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The effort expands beyond early tele-evangelists to other healers, with James Randi organizing teams and planning public release of damaging evidence. The text also reports a legal challenge in Alabama and commentary on claims that U.S. democracy depends on religion, arguing that such narratives distort research and misrepresent church-state scholarship.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":45,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/religion-spirituality/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/free-inquirycser-faith-healing-probe-sparks-controversy-main-article/433753/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/free-inquirycser-faith-healing-probe-sparks-controversy-main-article/433753.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Alex Sinclair","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-16","2026-09-29",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What investigation did FREE INQUIRY/CSER initiate, and why did it attract media coverage?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It launched a major investigation into faith healers, and the initiative sparked widespread attention from national media outlets after news releases.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Which faith-healers and early targets are mentioned as the investigation expanded?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The text names tele-evangelists Ernest Angley and W.V. Grant as initial subjects, then says efforts were extended to other healers, including Peter Popoff and David Paul.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What legal action does the text describe regarding secular humanism in Alabama schools?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Six hundred twenty-four Mobile County students, parents, teachers, and ministers sue, claiming they are discriminated against by secular humanism taught in public schools and arguing it violates the First Amendment.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},433753,1791232461,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":44,"category_name":45,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":34,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},1099523882182,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_6f874abed73319feea01a86fa6f0fab8","The initiative of FREE INQUIRY and theCommittee for the Scientific Examinationof Religion(CSER)in launching the firstmajor investigation of faith-healers hassparked considerable attention from thenational media.Cable News Network,theEd Bush radio talk-show(out of Dallas totwenty-eight cities),CBS News,UPI wireservice,and scores of newspapers,includingthe Los Angeles Times and the ChicagoTribune,have followed up our news releases.  \nBeginning with our investigation of tele-vangelists Ernest Angley and W.V.Grant(reported in the Spring 1986 FREEINQUIRY),our efforts have now been extended to otherhealers.James Randi has led teams into thehealing sessions of Peter Popoff and David  \n# FREE INQUIRY/CSER Faith-Healing ProbeSparks Controversy\n\nSix hundred twenty-four Mobile Countystudents,parents,teachers,and,naturally,ministers are suing on the grounds that theyare being discriminated against by the teach-ing of secular humanism in their schools.With Governor George Wallace as an ally,they claim that secular humanism is a reli-gion that is promoted in public-school text-books,thus violating the First Amendment.They are also demanding that secularhumanism be removed from the publicschools.  \nIf the plaintiffs win this suit,the doorwillbe open to the claim that materials used  \n# The Secular Humanist Bulletin\n\nPaul in Houston,Sacramento,Anaheim,andSan Francisco.Highly damaging evidenceamassed by Randi will soon be released tothe press and presented in FREE INQUIRY.A press conference was held on March 7 atthe Los Angeles Press Club,in which achallenge wasissued to faith-healers to bringtheir claims of healings to a special panel ofscientists and doctors to certify whether theyhave actually occurred.  \nFREE INQUIRY and Secular HumanistBulletin readers will be kept abreast ofdevelopments.CSER has established a newsubcommittee,the Faith Healing Investiga-tion Project,with James Randi as the princi-pal investigator.It is continuing work onthis important task.—Paul Kurtz,  \nThe Secular Humanis Bulerin is died by Tom Franczyk and Tom Fyn as a supplement to FRE INQUIRY magzine and is published by the Coucil or Democrnaic andSecular Humanism (CODESH,Ine.)a non-profit corporation,3151 Bailey Avenie,Buffalo.NY 14215.Phone (716)834-292i.Paul Kuriz,edior;and Andrea Szalanski.managing editor,FRE INQUIRY.Letters and editoial inquies should be adressed to:The Editors,Secular Humanist Llein,Box 5.Central Park Station,Bufalo,NY14215.  \n## Alabama Group Sues Against Secular Humanism\n\nin science,literature,history,and evenmathematics courses are humanistic.Openseason will be declared on evolution,Shakespeare,the Renaissance,and possiblythe value of pi.(See“Biblical Scorecard”inthis issue.)Teachers and school boards willnot know what to teach,and public educa-tion will become chaotic,its end a distinctpossibility—an outcome longed for by someof the Religious RightWe have already seenhow disruptive they can be even without afavorable court ruling.(See SHB August1985,vol.1,no.2.)  \nThe lawsuit can be avoided if the parties  \ninvolved sign a consent decree allowing afederal judge authority to set state educationpolicy by designing standards aimed ateliminating secular humanism from public-school textbooks.At press-time the MobileCounty Board of School Commissioners hadvoted 3-2 to sign a consent decree,and theState Board of Education was decidingwhether to follow suit.If it does,who isgoing to set the standards for eliminatingsecular humanism?Chief U.S.District CourtJudge Brevard Hand,who was overruled bythe Supreme Court in Alabama's school-  \n(Continued onp.2)  \nConservatives exulted when Associated Pressbroke the story late in January:“A study bya noted 'think tank,'the Brookings Institu-tion,has concluded that the stability andstrength of American democracy depends[sic]on the underpinnings of religion.\"Theaccount said that Brookings,a Washington-based institution usually considered to beliberal,had conducted three years of researchand issued a report conc","cbCail5Q00hQjeHm","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCail5Q00hQjeHm","pdf",2100261,"English","# FREE INQUIRY/CSER Faith-Healing Probe Sparks Controversy\n## Alabama Group Sues Against Secular Humanism\n## The Secular Humanist Bulletin","[{\"question\":\"What investigation did FREE INQUIRY/CSER initiate, and why did it attract media coverage?\",\"answer\":\"It launched a major investigation into faith healers, and the initiative sparked widespread attention from national media outlets after news releases.\"},{\"question\":\"Which faith-healers and early targets are mentioned as the investigation expanded?\",\"answer\":\"The text names tele-evangelists Ernest Angley and W.V. Grant as initial subjects, then says efforts were extended to other healers, including Peter Popoff and David Paul.\"},{\"question\":\"What legal action does the text describe regarding secular humanism in Alabama schools?\",\"answer\":\"Six hundred twenty-four Mobile County students, parents, teachers, and ministers sue, claiming they are discriminated against by secular humanism taught in public schools and arguing it violates the First Amendment.\"}]","FREE INQUIRY/CSER Faith-Healing Probe Sparks Controversy - Main Article | PDF",1790665367,18]