6th Circuit En Banc Hears Arguments In Arab Festival Proselytization Case

Yesterday the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, heard oral arguments in Bible Believers vs Wayne County. (Audio of full oral arguments.)  In the case, a 3-judge panel last year, in a 2-1 decision, affirmed the district court's dismissal of civil rights claims by Christian evangelists who engaged in aggressive preaching at the 2012 Arab International Festival in Dearborn, Michigan. Police insisted that they leave when the crowd turned hostile. (See prior posting.) The Grosse Point Patch has more background on the case.

Woman Charged In Attack On Neighbor to Force Christian Belief

The Forward yesterday reported on the Feb. 12 arraignment in Boise, Idaho of a 58-year old Christian woman arrested on charges of malicious harassment of her Jewish neighbor.  According to the article:

Haragan went to AG’s home on Feb. 5 and banged on her window while shouting that she “better believe in Jesus,” and that she would not leave until AG did...  When AG opened the door to get Haragan’s license plate number, Haragan slapped her in the face, pulled her hair and threw her to the ground where she kicked her in the stomach, and then pressed her foot into AG’s throat until the Jewish woman said she would believe in Jesus.

The court has ordered Haragan to have no further contact with AG.

Expanding Protestant Churches Face New Opposition From Chinese Government

Yesterday's Christian Science Monitor carried a long story on the rapid growth of Protestantism in China and the government's new moves to crack down on official as well as unofficial churches.  Here is an excerpt:

As evangelical Christianity grows sharply, officials fear it could undermine their authority. Already, Christians may outnumber members of the Communist Party. That has far-reaching implications both for Chinese society and for a party that frowns on unofficial gatherings and other viewpoints. In China, party members cannot be Christian.

More than half of China’s Protestants attend illegal “house churches” that meet privately. The rest go to one of China’s official, registered Protestant churches.... [which] operate under an arrangement that says in effect: We are patriotic, good citizens. We love China. We aren’t dissidents. We go to official theology schools. So the party will let us worship freely....

Yet in the past year authorities have attacked and even destroyed official Protestant churches, as well as unofficial ones. Many Evangelicals feel they are now on the front lines of an invisible battle over faith in the world’s most populous nation, and facing a campaign by the party-state to delegitimize them. Underneath it all is a question: Will China become a new fount of Christianity in the world, or the site of a growing clash between the party and the pulpit?

Army Studying Religious Requirement for ROTC Prof At Christian College

Fox News reported yesterday that the U.S. Army is conducting a review of its ROTC policies after a queston was raised as to whether Wheaton College, a Christian school, can require that its lead professor of military science be of the Christian faith. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which complained to the Army, contends that the Army cannot impose a religious test for an assignment.

Home Province British Columbia Reverses Approval of Christian Law School

In Canada, the controversial Trinity Western University has been dealt a severe setback in its efforts to create a law school based on Christian teachings.  As reported yesterday by Life Site News, benchers of the British Columbia Law Society have voted to rescind their previous approval of the law school after a referendum of the entire membership voted 3 to 1 against the school because of its "community covenant" which requires staff, faculty and students to refrain, among other things, from sex outside of heterosexual marriage. (See prior posting.) Because the school is based in British Columbia, it will be particularly difficult to operate if students are ineligible for bar membership in their home province. The school is now considering whether to appeal the decision to the courts.

Overview of Malaysian Dispute On Use of "Allah" By Non-Muslims To Refer To God

Today's New York Times carries an interesting overview of the conflict in Malaysia regarding non-Muslims speaking or writing in the Malay language using the word "Allah" to mean "God."  Christians , who make up 10% of Malasia's population, regularly use the term, while the country's Islamic councils say it is reserved for Muslims.

Signatures Sought For Mississippi Amendment Affirming State's Christian and Southern Heritage

After its filing was approved earlier this month by the Mississippi Secretary of State, the Magnolia State Heritage Campaign is seeking to obtain the 107,000 signatures needed to place Initiative 46, the Mississippi Heritage amendment (full text), on the 2016 ballot. Among the provisions in the lengthy proposed state constitutional amendment is the following:

The State of Mississippi hereby acknowledges the fact of her identity as a principally Christian and quintessentially Southern state, in terms of the majority of her population, character, culture, history, and heritage, from 1817 to the present; accordingly, the Holy Bible is acknowledged as a foremost source of her founding principles, inspiration, and virtues; and, accordingly, prayer is acknowledged as a respected, meaningful, and valuable custom of her citizens. The acknowledgments hereby secured shall not be construed to transgress either the national or the state Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

Hotty Toddy yesterday reported on the Initiative.

Today Is 2014 "See You At the Pole" Prayer Event

Today is the date for this year's annual Christian-sponsored "See You At The Pole" event at schools around the country and beyond.  According to the SYATP website:

See You at the Pole™ is simply a prayer rally where students meet at the school flagpole before school to lift up their friends, families, teachers, school, and nation to God. See You at the Pole™ is a student-initiated, student-organized, and student-led event.

This year's theme is a verse from Ephesians 6:18: "Never Stop Praying, Especially for Others."  Organizers claim that over 3 million students in 20 countries participate in the event.  Alliance Defending Freedom has distributed a Legal Memo on "Student Rights to Participate In and Promote See You at the Pole."

China Government Is Promoting A Chinese Version of Protestant Theology

China Daily this week reported on remarks by China's director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs outlining a 5-year campaign started last year to promote Christian theology in China. Wang Zuoan was speaking at a seminar in Shanghai on the Sinicization of Christianity, part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China. The new government campaign is designed to adapt Protestant theology to China's national condition and Chinese culture. It will give guidance to Protestant churches in an attempt to promote theological ideas seen as positive and correct by the government.

Rules Limiting Area Around State Fair Where Preacher Can Speak Upheld

In Powell v. Noble, (SD IA, Aug. 5, 2014), an Iowa federal district court in a 40-page opinion refused to issue a preliminary injunction in a Christian preacher's challenge to rules barring his proselytizing in areas around the Iowa State Fair where he might impede traffic flow. The court held preliminarily that the entire Fairgrounds are a limited public forum, at least  during the days the Fair is held.  Restrictions on activities that could impede traffic flow are reasonable. However the court did enjoin defendants from arresting plaintiff (or threatening arrest) solely for protected speech in locations where Defendants conceded there was not interference with traffic flow. Des Moines Register reports on the decision.

Religious College That Expelled Transgender Student Not Covered By Unruh Act

In Cabading v. California Baptist University, (CA Super. Ct., July 11, 2014), a California trial court held that a private religious college did not violate California's Unruh Civil Rights Act when it expelled Domainlor Javier Cabading, a pre-operative male-to-female transgender person who had been admitted to the school on a merit scholarship. The University claimed Cabading committed fraud by applying for admission as a female. The court held that the private Southern Baptist school is not a "business establishment", and so is not covered by the state anti-discrimination law. However the school's ancillary programs that are open to the public-- its library, counseling center, and retail businesses such as restaurants operating on school property-- are "business establishments" covered by the Act. The court awarded plaintiff $4000 in damages for her exclusion from these programs. The Riverside County Press-Enterprise reports that the school is considering appealing the portion of the decision that went against it. MSNBC and Transgender Workplace Law & Diversity blog also report on the decision.

Christian Hip-Hop Group Sues Top Music Star For Copyright Infringement

The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that earlier this week the members of the Christian hip-hop music group Flame filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit against pop singer Katy Perry, Capitol Records and others involved in creating Perry's "mega-hit" song and music video, Dark Horse. The complaint (full text) in Gray v. Perry, (ED MO, filed 7/1/2014), alleges:

By any measure, the Dark Horse song also constitutes an infringement of Plaintiffs’ copyright in their Christian gospel song Joyful Noise, released five years before Dark Horse..... And by any measure, the devoutly religious message of Joyful Noise has been irreparably tarnished by its association with the witchcraft, paganism, black magic, and Illuminati imagery evoked by the same music in Dark Horse. Indeed, the music video of Dark Horse generated widespread accusations of blasphemy.... 

Rapzilla has comparative sound clips from the two songs designed to show that they differ only in pitch and tempo. The lawsuit asks for damages and injunctive relief.

Suit Claims Church's Publicity On Muslim's Conversion Led To His Torture and Near Death In Syria

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a John Doe plaintiff has filed a state court lawsuit seeking $75,000 in punitive damages against the First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa for publishing an online announcement of his December 2012 conversion from Islam to Christianity.  The complaint (full text) in Doe v. First Presbyterian Church U.S.A. of Tulsa, Oklahoma, (OK Dist. Ct., filed 6/9/2014), alleges that plaintiff travels periodically to Syria, and the church knew that any publicity about his baptism would pose a danger to his life. He says that when he was in Syria in January 2013, he was kidnapped, tortured and nearly beheaded before he escaped by forcibly taking a firearm from his captors and killing one of them who was his paternal uncle. He alleges he has received numerous death threats since returning to the United States.

Oklahoma's NewsOn6 and Tulsa Channel 8 report on the lawsuit and quote a statement in response released by the church which says in part: "The lawsuit is brought by a person who received the Sacrament of Baptism before the Congregation during a regular Sunday service at First Church." This appears to contradict the allegation in plaintiff's complaint that he received a "private baptism" at the church.

Christian Student Challenges University's Speech Code

A lawsuit was filed last week in an Oklahoma federal district court challenging the Expressive Activity Policy and Equal Opportunity Policy of Cameron University, a public university in Lawton, Oklahoma.  The complaint (full text) in Harper v. McArthur, (WD OK, filed 5/14/2014), alleges that Daniel Harper, an evangelical Christian student at the University, was prevented from handing out a flyer criticizing the beliefs of a student organization, the World Mission Society. The university claims that Harper's flyer violates the university's prohibition on "offensive" and "discriminatory" speech.  It allows literature to be handed out on campus only if it is from a student organization and has been approved for distribution by the University. The suit claims that the University speech code violates the 1st and 14th Amendments as well as the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act. Alliance Defending Freedom announced the filing of the lawsuit.

Malaysian Court Rejects Church's Challenge To Seizure of Books Using Term "Allah"

Malay Mail reports that in Malaysia on Monday the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed a suit that had been filed in 2007 by Sidang Injil Borneo (Borneo Evangelical Church) challenging the Home Ministry’s decision to seize three boxes of Malay-language Christian educational books imported from Indonesia that contained the word "Allah." The books were seized in 2007 at the airport while in transit, but were returned to the church several months later. The High Court said it was bound by the precedent established by the Court of Appeal last October that prevented the Catholic Herald from using the word Allah in its Malay language editions.  The High Court said the Herald case concluded that the Arabic word “Allah” is not an integral part of the practice and faith of Christianity. (See prior posting.)

According to Malaysian Insider, critics of the decision say the judge ignored special laws on religious freedom in Sabah and Sarawak.

Trinity Western Grads Will Not Be Eligible For the Ontario Bar

The controversy over Canada's newest proposed law school-- Christian affiliated Trinity Western-- continues. At the center of the controversy is a provision in the school's "community covenant" that calls for abstention from "sexual intimacy that violates the sacredness of marriage between a man and a woman." The Toronto Star reports that after receiving approval earlier this month from the Law Society of British Columbia-- the school's home province-- yesterday the school suffered a defeat in the province of Ontario.  The Law Society of Upper Canada voted 28-21 against granting the school accreditation. This means that the school's graduates will not be permitted to apply for admission to the bar in Ontario.  A vote is expected today by the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society, and in June by the Law Society of New Brunswick.

UPDATE: On April 25, the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society voted 10-9 to only give provisional accreditation to Trinity Western law school. Its graduates will be allowed to enroll in the province's bar admission program only if the school drops its Community Covenant that bars same-sex intimacy.  If the Covenant is not dropped graduates will not be allowed to article in the province, but they can still practice in Nova Scotia according to the Prince George Citizen.

Australian Court Says Christian Camp Illegally Discriminated On Basis of Sexual Orientation

In Christian Youth Camps Ltd. v. Cobaw Community Health Service Ltd., (Vict. App., April 16, 2014), the Court of Appeal of the Australian state of Victoria, in a 2-1 decision, held that a Christian youth camp unlawfully discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation when it refused to rent out its camp for a weekend to an organization whose goals were to prevent suicide among "same-sex attracted young people."  The majority held that neither of the two religious freedom exemptions in the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 apply. The exemption in Sec. 75(2) does not apply because the camp is not "a body established for religious purposes." The exemption in Section 77 (prior to its amendment in 2010) for conduct "necessary ... to comply with the person's genuine religious beliefs or principles" should be read as covering only individuals, and not corporations.

Justice Redlich dissented, arguing that the exemption in Section 77 is available to corporations, and that in addition corporations may claim the exemption when it is validly claimed by an agent of the corporation who acted for it. Christian Today reports on the decision.

Community College Student Preacher Challenges Campus Speaker Rules

The Hampton Roads (VA) Daily Press reported yesterday on a lawsuit filed earlier this month by a Christian student against the board of the Virginia Community College System, the Hampton, Virginia-based Thomas Nelson Community College and various college officials.  The complaint (full text) in Parks v. Members of the State Board  of the Virginia Community College System, (ED VA, filed 3/13/2014), challenges the constitutionality of college rules that allow students to speak in open, outdoor areas of campus only if they are members of student organizations, and then only if they register their activity 4 days in advance.  Plaintiff, Christian Parks, was stopped after he began preaching in an open courtyard area on campus. The suit claims that the campus speaker rules violate the free speech, free exercise and due process clauses of the Constitution.

Guesthouse Owners In Britain Going To European Court In Try To Limit Double Rooms To Married Couples

In Britain, the Christian Legal Centre announced today that Jeff and Sue Green, the owners of a guesthouse in Wales, are applying directly to the European Court of Human Rights to obtain a ruling that would allow them to reflect their Christian beliefs by renting double rooms only to married couples.  The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) challenged the owners' policy, informing them that it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.  EHRC dropped the case when the Greens agreed to offer only single beds in all rooms. However the Greens are continuing to pursue their case. They are not first going through the British courts because last year's UK Supreme Court opinion in Bull v. Hall (see prior posting) indicates that it would be fruitless to do so. The Telegraph has additional details.

Islamist Syrian Rebel Group Imposes Strict Controls On Christians In Town of Raqqa

BBC News reported yesterday that in the northern Syrian town of Raqqa, the rebel group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) that controls the city has announced online that it is imposing new controls on Christians there. Christians must pay a special tax of 14 grams of gold, may not carry arms, may not renovate their churches, display crosses or other religious symbols outside churches, ring church bells, or pray in public. The group said that Christians must either convert to Islam or accept these conditions or else risk being killed. ISIS said 20 Christian leaders have accepted the conditions. Rival rebel groups have been fighting ISIS since last month.