c. 1998 Religion News Service

Christian Reformed Church: abortion is `North American atrocity’

(RNS) After first deciding to make no further statement on abortion, the Christian Reformed Church, in the closing hours of its annual Synod meeting, adopted a statement Friday (June 19) labeling it”a North American atrocity.” In an unexpected move in the closing hours of their weeklong conference, delegates revived an earlier proposal on which they had decided to take no action. But they stripped from it the word “holocaust” as offensive to Jews and distracting to their intent to strongly condemn abortion.

Inserting the word “atrocity” instead still makes the point, said a principal backer of the resolution.”Because of the enormity, I still think `holocaust’ is a better word,” said the Rev. Bernard Tol, a Zeeland, Mich., pastor. “But `atrocity’ is as vivid.”

The resolution decries the “37 million innocent lives” taken in the United States and Canada since the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. It challenges churches to “boldly proclaim” their opposition, but also to “sensitively minister” to unwed mothers and their children and those dealing with the aftermath of abortion.

It also asserts that although abortion is “an exceedingly violent act, we reject all violence against those who perpetrate this act.”

Classis Zeeland, a group of 20 churches, had asked the Synod to declare abortion “an American holocaust.” A Synod committee proposed similar language, but delegates balked out of concern many Jews would be offended.

After the Synod withheld action Thursday, Zeeland’s original overture was brought back for rejection as a formality. Tol initially said he wouldn’t contest the ruling, but felt differently Friday morning. He persuaded delegates to reconsider making a statement, even though the Synod already has taken strong stands against abortion.

“Just given the 25th anniversary (of the Supreme Court decision), we needed to say something again,” Tol said later.

But the Synod still was uncomfortable with the word “holocaust.” A delegate’s suggestion to substitute the less inflammatory “atrocity” prompted another delegate to call out, “Hallelujah!”

Experts: Expect religious strife in newly opening societies

(RNS) Continued religious conflict is virtually assured in Russia and other once-closed societies now opening to globalization and free-market economics, according to speakers at an Emory University-sponsored luncheon Friday (June 19) in Washington.

John Witte Jr., director of the Atlanta school’s law and religion program, said”the soul wars of the ’90s”have seen established faith groups in Russia and elsewhere close ranks against what they see as an”onslaught”of well-financed, foreign religious groups coming to their nations in search of converts.

This effort to prosyletize has”bred considerable resentment”among the established groups who, because they have no history of Western-style religious freedom, are”not used to competition”and also are unable to compete financially, he said.

In Christian terms, said Witte, the conflict reflects”the tension between the `great commission’ (to evangelize the world) and the `golden rule’ (of respecting others).” Another dynamic fueling religious conflict today is the”intense nationalism”currently prevalent in the international arena, said David Little, a senior scholar at the United States Institute of Peace. Viewed through the prism of nationalism, dominant religious cultures who connect their faith with national identity are prone to seeing religious minorities as political threats, he said.

Little cited the Orthodox Church in Russia as an example.

T. Jeremy Gunn, a member of the International Advisory Board for the World Report on Freedom of Conscience, Religion and Belief, said an increasingly common response of governments aligned with faith groups to bolster national identity is the establishment of”two-tier structures.” Such a system generally requires the registration of religious groups, which, in turn, results in creating a class of favored faiths and another class of groups who experience discrimination.

Such systems _ in effect in Russia, Greece and elsewhere, are”clear violations of human rights standards and laws,”Gunn said. Another speaker, Lauren B. Homer, president of the Law and Liberty Trust, said education and dialogue are preferable to confrontation in seeking to get Russia and such nations to accept Western norms of religious freedom.

Today, she said,”people in many of those countries (that limit religious freedom as a matter of policy) just don’t understand what we’re talking about.”But imposing economic or other sanctions _ an idea favored by some congressional and religious conservatives _ could well worsen the situation by prompting crackdowns by skittish governments.

High Court rejects Ala. governor’s appeal in school-prayer fight

(RNS) Alabama Gov. Fob James’ appeal of a judge’s order restricting prayer and other forms of religious expression in public schools has been rejected without comment by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The High Court acted Monday (June 22) in a case involving the DeKalb County, Ala., schools. James _ who is in the midst of a tight re-election race during which he has stressed school prayer and other religious issues _ had challenged a U.S. District Court decision that overturned an Alabama law allowing”nonsectarian, nonproselytizing, student-initiated, voluntary prayers”at school-related events.

District Court Judge Ira DeMent called the law an”excessive entanglement”between religion and the state in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

James had asked the Supreme Court to bypass the regular appeals court practice and rule immediately on the case.

James faces a Republican primary runoff vote June 30. His opponent, Winton Blount, has accused James of ignoring Alabama’s economic problems and spending excessive time fighting losing battles to put religion back in the classroom.

Christians reportedly arrested in Saudi Arabia

(RNS) Saudi Arabia is reportedly holding several Christians _ primarily Filipinos _ for allegedly distributing biblical materials to homes in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. However, the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington Monday (June 22) said it had no information confirming that the arrests had taken place.

Both Baptist Press, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Human Rights Without Frontiers, an international rights agency based in Brussels, reported the arrests earlier this month of between four to six Filipinos and a Dutch citizen, all of whom were apparently working in Saudi Arabia.

Baptist Press said one of those arrested is a Filipino woman who is nine-months pregnant. Baptist Press also said Saudi officials are”believed to be torturing (those arrested) for information about other (Christian) believers”in the Middle East nation. The news service cited unnamed”sources close to the underground church in Riyadh”as the basis of its information.

According to reports, those arrested had distributed 500 packets of Arabic-language”biblical materials”at homes in Riyadh. The materials were reportedly hung on doorknobs early in the morning.

Human Rights Without Frontiers noted that Saudi Arabia is a”strictly Islamic”nation”in which Christian worship is banned”and”there is little mercy for those suspected of any form of Christian activity. It is illegal to wear a cross or to utter a Christian prayer. Saudi Christians cannot technically exist, and expatriates from less influential countries such as the Philippines and India bear the brunt of restrictions.” The U.S. State Department, in its 1997 report on religious freedom abroad, said”freedom of religion does not exist in Saudi Arabia,”and noted that foreigners who attract attention for non-Muslim religious activities”risk arrest, lashing and deportation.”The report also noted that”most”non-Muslim religious services conducted clandestinely are not interfered with, including Christian services for U.S. government employees and private American citizens held at U.S. diplomatic facilities.

In Washington, a spokesman for the Saudi embassy said embassy officials had received no information about”the alleged arrests.”

High Court rejects church-related unemployment insurance claim

(RNS) The U.S. Supreme Court Monday (June 22) turned aside without comment a Rhode Island woman’s contention that she was illegally denied unemployment benefits after she was laid off from her job with the Salvation Army.

The court’s action left intact the Federal Unemployment Tax Act’s exemption for religious organizations. The act allows states to exempt some employees from coverage, including ministers and members of religious orders, and their employers from having to pay into the unemployment benefits fund.

Guadalupe Rojas applied for benefits after she was laid off from her position as a salaried social worker with the Salvation Army in Providence. Her application was rejected because Rhode Island exempts church-operated organizations from its unemployment compensation program.

Lower courts had also ruled against Rojas, whose attorneys argued she is entitled to benefits because other nonprofit employers”which lack the religious identification”are required to participate in the fund.

New York teacher fired for praying with class receives support

(RNS) A New York City public school teacher who was fired after praying with her class has received support from members of Congress and a New York tabloid newspaper.

Mildred Rosario, 43, was fired after a June 8 incident at a Bronx middle school. The teacher was asked by an 11-year-old girl whether the girl’s friend, a recent drowning victim, was in heaven, The Washington Times reported.

Rosario, a self-described born-again Christian, told her class the child was indeed in”heaven”and also said”Jesus, our Savior”came to”save all the human race.” Ron Davis, spokesman for the New York City United Federation of Teachers, told the newspaper:”She then proceeded to pray, although she told the class anyone who did not want to participate could read a book or work at the computer. Supposedly she touched every student in the class on the head as she said a prayer.” Rosario told the newspaper,”I was removed from my classroom the next day,”after the family of a student who is a Jehovah’s Witness complained to school officials.

Some supporters of Rosario have compared her firing to the milder discipline received by another New York teacher whose membership in a support group for pedophiles was disclosed.”This is disgusting,”said Sen. Robert C. Smith, R-N.H.”It’s everything that’s wrong with our public schools and a perfect example of how we’ve lost our moral compass.” A June 17 editorial of the New York Post complained that Rosario was treated more harshly than Peter Melzer, a teacher who is a member of the North American Man Boy Love Association. Melzer was transferred to a non-teaching position when his membership in NAMBLA was discovered.”Guess which one is still on the public payroll?”wrote the Post.”If you guessed (the NAMBLA member), you guessed right.” In response to the support, Rosario said,”Praise God.” She declined to give details of what she did on the day of the incident.

Rosario was fired on June 12. On that day, she was told at a board hearing that she had broken a rule that bans school prayer and was warned she would be fired unless she pledged not to do so again.

Davis said Rosario told school officials she could not make such a pledge.”She was dismissed because she refused to refrain from prayer in the future,”he said.

Congress nears passage of measure giving education tax breaks

(RNS) Congress is close to passing a measure to give parents a tax break for education expenses, including tuition at religious and other private schools.

The measure passed the House on Thursday (June 18) by a vote of 225-197, and the Senate is considered likely to take up and pass a similar legislation, sponsored by Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., later this week. However, the White House has threatened to veto the bill.

Under the bill, families, employers and others could contribute as much as $2,000 a year to tax-free savings accounts on a child’s behalf. Deposits would not be tax-free, but interest and withdrawals would be.

Starting with kindergarten, the money could be used for a range of educational expenses, including extended day programs, transportation, tuition, and uniforms.

The accounts would cost the Treasury about $1.5 billion in lost tax revenue over a decade.

Family Research Council President Gary Bauer welcomed the House vote.”Americans want a change in education and they want the opportunity for their children to succeed,”he said Thursday.”It’s encouraging to know that Congress listened to parents today by moving to enact true education reform.” Bauer, a former undersecretary of education during the Reagan administration, worked with Coverdell to develop the bill.

Officials of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America also cheered the House vote.”This vote is a welcome step forward in improving our nation’s education system for all children,”said Nathan Diament, director of the Orthodox Union’s Institute for Public Affairs.

But a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State said his organization is concerned the measure would blur lines between religion and government.”We see the Coverdell bill as a foot in the door for broader programs of tax aid to religious schools,”Joe Conn, Americans United’s communications director, told RNS.”This would be a way to grant government assistance to religious and home schooling and we see it as a first step on wider programs.”

Quote of the day: Chris Turner, a British Druid

(RNS)”When I moved from Roman Catholic to Druid in 1980, this was considered incredibly weird. It was something you wouldn’t dare mention at the office. But today, when I explain that I worship the power resonating up through the Earth, people are interested. They say, `Now, Chris, how should I celebrate the equinox.” _ Druid Chris Turner, quoted June 22 by the Washington Post as he and other Druids marked the summer solstice at Stonehenge in England.

MJP END RNS