Religion Alabama

A federal appeals court Friday temporarily suspended a federal judge's ruling that ordered Alabama schools to remove 44 textbooks on the grounds that they violated the Constitution because they promoted secular humanism as a religion. The Alabama Board of Education immediately began telling school officials to return the books to students so they can finish the spring semester.

A federal appeals court Friday temporarily suspended a federal judge's ruling that ordered Alabama schools to remove 44 textbooks on the grounds that they violated the Constitution because they promoted secular humanism as a religion. The Alabama Board of Education immediately began telling school officials to return the books to students so they can finish the spring semester.

In a decision expected to have nationwide impact, a federal judge Wednesday banned the use of several dozen textbooks in Alabama's public schools, holding that they unconstitutionally promoted "the religion of secular humanism." U.S. District Judge W. Brevard Hand, ruling in a case that pitted the religious right against national civil libertarian lobbies, said the challenged textbooks violate First Amendment provisions mandating the separation of church and state.

Lawyers for the Alabama Board of Education sent a notice of appeal to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, seeking reversal of a judge's ruling banning 44 textbooks from Alabama public schools for promoting the "religion" of secular humanism. U.S. District Judge W. Brevard Hand banned the books March 4 on grounds that they promoted humanism as a religion, in violation of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion.

School workers began pulling books from shelves to comply with a federal judge's order banning 45 texts from Alabama classrooms on grounds they promote a godless humanist religion. Meanwhile, a lawyer for 12 parents who joined Alabama as defendants in the case said they would file for a reversal next week with the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta on the ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Judge W. Brevard Hand.

Lawyers for the Alabama Board of Education sent a notice of appeal to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, seeking reversal of a judge's ruling banning 44 textbooks from Alabama public schools for promoting the "religion" of secular humanism. U.S. District Judge W. Brevard Hand banned the books March 4 on grounds that they promoted humanism as a religion, in violation of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion.

Two civil liberties groups representing parents of Alabama public schoolchildren said Friday that they will appeal last week's court ruling banning 44 texts that allegedly promote the "religion" of secular humanism. The American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way also warned that the decision by U.S. District Court Judge W. Brevard Hand will unleash a host of challenges to public school education by Christian fundamentalists seeking to promote their sectarian views.

When Judge W. Brevard Hand was about to rule on a controversial Alabama school textbook case recently, the question was not which way his decision would go--but how far. To the surprise of no one familiar with the case, Hand went the distance: He upheld the fundamentalist Christian plaintiffs, declared that "secular humanism" is a religion and banned more than 40 state-approved books that he ruled promoted the godless doctrine. The 63-year-old U.S.

This editorial page rarely sees eye to eye with Justice Clarence Thomas on the Constitution. But in concluding last week that the words "under God" unconstitutionally transform the Pledge of Allegiance into something of a religious incantation, the Supreme Court justice got it right. Half right, anyway. We'll get to the other half in a bit. Thomas' surprising assertion came in his dissent from the court's non-decision last week on the pledge.

A federal judge amended his order banning 44 textbooks from Alabama public schools to permit limited use of four home economics texts. U.S. District Judge W. Brevard Hand rejected pleas of state school officials to allow all 44 to be used for the rest of this school year. Hand ruled March 4 that the 44 books violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the state from advancing religion in public schools.

When Judge W. Brevard Hand was about to rule on a controversial Alabama school textbook case recently, the question was not which way his decision would go--but how far. To the surprise of no one familiar with the case, Hand went the distance: He upheld the fundamentalist Christian plaintiffs, declared that "secular humanism" is a religion and banned more than 40 state-approved books that he ruled promoted the godless doctrine. The 63-year-old U.S.

Two civil liberties groups representing parents of Alabama public schoolchildren said Friday that they will appeal last week's court ruling banning 44 texts that allegedly promote the "religion" of secular humanism. The American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way also warned that the decision by U.S. District Court Judge W. Brevard Hand will unleash a host of challenges to public school education by Christian fundamentalists seeking to promote their sectarian views.

In a decision expected to have nationwide impact, a federal judge Wednesday banned the use of several dozen textbooks in Alabama's public schools, holding that they unconstitutionally promoted "the religion of secular humanism." U.S. District Judge W. Brevard Hand, ruling in a case that pitted the religious right against national civil libertarian lobbies, said the challenged textbooks violate First Amendment provisions mandating the separation of church and state.