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Americans entering the military often receive Bibles, courtesy of the Gideons International. But the Gideons have been told that while they can leave complimentary Bibles at most military induction stations, they cannot stay there to proselytize or preach to the recruits.

Christian groups are appealing a federal judge's ruling that bars the Gideons from distributing Bibles to students of the South Iron Missouri School District. The South Iron School District allows off-campus organizations to distribute literature to students before and after school, and during other non-instructional times such as lunch breaks. But the American Civil Liberties Union sued, saying the Gideons should not be allowed to hand out Bibles because of their religious nature. U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry agreed. "In fact, the federal judge said...the ACLU must be able to have the say-so over whether religious literature can be distributed...

New York's famed Plaza Hotel reopened in March after a $400 million, two-year lobby-to-roof renovation. Every room features 24-karat gold-plated sinks and fixtures. And inside every Louis XV-inspired nightstand sits a Bible, courtesy of the Gideons. The same goes for the Motel 6 in Abilene, Texas, where you pull off I-20 onto Shirley Road, park at your room's front door, open the drawer of the nightstand, and there it sits, the Bible, courtesy of the Gideons. Since 1908, sixty years before the Beatles' Rocky Raccoon went into his room, only to find it, the Gideon - distributed Bible has been...

ST. LOUIS —  A rural school district's long-standing practice of allowing the distribution of Bibles to grade school students is unconstitutional, a federal judge has ruled.An attorney for the southeastern Missouri school district said Wednesday he will appeal the judge's injunction against the practice.For more than three decades, the South Iron School District in Annapolis, 120 miles southwest of St. Louis in the heart of the Bible Belt, allowed representatives of Gideons International to give away Bibles in fifth-grade classrooms.The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit two years ago on behalf of four sets of parents. In August, a three-judge...

Hotel chains are removing Bibles from guest rooms, replacing them with "intimacy kits" and adding "One Night Stand" packages as well as "romance concierge" personnel to their offerings, according to a new report in Newsweek. Tens of thousands of Americans are protesting the trend, through an action e-mail alert sponsored by American Family Association. The Newsweek report by Roya Wolverson suggested a new marketing campaign could be based on the apparent values-less programs that are appearing. "Marriott spokesman John Wolf says the Bible question [whether to include them in guest rooms] is premature for the new [boutique hotel] venture, which...

In the rooms of Manhattan's trendy Soho Grand Hotel guests can enjoy an eclectic selection of underground music, iPod docking stations, flat-screen TVs and even the living company of a complimentary goldfish. But, alas, the word of God is nowhere to be found. Unlike traditional hotels, the 10-year-old boutique has never put Bibles in its guest rooms, because "society evolves," says hotel spokeswoman Lori DeBlois. Providing Bibles would mean the hotel "would have to take care of every guest's belief." What might be surprising to many Americans is that the Bible-free room isn't a development just in hip New York...

2 Gideons cited while on public property near Florida school A Florida judge has dismissed all counts against two members of The Gideons International who were arrested while handing out Bibles on a public sidewalk outside a school, officials with the Alliance Defense Fund said. "Christians cannot be treated as second-class citizens," said ADF senior legal counsel David Cortman. "These two men have the same constitutional rights as everyone else to pass out literature on a public sidewalk. "We are pleased that the court agrees that these men should not have been arrested and dismissed the charges against them," he...

Two men who are members of Gideons International, the Christian organization that is famous for, among other ministries, placing Bibles in motels and giving them to children, have been arrested after trying to hand out Bibles on a public sidewalk in Florida, according to a law firm. Officials with the Alliance Defense Fund have confirmed they will be representing Anthony Mirto and Ernest Simpson, who were arrested, booked into jail and charged with trespassing. Jeremy Tedesco, one of the ADF's lawyers on the case, confirmed to WND that the organization's clients were on a public sidewalk when they were handing...

ST. LOUIS - A federal judge ordered a small-town school to suspend a program that gives free Bibles to students, saying it improperly promotes Christianity. U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Perry also scolded school officials for continuing the program after warnings that it violated the Constitution. South Iron Elementary in Annapolis, a town of 300 in southeastern Missouri, has quietly allowed Gideons International to hand out Bibles to fifth-graders for years. After concerns were raised last year, the then-superintendent consulted with the district's attorneys and insurance company and recommended that the handouts stop, but the school board voted to continue...

The ACLU is trying to restrict the Gideons from handing out Bibles to fifth-graders at an elementary school in Missouri. For years the superintendent of the South Iron R-1 School District in Annapolis, Missouri, has permitted various groups to present information to students at district schools. The open access policy in the district has allowed such groups as Red Cross, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Union Pacific Railroad to have access to the students during classroom time. The Gideons International, which annually places and distributes more than 63 million Scriptures worldwide, has had access to schools during a study period....

Religious material ban lifted in N.B. schools Updated Sat. Apr. 22 2006 7:05 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff Schoolchildren in New Brunswick can once again receive religious material in class, but texts like the Bible can't be distributed freely as they had been for 60 years. The Gideons, a Christian group that hands out Bibles to hotel rooms and hospitals, had been distributing copies of the New Testament to Grade 5 students for 60 years before a school board policy changed stopped the practice in 2003. In lifting the province-wide ban Thursday, Education Minister Claude Williams said the Gideons will...

Two Gideons International representatives were in the Robert S. Payne Elementary School cafeteria Friday alongside a table of small red Bibles. The two men had permission to be there from Lynchburg City Schools. Superintendent Paul McKendrick said city school policy requires students to give the Gideons representative a form signed by a parent before they can accept a Bible. Gideons representatives were scheduled to visit fifth-graders at Payne, Heritage, Sandusky and Perrymont elementary schools Friday, according to a school activity and events calendar posted on the Lynchburg City Schools Web site. The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union...

Gideons International is rushing 350,000 Bibles to shelters in the Gulf Coast. You can visit their website to make an online donation.

Leicester hospitals were struggling to escape a public relations disaster last night after the trust's chaplain stalled a request from Gideons International to be allowed to replace patients' bedside Bibles. His decision was interpreted on the front pages of tabloid newspapers yesterday as tantamount to banning the Bible from NHS wards. University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust disputed claims that it thought having the Bible on the wards might offend non-Christians. But its spokeswoman was unable to say whether the Gideon Bibles would be allowed to remain in patients' lockers, tells the Guardians Unlimited. The hospital managers also claimed that...

The century-old tradition of bibles in hospital bedside lockers could be ended in one health trust today after officials decided they might offend ethnic minorities. Senior executives at the University of Leicester NHS Trust said it was also concerned that the books helped to spread the MRSA bacteria and it would rule on whether to remove them from wards. The proposal angered Christians and Muslims who accused the hospital of political correctness. Leicester has one of Britain's largest ethnic minority populations and the trust is concerned that the many non-Christian patients might be offended. A spokesman refused to say who...

A leading Christian charity has criticised the possibility of Bibles being removed from Leicester hospital wards. Bosses at Gideons International said staff had been told that there are concerns the books may offend non-Christians. Hospital managers have confirmed discussions are taking place, but were still at very early stages. No decisions have yet been made. Although they are unaware of complaints about Bibles, they want to avoid discriminating against ethnic minorities. Iain Mair, executive director of Gideons International UK headquarters in Lutterworth, said the charity is saddened. He said: "Hospital bosses have told us our Bibles could offend non-Christians and...

"Thou shalt not place Bibles in our casino hotel rooms." Such is the commandment from the flashy, new Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, home of the Borgata Babe cocktail waitress and shower-stall-for-two. Borgata Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. The Press of Atlantic City reports the $1.1 billion resort opening this summer is breaking ranks with all other casinos, and is refusing to allow the Gideons to place a Bible in any of its 2,002 hotel rooms. "What we've found is there's such a diversity of gaming customers that visit Atlantic City, by putting one generic publication in there you're not...