The U.S. Supreme Court today announced that it will not intervene in a controversy over sectarian prayer before meetings of the Forsyth County, N.C., Board of Commissioners.

The justices’ action leaves in place an appellate court decision barring the county from regularly opening its meetings with Christian invocations.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, one of the groups sponsoring the lawsuit, said the high court was right not to intervene. Read more

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today hailed a federal appellate court ruling against an Oklahoma constitutional amendment that bars Islamic law in the state.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling issuing an injunction blocking implementation of the so-called “Save Our State” amendment. The amendment was approved by 70 percent of Oklahoma voters in 2010, even though there is no drive to impose sharia in the state. Read more

A Florida court today said a proposed constitutional amendment on religion is misleading and must be rewritten before being submitted to the voters.

Judge Terry P. Lewis of the Second Judicial Circuit Court of Leon County agreed with Americans United for Separation of Church and State and other groups that had challenged  the wording of Amendment 7 as deceptive. Read more

A coalition of religious and public policy organizations is asking several federal agencies to explain how they handle issues of religious bias in hiring when allocating taxpayer funds to “faith-based” programs.

Federal agencies often award contracts or grants to religious groups to provide social services. Civil rights and civil liberties advocates have argued that faith-based groups that accept public aid should hire staff on the basis of qualification, not belief about religion. Read more