In 1994 Tennessee passed the “Spiritual Treatment” law: The Tennessee law says that a child shall not be considered abused, neglected or endangered solely because the child’s illness is treated with prayer rather than surgical or medical care. The law shields parents and others from prosecution if a child: Is being provided treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone, in accordance with the tenets or practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner. In 2012... Read more

Last week I wrote about Gov. Haslem of Tennessee vetoing the bill that would make the bible the state book of Tennessee.  In that post I said: …all it would take to override his veto is a simple majority.  While the governor showed the minimal wisdom one would expect from a governmental leader, it’s unlikely enough Republicans in Tennessee will possess the same baseline amount of integrity. Boy, what a great time to be wrong!  It turns out that the legislature... Read more