States of strife: seeking new fronts in the 'culture war,' the religious right is turning its focus to state legislatures.

Times are tough for the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. George W. Bush has flown off to Texas, and a Democrat sits in the White House. Equally alarming from the Religious Right's perspective, Democrats control both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

FRC President Tony Perkins isn't giving up. Recent e-mail messages from Washington's largest Religious Right organization have blasted President Barack Obama and the Democrats for the president's economic stimulus package. According to Perkins, the measure is really a pork-laden budget buster that will stimulate only more debt.

But it can be hard to motivate a crowd accustomed to the red meat of the "culture wars" with e-mails about bank bailouts and tax cuts. What to do?

For many Religious Right activists, the answer is obvious: Put the focus on the states.

State legislatures are increasingly becoming battlegrounds for the Religious Right's social experiments. This year, several states have seen conflicts over religious-school voucher subsidies, creationism, prayer in schools, government display of the Ten Commandments and other contentious issues--and it's only March.

"This is a familiar pattern," observed Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. "Finding some of the halls of power in Congress less welcoming to them, Religious Right groups are becoming more active in the state capitals, hoping for a wanner reception there."

They just might get it. Religious Right groups had little to crow about on election night 2008, but they still managed to win four significant state-based victories: California, Florida and Arizona passed bans on same-sex marriage, and Arkansas banned foster parenting and adoption by unmarried couples, a move widely seen as aimed at gays.

The close California vote (52 percent to 48 percent) was especially significant. California is often portrayed as a bastion of liberalism, yet a well-funded, church-based campaign that brought together the Religious Right, the Roman Catholic bishops and the Mormon Church hierarchy was successful in pushing the ban over the top. (It is currently being challenged in state court.)

In addition, Religious Right organizations maintain a lobbying presence in most states. "Family policy councils" affiliated with religious broadcaster James Dobson's Focus on the Family exist in 39 states.

Usually located in the state capital, these organizations bring a Religious Right lobbying presence to lawmakers' doors. Relying on fundamentalist Christian radio stations and conservative church networks, they are often adept at mobilizing their flock to pressure legislators.

Religious Right groups also have many allies in elective office.

In the Lone Star State, for example, the Texas Freedom Network (TFN) recently issued a report on the power of the Religious Right in the state legislature. A core of lawmakers in the House and Senate there repeatedly introduces "culture war" legislation over issues such as sex education in public schools, creationism and stemcell research.

The TFN report noted that until recently, the Texas House of Representatives was under the control of Speaker Ton] Craddick, who "made each session open season for Religious Right groups and their legislative allies."

Although Craddock no longer holds the post, TFN points out there are plenty of "key foot soldiers for the Religious Right in the halls of state government."

Across the border in Oklahoma, state Rep. Sally Kern (R-Oklahoma City) continues to wage a relentless crusade on behalf of Religious Right causes. Kern, who this year championed a bill to add more religious content to public education, appeared at a meeting of the John Birch Society in Oklahoma City in late January, where she outlined a massive--and obviously imaginary--conspiracy by gay groups to promote a nefarious agenda.

The Oklahoma Gazette reported that Kern told the crowd, "The theme of equality and freedom is the approach that the homosexuals are using today--totally perverting the true intention of what our Constitution meant.... The homosexuals get it. It's a struggle between our religious freedoms and their right to do what they want to do."

Joining Kern at the event was Oklahoma Sen. Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso), who told the crowd he was waiting for a sign from God before deciding whether to run for governor.

Legislators with outlooks such as this ensure that threats to church-state separation in the states take many forms. At their most extreme, they attack that very concept in a state's governing document--its constitution. Such threats are under way in New York, Oklahoma and Wyoming, where legislators are trying to remove provisions from state constitutions requiring church-state separation. (This is usually proposed to pave the way for vouchers or other forms of tax aid to religion.)

Other proposals come in the form of legislative bills. Florida and Texas, for example, face efforts to expand "faith-based" programs. A number of states are dealing with bills that would promote religion in public schools under the guise of protecting "student religious expression," and voucher bills are being promoted around the country. (See separate stories in this issue of Church & State for more information.)

Oftentimes, dangerous measures lurk beneath proposed legislation that sounds innocuous at first glance. In Texas, a bill has been filed captioned, "Relating to property rights of certain religious organizations."

The two-page measure (HB 729) requires courts in Texas to apply certain standards when dealing with lawsuits that arise from churches feuding over property. It is designed to help conservative Episcopal, Presbyterian and other churches that are breaking away from their national denominations by giving them a better chance of retaining church buildings and property.

A similar bill has been introduced in Oklahoma, but early last month, the bill's sponsor, Sen. Gary Stanislawski (R-Tulsa), indicated he may be having second thoughts. Stanislawski met with representatives from the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, who expressed concerns about the measure, SB 816. According to the Tulsa World, Stanislawski said he might consider withdrawing the bill and remarked, "I told them I can't promise to pull the bill but that I will step back, re-look at it [and] pray about it...."

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Bills promoting government-sponsored prayer often pop up in states as well. In Virginia, a legislative ruckus is brewing over state police chaplains. The flap started in September after six volunteer chaplains resigned rather than abide by new regulations issued by the state police superintendent requiring non-sectarian prayers at public events.

Del. Charles W. Carrico Sr. (R-Galax) has submitted legislation designed to overturn the superintendent's directive. HB 2314 states in part that "the activities and services of each volunteer chaplain shall be provided in his individual capacity and in accordance with the dictates of his own conscience" and says no state official shall "prescribe, proscribe, regulate, limit, or otherwise dictate the religious content of the volunteer chaplains' expression of religious beliefs, prayers, invocations, benedictions, spiritual counseling, or spiritual guidance."

The bill, which cleared the Virginia House of Delegates by a vote of 66-30 Feb. 4, is apparently a response to disputes over prayers before meetings of local government bodies that have erupted in several Virginia communities. In response, federal courts have ordered the municipalities to use non-sectarian prayers before events. (The measure was pending in the Virginia Senate as Church & State went to press.)

A separate piece of legislation in Virginia would encourage sectarian prayer at government meetings. Sen. Stephen H. Martin's (R-Chesterfield) bill (SB 1072) states that whenever any individual who is providing a prayer or benediction at a public event sponsored by a government agency "such governmental agency shall have no authority to regulate how that individual refers to God in prayer or to prohibit the religious content of the individual's prayer, invocation, or benediction...." It was voted down by a close vote in a Senate committee Feb. 9.

In Michigan, two state senators have introduced a bill (SB 49) that would create an "I Believe" license plate, similar to the one Americans United is challenging in court in South Carolina.

Americans United State Legislative Counsel Dena Sher, who monitors activity in state legislatures, said the number of threats to church-state separation this year in the states is high, adding that AU will work with its members and allies to defeat them.

"We're facing a variety of threats to church-state separation from coast to coast," Sher said. "It's a sure sign that no matter what's going on in Washington, state legislatures are likely to remain flashpoints for church-state controversy for some time to come."