The full text of all the documents and accompanying guidelines are available from the Evangelical Alliance website.The documents set out the proper checks and balances required to allow paid church leaders to take appropriate leadership responsibilities as church charity trustees, manage any potential conflicts of interest, and offer churches a legal structure to help govern their charity....
A revised Model Trust Deed ... offers independent churches with a non-voting membership a legal structure to help govern their charity.
Also now available are a Model Constitution - designed for situations where the wider membership of the church is involved in its governance and decision-making processes - and a Model Memorandum and Articles of Association designed for situations where a corporate structure is considered important. Guideline documents are also accessible for further assistance.
Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
British Groups Produce Model Governance Documents for Independent Churches
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Florida County School Board Members Favor Teaching Intelligent Design
Former FLDS Leader Sentenced To Prison
Establishment Challenge To Highway Patrol Memorial Crosses Dismissed
Just as the Christmas tree evolved into a secular symbol of celebration, the cross has evolved into a symbol capable of communicating a secular message of death and burial. While the cross retains its religious meaning when placed in religious contexts, it has transformed into a representation of death and burial when placed in pop culture settings and when used as a memorial. Like the Christmas tree, which took on secular symbolism as Americans used the tree without subscribing to a particular religious belief, the cross has attained a secular status as Americans have used it to honor the place where fallen soldiers and citizens lay buried, or had fatal accidents, regardless of their religious belief. And the progression of the cross from a religious to a secular symbol continues as crosses are increasingly used to symbolize death in advertising campaigns, films, television, and seasonal holiday decorations--frequently having nothing to do with religion or a particular religious belief. Consequently, the court finds a reasonable observer, aware of the history and context of the community would not view the memorial crosses as a government endorsement of religion.Yesterday's Deseret Morning News reports on the decision. (See prior related posting.)
UPDATE: Fox News reported on Wednesday that American Atheists plans to appeal the ruling.
Cert Petition Filed In Summum "Seven Aphorisms" Case
Vermont Will Expand Inmates' Religious Rights
British Court Hears Arguments In Christian Activist's Blasphemy Case
Indiana Voter ID Case Poses A Hidden Religious Liberty Issue
New York's High Court Holds Satmar Rivalry Nonjusticiable
The main decision, Matter of Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar, Inc. v Kahana, (NY Ct. App., Nov. 20, 2007), involved a disputed election for directors and officers of the Satmar's Brooklyn congregation. The majority held that the dispute cannot be resolved without judicial intrusion into matters of religious doctrine, and that the First Amendment forbids civil courts from interfering in or determining religious disputes. Justice Smith dissented, saying: "I believe that courts should hold disputes between religious factions to be non-justiciable only as a last resort, where it is absolutely clear that no neutral principle can decide the case.... [T]he prospect of the parties resolving their differences in court may be unattractive, but the thought of their resolving them elsewhere may be less attractive still."
In a companion case, Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar of Kiryas Joel, Inc. v Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar, Inc., (NY Ct. App., Nov. 20, 2007), the court invalidated the transfer of a half-interest in the cemetery in which the Satmar's founder is buried from one faction to the other. The court affirmed a decision of the Appellate Division that refussed to grant judicial approval to the transfer under a provision of New York's Religious Corporations Law that required such approval when a transfer was made for nominal consideration. The court held that a transfer to further the interests on one side in a factional dispute does not satisfy the standard required for approval. Yesterday's Newsday reports on the two decisions.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Mormon Percentages In Utah Fall
Pope Appoints New Head of Military Services Archdiocese In U.S.
FBI Releases 2006 Hate Crime Statistics
Data indicates that crimes against 1,750 victims (18.1% of all hate crimes) were motivated by religious bias. In the largest portion of these (65.4% or 144 victims), the offender was motivated by anti-Jewish bias, while in 11.9% (208 victims), the offender was motivated by anti-Islamic bias. Of the others, 4.9% were victims of anti-Catholic bias; 3.7% were victims of anti-Protestant bias; 0.5% were victims of anti-Atheist/Agnostic bias; 8.4% were victims of a bias against other religions; and 5.3% were victims of a bias against groups of individuals of varying religions. Since some incidents involved multiple victims, the percentages for hate crimes by incident is slightly different. Among property crimes, such as vandalism, 7.4% of all hate crimes were against religious institutions.
Russian Religious Leader Wants Government Control of Morality In Media
Monday, November 19, 2007
Chavez Brings Christian References To OPEC In Saudi Arabia
LAPD Reverses Course and Drops Plan To Map Muslim Population
Recent Articles and Books of Interest
From SSRN:
- Claudia E. Haupt, Free Exercise of Religion and Animal Protection: A Comparative Perspective on Ritual Slaughter, (George Washington International Law Review, Forthcoming ).
- Steven Douglas Smith, How Secularists Helped Knock Down the Wall of Separation Between Church and State, (San Diego Legal Studies Paper No. 07-124, Nov. 8, 2007).
- John Q. Barrett, Gregory L. Peterson, E. Barrett Prettyman, Shawn Francis Peters, Gathie Barnett Edmonds, Marie Barnett Snodgrass & Bennett Boskey, Recollections of West Virginia State Board of Education V. Barnette, (St. John's Law Review ,Vol. 81, pp. 755-796, Fall 2007).
- Steven W. Fitschen, Laying Low the High Flying Evangelicals at the United States Air Force Academy? Thanks, but No Thanks, 36 Journal of Law & Education 501-514 (2007).
- Oscar Guardiola-Rivera, Return of the Fetish: A Plea for a New Materialism, 18 Law & Critique 275-307 (2007).
- Ellen Wiles, Headscarves, Human Rights, and Harmonious Multicultural Society: Implications of the French Ban for Interpretations of Equality, 41 Law & Society Review 699-735 (2007).
Recent Books:
- Irfan Habib (ed.), Religion in Indian History, (Aligarh Historians Society, 2007) reviewed by The Hindu.
- Frank Schaeffer, Crazy for God, (Da Capo Press, Oct. 25, 2007).
- Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought-- The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, (Oxford University Press, Sept. 2007).
Settlement Reached In Abuse Claims By Alaskans Against Jesuits
Recent Prisoner Cases On Religion
In Ellibee v. Hiland Dairy Foods Co., LLC, 2007 Kan. App. Unpub. LEXIS 143 (KN Ct. App., Aug. 31, 2007), a Kansas Court of Appeals rejected on collateral estaoppel grounds a prisoner's consumer protection claim against a prison milk supplier, as well as rejecting his negligence and fraud claims. The prisoner claimed that the milk he was served as part of his kosher diet was not in fact kosher milk.
In Stanton v. Trotter, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84763 (ND IN, Nov. 14, 2007), an Indiana federal court permitted a Buddhist inmate to proceed with an Eighth Amendment claim based on the failure of officials to provide him with a non-meat protein substitute as part of his religiously mandated vegetarian diet. It rejected his First Amendment claim merely alleging delay in beginning his vegetarian tray.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Church May Be Marital Asset In NY Divorce Proceeding
plaintiff claims that the Church is a marital asset because it is actually the defendant's "business" which he operates as his "personal piggy bank." Specifically, the plaintiff claims that the defendant provided $50,000.00 of their marital money to the Church as start-up capital; defendant controls all of the finances of the Church and makes all financial decisions, defendant refuses to make any financial disclosures to the Church's Board of Directors and the Church Administrator, hides his finances from the Church elders, determines his own income, refers to the Church as "my Church" and dismisses anyone who challenges his operation and finances of the Church.The court concluded that if it is shown that the church is the husband's "alter ego", it will be valued as a marital asset for purposes of determining equitable distribution. The issue is one of first impression in New York. Newsday, the AP and the New York Daily News all carried reports on the case earlier this week.
Parishioners of Closed Ohio Churches, Critical of Diocese, Pursue Litigation,
Hawaiians Want Army To Clear Bomb From Area Used For Ceremony
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Reactions to Grassley's Investigation of Tele-Evangelists Continue
Indian Supreme Court Upholds Legislative Oaths In Name of Allah
Mexico Politicians Want To Strengthen Church-State Separation
Papal Nuncio Criticizes Israel's Performance Under Agreements With Vatican
"Push Polling" Questions Romney's Mormon Beliefs
Religious Beliefs Fail To Lighten Drug Possession Sentence
Friday, November 16, 2007
President Announces Pick For Assistant AG For Civil Rights
Pennsylvania's Coverage of Gays In Hate Crime Law Struck Down
Art. I, Sec. 3 of Pennsylvania's constitution provides that "no bill shall be so altered or amended, on its passage through either House, as to change its original purpose." The court held that the ethnic intimidation amendments, that began as a bill to criminalize crop destruction, violates this constitutional provision because the final provisions bear no nexus to the conduct at which the original legislation was directed. Reporting on the decision, today's Philadelphia Enquirer says that Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has called on the legislature to re-enact the invalidated provisions.
Head Start Reauthorized With Prohibition On Religious Discrimination In Bill
Deviant Islamic Sects Are Being Banned By Indonesian Government
Senate Resolution Recognizes Diwali Festival
Vetoed Bill Protected Voluntary Prayer In Schools
NY High Court Dismisses Orthodox Jew's Privacy Claim As Time-Barred
7th Circuit Rejects School Counsellor's Religious Discrimination Claim
Preliminary Injunction Issued To Permit Gideons To Distribute Bibles Near Schools
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Senator Says Defy China's One Bible Limit At Olympics
Strip Club Owner Sues Church and County Sheriff
Post-Trial Motions Filed In Westboro Funeral Picketing Case
UPDATE: In an unusual move, defendants on Nov. 9 also filed a writ of mandamus with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the constitutional questions involved in the case. (AP). It appears unlikely that the Supreme Court will intervene at this early stage. [Thanks to First Amendment Law Prof Blog for the lead.]
Court Hears Arguments Over Memorial Crosses On Public Land
En Banc Review Sought In Indiana Legislative Prayer Case
Enforcement of Illinois Moment of Silence Law Enjoined
UPDATE: Thursday's Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald reports that Judge Gettleman refused to extend his preliminary injunction to the state's other 214 school dstricts because they are not defendants in the case. However he did order the state school superintendent not to enforce the new law. This means that no sanctions will be imposed against other school districts that refuse to require a moment of silence.
UPDATE: The full opinion granting the preliminary injunction is now available on LEXIS: Sherman v. Township High School Dist. 214, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84440 (ND IL, Nov. 15, 007).
Bishops Issue Guidance For Catholic Voters For 2008
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Important Buddha Statue Attacked In Pakistan
Prayers For Rain Led By Georgia Governor On Statehouse Steps
Settlement Reached In Suit Between Tennessee Baptists and Belmont University
Prof. Harold Berman, Law and Religion Pioneer, Dies
Church-State Separation Proposed For Liechtenstein
Trial Begins of Islamic Charity Leaders
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Pope Will Visit U.S. In April
Churches Sue In Challenge To German Law Permitting Sunday Openings
Payment for Confiscated Churches, End of State Support Proposed in Czech Republic
Challenge To Praying Parents Group In School Survives Summary Judgment Motion
Episcopal Church Property Dispute Involves Civil War Era Virginia Law
If a division ... shall ... occur in a church or religious society, to which any such congregation whose property is held by trustees is attached, the members of such congregation over 18 years of age may, by a vote of a majority of the whole number, determine to which branch of the church or society such congregation shall thereafter belong. Such determination shall be reported to the circuit court... and if the determination be approved by the court, it shall be so entered in the court's civil order book, and shall be conclusive as to the title to and control of any property held in trust for such congregation....Today's trial pits the Episcopal Church USA against eleven Virginia churches that have moved to the more conservative Convocation of Anglicans in North America under the Anglican Church of Nigeria, after disagreements with ECUSA on biblical authority and its election of an openly gay bishop. (See prior posting.)
Report Says Egypt Infringes Rights of Baha'is and Converts From Islam
document[s] how [Egyptian] Ministry of Interior officials systematically prevent Baha’is and converts from Islam from registering their actual religious belief in national identity documents, birth certificates, and other essential papers. They do this based not on any Egyptian law, but on their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia. This denial can have far-reaching consequences for the daily lives of those affected, including choosing a spouse, educating one’s children, or conducting the most basic financial and other transactions.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Recent Articles On Law and Religion
- Robert K Vischer,The Morally Distinct Corporation: Reclaiming the Relational Dimension of Conscience, (U of St. Thomas Legal Studies Research Paper No. 07-37, 2007).
- John M. Breen, John Paul II, the Structures of Sin and the Limits of Law, ( St. Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 52, 2008).
- John M. Breen Modesty and Moralism: Justice, Prudence and Abortion - A Reply to Skeel & Stuntz, (Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, 2008).
- Kenneth L. Marcus, The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism on American College Campuses, (Current Psychology, Vol. 26, Nos. 3 & 4, 2007).
- Robin Fretwell Wilson, The Overlooked Costs of Religious Deference, (Washington and Lee Law Review, Vol. 64, No. 4, 2007).
- David Caudill, Christian Legal Theory: The Example of Dooyeweerd's Critique of Romanist Individualism and Germanic Communitarianism in Property Law, 5 Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy 531-560 (2007).
- Choong Yeow Choy, Contra Bonos Mores: Religious Tenets and National Philosophy as the Yardstick for Determining Public Policy in Malaysia, [Abstract], 9 Australian Journal of Asian Law 176-185 (2007).
UN Special Rapporter on Religious Freedom Held In House Arrest In Pakistan
UPDATE: On Nov. 16, Reuters reported that Jahangir had been released from house arrest. [Thanks to IRRP for the lead.]
More Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases-- District and Appellate Courts
In Talbert v. Jabe, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82962 (WD VA, Nov. 8, 2007), a Virginia federal district court rejected an inmate's challenge under the First Amendment and RLUIPA to the classification of the 5% Islamic Nation of Gods and Earths as a Security Threat Group. The court also rejected "an assortment of claims alleging that the preparation and service of food ... does not accord with the dictates of the Common Fare religious diet, which plaintiff receives as a member of the Nation of Islam."
In Murphy v. Missouri Dept. of Corrections, (8th Cir., Nov. 8, 2007), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that district court's denial of a new trial to an inmate claiming that his free exercise rights under the First Amendment and RLUIPA were violated when prison officials denied his request for group worship services for the Christian Separatist Church.
In Kemp v. Woodford, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82013 (ED CA, Nov. 5, 2007), a California federal magistrate judge recommended dismissal of a prisoner's complaint that he was not allowed to legally change his name to his Muslim name. Plaintiff failed to allege that the change was required by his religion or that his religious exercise was substantially burdened by the refusal. Prison officials permitted him to use his religious name along with his commitment name for mail purposes.
In Naves v. Carlson, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82296 (D UT, Nov. 5, 2007), a Utah federal district court rejected First Amendment and RLUIPA challenges by a Wiccan inmate to confiscation of certain religious books and writings and to his interrogation by authorities regarding his religious beliefs and practices. A prison investigation into a hidden computer disk had revealed it contained both sexually explicit stories and a manuscript by Plaintiff titled "Institutional Book of Shadows."
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Clergy Duties As Community Service Does Not Violate Establishment Clause
Afghanistan Arrests Publisher of Koran Translation
UPDATE: The Nov. 12 Gulf Times reports that 1,000 university students demonstrated in Jalalabad on Sunday to demand the death penalty for Ghaus Zalmai. Zalmai is being interrogated after the Parliament barred him from leaving the country. Gulf Times reports: "A commission of clerics and prosecutors is examining the text, which does not include the original Arab verses and is said to differ on several issues, including homosexuality and adultery."
Saturday, November 10, 2007
City Council Debates Rental of City Facility To White Supremacist Church Group
PBS Will Air Program On "Intelligent Design" Debate
Catholic Cleric Argues For Revival of Charitable Immunity Doctrine
Number of Christian Law Schools Is Growing
LAPD Criticzed For Plans To Map Muslim Communities
Harvard Law Prof To Become US Ambassador To Holy See
Friday, November 09, 2007
Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Concealed Carry Law's Application To Churches
Washington Court Enjoins Enforcement of Pharmacy Board Rules
Applying strict scrutiny to the regulations, the court concluded:The evidence thus far presented to the Court strongly suggests that the overriding objective of the subject regulations was, to the degree possible, to eliminate moral and religious objections from the business of dispensing medication.
... [T]he enforcement mechanism of the new law appears aimed only at a few drugs and the religious people who find them objectionable.
Relying on these findings, the court enjoined enforcement of the regulations against any pharmacy or pharmacist who refuses to fill a prescription for Plan B emergency contraceptives if they immediately refer the patient to a nearby source for it. Today's Seattle Times reports on the decision.the interests promoted by the regulations have more to do with convenience and heartfelt feelings than with actual access to certain medications. Patients understandably may not want to drive farther than the closest pharmacy and they do not want to be made to feel bad when they get there. These interests are certainly legitimate but they are not compelling interests of the kind necessary to justify the substantial burden placed on the free exercise of religion.
... On the evidence now before it, the Court cannot say that the subject regulations advance a compelling state interest and they are narrowly tailored to accomplish their announced purpose.... [T]he evidence suggests that the burden on the religious practices of plaintiffs is intentional not incidental, and substantial not minimal.
Federal Court Rejcts Attempt To Bar NJ Civil Rights Proceedings
Mt. Soledad Establishment Clause Challenge Dismissed
The court rejected three theories of standing. It held that any denial of use of the Memorial as it now exists was not impacted by the mere transfer of land ownership. It rejected general taxpayer standing because invalidating the land transfer would not redress any injury Trunk suffered. Finally the court rejected Trunk's argument that the transfer gave him standing because it prevented the enforcement of a previous injunction based on the California Constitution. The U.S. as owner is not subject to the California Constitution. The court said:
Public Law 109-272 merely provides for the acquisition of land, the compensation of the land's owners, and the maintenance of the property as a veterans memorial. These are not religious actions, nor do they injure Trunk.... Trunk tries to conflate acquisition of the Mt. Soledad property with unconstitutional operation of the property.The court additionally pointed out that if it were to invalidate the law being challenged, the federal government would still own the Memorial under a transfer to it by the city which was ultimately upheld by the courts. NBC San Diego covers the decision in a short story.
Georgia Governor Plans Prayer Service For Rain
Church Leader Gets Probation On Sacramental Marijuana Charges
Suit Threatened Over Surveillance of Religious Order's Building
Sonoma CA Will Not Have Creches On City Plaza
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Civil Rights Groups Urge Investigation of White House Faith-Based Office
Negligence Claims Against Religious Order In Sex Abuse Case Survive 1st Amendment
College's Civility Code Enjoined In Suit By Students Who Stomped On Religious Flag
No Free Exercise Claim For Limiting Disclosures to Clergyman
Rules on Bibles For Spectators and Athletes at 2008 Olympics Attract Notice
Separately, the Olympics website says that spectators entering the country to attend the Olympics should take no more than one Bible into the country. China generally restricts imports of Bibles. The government-controlled Nanjing Amity Printing Co. has a monopoly on the printing of Bibles inside China. Another portion of the Olympics website tells visitors that "China is a country with religious freedom and respects every religion", and lists information on Buddhist, Christian and Muslim places of worship in Beijing.
Little notice has been given to another entry restriction for visitors posted on the Olympic site just before its warning about Bibles: "Any printed material, film, tapes that are 'detrimental to China's politics, economy, culture and ethics' are also forbidden to bring into China."
In Wales, Sikh Teen Challenges School's Jewelry Ban
Catholic Bishops Counsel Was Formerly With Becket Fund
House Passes Controversial Employment Non-Discriminnation Act
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Blount v. Jabe, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81789 (WD VA, Nov. 5, 2007), a Virginia federal district court rejected plaintiff prisoner's First Amendment and RLUIPA claims alleging that on two different dates the rules for Common Fare diets were violated because the Common Fare meal contained fish and dairy products together. The court found no intentional conduct that deprived plaintiff of his rights. It also concluded that no substantial burden was placed on plaintiff's free exercise of religion.
In Wares v. Simmons, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81351 (D KS, Oct. 31, 2007), a Kansas federal district court upheld prison restrictions on the property that a prisoner can possess after he was sanctioned for refusing to participate in a sexual abuse treatment program. Plaintiff challenged a rule that permitted him only to possess primary religious texts of his faith, and not other religious books. Considering the claim after a remand by the 10th Circuit, the court held that preventing a Jewish prisoner from possessing the "Tanya" and/or the "Tehillim" did not substantially burden his exercise of religion. Moreover the policy served legitimate penological interests and that plaintiff had the alternative of donating his books to the prison library and using them there.
In Hewitt v. Henderson, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80812 (WD LA, Sept. 6, 2007), a Louisiana federal district court dismissed a prisoners free exercise and equal protection claims. Under extended lockdown rules, plaintiff was not released from work for Friday Muslim prayer. He was, however, permitted to pray in his cellblock. The court found no violation of the prisoner's constitutional rights.
In Tirone v. Trella, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79812 (D NJ, Oct. 29, 2007), a New Jersey federal district court rejected a free exercise challenge to a jail's high security lockdown policy that prevented plaintiff from attending weekly Jumah prayer services.