Word: religion
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...still say prayers five times a day while facing the holy city of Mecca. But a long trip with frequent stops could make them lose their bearings and point them in the wrong direction for worship. To prevent such a problem, Dallas Inventor George Shrime has applied science to religion and designed an electronic prayer guide. It points the way toward Mecca from any of 200 locations, beeps at worship time and displays the opening verses of the call to prayer on a liquid-crystal screen...
...elders argued that they had an absolute right to practice their religion as Church of Christ tradition dictates. The 13,000 Churches of Christ in the U.S. are noted for monitoring and disciplining the lives of their 1.3 million adult members. As the elders testified, Churches of Christ seek to apply literally every word of the New Testament. In Matthew 18: 15-17, Jesus Christ lays out the procedure for dealing with a wrongdoer. The final step: "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church...
...once again found myself surrounded by the gaze of Lenin as his face loomed from the sides of buildings. And the communist slogans and the Red Star were visible wherever you went. In the taxi on a fence, in the bakery--constantly one felt the presence of this national religion...
What the court seemingly ignores, however, is the distinction between neutrality and overt bias in favor of one religion. When the city gives free textbooks or transportation, it is part of a value-neutral effort on the part of the government to treat all religions equally. Jewish schools can receive the free textbooks as can non-denominational private schools. But when the city makes an a priori decision to put up a nativity scene, it is specifically singling out for approval one aspect of one religious celebration from a myriad of beliefs and practices...
...accounts the creche, which had been set up for almost 40 years, was not a symbol of religious oppression in the town. The creche seemed to reflect the majority's sentiment and the minority did not seem to care. Excessive entanglement or approval of a particular religion may not be a serious problem in the Rhode Island community, but there are some places in the United States where setting up a creche would be just one more symbol of a community where it is difficult to be a Jew or an atheist. Places where even the government would find something...