Charles Haynes columns

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Free speech is messy, but restricting it is messier
By Charles Haynes Just ask Cincinnati, where efforts to control holiday displays have turned into a legal quagmire.  12.08.02

Giving thanks for the first freedom
By Charles Haynes Without freedom of conscience and freedom of the mind, no free speech, press, assembly or petition is possible.  11.24.02

Posting religious codes is but first step for 'Ten Commandments movement'
By Charles Haynes Long-term aim of Alabama's chief justice, some TV evangelists is to restore the Christian America they believe has been lost.  11.10.02

'Teaching the controversy' over evolution could be disastrous
By Charles Haynes Without adequate teacher preparation, reasonable-sounding approach would actually be confusing, dangerous.  10.27.02

In climate of fear, people are being punished for speaking out
By Charles Haynes At the very moment in our history when we most need the 'marketplace of ideas' created by the First Amendment, far too many Americans seem eager to shut down the debate.  10.13.02

Houses of worship joining partisan political fray not a good idea
By Charles Haynes House bill to allow churches, synagogues, mosques to endorse candidates, contribute money to campaigns would entangle government with religion.  09.29.02

Despite some malice, most Americans respect Islam, religious diversity
By Charles Haynes U.S. history shows religious intolerance has lost ground over time; Americans followed President Bush's example in not condemning all Muslims for terror attacks.  09.15.02

Let's make Sept. 11 an annual Day of Freedom in our schools
By Charles Haynes It's time for America's schools to move from 'teaching in a time of terror' to 'teaching for a new birth of freedom.'  09.01.02

Watch out: War on terrorism should not mean war on Islam
By Charles Haynes War of words carried out by Franklin Graham, Bill O'Reilly and others risks further alienating Americans from world's 1.2 billion Muslims.  08.18.02

Feel-good interfaith events may paper over deep differences
By Charles Haynes But members of different religious traditions shouldn't resort to demonizing others, either, as we remember Sept. 11.  08.04.02

Religious-diversity lessons in schools can go too far
By Charles Haynes Having students act out religious rituals and practices puts public schools in the position of sponsoring religion.  07.21.02

Vouchers pass constitutional test, but are they good for America?
By Charles Haynes We need to decide what kind of educational system will enable our religiously diverse nation to live with our deepest differences.  07.07.02

Why Jehovah's Witnesses' victory is a win for all of us
By Charles Haynes However, Supreme Court frames proselytizing group's right to go door-to-door as free-speech issue, neglecting to mention free exercise of religion.  06.23.02

Teaching about religion in public schools takes preparation — but we can do it
By Charles Haynes Educators must avoid 'quick fixes' if they want to effectively answer students' questions that have arisen since Sept. 11.  06.09.02

Surge of anti-Semitism must not go unopposed
By Charles Haynes Attacks on Jews in U.S., around the world go beyond assaults on religious freedom — if ignored, they will eradicate the Jewish people.  05.26.02

Turning classrooms into laboratories of democracy
By Charles Haynes First Amendment Schools to apply lesson that rights, obligations of citizenship can’t be taught from a book — they must be lived and applied in daily life.  05.12.02

School prayer is already protected — no amendment needed
By Charles Haynes Grassroots campaign is under way to persuade your local government to endorse a confusing and misleading “school prayer” amendment.  04.28.02

Stop the fighting: Use 'creation-evolution' conflict as teaching tool
By Charles Haynes We’ll never get beyond the battling until we help students understand the range of views — religious and non-religious — about the claims of science.  04.14.02

Holy Week, holy terror: We must do more to promote religious liberty
By Charles Haynes Religious freedom works, but we can't take it for granted.  03.31.02

State-imposed faith won't make U.S. stronger
By Charles Haynes Keeping the government from promoting religion is actually good for religion.  03.17.02

High court's pending vote on vouchers won't be end of the story
By Charles Haynes If court watchers are right and Cleveland program is given green light, the nation faces a fierce debate that may well determine the future of public education.  03.03.02

Media spotlight misses Utah's home-grown success story
By Charles Haynes Look beyond the myths, find a state committed to promoting religious liberty in public schools.  02.17.02

Mistakes in teaching about religion don't mean schools are 'anti-Christian'
By Charles Haynes Instead of making this another culture-war battle, let’s work together to ensure that all teachers have the preparation they need to get it right.  02.03.02

Breaking the gridlock to serve nation's needy
By Charles Haynes Diverse group agrees: Let’s act now on what we can agree on — and avoid bitter fights, lawsuits.  01.20.02

Believers should remember 'soul liberty,' respect rights of non-believers
By Charles Haynes Americans with no religious preference feel increasingly isolated, defensive about the joining of 'God and country' in ceremonies from Yankee Stadium to the local school.  01.06.02

Looking behind the numbers
By Charles Haynes Post-Sept. 11 spike in number of Americans who think religion is gaining influence belies steady gains made over years.  12.23.01

How to handle religious holidays in public schools
By Charles Haynes Upholding the First Amendment is key to solving the yearly 'December dilemma.'  12.09.01

Giving thanks for fragile freedoms
By Charles Haynes Now that our freedoms are under attack, we’ve awakened to how much we have to lose.  11.25.01

Put God back in schools? He never left
By Charles Haynes Students already have right to religious expression; re-imposing state-sponsored prayers won't save America.  11.11.01

Recite pledge, but know meaning behind the words
By Charles Haynes Students need to learn that respecting the flag means respecting fundamental rights — including the right to dissent or opt out on grounds of conscience.  10.28.01

Citizenship isn't defined by religious affiliation
By Charles Haynes To uphold our commitment to First Amendment, we must do everything to guard the rights of all — even those with whom we deeply disagree.  10.14.01

America's schools must be summoned to defend freedom
By Charles Haynes While terrorists use tools of indoctrination, propaganda to teach blind obedience, our schools must use democratic principles to instill an abiding commitment to universal human rights.  09.30.01

With liberty and justice for all: the America we must protect
By Charles Haynes Defending the rights of all citizens is at the heart of what it means to be an American.  09.16.01

Recognizing students' rights makes for safer schools
By Charles Haynes Silencing students only breeds the very alienation and resentment that cause many of the problems in the first place.  09.02.01

America's landscape now a rich tapestry of diverse religions
By Charles Haynes Challenge is to sustain, expand this extraordinary experiment in religious freedom even as we grow more and more religiously different.  08.19.01

Child's death underscores need to protect religious rights of all
By Charles Haynes Constitution may guarantee religious liberty, but it can’t eliminate the ignorance and fear that feeds prejudice toward minority religions.  08.05.01

France's anti-cult law undermines religious-liberty rights
By Charles Haynes What’s a cult? The French seem to define it as any religious group the government doesn’t like — including Baptists, Mormons, Seventh-day Adventists.  07.22.01

Helping the poor without harming their rights
By Charles Haynes People who raise constitutional concerns with faith-based initiatives want government to deliver social services without undermining religious freedom.  07.08.01

Zachary's case proves you can win despite losing
By Charles Haynes Supreme Court may have refused to hear appeal, but public opinion is on side of boy who wanted to read Bible story to first-grade classmates.  06.24.01

Supreme Court's decision good news for First Amendment
By Charles Haynes After years of litigation and conflict, Good News Club wins major victory in Supreme Court this week.  06.17.01

Loss of only network religion reporter a major setback
By Charles Haynes ABC News’ cutting Peggy Wehmeyer’s job goes against growing recognition among journalists that religious voices in public life are here to stay, impossible to ignore.  06.10.01

There's room for religion — and respect — in American public life
By Charles Haynes How deep is the distrust in Washington these days?  06.03.01

White House must build faith-based initiatives on common ground
By Charles Haynes Current congressional debates and public-opinion polls reveal that the more the people learn about the president's faith-based initiative, the more skeptical they are about it.  05.13.01

Public debate best way to handle controversial 'B.C.' comic
By Charles Haynes It’s not often that the funny pages spark a religious conflict.  04.29.01

Instilling moral character more effective than installing Internet filters
By Charles Haynes Students logging onto school computers after spring break may find a lot less traffic on the information highway.  04.15.01

First Amendment protects student 'God-talk' in public schools
By Charles Haynes What is it about student religious speech that causes some school officials to react with fear and trembling?  04.01.01

Ignorance, fear unfairly stigmatize American Muslims
By Charles Haynes The rapid growth of Islam in the United States in recent years has been accompanied by an escalation of hate and prejudice directed toward Muslims.  03.25.01

'First Amendment Schools' project links freedom with responsibility
By Charles Haynes The tragedy at Santana High School has sparked yet another national debate about how to ensure "safe schools."  03.18.01

Suppression of student speech won't fix school problems
By Charles Haynes When a kid is mocked or called names in school, something must be done about it. No one should have to suffer daily humiliation and ridicule as the price of an education.  03.11.01

Government can't censor Eminem, but citizens can
By Charles Haynes Winning three Grammys in one night is no small achievement. But controversial rapper Eminem has accomplished something even more astonishing this year.  03.04.01

Page last updated: 5/2/2013 8:31:41 PM