Difference between revisions of "ACLU"
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Some conservative Christians claim that the ACLU has used the legal system to purge Christianity from public life, so much so that some conservatives refer to it as the "Anti-Christian Liberties Union." For example, the ACLU has made numerous demands and filed lawsuits to remove the Ten Commandments and Christian crosses from public places and symbols. The ACLU also opposes and has stopped prayers at graduations and football games. | Some conservative Christians claim that the ACLU has used the legal system to purge Christianity from public life, so much so that some conservatives refer to it as the "Anti-Christian Liberties Union." For example, the ACLU has made numerous demands and filed lawsuits to remove the Ten Commandments and Christian crosses from public places and symbols. The ACLU also opposes and has stopped prayers at graduations and football games. | ||
| − | In a very rare example of an ACLU chapter siding with a Christian student, the ACLU of Michigan (which has no connection with other ACLU organizations) defended a Christian student seeking to have a Biblical passage on the student's yearbook page.[http://www.aclu.org/studentsrights/expression/12845prs20040511.html] | + | In a very rare example{{fact}}of an ACLU chapter siding with a Christian student, the ACLU of Michigan (which has no connection with other ACLU organizations) defended a Christian student seeking to have a Biblical passage on the student's yearbook page.[http://www.aclu.org/studentsrights/expression/12845prs20040511.html] |
Typical of ACLU litigation was its expenditure of millions of dollars on the [[Dover trial]] in order to prohibit an elected school board from introducing public school students to concepts or books concerning [[Intelligent design]]. At the end of this case the trial judge, who copied extensively from the ACLU's brief in writing his opinion, approved an order requiring the school board to reimburse the seven-figure ACLU legal expenses. The judge also prohibited any mention of [[Intelligent design]] by teachers in the public school. | Typical of ACLU litigation was its expenditure of millions of dollars on the [[Dover trial]] in order to prohibit an elected school board from introducing public school students to concepts or books concerning [[Intelligent design]]. At the end of this case the trial judge, who copied extensively from the ACLU's brief in writing his opinion, approved an order requiring the school board to reimburse the seven-figure ACLU legal expenses. The judge also prohibited any mention of [[Intelligent design]] by teachers in the public school. | ||
Revision as of 04:59, February 22, 2007
The ACLU is the American Civil Liberties Union, which was run for its first 30 years by a Unitarian socialist named Roger Baldwin, who helped found it in 1920 in response to the Espionage Act and Sedition Act. During most his tenure at the ACLU Baldwin was sympathetic to the communist movement, only breaking off ties on the eve of World War II.
Some conservative Christians claim that the ACLU has used the legal system to purge Christianity from public life, so much so that some conservatives refer to it as the "Anti-Christian Liberties Union." For example, the ACLU has made numerous demands and filed lawsuits to remove the Ten Commandments and Christian crosses from public places and symbols. The ACLU also opposes and has stopped prayers at graduations and football games.
In a very rare example[Citation Needed]of an ACLU chapter siding with a Christian student, the ACLU of Michigan (which has no connection with other ACLU organizations) defended a Christian student seeking to have a Biblical passage on the student's yearbook page.[1]
Typical of ACLU litigation was its expenditure of millions of dollars on the Dover trial in order to prohibit an elected school board from introducing public school students to concepts or books concerning Intelligent design. At the end of this case the trial judge, who copied extensively from the ACLU's brief in writing his opinion, approved an order requiring the school board to reimburse the seven-figure ACLU legal expenses. The judge also prohibited any mention of Intelligent design by teachers in the public school.