund-raiser for Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

Members of the foundation _ a regional division of a national community-organizing group _ were told their reservations for the $100-a-plate event, held Jan. 12 at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, were canceled because it was sold out.

The group had planned to present its demands for affordable housing and a minimum $25,000 national living wage standard to presidential candidate Bush.”There’s no doubt in my mind that it was directed at us,”said the Rev. Seamus Finn, an Oblate priest who works with the foundation’s local affiliate, Washington’s Interfaith Network.

Finn said he believes the Texas governor’s staff worried they would not”be able to control any questions we wanted to ask _ if indeed there would have been an opportunity to ask questions.” The group had no intention of disrupting the luncheon, said Catherine Poneras who, along with her boss, Ceci Schickel, made the luncheon reservations.

The two told The Washington Post that during phone conversations with Bush’s campaign staff prior to the event they were assured they could attend the luncheon as long as they paid at the door with an $800 check for their group, which included colleagues and several clerics.”It was shocking to be disregarded like that,”said Poneras, 25, a registered Republican and a staff associate at Philadelphia Interfaith Action, a foundation affiliate.”We’re not the type of people to cause a ruckus in a civilized type of setting. We didn’t bring any whistles. We all dressed up, we all showered.” Officials from the Bush campaign said they neither took part in planning the event nor had any knowledge of the cancellation of the IAF_E’s reservations.

Delaware GOP Chairman Basil Battaglia said the checks of about eight other people with reservations were returned to them as well. He said the night before the luncheon, which drew 400 people, his staff realized the event was”oversubscribed,”but could neither identify nor locate the addresses of the two people in whose name the foundation’s tables were reserved. Once the luncheon was under way, Battaglia said, he realized the two”were with a group that was advocating a cause.”

Graham Tops Magazine’s List of Century’s `Most Influential’ Christians

(RNS) Evangelist Billy Graham tops a list of the 10 most influential Christians of the 20th century, according to a series of essays published in the most recent issue of Christian History magazine. “I find this most-influential list most inspiring,”said Mark Galli, the magazine’s editor.”Such an exercise is a way to look back on the century and, as the psalmist said, `remember the wonderful works (God) has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered.'” Scholar C.S. Lewis, African American Pentecostal minister William Seymour and Mother Teresa rank second, third and fourth on the list, respectively.

Christian thinker Karl Barth ranks fifth, followed by Pope John XXIII, Soviet novelist Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, and civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Rounding out the list are evangelist John R. Mott and Pope John Paul II.

Lawmaker: FCC Should Defend Ruling on Religious Programming

(RNS) A Louisiana lawmaker wants the Federal Communications Commission to defend a recent decision declaring that not all religious programs qualify as”general educational”programming, a decision he says infringes upon the rights of religious broadcasters.

In a letter to the five commissioners of the FCC, Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., demanded answers to 33 questions regarding the December decision.”Frankly, I do not understand how the new policy can possibly be squared with our nation’s traditional commitment to freedom of religious expression,”wrote Tauzin, chairman of the House Commerce Committee’s telecommunications panel.

Among the questions Tauzin wants answered:”Why did the commission single out religious programming for additional guidance?”and”Why Scripture readings which might be part of a worship service do not contribute to the educational needs of the public?” The commission decision launched a storm of protest from religious broadcasters, who charge the ruling unfairly singles out religious programming. The action also prompted Brandt Gustavson, president of the National Religious Broadcasters, to write that”the order contains a disquieting implication that the government may restrict certain strains of religious speech.” But commission Chairman William Kennard warned against misinterpretation of the ruling, saying it does not apply to the majority of religious broadcasters, who operate on commercial channels.

Still, the guidelines have affected the move that sparked the decision, a transfer of licenses among Pittsburgh-area stations, including Cornerstone TeleVision, a Christian network based in Pennsylvania.

Cornerstone TeleVision announced Wednesday (Jan. 19) it was backing off its plan to acquire the educational TV license because of the controversial guidelines.”The financial benefits of the transaction would have been significant, but there is no benefit that would justify the sacrifice of religious freedom required by the new FCC standards,”said Oleen Eagle, president of Cornerstone TeleVision.

Tauzin, who is contemplating holding hearings on the issue in the spring, has asked for a response from the commission within the next two weeks.

Freshman Denied Scholarship Files Discrimination Suit

(RNS) A freshman at an Assemblies of God college in Washington state has sued a state education board after being denied a state scholarship because he is pursuing a religious studies degree.

The American Center for Law and Justice filed suit Jan. 13 in Seattle on behalf of Joshua Davey, a 19-year-old student at Northwest College in Kirkland who is majoring in pastoral ministries and business management.”The actions of the state of Washington represent a very troubling display of religious discrimination and hostility,”said Kevin Theriot, senior associate counsel for the ACLJ, a law firm founded by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson that specializes in religious liberties cases.”We believe the state’s action and policy are not only wrong, but unconstitutional as well.” The suit, which names Gov. Gary Locke and the officers of the Higher Education Coordinating Board, seeks a declaration that the policy is unconstitutional as well as unspecified damages.

According to the suit, Davey was awarded a Promise Scholarship through a new program that helps cover post-secondary education expenses of Washington residents in low- and middle-income families who have graduated from high school in the top 10 percent of their class.

Within a month of being notified that he had received a scholarship in the amount of $1,125 for the 1999-2000 academic year, Davey alleges he was then told students majoring in fields related to theology were not eligible for the scholarship.

The suit alleges Davey was the victim of religious discrimination because he was treated differently from other students applying for the scholarship.”Denying Mr. Davey access to a government benefit in the form of an education scholarship, on the basis of his religious beliefs and practices, conveys a governmental message that Mr. Davey is an outsider and not a full member of the community,”the suit states.

Howard Fischer, Washington state’s senior assistant attorney general, told Religion News Service Wednesday (Jan. 19) that the policy upholds a state statute.”Washington state law is clear on the subject,”he said.”There is a specific statute passed by the legislature which provides that no financial aid may be disbursed to any student to pursue a degree in theology. The plaintiff will have the difficult burden of not only overcoming that statute but the state constitutional provisions … which strongly emphasize the separation between church and state.”

House of Lords Reform Proposal Would Include Other Faiths

(RNS) A proposal to reform England’s House of Lords published Thursday (Jan. 20) would sharply reduce the number of bishops from the Church of England who sit in Parliament’s upper chamber but, for the first time, add representatives from other Christian denominations and non-Christian faiths.

The report of the 12-member Royal Commission headed by Lord Wakeham, the former Conservative Chief Whip in the Commons, proposed an upper house of about 550 members, most of whom would be appointed for 15-year terms of office by an appointments commission independent of the Prime Minister and government of the day and of the political parties.

A”substantial majority”of the commission believed formal religious representation should continue in a reformed upper house but that it should be broadened and deepened to embrace Christian denominations other than the Church of England as well as other faiths, the report said.

It said the new upper house should always contain at least five members specifically selected to be broadly representative of the various non-Christian faiths present in the United Kingdom, including the 1 million-to-1.5-million member Muslim community, the 400,000-550,00 Hindu community, the 350,000-500,000 Sikhs and the 300,000 Jews.

For other groups, the proposal recommended there be 26 places reserved for representatives of Christian denominations in the new upper house, the same number as presently allotted the Church of England.

But the Church of England’s representation would be cut to 16, with five seats shared between the other Christian denominations in England and five shared between the various Christian churches of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

There are a number of obstacles to be overcome, however.

For example, while on the basis of population there would be two members from Scotland, one or two from Wales, and only one from Northern Ireland, the commission recommended that,”given the nature of the community in Northern Ireland,”there should generally be two church representatives from there _ presumably one Roman Catholic and one Anglican or Presbyterian. This could lead to Welsh or Scottish Christians feeling they were being squeezed out.

For the Roman Catholic Church there is also the fact that representation through a bishop or bishops, whom the Roman Catholic Church would regard as its natural spokesmen, would require Rome to waive its rules banning clergy generally from membership of legislatures.

Quote of the day: Deborah Leff, president of America’s Second Harvest

(RNS)”I think people assume that the rising tide lifts all boats, and in fact, at the lowest end of the spectrum, there are as many hungry people as ever.” _ Deborah Leff, commenting on a new report by the Center on Hunger and Poverty at Tufts University released Thursday (Jan. 20) which found 30 million American worry about where they’re going to get their next meal. She was quoted by the Associated Press.

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