City Newspaper Archives - 4/2008
RELIGION: National evangelicals defend Greece
Published by Jeremy Moule on Apr 09, 2008
A conservative Christian legal group is representing the town of Greece in a lawsuit challenging the town's practice of offering a prayer before each Town Board meeting. | The Alliance Defense Fund has filed a response on the town's behalf. The group was founded by a group of prominent, powerful, and wealthy evangelicals - among them is James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. Dobson is an extremely influential, and controversial, evangelical. Among his beliefs: that homosexuality can be cured and may be caused by having a weak father figure during adolescence. | The defense fund was formed as a sort of counter-ACLU. The fund's founders say the civil liberties group is trying to strip religion from public life. It has backed several municipalities in public prayer lawsuits and has prevailed in some cases. | The two women who are suing Greece are being represented by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The group was started in the late 1940's to oppose government aid to private religious schools. | The Greece lawsuit was filed in federal court, and if it proceeds, it will be the first federal decision to address prayer at New York State public meetings.
