Americans United
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The Great Debate of Our Season
Mother Jones on the Christian rightıs campaign to remake the U.S.
government

In a special December issue, Mother Jones magazine examines the contentious
debate over the role of religion in government. "It's been more than 200
years since the founders established the separation of church and state,"
observe the editors in introducing the package. "The assault on that
principle now under way promises to alter not only our form of government
but our concept of religion as well."

The special issue is currently available on their web site. To access the
issue go to: http://www.au.org/site/R?i=n8bmxyaNzbOj4HIPI_TQNA..

Use the code MJ5RES to access the full text of articles that fall behind
the pay wall.

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, several of the writers in the package will be taking
part in an e-conference to be held on the new blog site Talk To Action at:
http://www.au.org/site/R?i=8LjqdBUHSmNzERR-sxrEDA..

AU members and supporters are invited to take part!
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The following is a sample of what you will find on MotherJones.com:

Features include:

"Original Intent," by Susan Jacoby

Jacoby, the author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism, leads
the package off by detailing the conscious and radical decision by the
framers of the Constitution to create the first secular government in the
world. Jacoby spotlights Antonin Scaliaıs dissenting opinion in the recent
Supreme Court decision on courthouse displays of the Ten Commandments. She
dubs Scaliaıs opinion "a revealing portrait of the historical revisionism
at the heart of the Christian conservative campaign to convince Americans
that the separation of church and state is nothing more than a lie of the
secularist left."


"A Nation Under God," by John Sugg

Sugg describes the Christian Reconstruction movement as "the spark plug
behind much of the battle over religion in politics today."
Reconstructionists believe that Christian crusaders must conquer and
convert the world, by sword if necessary, before Jesus will return. In this
worldview, says Sugg, Christians are asked not just to live right or help
their neighbors, but to take over the institutions of government.


"A Higher Frequency," by Adam Piore

Piore tracks the rise of Salem Communications, a Christian radio empire
Stuart Epperson and Edward Atsinger III built through force of will and
grassroots organizing. Today the company owns 103 stations in the nation's
largest markets and broadcasts to more than 1,900 affiliates. Salem
provides the Christian right with a powerful platform from which to share
information, mobilize allies, and galvanize public opinion.


"Professing Faith," by Karen Houppert

At Baylor University, the nation's largest Baptist college, the rise of
Christian fundamentalism led to a pitched battle between moderate and
fundamentalist Christians for the soul of the university. In the course of
the struggle, writes Houppert, "one university president fell, the theory
of Intelligent Design was wedged into the curriculum and then railroaded
out, the faculty went to the mat to defend its academic freedom policy,
[and] alumni groups splintered."


"Rendering Unto God," by Michael Reynolds

In recent years a little-known group known as the National Christian
Foundation has emerged as a major funder of the evangelical movement. The
Atlanta-based group has funneled nearly $1 billon to ministries, schools,
conservative think tanks, and political activists around the country.

Literature urges donors, who usually remain anonymous, to "invest dollars
into Godıs Kingdom, rather than surrender those dollars to the federal
government."


"Death Row Conversion," by Sara Catania

When a parishioner ended up on death row, St. Francis of Assisi Church in
Raleigh, North Carolina, responded by becoming one of the most active
Catholic congregations in the country in opposing the death penalty.


Columns include:

"The Roman Inquisition," by JoAnn Wypijewski

The pope's plan to "purify" the priesthood denies that for centuries gay
men have found refuge in the church's ranks and rituals, observes
Wypijewski.


"Smith vs. Darwin," by James K. Galbraith

More than a century after Adam Smith laid down his vision of a world
governed by natural law, says Galbraith, economics remains stuck in a
"pre-Darwinian rut" that strangely parallels Intelligent Design.
"Economists still donıt understand variation," writes Galbraith. "[They]
still ignore the diversity of actual economic and social life."


Shorts include:

"Expanding Universe: The religious right's orbits of influence," by
Frederick Clarkson

A two-page graphic spread details the intersecting galaxies of the
religious right, from the Christian Coalition of America to the Moral
Majority Coalition, Focus on the Family, and the Foundation for Moral Law.


"Sanctus Santorum," by Will Bunch

Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was the first member of Congress to
visit the media scrum outside Terri Schiavo's hospice. The senator told
reporters he happened to be in the neighborhood, reports Bunch. What he
didn't reveal was that he was in Tampa to attend a fundraising lunch
organized by corporate benefactor Outback Steakhouses, having flown in on
the jet of another major donor: Wal-Mart.


"So Help Us Our Guardian Deities"

From Ireland (the Most Holy Trinity) to Pakistan (Almighty Allah) to North
Korea (Comrade Kim Il Sung), Mother Jones lists the deities cited in the
constitutions of 11 other countries.