DATE: Tuesday, March 25, 1997               TAG: 9703250324

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A3   EDITION: FINAL 

DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   63 lines

RELIGION AMENDMENT IN THE WORKS CONGRESSMAN WANTS TO ENSURE FREEDOM; OPPONENTS SAY IT'S ALREADY GUARANTEED.

Ellen Pearson was shocked when a principal barred her 9-year-old daughter from reading her Bible during 90-minute bus trips to and from a Dumfries, Va., school.

The ban was required by laws that mandate the separation of church and state, the principal said.

But the school official relented after Pearson sought the help of lawyers who assured him that the girl's Bible reading did not violate the Constitution.

This case and others like it show that Americans need a constitutional amendment to protect them from judges and officials who mistakenly believe the Constitution requires them to stamp out all public religious expression, Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., said Monday.

Istook said he planned to introduce a bill proposing such an amendment after Congress returns from its two-week Easter recess. The House Judiciary Committee plans a hearing this summer.

Istook was joined at a news conference by Pearson and her daughter, Audrey, who is now 18.

``This is to restore the protection of our precious religious freedoms and liberties, which have been eroded by a steady onslaught of court decisions, especially during the past 35 years,'' Istook said.

Opponents quickly denounced Istook's amendment as political grandstanding that could limit religious liberty, not expand it, and eventually give way to state-sponsored religion.

Istook's amendment ``is unnecessary because we already have a religious freedom amendment. It is called the First Amendment,'' said Mark Pelavin, associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

Misunderstandings like the one experienced by Pearson and her daughter usually can be cleared up with education, said the Rev. J. Brent Walker, general counsel for the Baptist Joint Committee.

``To the extent that our laws have not worked well or have been misapplied or misconstrued the answer is education, not more legislation,'' Walker said. ``We don't need more laws on the books.''

The amendment could lead to a move to declare the United States a Christian nation or require the government to give more tax dollars to religious private schools and social service agencies, said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Three similar bills were introduced in the House during the last session of Congress, but none of them reached the House floor for a vote because supporters could not agree on how the proposed amendment would be worded.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, on Monday endorsed Istook's 52-word amendment. Ralph Reed, head of the Chesapeake-based Christian Coalition, said he regarded the bill as his group's top priority this year.

The group will aggressively lobby members and Congress and spend from $1 million to $2 million this year on radio ads, mail, telephone campaigns and other publicity to support its passage, Reed said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., left, appeared Monday in Washington

with Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed, right. KEYWORDS: CHRISTIAN COALITION

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