ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 23, 1996 TAG: 9607230083
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Church leaders from a dozen denominations stood shoulder to shoulder outside the Supreme Court on Monday to oppose a constitutional amendment allowing organized prayer in public schools.
``I am a born-again, Bible-bred, Texas-born Baptist preacher,'' said the Rev. James Dunn, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs. ``That's precisely why I oppose any government meddling in religion.''
The proposal, added Mark J. Pelavin of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, ``demeans religion, threatens our most precious rights and distracts America from addressing its most pressing problems.''Armey stepped in after Reps. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., and Ernest Istook, R-Okla., could not agree on competing proposals.
It proposes to change the First Amendment ``to further protect religious freedom, including the right of students in public schools to pray without government sponsorship or compulsion.''
LENGTH: Short : 30 linesby CNB