''American Jewish Congress v. Bost'' is an

establishment clause In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The relevant constitutional text ...

lawsuit concerning the

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...

in Brenham, Texas. The case is the first constitutional challenge to a charitable choice contract.

History

In the community of Brenham, Texas, the American Jewish Congress and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a lawsuit against a social services program who they believe used a tax funded jobs program to support religious practices which violated the separation of church and state. Other accusations include; use of funds to

proselytize Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...

, purchase bibles, and coerce participants to "accept

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

." On May 21, 2002, the

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

reported that the case would be sent to

federal district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

NGO reports

The

Rockefeller Institute of Government The Rockefeller Institute of Government is the public policy research arm of the State University of New York. The institute conducts nonpartisan research and analysis on state and local government and finance, American federalism, public manageme ...

reported that the lawsuit is a response to the 1996 gathering of a number of churches and businesses in Brenham, Texas, that formed the "Jobs Partnership of Washington County," a program which has come under legal scrutiny. The Texas Freedom Network, a nonpartisan organization, reports that, "The religious message seemed to have a coercive impact on clients. About one-third of the participants said in the program evaluation that they felt pressure to join the host church, Grace Fellowship Baptist Church."

Final ruling

The lawsuit went back and forth between state and federal courts and was twice appealed. In January 2003, the lawsuit that is believed to the first constitutional challenge to a “charitable choice” contract, came to a conclusion. The case was finally dismissed, "on the ground that there was no live controversy."

References

{{Reflist Jews and Judaism in Brenham, Texas Legal history of Texas American Jewish Congress Establishment Clause case law Law articles needing an infobox 2003 in United States case law 2003 in religion 2003 in Texas

History

NGO reports

Final ruling

See also

References