http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=56519
B'nai B'rith Decries Assault on Separation of Church & State by Kansas
Board of Education; Board Votes to Include 'Intelligent Design' as Part of
Science Curriculum
11/10/2005 10:48:00 AM
To: National Desk
Contact: Deborah Auerbach-Deutsch of B'nai B'rith, 202-857-6677 or
djad@bnaibrith.org
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- On Tuesday, by a vote of 6 to 4, the
Kansas Board of Education disregarded the constitutionally mandated
separation of church and state, ruling that science classes in the public
schools should include the teaching of "intelligent design." "Intelligent
design" is a new term used to replace, and cloak in ambiguity, the
religion-based theory of "creationism." Responding to this decision, B'nai
B'rith International President Joel Kaplan stated: "It stretches credulity
that this board of education could not have been aware of the dangerous
waters in which they have dived head first."
This decision is one of several attempts in states and localities across
the county to use public classrooms to advocate viewpoints with subtle
religious undertones. Kaplan views this as a "slippery slope." "We are not
just talking about teaching creationism in schools. We are opening the door
for a broader introduction of religious-based issues, ideas, and symbols
into public settings," he warns.
At the same time, B'nai B'rith applauds the voters of Dover, Pennsylvania,
who yesterday unseated eight of nine school board members who had voted in
favor of a similar measure.
In a May, 2005 editorial in B'nai B'rith Magazine entitled "One Nation
Under Law," Kaplan, long an advocate of the importance of the separation of
church and state, wrote: "Throughout our history, we have respected the
religious practices of all so long as those practices were not imposed on
others or did not harm them." He added: "In short, one of the underpinnings
of our national greatness is the constitutionally mandated separation of
church and state." B'nai B'rith pledges to work for religious freedom,
tolerance, and the public/private separation of church and state.
With members throughout the United States and more than 50 countries
worldwide, B'nai B'rith International is a national and global leader in
the area of international affairs, domestic policy, senior services, and
Jewish identity. As the oldest and most widely known and respected Jewish
organization, B'nai B'rith advocates for Jewish unity, security, and
continuity in the United States and worldwide. Visit
http://www.bnaibrith.org for more information.
http://www.usnewswire.com/
*****************************************************************
Posting and reading from alt.politics.usa.constitution OR alt.education
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the U.S. and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
-
.
|
