Public Prayer Protection Act Introduced Into Congress

Yesterday's North Augusta Star reported that U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-SC) has introduced a bill in Congress that, if enacted, would protect elected and appointed officials who want to pray in public. The Public Prayer Protection Act of 2005 (HR 4364) contains findings that public prayer by government officials is not an Establishment Clause violation. The bill removes all federal court jurisdiction over Establishment Clause challenges to prayers by public officials. Finally the bill provides that federal court decisions on public prayer would not be binding precedent on state courts. Mike Cubelo, president of the Piedmont chapter of the ACLU of South Carolina, said he expects the legislation to be fiercely challenged and ultimately fail.

The bill is similar to another pending piece of federal legislation, the Constitution Restoration Act (HR 1070 and S 520) . Today World Net Daily reports that earlier this month, during a special session of the Louisiana Legislature called to deal with Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana lawmakers passed a Resolution urging Congress to adopt the Constitution Restoration Act.

High School Coach Sues Claiming Right To Pray With Team

In October, East Brunswick New Jersey High School football coach Marcus Borden resigned after being told he could no longer lead the team in prayer before football games. (See prior posting.) However, he has now changed his mind. A week after resigning, he rescinded his resignation and hired a lawyer. According to the Associated Press, on Nov. 21 he filed suit in state court claiming his constitutional rights are being violated. The Home News Tribune reported in detail on the complaint in the case which alleges interference with Borden's expression, association and privacy rights. Responding to the school's Establishment Clause concerns, Borden's lawyer, Ronald J. Riccio, said, "We think that no person, especially in the context of this case, could reasonably understand that if Coach Borden bowed his head and 'took a knee' that this would constitute government endorsing or coercing religion." A column in today's Woodbridge, NJ Sentinel summarizes Borden's position: "if players ... initiate a nonsectarian prayer before a game and [Borden] bows his head, or takes a knee to pray with them, he is not forcing religion on anyone, he is only freely exercising his own constitutionally protected right to pray and speak to his own god. "

Group Praises Churches For Katrina Aid; Opposes Faith-Based Initiatives

According to 2theadvocate, the Interfaith Alliance, a Washington-based religious group, issued its report "Day 56" on Tuesday, criticizing the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. At the same time, the Report praised churches that provided food, clothing, shelter and transportation, focusing on Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. The Report said, "Because many government leaders reacted so poorly, the religious community -- among many other community groups -- has been left holding an empty bag with no relief in sight." It called for tax incentives for charitable giving, a commitment to public education and improvement to welfare. However, the report also emphasized the Alliance's objection to government faith-based initiatives, saying "Religion should not be dictated from The White House or legislated from the halls of Congress. This is not where religion works."

Critics of 10 Commandments Display Testify In Michigan

MLive in Lansing, Michigan, reports that the state's 12-member Capitol Committee yesterday heard testimony from critics of a proposal to initiate display of the Ten Commandments at the capitol building. (See prior posting.) Wayne State University law professor Robert Sedler told the committee, made up of state lawmakers and representatives of the Governor, "In the American constitutional system, the place for God is in the home, the church, the synagogue, the mosque and the temple. By keeping God out of the public square and putting God into our homes and our religious institutions, the Constitution protects the religious freedom of all of us." The Committee is moving toward requesting a legal opinion on the matter from Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox.

Moussaoui Voir Dire May Include Questions On Jurors' Religion

A Virginia federal district court is expected to begin jury selection in February for a trial that will decide whether Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the U.S. in the 9-11 terrorist attacks, should receive the death penalty or life in prison. Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that prosecutors have submitted questions that they wish to have asked of potential jurors. Included are questions about a juror's religion, whether the potential juror attends a place of worship and what the individual knows about Islam.

South Carolina City Council Moves To Pre-Meeting Prayer

In Rock Hill, South Carolina, an opening prayer will no longer be listed on the official agenda of city council meetings. Today's Rock Hill Herald reports that instead, council members will pray on a voluntary basis before meetings are called to order. The change is an attempt to prevent lawsuits and comes a month after Councilman Jim Reno created a controversy by closing his official prayer using Jesus' name. A U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last year barred the town of Great Falls, SC from mentioning Jesus in pre-meeting prayers.

Drug Store Suspends Objecting Pharmacists Because of Illinois Law

Illinois law requires pharmacies to fill all prescriptions on a timely basis. KSDK News reported yesterday that Walgreens has put four Illinois pharmacists on unpaid leave for refusing to fill prescriptions for Plan B, also known as the "morning after pill." The pharmacists say that filling the prescriptions violates their religious beliefs. Walgreens says that refusing to fill the prescriptions places the pharmacy's license at risk.

Sweden's Supreme Court Clears Pastor Who Gave Anti-Gay Sermon

According to PinkNews today, the Supreme Court of Sweden has invoked protections of speech and religion to uphold an appeals court verdict that anti-homosexual remarks in a sermon by Pastor Ake Green could not be prosecuted. The Pentecostal pastor was the first clergyman to be convicted under Sweden's hate crimes law which was amended in 2003 to include attacks against homosexuals.

UPDATE: Further background information, including a transcript of the offending sermon, can be found on this website devoted to the case.

Location Limit on Church's Parolee Facility Upheld

In Pastor Rick Barr v. City of Sinton, a Texas appellate court rejected a minister's state statutory and constitutional claims and upheld a city ordinance that prohibited locating a correctional or rehabilitation facility within 1000 feet of a residential area, school, park or place of worship. Two homes that provide housing for parolees and probationers are operated by Pastor Barr and his corporation, and are located across the street from their sponsoring church. The court rejected the claim that the statute violated plaintiff's free exercise of religion and free speech rights under Art. I, Sec. 6 and 8 of the Texas Constitution and the Texas Religious Freedom Act.

Alabama Bill Would Place "God Bless America" On Auto Tags

The Associated Press reported on Saturday that a bill has been pre-filed in the Alabama legislature by State Rep. Steve Hurst to require most auto license plates to include the phrase "God Bless America". Hurst says, "That will let all the people in America know that we are a Bible Belt state." Carol Moore, president of the Atheist Law Center, said her organization would oppose Hurst's bill. Today's Decatur, Alabama Daily editorializes against the bill, saying that Alabama "is doing badly in applying godly ethics" in areas of social welfare and taxation. It continues, "Those who look to Jesus for guidance might reflect on his preaching against hypocrisy and empty public displays of religion."

Pakistan Medical School Charged With Religious Discrimination

In Pakistan, a Christian student has filed suit in the Lahore High Court challenging the constitutionality of the admissions practices of King Edward Medical College. Today's Daily Times reports that the medical school offers additional points toward admission to Muslim students who have successfully memorized the Quran. The petitioner, Qandeel Sultan, argues that since she has merit certificates to prove her proficiency and knowledge of Christianity, she should also be given extra points toward admission. She argues that Article 25 of Pakistan's Constitution that provides "All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law", should be interpreted to require an equal education policy without discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, creed or caste. She has asked the court to prohibit the Admissions Board and Punjab government from commencing 2005-06 classes in medical colleges in Punjab until the final disposal of her petition.

December Church-State Guidance Offered Online To Public Officials

For government officials seeking guidance on the legal rules surrounding holiday displays and activities, at least two organizations have memos on their web sites offering their interpretations of the relevant precedents. Liberty Counsel's 7-page "Christmas Memo" covers publicly and privately sponsored religious holiday displays, religious holidays in public schools, and public school students in the context of religious holidays. The Anti-Defamation League has posted its "December Holiday Guidelines for Public Schools". Headlined "The December Dilemma", the web page discusses religion as an educational lesson, holiday assemblies and other public school activities, public school students performing religious music, and decorating public school classrooms and grounds with holiday symbols.

Idaho City's Homeless Shelter Lease Violates Establishment Clause

Last month's decision in Community House, Inc. v. City of Boise, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29438 (D. Idaho, Oct. 28, 2005) has just become available. The Idaho federal district court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the city of Boise from continuing it arrangement with the Boise Rescue Mission (BRM) to lease and operate a homeless shelter if the BRM is requiring homeless residents of the shelter to attend religious services, or is requiring an explanation why the person cannot attend. The court held that even requiring an explanation for non-attendance "can easily amount to a subtle, and even not-so-subtle, form of coercion", which raises serious Establishment Clause issues.

Excerpts From High School Texts In California Litigation

A religious discrimination lawsuit against the University of California system brought by a group of Christian high schools is slated for trial on Dec. 12 in federal court in Los Angeles. The UC system has refused to recognize some high school courses using Christian-based texts as meeting minimum standards for applying students. (See prior posting.) Today's New York Times carries excerpts from textbooks used in the disputed courses. Here are three of them. The full article carries more:

On Thomas Jefferson, from United States History for Christian Schools, written by Timothy Keesee and Mark Sidwell (Bob Jones University, 2001): "American believers can appreciate Jefferson's rich contribution to the development of their nation, but they must beware of his view of Christ as a good teacher but not the incarnate son of God. As the Apostle John said, "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son" (I John 2:22)".

On Mark Twain, from Elements of Literature for Christian Schools, by Ronald Horton, Donalynn Hess and Steven Skeggs (Bob Jones University, 2001): "Twain's outlook was both self-centered and ultimately hopeless. Denying that he was created in the image of God, Twain was able to rid himself of feeling any responsibility to his Creator. At the same time, however, he defiantly cut himself off from God's love. Twain's skepticism was clearly not the honest questioning of a seeker of truth but the deliberate defiance of a confessed rebel."

From Physics for Christian Schools, by R. Terrance Egolf and Linda Shumate (Bob Jones University, 2004): "You are about to embark on an adventure. The study of physics reveals the wonderful orderliness of God's creation - so orderly that it can be comprehended in terms of relatively simple principles (mathematical formulas). ... Physics is important because through it mankind learns how creation actually works. It satisfies our God-given curiosity about nature. Seeing that God does "great things and unsearchable; marvelous things without number" (Job 5:9), men have dedicated their lives to unraveling the rich mysteries of creation."

Boston "Holiday Tree" Provokes Objections

On Friday, Reuters reported on the furor in Boston when the city officially renamed a giant tree erected in a city park a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree." Evangelist Jerry Falwell complained that "there's been a concerted effort to steal Christmas". Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he would keep calling the Nova Scotia spruce a "Christmas tree" regardless of what it said on the city's official Web site.

UPDATE: The Christian Post on Nov. 27 reports that after being threatened by Liberty Counsel with a law suit over changing the name of its tree, Boston Parks Commissioner Toni Pollak told the Boston Herald, "This is a Christmas tree. It's definitely a Christmas tree."

Mother Jones On Church-State

The December 2005 issue of Mother Jones magazine focuses on the interplay of conservative Christianity and the U.S. government. The issue, titled God and Country: Where the Christian Right Is Leading Us, has caused a stir among blogs of various political persuasions. Joseph Knippenberg at No Left Turns discusses it and promises more comment on his blog in the coming days. Talk To Action promises to host a national e-conference next week with Mother Jones on the issues raised by articles in the special issue.

Bankruptcy Disclosure Statement Filed By Archdiocese

The Federal Bankruptcy Code, 11 USC Sec. 1125, requires that in a bankruptcy reorganization, the debtor file a disclosure statement that is sent out to creditors who are asked to approve the reorganization plan. November 15 saw one of the most interesting ever disclosure statements filed. The Archdiocese of Portland filed its statement that, if approved by the court, will go out to creditors, including sex-abuse claimants. According to today's Catholic Sentinel, the disclosure statement says that the reorganization plan is designed to "fairly, justly, and equitably compensate valid Claimants . . . while allowing the archdiocese to continue its religious ministries, serve the spiritual needs of the faithful, and pursue its non-profit, charitable mission of service to those in need."

Currently the Archdiocese is arguing over which parish and school properties are available to creditors. (See related prior posting about Spokane case.) The disclosure statement says that if the archdiocese prevails, the compensation will be only about half as much as under last week's proposal-- shrinking from $40.5 million to $21.5 million. In the statement, the archdiocese said engaging the property dispute is in no one's best interest, since the case could take years.

The disclosure statement argues the Archdiocese side of the case: "All church property, whether held in the name of the archdiocese, the archbishop, a parish or a school, has been acquired with charitable donations made by parishioners, religious organizations, charitable foundations, and others. As such, the archdiocese asserts that much of the property titled in its name is held in trust, or is otherwise restricted, for the use of the benefit of the parishes, parishioners, parents, students and others who rely on the continued use of such property in order to practice their religion and educate their children, and that certain property is specifically designated for a particular purpose and can only be used for that purpose."

Missouri Stem Cell Initiative and Catholic Opposition

In Missouri, the Coalition for Lifesaving Cures headed by former U.S. Senator John Danfoth is promoting the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The group is circulating a petition to get an amendment to the state constitution on the ballot that would protect stem cell research in the state. Yesterday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that on Sunday at all Catholic churches around St. Louis, parishioners will hear a homily telling them not to sign the petition. The bishops of the four diocese in the Catholic province of St. Louis have directed their parish priests to convey the church's position on embryonic stem cell research and its opposition to the petition initiative from their pulpits this week.

Islam and Freedom of Religion In Malaysia

A November 16 report from Foreign Policy In Focus, Islam, the State and Freedom of Religion In Malaysia, analyzes the success of Malaysia in promoting progressive Islam. It has successfully achieved economic growth while identifying itself with modern and liberal forms of religious expression. The government is promoting "Islam Hadhari", an approach that views Islam as evolving. The report analyzes the attacks on the present system and the issues of freedom of religion currently being faced by civil courts in Malaysia.

Faith-Based Prison Programs Grow In Popularity

Faith-based programs are becoming a more important part of the activities in jails and prisons around the country. Yesterday's newspapers carried reports on two of them. In Boulder, Colorado, more than 400 inmates at the Boulder County Jail regularly attend faith groups offered throughout the week. An Associated Press story reports that the programs serve nearly 1,000 inmates every year. 75 volunteers run more than 30 religious programs a month, serving not just Christians, but also Jews, Muslims and Buddhists.

The Tallahassee Democrat reports on the conversion of Florida's Wakulla Correctional Institution to a faith-based facility. The official designation means inmates must agree to attend religious or non-religious character-building classes and stay out of trouble. If they do not, they will be transferred to other less desirable prisons in the system. There are 3,000 inmates throughout the state on a waiting list for faith-based programs. The classes at Wakulla will be taught by volunteers in order to reduce the likelihood of church-state lawsuits. Wakulla, with its 1662 inmates, is the third prison in Florida to be designated faith-based and is the largest faith-based prison in the U.S.

Alliance Defense Fund Featured

The AP yesterday in an article carried by the Washington Post and other papers reviews the activities of the Alliance Defense Fund. The organization, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, has grown since its founding in 1993 to more than 100 employees with branch offices in six states. It files an average of one lawsuit a week in cases involving Christianity and schools, gay marriage and other concerns of social conservatives. It claims it has won 75% of the suits it has filed.

Historical Thanksgiving Proclamations

The Washington Examiner today published excerpts from the Thanksgiving Proclamations issued by George Washington in 1789 and Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Washington urged citizens to:

unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

Lincoln's proclamation took a more somber tone:

And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

UPDATE: The full text of all Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations are posted at Pilgrim Hall Museum. Thanks to Joseph M. Knippenberg for this lead, and see his discussion of Thanksgiving Procalmations here and here.

Chabad Seeking To Display Menorahs On Public Property

In the Boston area, difficult negotiations are taking place between town officials and Chabad rabbis over the display of menorahs on public property this Hanukkah season. While many Jewish organizations oppose on Establishment Clause grounds any kind of governmental display of religious symbols, Chabad-Lubavitch has often taken a different position. In 1989, in County of Allegheny v. ACLU, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a menorah is a religious symbol, but its display as part of a larger holiday tableau can be permissible as a "secular celebration of Christmas coupled with an acknowledgment of Chanukah as a contemporaneous alternative tradition".

Yesterday's Boston Jewish Advocate reports that Shrewsbury town selectmen originally refused a Chabad request to place a menorah in the town common. At a Nov. 21 meeting, they decided to retract their refusal, but have not given Chabad permission to display the menorah. In Wellesley, Rabbi Moshe Bleich successfully negotiated the display of a menorah on the town lawn in exchange for an agreement that he would rescind his request to hold a public ceremony. The Chabad rabbis involved argue that displaying a menorah is an important contributor to Jewish pride. Rabbi Michoel Green said, "Lots of Jewish kids here go to public schools and the Jewish kids are out of the loop."

Two New Religious Land Use Cases

In Friends of First United Methodist Church v. City of Seattle, (Nov. 21, 2005), a Washington state Court of Appeals rejected efforts of "Friends", a group that was attempting to prevent First United Methodist Church from demolishing its sanctuary and erecting an office tower and new adjoining sanctuary in its place. Friends claimed the downtown church sanctuary was historic and that under the State Environmental Policy Act, the church should have considered alternatives that did not involve its destruction. However, the court held that Seattle cannot burden the church's right to free exercise by preventing it from demolishing its sanctuary for landmark preservation purposes. Because landmark preservation is not a compelling interest, it cannot be used to justify action that has a coercive effect on the church's practice of religion. Since that is the case, the city cannot use requirements for an environmental impact statement to force the church to consider alternatives that cannot be enforced against it.

The Newtown, Conn. Bee reported yesterday on a Nov. 18 decision by the Danbury, Conn. Superior Court rejecting a Buddhist Temple's challenge to a 2003 Planning & Zoning Commission decision. The Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut had sought to develop 10 acres of property it owns in a residential area with a temple and meeting hall. P&Z members in had unanimously rejected the proposal because it would increased traffic and noise, and would be "far too intense for this particular site." The Buddhist Society appealed the rejection, alleging that it violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and Connecticut's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. However the court disagreed, finding that: "The society's claim alleging a violation of the equal protection clause is unavailing because the court finds no evidence of selective treatment. The court further finds the society has neither established a 'substantial burden' nor a 'burden' on religious exercise sufficient to meet its prerequisite burden for a [religious freedom] claim...." UPDATE: The opinion is Cambodian Buddhist Society of CT, Inc. v. Newtown Planning & Zoning Commn., 2005 Conn. Super. LEXIS 3158 (Nov. 18, 2005).

San Diego Sets Yom Kippur As School Holiday

Beginning next year, the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur will be a school-wide holiday for all students in California's San Dieguito Union School District. Today's San Diego Union Tribune reports that the move is impelled less by religious concerns and more by those of funding. Districts receive revenue based on attendance. This year the San Dieguito school district lost more than $55,000 for the 1,196 absent Torrey Pines students on Yom Kippur, compared with under $7,600 for about 165 absent students on a typical day. In 2007, when Rosh Hashanah falls on a week day, students will have that day off instead of Yom Kippur.

Court Turns Down Prisoner Request For Strict Kosher Diet

Yesterday's Washington Jewish Week discusses a Nov. 10 in Wilkerson v. Beitzel in which the federal district court in Maryland turned down a prisoner's request for kosher food. The court held that the lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet available at Maryland's Western Correctional Institution was religiously "neutral," even though kashrut-observant Jews would object to the lack of kosher dishes and kosher cheese. Judge J. Frederick Motz concluded that "additional costs and creation of perceived favoritism between religious groups, are legitimate compelling interests that override the burden placed on plaintiff's ability to follow a kosher diet."

Muslim Prisoner Challenges Worship Practices and State Statute

In Ha'min v. Montgomery County, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28783 (MD Tenn., Nov. 10, 2005), a Tennessee federal district court held that a prisoner's First Amendment claims could proceed. Plaintiff alleged that the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office was not following its announced policy of permitting Muslim worship services for prisoners. He also challenged, essentially on Establishment Clause grounds, a Tennessee statute (Tenn. Code Sec. 41-21-211) that requires the distribution of Bibles to prisoners, but does not require distribution of copies of the Quran.

Wives Of Sect Leader Charged In Malaysia

In Besut, Malaysia, three wives of Sky Kingdom sect leader Ayah Pin, were charged in the Lower Syariah Court with being followers of deviant teachings, according to today's Malaysia Star. Charged under Section 10 of the Syariah Criminal Offence Enactment (Takzir) Terengganu 2001, it was alleged that by staying at the sect's commune last July they showed contempt to the state religious authorities and violated the 1997 state fatwa that declared Ayah Pin's teachings to be deviant.

Injunction Issued, Appeal Filed In Pledge Case

As reported in a previous posting, in September a federal district court in California held that that the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public school classrooms violates the Establishment Clause because of the phrase "under God" in the text. That decision was not accompanied by the issuance of an injunction. On November 18, the court entered a permanent injunction in the case of Newdow v. Congress of the United States in order to implement its earlier decision. The injunction was stayed, however, until the issue is fully resolved through the appeals process. On Nov. 21, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty announced that it had begun that process by filing a Notice of Appeal with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Wisconsin AG Refuses To Issue Opinion On Bible Study In Dorms

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has a policy banning resident assistants from conducting Bible study groups in their dormitories. (See prior posting.) Yesterday, the Associated Press reported that Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager has refused to issue an opinion on the constitutionality of the policy. UW System President Kevin Reilly requested an opinion, but the AG's top aide, Dan Bach, turned down the request. He said that issuing an opinion, especially one that found the policy unconstitutional, could compromise the office's ability to represent the state should someone sue over the policy later on.

Canadians Call For Equal Funding of Religious Schools In Ontario

In Toronto last week, a group of Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians demonstrated to demand equal public funding for all Ontario faith-based schools. Ontario's Catholic schools are fully funded by tax revenues. This week's Canadian Jewish News reports on a push by the Multifaith Coalition for Equal Funding of Religious Schools to obtain public funding in exchange for compliance with government curriculum standards, teacher certification and auditing of schools' finances. Earlier this month, the United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a report calling on Canada to "adopt steps to eliminate discrimination on the basis of religion in the funding of schools in Ontario." This follows up a ruling six years ago that Canada is violating international human rights law by its discriminatory funding policy. (Full text of UN ruling.)

Islam In Russia and Russian Reactions

The New York Times today carries a long front-page article on the growth of Islam in Russia, and the government's response to it. It reports that the Islamic faith, and Islamic militancy, is on the rise. In response, the government has created a Soviet-type system of control over religion. Its Muslim Spiritual Department now oversees the appointment of Islamic leaders. The number of Muslims in Russia is estimated as between 14 and 23 million, 10% to 16% of Russia's population. They are found mainly in several Muslim-majority republics. Thousands of mosques have been rebuilt and reopened, as have madrasas. However, believers outside of the state's Muslim departments are increasingly viewed with suspicion because of the radicalization of Chechnya and other republics. They are denounced as Wahhabis, a word that has become Russian shorthand for any Islamic militant.

Guantanamo Detainee Gets Koran, But Not Bible

The Los Angeles Times today reports on Saifullah Paracha, a former Pakistani businessman who is in custody at Guantanamo Bay. He is charged with conspiring to ship chemical components to the United States to help set off an attack by Al Qaeda terrorists. Like other Guantanamo inmates, Paracha has been given a copy of the Koran. However, prison officials have confiscated a package containing a Bible, two Shakespeare plays and an English dictionary shipped to Paracha by his lawyer. His lawyer, Gaillard T. Hunt, has now filed suit in federal district court in Washington, DC, demanding that the package be released to Paracha. Authorities have cleared the Shakespeare volumes for release, but not the Bible. The government argues that withholding the Bible has not "substantially burdened" the prisoner's practice of his religion. It also fears setting off a "chain reaction" among the other 170 detainees who are suing the government for various kinds of relief.

No Religious Discrimination By New Mexico State Football Coach

An investigation by the Albuquerque law firm of Miller Stratvery has found that the New Mexico State University football program has not engaged in religious discrimination, according to a report from the Associated Press. The ACLU of New Mexico had filed a grievance last month against Aggies coach Hal Mumme, claiming he discriminated against three Muslim players by requiring them to recite the Lord's Prayer at the end of practice and repeatedly questioning at least one of them about al-Qaida. The allegations surfaced after the players were removed from the team. The investigators concluded that they were released because of their performance and attitudes, not because of religion. The ACLU had requested an apology and the institution of diversity training.

Florida Supreme Court Will Decide Wiccan Standing In Tax Case

The Daily Business Review reports that on Nov. 17, the Florida Supreme Court (by a 4-3 vote) agreed to hear an appeal from the District Court of Appeal's decision in Wiccan Religious Cooperative of Florida v. Zingale. At issue is the standing of a Wiccan group to challenge a Florida law that exempts religious publications from the state's sales and use taxes. During litigation, the state conceded that the Wiccan group is religious. The appeals court, by a 2-1 vote, then held that the group lacked standing to challenge a tax exemption from which it benefits. The dissent argued in part that the Wiccan group was a purchaser of books, not a publisher, and thus had standing to sue over the taxes it paid on non-religious books it had purchased. [Thanks to James Maule via Religionlaw listserv for the infomation.]

Graduation Prayer At Arkansas High School Challenged

In Jonesboro, Arkansas, a prayer offered by a student at high school graduation is likely to become the subject of litigation. KAIT News reports that the ACLU is seeking a plaintiff to pursue a case against Jonesboro High School. Speaking at graduation ceremonies last May, high school senior Jessica Reed gave a 4-minute prayer which included an "altar call", asking those in the audience to come forward to accept Jesus Christ. Jonesboro Public Schools Attorney Donn Mixon said that the prayer violated school policy, and that the policy will be enforced in the future.

Mormon Church Liable For Millions For Not Reporting Stepfather's Abuse

A Washington state jury has found the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints liable for $2.5 million in a suit by two sisters who alleged their bishop failed to protect them from their stepfather who sexually abused them for years. Today's Salt Lake Tribune reports that the church may also be liable for an additional $1.7 million for damages related to the stepfather who served over four years in prison for the crimes. Washington laws do not require clergy to report suspected child sexual abuse, but the court allowed the jury to decide whether Bishop Bruce Hatch was acting as a social services counselor when one of the daughters came to him for help. The girls' mother was falsely told that state authorities would be notified of the abuse. The church has now instituted a toll-free number for its lay clergy to call for information on how to handle allegations of abuse.

Marseille Defies French Secular Governmental Model

While France generally has a strong policy of separating religion from government, a front page story in today's Wall Street Journal [subscription required] tells a different story about the city of Marseille. Here there is a partnership between government and religion, and this is credited by many with keeping the city calm as demonstrations broke out elsewhere. City officials have organized the slaughter of sheep for the Muslim holiday of Eid-el-Kebir and have set aside cemetery plots for Islamic burials. Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin heads a city-funded body that unites different religious leaders in the city. City and regional bodies fund civic associations that are technically secular but often have a religious or ethnic flavor to them. Mayor Gaudin earlier this year gave municipal workers time off to mourn the death of Pope John Paul II. Authorities also fund a Jewish cultural center and have worked hard to combat anti-Semitism. Some fear that this policy will dissolve shared values and discourage integration. But city leaders say it helps defuse tension and gives them access to groups they could not otherwise reach.

Reform Jewish Group Opposes Alito

At the Biennial Convention of the Union for Reform Judaism on Sunday, delegates voted overwhelmingly to oppose the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court. (URJ Press Release). The Resolution (full text) said that "Judge Alito’s elevation to the Supreme Court 'would threaten protection of the most fundamental rights which our Movement supports including, but not limited to, reproductive freedom, the separation between church and state, protection of civil rights and civil liberties, and protection of the environment'." However, it went on to provide that the URJ would review its opposition at the end of Alito's Senate hearings, "with the understanding that if disclosures in the hearings do not reflect substantial changes, the Union will remain in opposition to his nomination".

New Orleans Mayor Uses Religion In Town Hall Meetings

Today's New Orleans Times-Picayune focuses on the use of religion by Mayor Ray Negrin in his speeches to New Orleanians since Hurricane Katrina. At his most recent town hall meeting, the only time he drew applause from the audience is when he criticized those that objected to having emergency trailers hooked up in their neighborhoods, saying "that's not very New Orleanian and it's not very Christian". In his first town hall meeting in October, Negrin asked his audience to join him in prayer, and commented, "And all you ACLU sorts and anyone else who has a problem with that, well, you'll just have to do what you have to do, but I think it's important."

Custody Decree Does Not Infringe Free Exercise Rights

In Ex parte Laura Snider, 2005 Ala. LEXIS 205 (AL. Sup. Ct., Nov. 18, 2005), the Alabama Supreme Court faced the question of whether a divorced mother's free exercise of religion was infringed when a trial court ordered custody of her daughter changed to the child's father. After her divorce, the mother, Laura Snider, converted to a conservative Baptist denomination and married Brian Snider, who shared her new religious convictions. The trial court found that Brian's parenting practices resulted in a significant and detrimental change in the personality and behavior of the child. While those practices were based on religious beliefs, the majority held that they could be considered so long as the change in custody was not based solely on the parties' religious beliefs.

A dissent by Justice Parker argued that the majority should have reversed a part of the trial court's custody decree that ordered Laura to avoid religious training of her daughter that would be disparaging or critical "in any way" of the custodial father's more liberal religious views or practices. Justice Parker argued that "the only interest offered by the trial court to justify stripping Laura of her fundamental right to teach her child the worship of God is that doing so will prevent the daughter from feeling "unnecessarily confused or pressurized [sic]" because of the differences in her parents' religious views and practices. " He found that rationale unpersuasive.

The majority responded: "Nothing in the trial court's order prevents Laura from teaching the child every facet of the Christian faith and every principal [sic.] and lesson contained in the Bible. This can be done by any parent without disparaging or criticizing his or her former spouse."

10 Commandments Rally in Oklahoma

Ten Commandments displays can still apparently generate passionate feelings. The Associated Press reports that on Saturday, a group of pastors in Tulsa, Oklahoma stirred up a crowd of 300 during a rally around a Decalogue monument on the Haskell County Courthouse lawn. The monument has been challenged recently in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU. U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) spoke at the rally, saying: "I wish this was in every courthouse on the lawn. We need more of this, not less."

Court Upholds Denial of Prisoner's Bible Course Materials

In McNeal v. Martin, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28177 (ED Mo., Nov. 16, 2005), a Missouri federal district court rejected a prisoner's First Amendment and RLUIPA free exercise of religion claim. Jail officials refused to give him materials from a Bible correspondence course because of a jail policy that prohibited inmates from having bulky or voluminous paper materials in their cells. Officials say that loose papers can be used to hide contraband or start fires. The jail allowed inmates to keep one book, and plaintiff had a Christian Bible, which he agrees is the primary religious text of his faith. The court held that the plaintiff prisoner did not produce any convincing arguments to show that the correspondence course was somehow necessary to the exercise of his religion.

Bush Presses China To Grant Greater Religious Freedom

President Bush began his visit to China today by encouraging Chinese authorities to promote greater religious freedom in the country. Today's Washington Post reports that even before the welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, Bush attended a service at a state-sanctioned Protestant church to send a message about free expression of faith. Aides say Bush has been offended by the recent harassment of individuals trying to practice their faith without state approval at underground churches. The Post article also reports that several religious figures were either detained or ordered out of Beijing by security services just before the President's arrival in the country.

The President told reporters: "My hope is that the government of China will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly. A healthy society is a society that welcomes all faiths." Later in a joint appearance with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall, Bush said: "It's important that social, political and religious freedoms grow in China and we encourage China to continue making their historic transition to greater freedom." Hu responded: "Notable and historic progress has been made in China's development of a democratic political system and human rights." A dispatch yesterday from Knight-Ridder Newspapers also reports on the President's push for religious freedom in China.

UPDATE: Apparently President Bush made little headway in pressing China to liberalize its policies on religious freedom. A Knight-Ridder report quotes Chinese President Hu, after his meetings with Bush, as saying that human rights in China should be based on "national conditions" and China's "historical and cultural heritage."

Ghana Seventh Day Adventist Students Lose In Court

In Ghana on Friday, the Accra Fast Track High Court dismissed a motion filed by 149 University of Ghana Seventh Day Adventist students seeking to enjoin the university from organizing examinations or any academic activity on Saturdays. Ghana's Daily Graphic reported yesterday that the University had told the court that its decision to administer exams on Saturdays and Sundays had been communicated to all students at the beginning of the semester. Its counsel argued that the university was not discriminating against any particular student or religious group, adding that "as I speak in court this Friday, some Muslim students are writing their papers. On Sunday, two thirds of the students, including Christians, will be writing their paper". The court said that "the applicants have not been able to establish the irreparable loss they will suffer as a result of the university's decision to conduct examinations on Saturdays".

Boston Archdiocese Enters Unusual Settlement With Feds

Yesterday's Boston Globe reports that the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has entered an unprecedented settlement with federal authorities. To avoid a federal indictment for misleading the federal government in a 1999 background check of a priest who had been appointed a Veterans Affairs chaplain, the archdiocese agreed to provide detailed background on all priests who currently serve or who in the future apply to serve as chaplains in the military, in the federal prison system, or in Veterans Affairs facilities. It will also report any suspected violations of federal child abuse and child exploitation laws to federal authorities, and the federal government will review its proposed program for training employees to report federal crimes.

The archdiocese agreed to continue to audit parishes and schools for implementation of child protection programs and to finance a committee of specialists to study the effectiveness of child protection programs. It will be report publicly on its efforts to improve child protection policies every six months for three years. Finally it waived the statute of limitations so that if it does not implement the agreement, the federal government can still prosecute. Both sides say that the agreement does not intrude into prohibited separation of church and state.

Constitutionality of Indonesia's Ban On Proselytizing Children Challenged

The Jakarta Post reports that on Friday Indonesia's Constitutional Court began a hearing on a challenge to the constitutionality of Article 86 of the Child Protection Law that bans adults from teaching or promoting their religion to children of different faiths. The suit was filed by a former priest who heads the Christian-based Prosperous Peace Party (PDS).

Finnish Court Finds "Flamer" Guilty of Disturbing The Practice of Religion

In Finland, a court has found a man guilty of disturbing the practice of religion after he repeatedly "flamed" participants in an Internet chat room devoted to religious topics. For over six months he sent messages to Suomi24.fi-- some meaningless strings of characters and others associating religious topics in a perjorative fashion with sexual acts and terms. Finnish law prohibits public blasphemy and publicly mocking or demeaning matters or institutions held sacred by churches or religious denominations. (Background.) The court imposed 50 income-linked day-fines, required him to pay compensation to the chat room site owners, and forfeited his computer to the state. Helsingin Sanomat reported on Nov. 10 on the case. The court rejected defendant's claim that, in sending the messages, he had had no intent to offend. It held that his behavior went beyond an acceptable exercise of freedom of speech. [Thanks to Denis N. Magnusson via Cyberprof listserv for the information.]

2005 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Earlier today, President George W. Bush issued a Proclamation declaring Thursday a National Day of Thanksgiving (full text). The Proclamation, in part, says: "We give thanks to live in a country where freedom reigns, justice prevails, and hope prospers. We recognize that America is a better place when we answer the universal call to love a neighbor and help those in need. May God bless and guide the United States of America as we move forward." It then continues: "I encourage all Americans to gather together in their homes and places of worship with family, friends, and loved ones to reinforce the ties that bind us and give thanks for the freedoms and many blessings we enjoy."

9th Circuit Dismisses Challenge To School's Islamic Role-Playing Exercise

On Thursday, in Elkund v. Byron Union School District, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's dismissal of a challenge to elementary school role playing activities that were designed to acquaint students with Islam. (See prior posting.) The court held that the activities were not overt religious exercises that raised Establishment Clause concerns. It also affirmed the district court's findings granting defendants qualified immunity and finding that certain of the plaintiffs lacked standing. In reporting on the decision, an article from the Contra Costa Times quoted plaintiffs' attorneys as saying that the ruling was "an opinion without any precedent." An attorney for the school, however, said that she was "delighted the school district got this matter behind it" and could "move on with the business of educating children."

Boston Court Refuses To Dismiss Challenge To Sale of Land To Mosque

The Jewish Advocate reported Friday that in Boston, a Suffolk Superior Court judge denied defendants' motion to dismiss a lawsuit charging the city of Boston with violating the separation of church and state in selling land to the Islamic Society of Boston for a mosque in Roxbury. The suit claims that the Boston Redevelopment Authority sold a parcel of land adjacent to Roxbury Community College to the Islamic Society of Boston for less than a quarter of its assessed value. According to the sale agreement signed by the BRA and the ISB, in exchange for the reduced price, the ISB is to provide an Islamic speaker series and other services. The suit claims that this arrangement amounts to an unconstitutional subsidizing of religion. (See related prior posting.)

Papal Astronomer Supports Evolution

The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, has weighed in on the controversy over teaching Intelligent Design according to a report yesterday from the Associated Press. His remarks give strong support to the teaching of evolution and to its consistency with religious doctrine. He said, "Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be. If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science." Earlier, in an article in the British Catholic magazine, The Tablet, Coyne said "If they respect the results of modern science, and indeed the best of modern biblical research, religious believers must move away from the notion of a dictator God or a designer God, a Newtonian God who made the universe as a watch that ticks along regularly." The Vatican Observatory, which Coyne heads, is one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world,and is based in the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo. [Thanks to Joel Sogol via Religionlaw listserv for the information.]

NY Anti-Discrimination Exemption For Religious Groups Does Not Cover Harassment

The Washington Blade yesterday reported on a case from New York City in which a Salvation Army social worker sued for discrimination, claiming his supervisor harassed him because he is gay and Jewish and then fired him when he complained. A New York state trial judge has ruled that while state and city civil rights laws allow religious groups to give employment preference based on religion and to promote their religious principles, "those limited exemptions for religious organizations are a far cry from letting them harass their employees and treat the employees in an odiously discriminatory manner during their employment, and to use derogatory expressions toward the employees."

Church Group To Oversee Community School Program

In Peoria, Illinois, establishment clause questions have been raised about an arrangement between local schools and Community Builders, an organization of local churches. Today's Peoria Journal Star reports that Community Builders will oversee the effort to turn three public schools into "full service community schools." The schools will provide community services and programs at night and on weekends, with details to be determined by residents, parents and children. School district attorney David Walvoord doesn't believe the relationship is illegal. He plans to draw up a contract that specifically prohibits religious activities such as preaching or prayer. District Superintendent Ken Hinton said church groups that volunteer at schools always leave their beliefs at the door. He believes Community Builders will do the same.

Sunni Prisoners May Proceed With Free Exercise Claims

In Abdullah v. Wisconsin Department of Corrections, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27999 (ED Wis., Nov. 2, 2005), a federal district judge allowed Sunni Muslim prisoners to proceed with free exercise and equal protection claims alleging that prison officials denied their requests for various religious articles essential to their Sunni Muslim faith. These included prayer oil, non-pork soap, a turban/scarf, a silver ring bearing the name of Allah, a "Thwab (long shirt/robe," a "Miswak (toothstick)" and "Khuffs/Khuffayn (Leather socks)." They also claimed they were denied "special food for religious observance" and a religious diet. Finally, plaintiffs asserted that they were refused permission to hold a religious service separate from the rival Nation of Islam sect, and were denied an inmate-led study group.

Free Exercise Claims To O'Hare Expansion Rejected

In St. John's United Church of Christ v. City of Chicago, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28072 (ND Ill., Nov 11, 2005), the federal district court reject challenges under the Free Exercise Clause and RLUIPA to Illinois' O'Hare Modernization Act (OMA). The challenged section amended the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act to provide that "nothing in this act limits the authority of the City of Chicago to exercise its powers under the O'Hare Modernization Act for the purposes of relocation of cemeteries or the graves located therein."

The court held that the OMA is a neutral and generally applicable law. It concluded that the provision is "rationally related to the legitimate government objective of expanding and improving O'Hare. To be sure, the passage of §30 was an inartful way to anticipate (and head-off) attempts to use the Illinois RFRA to block O'Hare expansion. Nevertheless, it is clear that the provision was not enacted to single out cemeteries for invidious treatment, but rather to preclude the argument that any cemetery would be entitled to more favorable treatment than other properties in the path of O'Hare expansion." The court also rejected plaintiffs' RLUIPA challenge, finding that the city's authority to acquire land for the airport expansion is not a land use regulation. It also rejected plaintiffs' equal protection claim.

Yesterday's Chicago Sun Times reported on the decision, pointing out that additional litigation over the O'Hare expansion is pending in the D.C. Circuit. (See related prior posting.)

L.A. Archdiocese Loses Religious Liberty Defenses

The Associated Press yesterday reported on two California court decisions rejecting religious freedom defenses asserted by the Catholic Church. In one, the California Supreme Court required the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to turn over the personnel files of two former priests accused of molestation. In a separate case, Judge Haley Fromholz, supervising a global settlement of more than 550 civil lawsuits against the Archdiocese, held that a monsignor must cannot assert "clergy privilege" to avoid revealing in depositions whether or not he heard confessions of a deacon accused of sexual abuse. The Church argued that all communications between a priest and a bishop are privileged. Fromholz responded, "The penitential privilege protects 'a communication made in confidence.' It does not prohibit the disclosure of the fact that the communication occurred."

More On Alito's Church-State Decisions

NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty yesterday on All Things Considered reported on Judge Samuel Alito's Third Circuit church-state opinions. The report is titled For Alito: The More Religion, The Better. An audio replay of her report (4.5 minutes) is available online.

Gov. Bush Has Alternative For Vouchers

A challenge to the constitutionality of Florida's two school voucher programs is pending in the Florida Supreme Court. One program allows students in failing schools to attend private schools, including religious ones. The second program provides similar vouchers to disabled students. Now the Orlando Sentinel reports that Governor Jeb Bush is preparing a backup plan to keep voucher students in these schools if the programs are struck down as being in violation of Florida's constitution. Bush's plan would call for corporations to grant scholarships to students, and get the cost of the scholarships back through state tax credits. This would avoid direct transfers of state funds to parochial schools.

Judge Upholds Renting School Space For Sunday Church Services

A federal judge has ruled that New York City must allow religious groups to rent space for their meetings in public schools after classes and on weekends. On Wednesday, Federal District Judge Loretta A. Preska made permanent a preliminary order that she had issued in July 2002. (See related prior posting.) In The Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28138 (SDNY, Nov. 16, 2005), she finds no Establishment Clause problem withThe Bronx Household of Faith meeting for worship for four hours every Sunday at Bronx Public School 15. Reporting on the decision, today's New York Times said that Judge Preska found that the Christian group, besides its religious services, was also engaged in community activities such as singing and socializing, so barring it from the public school building on Sundays would violate its right to free expression.

Petitioners Support Military Chaplains Praying "In Jesus Name"

Religion News Service yesterday reported that Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, has obtained over 80,000 signatures on a petition asking President Bush to issue an executive order to allow chaplains to pray in public according to their religious beliefs. Sekulow said that currently chaplains feel "muzzled" because of developments including pending litigation and new Air Force guidelines. The Department of Defense tells chaplains to be cognizant of the pluralistic military environment. 74 members of Congress have also written the President on the issue, saying, "Praying in the name of Jesus is a fundamental part of Christian belief and to suppress this form of expression would be a violation of religious freedom." (See related prior posting.)

Rob Boston, spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State said that Sekulow's petition drive is just "a fund-raising ploy". He said, "This is being portrayed as an attack on Christianity when, in fact, all we're really asking for is that the Air Force respect and accommodate all religious beliefs within its ranks and not extend preference to a group that happens to be the majority. " Sekulow, on the other hand, said, "I think it's one of the most significant issues of religious freedom in our country. You've got chaplains afraid to say 'in Jesus' name.' ... They're fighting for freedom abroad and this is a basic fundamental freedom here."

Analysis of Alito On Religious Freedom

Today's New Jersey Jewish News carries an interesting analysis of several of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito's Third Circuit opinions on issues of religious freedom. It concludes that Alito would likely expand Free Exercise Clause protections, but would weaken the Establishment Clause and erode the separation of church and state. The article quotes several experts, including Marc Stern, co-director of the Commission for Law and Social Action at the American Jewish Congress, who said "It is fair to say [Alito] is prepared to allow religious speakers equal access to the public forum, but he does not pay enough attention to the practical rights of people who are forced to listen."

Court Permits Suit For Prisoner To Add "Spiritual Name"

In State v. Green (Nov. 15, 2005), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals permitted a convicted murderer to proceed with his suit to obtain an amendment to his judgment of conviction so that it reflects his "common law spiritual name": "Prince Atum-Ra Uhuru Mutawakkil Aka, Norman C. Green JR." The plaintiff claimed that his request balances the interests of the state and his interests in freedom of speech, expression and religion.

Prison Substance Abuse Program OK Under Establishment Clause

In Gray v. Johnson, (WD Va., Nov. 9, 2005), a Virginia federal district court Magistrate recommended dismissing a prisoner's Establishment Clause challenge to the operation of a required substance abuse program at Botetourt Correctional Center. His opinion found that, in response to a 2002 court decision, prison authorities had adequately removed the religious content from its Therapeutic Community Program: "The TC Program at BCC appears to strike a constitutionally permissible balance between advancing and inhibiting religion by allowing inmates to express their own religious views without preaching to other inmates. There is no dispute that the purpose of the TC Program is secular..... Plaintiffs have not provided evidence that they have been forced to support or participate in religion. Isolated instances where religion is referenced do not rise to the level of rendering the entire TC Program contrary to constitutional standards." He also found that defendants have qualified immunity as to any claim for monetary damages.

Censorship of Religious Literature In Uzbekistan

Earlier this week, Forum 18 reported that in Uzbekistan, postal authorities routinely open parcels of religious books and magazines sent from abroad and send the publications to the state Religious Affairs Committee. The Committee decides whether or not to ban the title, writes to the sender and the failed recipient to explain why titles have been rejected, and sometimes returns them at Uzbek Post Office expense. Religious literature is also often confiscated by customs officers at Uzbekistan's land borders, and by police in raids on private homes. The Religious Affairs Committee permits limited quantities of religious literature to be printed or imported by religious communities that have a registered centralized organization.

RLUIPA Suit Filed To Expand Tent City

Yesterday's Seattle Times reports on an unusual RLUIPA case. The Seattle, Washington Housing and Resource Effort (SHARE) operates Tent City for homeless individuals unable to find places in traditional shelters. Tent City 4 is to be hosted, beginning today, by Bellevue, Washington's Temple B'nai Torah. However, Bellevue City Council has adopted strict provisions for homeless camps, regulating everything from identification checks to the number of toilets. Earlier this month, city Planning Director Matt Terry issued a permit for Tent City 4's stay at the Temple, but limited it to 60 days instead of the 90 days requested by the Temple. Also, because the Temple was not providing enough toilets and showers, the city limited Tent City to 40 people instead of the requested 100. (Full text of application and city's decision, and background information.)

Concerned about turning people away and uprooting them too soon, the Temple sued claiming that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act requires the city to grant the its requested permit. Supporting its religious freedom claim, James Mirel, the Temple's senior rabbi, said, "The whole idea of reaching out to the poor and needy is part of our Jewish tradition."

Newdow To Sue Over "In God We Trust"

Michael Newdow, best known for his litigation challenging the Pledge of Allegiance, is in the news again. The Sacramento Bee reports that he plans to file a lawsuit tomorrow in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif., challenging the constitutionality of the national motto: "In God We Trust." Newdow wants to remove the phrase from U.S. currency and coins because he believes it violates the Establishment Clause. "We are the nation that gave to the world the establishment that government should not endorse religion and everybody should be what they want," Newdow said. "And of all the possible choices, we go with the motto of 'In God We Trust,' which totally contradicts that tradition."

Catholic Bishops Considering How To Treat Dissenting Politicians

According to the Associated Press, a Roman Catholic bishops' special task force on Catholic politicians who disagree with the Church on issues like abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage will confer with Democratic and Republican lawmakers in Washington this week. During the 2004 Presidential campaign, the issue of whether dissenting Catholic candidates should be barred from receiving Holy Communion became an important issue. Last year the U.S. bishops agreed that officeholders who support abortion rights or euthanasia are "cooperating in evil", but only individual bishops would decide whether they should receive communion. The new task force may have revised guidelines ready for the U.S. bishops' next meeting in June, in advance of the upcoming congressional campaign. Washington's Cardinal Theodore McCarrick who chairs the task force said the bishops were discussing with college presidents the possibility of denying awards and speech invitations to such candidates. Some bishops want a ban on all appearances while others would only ban speeches on topics where there is disagreement with church teaching.

Pope Assures Italy's Parliament Of Noninterference

On Monday, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a message to Italy's Parliament assuring it that the Roman Catholic Church will not interfere in affairs of the Italian state. ANSA reported that the Pope's message came as Parliament passed a budget provision excusing the Church from paying property tax on its real estate, even when it is used for commercial purposes. Humanists and atheists in Italy have protested governmental endorsements of the Church's teachings on family values and stem-cell research. In his message, Benedict also urged the Church and State to work together more closely on issues including "the protection of the human person" - a codeword for pro-life policies . The Church has criticized abortion but has ended its calls for the repeal of Italy's abortion laws .

This Week's New Law Review Articles

Recently published law review articles of interest from SmartCILP:

Margaret Chon & Donna E. Arzt, Walking While Muslim, 68 Law & Contemp. Problems 215-254 (2005)

Brent T. White, Reexamining Separation: The Construction of Separation of Religion and State In Post-War Japan, 22 UCLA Pacific Basin Law Jour. 29-88 (2004)

New Poll on Church-State Attitudes

A new national poll by Sacred Heart University finds that 80.8% of Americans support allowing the temporary display of religious symbols, such as mangers or menorahs, on public property during the upcoming holiday season. And 88.8% of the individuals surveyed said they were opposed to removing the phrase "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. The poll was conducted Oct. 3-12 and has a margin of error of 3%.

Representative Wants Repeal Of New Law Exempting Churches Using Illegal Aliens As Volunteers

The Denver Post reports today that Section 790 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2006, signed by the President last week, exempts religious groups from prosecution if they use illegal immigrants as volunteer ministers or missionaries. Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, added the language to the bill at the request of the Mormon Church. Now Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo says he will work to repeal the provision. He argues: "This provision opens a hole in our immigration system so big, a terrorist could drive a truck bomb through it. Terrorists in the United States have used religious organizations as fronts before. This provides legal cover for any church, synagogue, mosque or group that calls itself a religion to aid and abet illegals who may pose a national security threat." Bennett however said that the Department of Homeland Security had no problem with the statutory provision.

Cert. Denied In Case Upholding "In God We Trust" On Building

Reuters reports that on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in the case of Lambeth v. Board of Commissioners of Davidson County. Earlier this year, the Fourth Circuit had upheld the constitutionality of the inscription "In God We Trust" on the Davidson County, North Carolina Government Center. The Supreme Court refused to review the holding that the inscription was permissible under the Establishment Clause.

Dispute Over Possible Israeli Supreme Court Nominee

It is not only in the United States that a potential Supreme Court nominee's writings on law and religion can lead to trouble. In Israel, Haaretz today reports that Israeli Supreme Court President Aharon Barak announced his opposition to the appointment of Prof. Ruth Gavison to the Supreme Court because "she comes to the Supreme [Court] with an agenda." Gavison has been critical of Barak's judicial activism on the Court. Gavison is known for her work on Israeli public disagreements, and particularly for the Gavison-Medan Covenant which makes recommendations on religion-state questions. Gavison worked on the agreement, along with Rabbi Yaakov Medan, for three years. Gavison's critics dislike the fact that she compromised with religious Jews on some issues. For example, she agreed that religious divorce, based on strict Jewish religious law, should be mandated so as not to increase the number of mamzerim (bastards, as determined by religious law). In Israel, justices are appointed by the President of Israel upon the nomination of "the Judges' Nominations Committee".

ACLU Challenges Sales Tax Exemption For Bibles

A retired Atlanta librarian and a book store owner, represented by the ACLU of Georgia, are challenging the constitutionality of a Georgia statute (OCGA 48-8-3(16)) that grants a sales and use tax exemption to purchases of "Holy Bibles, testaments, and similar books commonly recognized as being Holy Scripture." Their lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, argues that the Constituion's Establishment Clause requires that the exemption to be extended to other philosophical, religious and spiritual works as well. They argue that the current law has "the primary effect of endorsing religion in general and Judaism and Christianity in particular". The Atlanta Journal Constitution, reporting on the case, says that the State Revenue Commisssion has agreed that the exemption extends to purchases of the Quran, but has not had inquiries about other texts such as The Bhagavad Gita.

Massachusetts Senate Calls For Financial Filings By Churches

The Associated Press reports that last Wednesday the Massachusetts State Senate approved a bill requiring churches and other religious organizations to disclose their finances in filings with the state just as other nonprofit groups are now required to do. (See prior posting.) Religious groups, particularly the Catholic Church, oppose the measure as too costly and as violating the principle of separation of church and state. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Boston claims it will cost the Church $3 million to comply with the auditing and filing requirements. The bill still needs the approval of the state's House of Representatives.

UPDATE: The Nov. 16 Boston Globe reported that the bill has run into opposition in the House after smaller religious groups said they feared becoming "collateral damage" in the Catholic church's clergy sexual abuse scandal. The vote on the bill , originally scheduled for Wednesday (the last scheduled day of formal debate for the year) was put off.

Saudi Teacher Sentenced To Jail and Lashes For Comments About Religion

Today's Arab News reports that a Saudi high school teacher accused of mocking religion was sentenced on Saturday to three years in prison and 750 lashes — 50 lashes per week for 15 weeks. The lashes are to be administered in the public market in the town of Al-Bikeriya in Al-Qassim. The chemistry teacher, Muhammad Al-Harbi, was sued by a number of 12th-grade students who had recently failed their monthly chemistry test and by some teachers who claimed Al-Harbi favored Jews and Christians, prevented students from performing ablutions, and studied witchcraft.

Al-Harbi's strong comments against terrorism have upset a number of fundamentalist Islamic studies teachers who often encouraged students to disobey Al-Harbi. Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, Al-Harbi’s lawyer, said that the sentence was illegal because “Any case that has to do with sacrilege must be heard in a special religious court and not in a regular one.” He also said that the judge did not give Al-Harbi the right to interrogate the witnesses, and refused to recognize Al-Lahem as his lawyer. An appeal will be filed.

Hearings Held On Workplace Religious Freedom Act

The Boston Globe reported yesterday that the proposed Workplace Religious Freedom Act (H.R. 1445) that has been languishing for many years in Congress is now gaining some momentum. The bill would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act by requiring employers to make an affirmative and bona fide effort to accommodate the religious practices of employees, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. The House Education and Workforce Committee held hearings on the bill last week. The full text of the testimony presented is available online. The bill has support from both conservatives and many liberals. However abortion rights and gay rights groups are now pressuring Democrats to oppose the bill.

Opponents fear that the bill would allow nurses and pharmacists to refuse on religious grounds to refuse to assist with abortion procedures or fill birth control prescriptions. However the bill excludes from its coverage accommodation for religious beliefs that prevent employees from fulfilling the ''essential functions'' of their jobs. Other opponents fear that the bill will protect harassment of gay colleagues by conservative Christians who oppose homosexuality on religious grounds, though the law does not appear to override any existing prohibitions on such conduct.

Army Chaplain Writes Of Soldiers' Religious Choices

An interesting Op Ed by Army Chaplain James Key was published over the week end in USA Today. Key is chaplain for the 530th Logistics Task Force Battalion stationed in Baghdad. He says in part:

U.S. soldiers' attendance at Bible study and chapel service is high, and religious material such as pamphlets, holy books and other religious paraphernalia disappear shortly after being placed on book shelves. In short, a significant number of soldiers are experiencing incredible spiritual growth. But — here's what's important — it is what they are choosing. Others are turning away. It is vital that they should be free to do that. The only real faith is a chosen faith. I and other chaplains are sensitive to that. We aim to make faith available but not mandatory. The U.S. military, more broadly, sometimes struggles to keep that distinction.

Swedish Jews, Muslims Issue Joint Statement On Animal Slaughter

Today's European Jewish Press reports on an unusual cooperative effort by the Jewish and Muslim communities of Sweden. Sweden is the only EU country in which the slaughter of animals according to the rules of kashrut and halal is legally prohibited as inhumane. Jews and Muslims argue that this restriction violates the protection of religious freedom found in the European Convention on Human Rights. On September 30, the Central Council for Jews in Sweden and the Muslim Council of Sweden issued a public joint statement advocating "after-cut stunning", a method of slaughter that would satisfy Jewish, and at least some Muslim, groups and would deal with the public's concerns with animal welfare. A report last April from the Swedish government's Animal Welfare Agency did not discuss this alternative.

New Church-State Publications

From Penguin Group, John Gibson of Fox News has just published The War On Christmas: How the Liberal Plat to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought. [Thanks to Jesus Politics blog for the information.]

New on SSRN:
Eduardo M. Penalver, Visiting Associate Professor of Law at Yale Law School, has posted Treating Religion as Speech: The Religion Clause Jurisprudence of Justice Stevens .

Kristi L. Bowman, Assistant Professor of Law at Drake Law School, has posted Seeing Government Purpose Through the Objective Observer's Eyes: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Debates. The article will appear in Vol. 29 of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Adam Samaha, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School has posted Endorsement Retires: From Religious Symbols to Anti-Sorting Principles.

Michigan Appeals Court Upholds Housing Complex Rezoning Under RLUIPA

The Jackson, Michigan Citizen Patriot reported yesterday that the Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court's holding that clears the way for the Greater Bible Way Temple to build a 32-unit complex for the elderly and disabled in Jackson. The court found that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act requires the city to approve the church's zoning request.

UPDATE: The opinion in Greater Bible Way Temple of Jackson v. City of Jackson is available at 2005 Mich. App. LEXIS 2788 (Nov. 10, 2005). The court's opinion also upheld the constitutionality of the religious land use provisions of RLUIPA.

Christian Group Assigns Ministers To Train Air Force Cadets To Proselytize

The Washington Post reported today that The Navigators, a Colorado-based missionary group, has assigned two full-time Christian ministers to the U.S. Air Force Academy where they are training cadets to evangelize other cadets. This revelation comes in the wake of widespread objections about Christian proselytization at the Academy. A Pentagon investigation, congressional hearings, a civil lawsuit and Air Force guidelines adopted earlier this year have all focused on the problem. The Guidelines apply to officers, but do not limit "voluntary, peer to peer discussions."

A fund-raising letter from the Navigators' team of ministers, Darren and Gina Lindblom, said, "We have recently been given an unused classroom to meet with cadets at any time during the day." Referring to the Air Force Guidelines and the civil suit filed by a parent of a cadet, the letter said"we are vitally aware we are in the front lines of a spiritual battle." It continued, "Please pray for unprecedented wisdom for Gina and me as we coach these cadets to live among the lost, sharing the Gospel in the midst of this current climate. We must be so careful. Yet we do not wish to squelch the passion of men like Daniel," a cadet who has vowed to "impact the lives of 200 men with the Gospel" before he graduates.

An Academy spokesman said the Navigators are one of 19 outside religious groups -- including Buddhist, Jewish, Catholic and Mormon organizations -- that hold weekly voluntary meetings in a program known as SPIRE, for Special Program in Religious Education. After further inquiry, the spokesman said that the Academy's chaplains had also set aside a room that any SPIRE group could use for counseling cadets at other times.

Two Recent Prisoner Religious Rights Cases

In Asad v. Crosby, (Nov. 9, 2005), the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a prisoner’s complaint that he was denied his constitutional rights when he was not permitted to pray under a stairwell at a Florida correctional facility. The court found that the prisoner, Siddiq Asad, could instead pray in his cell, that barring him from the stairwell area furthered security interests of the prison, and that other accommodation would have more than a de minimus cost.

In Devine v. Schriro, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27221 (D. Ariz, Nov. 4, 2005), an Arizona state prisoner claimed that his Free Exercise rights were being denied when, despite his sincere religious beliefs, prison officials denied him a Kosher diet because he had not provided letter from a rabbi. The federal district court dismissed the inmate’s claim, but permitted him to refile it within 30 days to allege specifically what the named defendants did to deny his rights.

Ban On Rosary Beads In Schools Lifted

In Lake Chelan, Washington, the Chelan School District board has lifted a ban on rosary beads little more than a week after school officials had prohibited them. A Wenatchee police officer had warned school officials that rosary beads worn around the neck could be a symbol of gang membership, particularly among Latino students. The Associated Press reported yesterday that the board dropped the ban on rosaries and a number of other symbols after protests from parents, students and members of the community. Other banned symbols that are now permitted include owls, the numbers 13, 14 and 18, and sports jerseys of certain famous players.

"Just Read, Florida" Program Stirs Church-State Objections

Agape Press yesterday reported on the controversy that has arisen around Florida Governor Jeb Bush's "Just Read, Florida" program. To encourage reading, the state is implementing grade level specific contests around the book The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Students are being asked to read the book in conjunction with the December release of a Disney movie based on it, and to write an essay, create an art project or make a short video about the book or characters in it. Americans United for Separation of Church and State claims that the contest violates the First Amendment because it promotes a "religious story". The director of the program, Mary Laura Openshaw, says that the story can be read without references to Christianity, and that children can "read the book and decide for themselves" about any correlation with the story of Jesus Christ. Now the Alliance Defense Fund has offered free legal representation for any school sued by Americans United.

Florida High School Coach Uses Religion To Get Winning Team

The Orlando Sentinel today carries a story about the successful football program of East Ridge High School in Clermont, Florida. High school coach, Bud O'Hara, regularly leads his team in prayer and attributes the success of the team to his religious motivation of the players. "When we started this program four years ago, we made a commitment that we were gonna play for our savior," said O'Hara. "And we're not ashamed. When you play for a higher power, you seem to play a little harder, run a little faster and do things you normally couldn't do." O'Hara said that neither school officials nor parents have ever questioned the religious component of his program. Constitutional experts however question the propriety of O'Hara's approach.

Wisconsin Legislature Approves Communion Wine In Prisons

The Wisconsin State Journal today reports that the Wisconsin legislature has passed SB 174. It, for the first time, permits prisoners to have access to wine for Communion. The bill, as amended by the State Senate, allows inmates to consume up to 2 ounces of wine as part of a religious service. Opponents of the bill argue that this will exacerbate alcoholism problems among prisoners. However, supporters of the measure argue that denying access to wine violates inmates' religious freedom. They say that wine is a vital part of the sacrament for most Christians. Many ministers and priests say their faith does not permit substituting grape juice.

Two Religious Land Use Cases In The News

Two church land-use cases under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act are in the news today. The Virginian Pilot reports on one out of Portsmouth, Virginia. Federal district court judge Robert G. Doumar has denied a motion to dismiss a law suit challenging Portsmouth City Council's refusal to permit an empty 106-year old church building be reopened as a church. Meanwhile, in Scottsdale, Arizona, SonRise Community Church has filed suit in federal court challenging the city's refusal to permit it to build a Christian school facility on a 10-acre parcel of land owned by the church, according to the East Valley Tribune. The church is represented by the Alliance Defense Fund. Church officials say "God has called them to plant a church and establish a private, Christian school facility in north Scottsdale." City officials cited flooding and traffic problems in refusing a zoning permit.

UPDATE: The full opinion in the Portsmouth, Virginia case is Chase v. City of Portsmouth, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29551 (Nov. 16, 2005).

European Court Upholds Turkish Headscarf Ban

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Turkey can ban Muslim women at universities from wearing headscarfs. BBC News yesterday reported that the court rejected an appeal by a Turkish woman who had argued that the ban discriminated against her on religious grounds and violated her right to an education. However, the court ruled that the ban was justified to maintain order and avoid giving a preference to religion.

Suit Challenges Faith-Based Prison Program

The Free New Mexican on Wednesday reported on a law suit filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation challenging a Christian ministry program and a "God Pod" housing unit at privately run New Mexico Women’s Correctional Facility in Grants, NM. Plaintiffs argue that these programs impermissibly endorse and promote religion. The Corrections Department’s website says the programs are designed to help inmates “establish or strengthen a relationship with God” ; learn to live in a faith community; overcome addictive habits and other problems; strengthen family relationships; and "form new relationships within the Christian community." The state argues that faith-based programs do not violate the Constitution. Participation is voluntary, and the goal is to teach life skills, not religion.

State Agency Lacks Jurisdiction Over Priest's Discrimination Complaint

In Rweyemamu v. CT. Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, 2005 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2798 (Oct. 21, 2005), a Connecticut Superior Court held that the state human rights commission had no jurisdiction over a complaint by a Black African priest that he was not appointed pastor or parochial administrator of a particular Catholic church. The court found that the Free Exercise clause also precludes it from reviewing a discrimination complaint in this kind of purely ecclesiastical matter.

Justice Department Claims Ohio's Union Contract Discriminates On Religious Grounds

The Religious News Service reported yesterday that the U.S. Department of Justice is challenging the state of Ohio's collective bargaining contract with 36,000 public employees. It argued in federal court in Columbus that the contract violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by requiring non-union employees to pay a representation fee to a union that advocates positions that the employee objects to on religious grounds.

The suit involves Glen Greenwood, a pollution control worker at the Ohio EPA. He sought to stop paying a representation fee to the union when he learned that it supports abortion and gay rights. Ohio's contract with AFSCME Local 11 only permits state workers to opt out if they belong to a church that historically has held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting unions. Acting U.S. Attorney General Bradley J. Schlozman said the Civil Rights Division wants the exemption expanded to permit any worker who holds a sincere opposition to a union-funded activity to divert his or her representation fee to charity. He contends that the current contract discriminates against those with sincere beliefs who do not belong to churches with long histories of opposing unions.