Christian Report

In an earlier post, I discussed how an Indiana lawmaker had come under fire for his stand on the Girl Scouts of America. It seems that Bob Morris may not have been far off the mark after all when he claimed that the organization promotes homosexuality and abortion. In fact, one employee of this non-profit group found out the hard way because she was harassed by her supervisor for wearing a pro-life t-shirt at her workplace.

Renise Rodriguez worked for the Girl Scout’s local office in Tucson, Arizona. She is also a religious studies major at the University of Arizona. Early in January, Rodriguez came to her place of employment during her off-duty hours in order to prepare for a meeting. When she arrived at her office, she was wearing a t-shirt that said “pray to end abortion.”

Her supervisor told her to turn her t-shirt inside out, warning her that she could not remain in the office if she did not do so. After being told to turn the t-shirt inside out twice, Rodriguez claims she was so emotionally disturbed that she left the office in tears.

As a result of her harassment, Rodriguez decided to quit the Girl Scouts. She submitted a letter of resignation the next day but did not cite her reason for doing so. She says she planned to mention the t-shirt incident personally with her boss’s supervisor when the time came to do a formal exit interview. Meanwhile, a pro-life group in Tucson has outfitted Rodriguez with several more t-shirts as a reward for her taking a stand against those who wish to silence our Christian voices.

The Arizona House recently passed a bill that would make Bible an elective course in many high schools throughout the state. This bill is now on its way to the Arizona Senate and if ratified would mandate the state’s Board of Education to develop a course for school systems to use. It would not force them to offer the class or mandate that any students take it.

While the United States Supreme Court has ruled that reading Bible scripture in schools is unconstitutional, they do allow its subject matter to be taught. In a landmark case decided in 1963, the high court stated that the Bible has “historical and literary value” and that it could be taught as such. This would be providing that its contents were presented “objectively and as part of a secular program of education.”

The proposed course would explore how the Bible has influenced our culture and society.  According to the sponsors of this bill, studying this influence is important because “biblical references are everywhere”. A Bible elective could help students understand these references as well as the meaning and history behind them.

One of the reasons why Representative Terri Proud introduced this bill was out of concern for teachers. She claims that many teachers in her district are afraid to talk about their Christian faith or mention the Holy Bible. She also claims that Christian principles are what “binds the nation together as a whole”, and that this issue should not divide Democrats and Republicans.

The American Family Association is continuing their boycott of Home Depot stores. The boycott is due to the company’s stance on homosexual marriage and participation and support of Gay Pride festivals throughout the country.  The AFA is hoping to encourage the retailer to remain neutral in this culture war and relinquish its involvement with gay festivals and parades.

One of the ways Home Depot has become involved in Gay Pride events includes having employees march in parades while wearing their trademark orange aprons. They have also sponsored floats and sat up informational booths that included activities for children to complete.

In addition to showing up at events intended to advance the homosexual agenda, The Home Depot also funnels much of its profits to gay rights groups. One such organization is the Human Rights Campaign, which aggressively worked to get the gay marriage bill introduced into the New York legislature. Home Depot donated over a million dollars to the group to aid its efforts in that state, The Human Rights Campaign later declared that its “secret weapon” was supporters such as this company.

Thousands of people have already signed a petition declaring they will boycott this retailer until it pulls support for the homosexual agenda. A spokesperson for the company claims it has no intentions of doing so. If you have not signed the petition, you can do so by visiting the American Family Association website at: http://action.afa.net/uploadedFiles/Activism/HDpassalong.pdf. The AFA also suggests printing copies of the petition and taking them to friends or church family members who do not have access to the Internet.

Can religious organizations discriminate in their hiring practices by refusing to employ those whose spiritual beliefs differ? The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled on this matter in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In this unanimous decision, the nation’s highest court ruled that religious organizations have the right to select workers whose beliefs are in line with their fundamental values.

Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion which stated in part that “The interest of society in the enforcement of employment discrimination statutes is undoubtedly important. But so, too, is the interest of religious groups in choosing who will preach their beliefs, teach their faith and carry out their mission.” The decision applies to priests and ministers as well as teachers in Christian schools who give instruction in religious matters at least part of the time.

In reaching its decision, the Supreme Court determined that religious organizations should be free to develop their own hiring and firing practices with as little interference from the government as possible. The court looked to the history of religious freedom during our nation’s founding and surmised that the reason for the First Amendment was to prevent the government from becoming involved in matters such as these.

Christian leaders are hailing this decision as a major victory for Americans regarding their First Amendment right to religious freedom. This is despite the fact that the Obama administration had argued last October that the plaintiff in the case should not be discriminated against because she had violated church policies during the course of her employment.