Beck Rallies Undercut Church-State Separation, Says Watchdog Group

Fox
News Channel personality Glenn Beck's rallies in Washington, D.C., are an
attack on religious liberty and our nation's rich religious diversity, says
Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Tonight's
event at the Kennedy Center, "Divine Destiny," is billed by Beck as a way to
"reunite" Americans, "heal your soul" and take a "look at the role faith played
in the founding of America and the role it will play again in its destiny."

Tomorrow's
rally, "Restoring Honor," will be held near the Lincoln Memorial on the 47th anniversary
of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech. It has been advertised as
a chance to honor "our heroes, our heritage and our future."

In
reality, a major goal of Beck's rallies is to undermine the Founding Fathers'
vision of a nation where government and religion are kept separate. Beck
propagates a revisionist historical perspective that says America is an
officially religious state. Mainline Christians, Muslims, non-believers and
other Americans who fail to meet Beck's religious test are often maligned.

"Our
nation's destiny will be disastrous, not divine, if Glenn Beck has his way,"
said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. "The message
Beck and his cronies want to send is clear: if you don't believe in a government
based on his religious vision, you should expect to be treated like a
second-class citizen. Beck has made it clear that he has no respect for our
Constitution's promise of religious liberty for all."

Over
the past few months, Beck has teamed up with David Barton, a Texas-based
Religious Right activist who has no credentials as a historian. Yet Barton
peddles books, videos and other materials that spread his misguided belief that
church-state separation was never intended by the founders.

Said
AU's Lynn, "Barton has lurked in the dark corners of the Religious Right house
of horrors for years. But now he is playing on a national stage, thanks to
Beck. That's a tragedy, not a comedy."

Barton
is the founder of Wallbuilders, a Texas-based organization that exists to
attack mainstream history. He served as an adviser to the Texas State Board of
Education when the state's social studies curriculum was revised to downplay
Thomas Jefferson and the role of church-state separation.

Since
March, Barton has appeared on Beck's Fox program at least 15 times as part an
endeavor called "Beck University." The purpose of the "university" - which
exists only in cyberspace - is to teach Americans about the true "Christian"
roots of the country. (Read more in the September
issue of AU's Church & State Magazine.)

Says
AU's Lynn, "I am confident that Americans will reject the Beck-Barton message
of extremism and intolerance. Our nation was built on a foundation of diversity
and equality, and we must not let strident voices undercut those principles."