January 27, 1999

Congressional action on religious
liberty uncertain this session
___WASHINGTON (ABP)--Education-voucher proposals appear to be the only sure religious liberty battle in the 106th Congress. Beyond that, religious leaders are looking to issues from the last Congress to predict what might be next in an unsure atmosphere in Washington.
___Among those could be attempts to:
___ Pass legislation to make it harder for government to interfere with religious practices. The Religious Liberty Protection Act was introduced in response to a 1997 Supreme Court decision that ruled Congress lacked the authority to impose a similar law on the states.
___Brent Walker, general counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee, said RLPA "will be difficult to move in its most robust form." Political defections on both extremes and a rancorous impeachment process make bipartisan approval unlikely, Walker said. He predicted religious-liberty advocates likely will focus on getting Religious Freedom Restoration Act legislation passed in as many states as possible, including Texas.
___"I hope that a top priority will be given to a vigorous, comprehensive RLPA," said Steven McFarland, director of the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law and Religious Freedom. "It will be a gut check on principle for conservatives and civil rights activists alike."
___McFarland said that even though it might hurt RLPA's chances of passing, lawmakers might consider stripping the popular land-use provision from the bill and passing it in a separate piece of legislation. The land-use provision would strengthen religious groups in their bids to fight local zoning laws during church construction or renovation.

___ Amend the religion clauses of the U.S. Constitution. Last year the Religious Freedom Amendment failed to receive the two-thirds vote necessary for passage in the House of Representatives. The amendment would have opened the door for some forms of government-sponsored prayer and tax-financed religious education and activities.
___An aide to Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., sponsor of the constitutional amendment, said no decision has been made on whether to introduce the measure in the 106th Congress.
___Walker predicted there would be no "major activity on the constitutional amendment, although I'm sure several will be filed, particularly in the House of Representatives."

___ Pass a measure that would strip federal courts of jurisdiction in cases involving hanging the Ten Commandments in public places. McFarland and Walker criticized an anticipated attempt in the House to open the door for states to hang the Ten Commandments in public places. The proposal was introduced in the previous Congress by Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Ala.
___The issue surfaced in Alabama, where Etowah County Circuit Court Judge Roy Moore fought court rulings ordering him to halt his practice of opening court sessions with prayer and displaying a replica of the Ten Commandments on the wall.
___"We are absolutely going to reintroduce the bill" in the 106th Congress, said Laura Woolfrey, a spokeswoman for Aderholt. The measure would allow states to make their own decisions about the public display, without intervention from federal courts.

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