Inside the Christian Legal Crusade to Revive School Prayer
Buoyed by the right-wing Supreme Court, Christian groups are laying the groundwork for public schools to veer back toward the 1960s

https://newrepublic.com/article/172477/inside-christian-legal-crusade-revive-school-prayer

* Comment: a long but well-researched, written article discussing religion in education, & school prayer in the Southern states (focus: Louisiana).

#Louisiana #ReligionAndEducation #SCOTUS #SchoolPrayer #religion #prayer #ChurchAndState #FirstLibertyInstitute #LibertyCounsel

Inside the Christian Legal Crusade to Revive School Prayer

Buoyed by the right-wing Supreme Court, Christian groups are laying the groundwork for public schools to veer back toward the 1960s.

The New Republic

cont'd

* includes discussion of erosion of separation of religion (i.e. Christian religion) & state via U.S. Supreme Court, Louisiana (and other state) courts, & U.S. federal courts

From the article:

"Over time - advocates of the separation of church and state fear - long-standing protections for young atheists, people who belong to no religion, and religious minorities will be eroded - until, perhaps, these protections disappear altogether."

cont'd 2/

"As Christianity is held up as the only acceptable way to believe & to live, non-Christian children, who may already feel different, could find themselves all the more sidelined, ostracized, or bullied. ... This is a religious war. This is a fight for the heart & soul of the country."

* attorneys f. First Liberty Institute & Liberty Counsel - a conservative legal organization - said the door has opened to bring prayer back to schools across U.S., at least to school-sponsored events

cont'd 3/

* Author Linda K. Wertheimer (https://www.lindakwertheimer.com), author of: Faith Ed: Teaching About Religion in an Age of Intolerance
@lindakwert

https://persagen.com >> search: "liberty counsel"
"Liberty Counsel" OR "First Liberty Institute"
"First Liberty Institute"
"liberty counsel" AND "alliance defending freedom"

#LibertyCounsel #FirstLibertyInstitute #AllianceDefendingFreedom #MatStaver #MatthewStaver #ChristianRight #FarRight #neofascism #CultureWars #homophobia #transphobia

landing

Linda K. Wertheimer

Addendae 1

Why So Many Americans Have Stopped Going to Church
The decline is not just about religious institutions; it's about society itself
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/08/why-church-religion-attendance-decline/674916

* 40 million Americans stopped going to church in past 25 years

Book:
The Great Dechurching: Who's Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?
https://tertulia.com/book/the-great-dechurching-who-s-leaving-why-are-they-going-and-what-will-it-take-to-bring-them-back-jim-davis/9780310147435

* largest, fastest religious shift in U.S. history

#USdemographics #demographics #ChurchGoing #religion #CulturalShifts

Why So Many Americans Have Stopped Going to Church

The decline is not just about religious institutions; it's about society itself.

The Atlantic

Addendae 2

Religious Right Legal Group Says SCOTUS Can Use Its Case to Overturn Marriage Equality
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/religious-right-legal-group-says-scotus-can-use-its-case-to-overturn-marriage-equality

* Religious-right leaders oppose legal equality for LGBTQ Americans never accepted SCOTUS'’ 2015 marriage equality ruling; seek its reversal
* given a huge boost when & Court’s Trump-fortified right wing overturned Roe v. Wade 2022-06

#LibertyCounsel #ChristianRight #neofasciasm #lgbt #transphobia #homophobia #CultureWars #SCOTUS #MatStaver #SameSexMarriage

Religious Right Legal Group Says SCOTUS Can Use Its Case to Overturn Marriage Equality | Right Wing Watch

Religious-right leaders who oppose legal equality for LGBTQ Americans have never accepted the Supreme Court’s 2015 marriage equality ruling as legitimate,

Right Wing Watch

Addendae 2 cont'd

* Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver discussed possibility that overturning Obergefell (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obergefell_v._Hodges) could be “coming soon”

* see also Liberty Counsel, above
https://persagen.com >> search: "Liberty Counsel" OR "First Liberty Institute"
mat* AND staver

#LibertyCounsel #ChristianRight #neofasciasm #lgbt #transphobia #homophobia #CultureWars #SCOTUS #MatStaver #SameSexMarriage #ConscientiousObjection #KinDavis #Obergefell #MarriageEquality

Obergefell v. Hodges - Wikipedia

Addendum 3

America Losing Religious Faith
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/23/opinion/christianity-america-religion-secular.html

* until recently more Americans believed in virgin birth of Jesus (66%) than evolution (54%)
* Christians = 90% of U.S. believers
* Americans becoming sig. less religious
* U.S. remains unusually pious nation
* see Addendae 1, above

1st Time U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority
https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time.aspx

[book] Great Dechurching
https://faithgateway.com/products/the-great-dechurching-who-s-leaving-why-are-they-going-and-what-will-it-take-to-bring-them-back

#USdemographics #demographics #ChurchGoing #religion #CulturalShifts

Opinion | America Is Losing Religious Faith

At present rates, only a minority of Americans will identify as Christian by the mid-2030s.

The New York Times

@persagen

Do we seriously have to wait that long?

There is nothing particularly Christian about US Christians today. Can't they just skip to the end?

@persagen

"Who's Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?"

Wrong question.

Right question: How can we get MORE to leave? (Especially from the Republic of Gilead churches)