For Immediate Release
Contact: William Blake - Press Secretary (202) 238-3291

Washington, DC – Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy released the following statement on the ‘Evangelical Manifesto’ unveiled at a press conference in Washington today:

The release of today’s ‘Evangelical Manifesto’ proves that not only do the leaders of the Religious Right not speak for all Americans, they don’t even speak for all evangelicals.

As someone raised in the evangelical tradition, I was pleased to see this ‘manifesto’ because it puts forward a broader definition of the term than we have seen over the last few decades. However, there are certainly items in the document that I take issue with, such as its narrow concept of religious diversity.

This manifesto should be read as a strong criticism of the Religious Right’s so-called leadership, who were clearly not involved in the drafting or signing of this document. I have often said that these leaders are more concerned with their own personal influence and power than advancing a constructive agenda protecting faith and freedom.

I appreciate the tone of this document, especially the call to remove religion from politics, though it does not and should not remove the right of people of faith to voice their concerns on issues of national importance. We will have to wait and see what, if any, impact this document has on the Religious Right.

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The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the positive and healing role of religion in the life of the nation and challenging those who manipulate religion to promote a narrow, divisive agenda. With more than 185,000 members drawn from more than 75 faith traditions and 47 local activist groups throughout America, TIA promotes compassion, civility and mutual respect for human dignity in our increasingly diverse society. For more information visit www.interfaithalliance.org

For Immediate Release
Contact: William Blake - Press Secretary (202) 238-3291

Washington, DC – Today, The Interfaith Alliance applauded the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit’s decision to declare a public school teacher leading students in prayer as unconstitutional. In Borden v. East Brunswick School District (NJ), a panel of three Third Circuit judges unanimously affirmed the position advocated in an amicus brief filed by the Interfaith Alliance.

The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of the Interfaith Alliance said, “I applaud the Third Circuit Court of Appeals for affirming our view that Mr. Borden’s actions violated students’ religious freedom when he led them in prayer. It is not the role of public schools to indoctrinate our children with one faith’s religious values.”

In the case in question, Marcus Borden, a public high school coach and teacher in New Jersey was accused of crossing the line by participating, in his official capacity, in prayer sessions with his players. Borden argued that bowing his head and kneeling during these sessions were “purely secular symbolic acts,” a position rejected by the Third Circuit. In today’s opinion, the court stated, “…Borden was endorsing religion when he engaged in these acts.”

In an amicus brief filed with the Third Circuit, The Interfaith Alliance and the seven other groups that signed it concluded that:

By bowing his head and kneeling in a prayer circle with students as they pray, Coach Borden unconstitutionally crosses the line from government neutrality to government participation in and endorsement of religious exercise. Coach Borden’s claim that his actions lack religious content is both disingenuous and insulting to sincere religious adherents.

The other organizations signing the amicus brief were The Anti-Defamation League, Hadassah, Jewish Women International, Muslim Advocates, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, The Sikh Council on Religion and Education, and The Union for Reform Judaism.

The brief was prepared by Pamela Harris and Pammela Quinn of O’Melveny & Myers and the case was argued by Richard Katskee of Americans United for Separation of Church & State.

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The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the positive and healing role of religion in the life of the nation and challenging those who manipulate religion to promote a narrow, divisive agenda. With more than 185,000 members drawn from more than 75 faith traditions and 47 local activist groups throughout America, TIA promotes compassion, civility and mutual respect for human dignity in our increasingly diverse society. For more information visit www.interfaithalliance.org

For Immediate Release
Contact: William Blake - Press Secretary (202) 238-3291

Washington, DC –Last night's Compassion Forum on CNN provided a great opportunity to pose some important questions about the role of faith in politics. Some of the answers given by the candidates will serve to better inform the voting public about their views and they should be commended for the generally respectful manner in which they handled these issues. However, there were also many questions asked by the moderators that were clearly inappropriate, and still others of importance that they failed to ask.

If this had been an interview for any other job in America, a good number of the questions asked last night would have been downright illegal.

Why ask Senator Clinton about feeling "the presence of the Holy Spirit"?

Why ask Senator Obama what he would tell his children if they asked whether "God really create the world in six days?" Far more useful would be questions about whether their faith would impact their policy positions or whether or not the concept of intelligent design should be taught in our children's public school classrooms.

Many important issues that exist at the intersection of religion and politics were covered last night - reproductive health, end-of-life care, the faith-based initiative. I only wish the moderators had pushed the candidates further on these important questions for voters, rather than asking questions that do little to move the national conversation on faith in public life forward.

I hope the media will continue to look at the role of faith in public life, but they should focus on issues of more relevance to voters.

Instead, The Interfaith Alliance respectfully offers the following fivequestions:

1. What role should and does your religious faith and values play in creating public policy?

2. What are your views on the Constitutional guarantee of the separation of church and state?

3. What active steps have you taken and will you continue to take to show respect for the variety of religious beliefs among your constituents?

4. Should a political leader's use of religious language reflect the language of his/her religious tradition, or be more broadly inclusive?

5. How do you balance the principles of your faith and your pledge to defend the Constitution, particularly when the two come into conflict?

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The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the positive and healing role of religion in the life of the nation and challenging those who manipulate religion to promote a narrow, divisive agenda. With more than 185,000 members drawn from more than 75 faith traditions and 47 local activist groups throughout America, TIA promotes compassion, civility and mutual respect for human dignity in our increasingly diverse society. For more information visit www.interfaithalliance.org

For Immediate Release
Contact: William Blake - Press Secretary (202) 238-3291

Washington, DC – Presidential candidates and CNN moderators should not allow this weekend’s Compassion Forum with presidential candidates to yet again misuse religion as a political tool and to further blur the boundaries between religion and government, according to a prominent interfaith advocacy leader.

“Voters have the right to know what role a candidate’s faith will play in creating public policy, not what they pray about and what they believe to be their greatest sins,” Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, a Baptist preacher and President of The Interfaith Alliance said.

Rev. Gaddy continued, “The role of faith in the election is an important issue but unfortunately, it has been mishandled both by the candidates and by the media.”

Polling conducted by The Interfaith Alliance Foundation showed that seven in ten Americans think that presidential candidates should not use religion or faith to influence voters. More info on the poll can be found here.

The full text of Gaddy’s statement is below:

The idea of a forum focused completely on faith raises a few red flags.  CNN has agreed to air Faith in Public Life’s “Compassion Forum” this weekend. Given the type of questions asked at the Sojourners Presidential Forum on Faith last year, I think our concerns are justified. The role of faith in the election is an important issue, but unfortunately it has been mishandled by both the candidates and the media. At the Sojourners forum candidates were asked what they prayed about and their greatest sin, and in an MSNBC debate candidates were asked their favorite Bible verse.  I hope that this time CNN and the other sponsors of the forum will concentrate on questions that have real relevance to the voting public.

Voters want to know what role a candidate’s faith and values will play in creating public policy. They want to know if candidates will respect the boundaries between religion and government. And, they want to know how a candidate will balance the principles of their faith with their pledge to defend the Constitution, particularly when they come into conflict.

Faith has played an unusually large role in the 2008 elections; if this trend is going to continue, we should at least ask the right questions.

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The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the positive and healing role of religion in the life of the nation and challenging those who manipulate religion to promote a narrow, divisive agenda. With more than 185,000 members drawn from more than 75 faith traditions and 47 local activist groups throughout America, TIA promotes compassion, civility and mutual respect for human dignity in our increasingly diverse society. For more information visit www.interfaithalliance.org