Two Atlanta churches are the first in Georgia to sign on with a June campaign sponsored by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.

Druid Hills United Methodist Church and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta will fly banners in their sanctuaries in June decrying the U.S. use of torture.

"Each banner highlights [the fact that] we still have a policy of torture," said Suzanne O'Hatrick, who is helping coordinate the national campaign.

Churches in all 50 states and Puerto Rico are participating, and the sponsors expect many more to sign on, she said.

David Gushee, a professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University, has been a leading religious voice against the use of torture and is organizing a conference on the topic Sept. 11-12 in Atlanta.

"Disturbingly, that debate [over torturing prisoners in the war on terror] remains unresolved, with significant percentages of the American people approving torture, and American law and policy continuing to reflect our national inability to renounce it," Gushee wrote.

The conference is aimed at unifying religious leaders' voices against torture.

For information: www.nrcat.org and www.evangelicalsforhumanrights.org