WHO ARE WE, AND WHY DID WE CREATE THIS WEB PAGE?

We are Tom Peters, Jim Allison, and Susan Batte, web denizens and frequent contributors to the various religion-oriented newsgroups on the internet.

Tom is a Professor of Communication at the University of Louisville. Jim is an independent researcher living in Virginia Beach. Susan is a lawyer and a member of the US Supreme Court bar who practices in Virginia. Our concern in these pages is to explain and defend the constitutional principle of separation of church and state. We are concerned that this principle is under attack by the religious right. We believe that this attack is ill-founded, and that it bodes ill for our nation and our religious freedoms. We've created this page to explain why we think the religious right is wrong, and to help ensure that they don't win.

A couple of explanatory points before proceeding:

• While the three of us are members of national organizations dedicated to preserving church/state separation, we speak for no one but ourselves. We've done our own research, and come to our own conclusions. While we think we've done a pretty good job of covering the issues, any mistakes in these pages are our own.

• We intend to add to this page as we have the time and energy. We actively seek the participation of others. If you have something to contribute to this page--a suggestion, an article of your own, a searching analysis of a relevant issue--then e-mail us at any of the following addresses, and we'll talk.

  Tom Peters

  Jim Allison

  Susan Batte

For a fuller explanation of our philosophy and point of view, look at the following:

• What do we mean by separation of church and state?
  
• Where did the phrase "separation of church and state" originate?
  
• Is separationism anti-religious?
  
• Do separationists want to eliminate religion from public life?
  
• Why did we create this web page?