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You will love this 2015 interview with Ellery Schempp. He was involved with the Supreme Court case Abington School district v. Schempp.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellery_SchemppInvesting Skeptically:Where to start with very little moneyA Florida Crypto ScamNew anti ESG law in MissouriThe value of re-balancing your portfolio
Oklahoma Catholic charter school complaint; bibles banned in Utah schools; state/church complaints in Arizona and Georgia schools. After noting the death of televangelist Pat Robertson, we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the June 1963 Abington v. Schempp Supreme Court decision that removed bible reading and the Lord's Prayer from public schools by speaking with octogenarian Ellery Schempp, the courageous high-school student who initiated the complaint.
In 1956, as an 11th grader, Ellery Schempp challenged the mandatory Bible readings at his public school in Abington, Pennsylvania. His protest became a landmark Supreme Court case, Abington School District v. Schempp, that ended the practice, and Ellery and his family were represented by lawyers from the ACLU-PA and from the law firm Drinker Biddle. He visited with ACLU-PA staff recently and reflected on the case.
After honoring “Champions of the First Amendment” Roy Torcaso (1961, Torcaso vs. Watkins) and Ed and Ellery Schempp (1963 Abington vs. Schempp), we talk about atheist rock climber Alex Honnold, who this month made history by ascending Yosemite’s El Capitan free-style with no rope. We hear Roy Zimmerman’s hilarious song “Creation Science 101,” and then talk about the 1925 Scopes Trial with historian Andrew Kersten, author of the book Clarence Darrow: American Iconoclast.
In 1963 a third of schools in the US had to change their rules on Bible reading after a Supreme Court decision. It all began when a teenager refused to read the Bible in class. 16 year old Ellery Schempp took his school to court accusing them of violating the first amendment by forcing him to read the Bible at the start of every school day. It challenged the principle of a separation of church and state enshrined in the US Constitution. Claire Bowes has been speaking to him for Witness. Photo: Ellery Schempp aged 16 courtesy of Ellery Schempp Audio of Supreme Court provided courtesy of Oyez, a free law project hosted at the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University.
In 1963 a third of schools in the US had to change their rules on Bible reading after a Supreme Court decision. It all began when a teenager refused to read the Bible in class. 16 year old Ellery Schempp took his school to court accusing them of violating the first amendment by forcing him to read the Bible at the start of every school day. It challenged the principle of a separation of church and state enshrined in the US Constitution. Claire Bowes has been speaking to him for Witness.Photo: Ellery Schempp aged 16 courtesy of Ellery SchemppAudio of Supreme Court provided courtesy of Oyez, a free law project hosted at the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University.
Ellery Schempp joins us to discuss the famous 1963 US Supreme Court ruling in "Abington School District v. Schempp". The court decided 8-1 that public school sponsored bible reading was unconstitutional.Investing Skeptically - IRA and ROTH IRA 2015 contribution limits.
"Why does all my money have to say 'In God We Trust'?" This week we challenge the motto on U.S. currency as well as on license plates. We hear a young Ellery Schempp in 1963 being interviewed by Eric Sevareid on CBS News about the historic Abington v. Schempp decision by the Supreme Court outlawing bible reading in public schools. Then we talk with Guy P. Harrison, author of the book, 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian.
We file another lawsuit in federal court this week, challenging censorship of freethought literature in Orange County, Florida high schools. FFRF attorney Andrew Seidel gives us the details. Then we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic 1963 Abington v. Schempp decision by the U.S. Supreme Court by talking with Ellery Schempp, who was the high-schooler in 1956 who took his complaint to the highest court.
Jes Constantine heads to Cranston, RI to hear the local residents, students, and teachers voice their opinion about the Cranston High School West prayer banner. Also, listen to Ellery Schempp tell the story of his landmark US Supreme Court case from over 50 years ago, ruling government sanctioned prayer unconstitutional.
This week we look at religion in politics, applaud Bill Maher and boo Denzel Washington for their comments on atheism, congratulate "The Book of Mormon" musical, and talk with First Amendment champion Ellery Schempp about how his 1963 Supreme Court victory over religion in high school compares with Jessica Ahlquist's current fight in Rhode Island.
After dissecting Pres. Bush's call upon Congress this week to make the "faith-based initiative" permanent, Freethought Radio speaks with Ellery Schempp, whose protest as a 16-year-old high school student yielded an enduring Supreme Court decision in 1963 barring bible devotionals from public schools. Ellery, a distinguished retired scientist, remains a passionate advocate of the separation between church and state. Freethought Radio's Freethinker's Almanac also takes a quick look at illustrious freethinkers born the first week in February. Note longtime listeners: This is a fresh interview with Ellery Schempp.