Separation of church and state is in the news

1. There is a successful effort to fund an atheist advertising campaign on London buses. See "Arriving soon: atheist bus campaign gets off to a flying star." from the Guardian and "Prof Richard Dawkins drives support for London's first atheist bus advert"from the Telegraph. From the latter article:

Prof Dawkins, Oxford University's Professor of the Public Understanding of Science, said: "Religion is accustomed to getting a free ride – automatic tax breaks, unearned 'respect' and the right not to be 'offended', the right to brainwash children. Even on the buses, nobody thinks twice when they see a religious slogan plastered across the side. "This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think – and thinking is anathema to religion."



2. Speaking of which, there is a court case wrt DC's contract to sell-trade property with the Central Union Mission, for homeless shelter services. The amount of value given to the Mission is greater than that received by the DC Government. The plaintiffs in the case make a good point that religion is being subsidized because CUM clients are required to receive religious services in order to receive shelter and food. The lawyer for the Mission argues that the City will save money overall by outsourcing a tranche of homeless services to CUM. But I agree with the plaintiffs that religion is being subsidized, regardless of the cost savings. See "Central Union Mission fights lawsuit against land deal" from the Washington Business Journal.