Naked Power Grab: Christian Coalition Plots to Strip Federal Courts of Their Authority to Hear Church-State Cases

Boston, Rob, Church & State

Despite the Christian Coalition's best efforts, those pesky federal courts keep upholding the Bill of Rights and the separation of church and state. But not to worry, the group has a plan to fix that: take away the right of the courts to bear those cases in the first place.

This bold gambit, called "court stripping," is all the rage among the Religious Right these days.

The Religious Right's theory holds that Congress can simply pass a law removing the jurisdiction of the federal courts in cases dealing with the Pledge of Allegiance, government-sponsored religious displays, school prayer, same-sex marriage, etc. With the courts out of the picture, Congress would then be free to pass whatever laws it wanted.

Court …

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Publication information: Article title: Naked Power Grab: Christian Coalition Plots to Strip Federal Courts of Their Authority to Hear Church-State Cases. Contributors: Boston, Rob - Author. Magazine title: Church & State. Volume: 57. Issue: 10 Publication date: November 2004. Page number: 7. © 1999 Americans United for Separation of Church and State. COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group.

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