Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Heated Controversy Over Portrait of Militant Sikh Leader Erupts In India
Church Property Disputes Looming In Pennsylvania
Holiday Display Disputes Appear Muted This Year
Meanwhile in Cranston, Rhode Island, backing away from past high profile controversies over religious symbols, new mayor Michael T. Napolitano has opted to merely put up 50,000 white lights and a Christmas tree in the foyer of City Hall. In past years, the City Hall display-- which led to litigation-- included a life-sized nativity scene, a menorah, an inflatable snowman, and 15 flamingos in Santa Claus hats representing the "Church of the Flamingos". (ACLU Release, 2003). (See prior related posting.) Local ACLU director, Steven Brown, said that Napolitano "is doing more to respect religion than the politicians who try to turn Christmas into a political issue."
Sudan's President Pardons British Teacher Convicted of Insulting Islam
Romney To Deliver Speech On His Religious Beliefs and the Presidency
Op-Ed Explores School Board's Rule On Sacred Music In Choir Concerts
Is it the number of songs, sacred versus secular? Or time — would one six-minute secular song be worth two three-minute sacred songs? Or, since the musical notes themselves are neither sacred nor secular, is it just the lyrics? Do we have to count lines within each song?
Equally unclear is exactly to whom the policy would apply. School board members seem to think the policy would not apply to outside groups that rent a room in a Howell school building for an event. Administrators seem to think it would....[The Constitution] says public schools can't promote one religion over another.... [W]hy can't the Howell school board come up with a policy that says that, and goes no further so that it avoids creating needless controversies where there really is no controversy?
Private Enforcers of Islamic Law Appear In Cairo
Recent Publications on Law, Religion and Society
From SSRN:
- Shraddha Veeranna Chigateri, Glory to the Cow: Cultural Difference and Social Justice in the Food Hierarchy in India, (South Asia, Vol. 31, No. 1, April 2008).
From SmartCILP and elsewhere:
- Alex Geisinger & Ivan E. Bodensteiner, An Expressive Jurisprudence of the Establishment Clause, 112 Penn State Law Review 77-136 (2007).
- Antony Barone Kolenc, "Mr. Scalia's Neighborhood": A Home for Minority Religions?, 81 St. John's Law Review 819-880 (2007).
- Douglas G. Smith, "Equal Access"?: Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries v. Glover and the Use of Public Facilities for Religious Worship, 8 Engage 142-144 (Oct. 2007).
- Robin Judd, Contested Rituals: Circumcision, Kosher Butchering and Jewish Political Life in Germany, 1843-1933, (Cornell University Press, August 2007), reviewed in The Forward.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
NJ Mosque Developers Lose Attempt To Add Count To Complaint
Texas Schools Science Director Fired Over Apparent Opposition To Intelligent Design
British Accounting Body Will Offer Certificate In Islamic Finance
Alberta Panel Finds Anti-Gay Letter Violated Human Rights Law
The complaint, filed by a Red Deer high school teacher, alleged that the letter crossed the line of free speech and incited hatred against homosexuals in violation of Sec. 3 of the HRCMA. In an 80-page decision, the Panel held it had jurisdiction over the case because of the relationship of the letter to the province's educational system and its circumstantial connection to the beating of a gay teenager in Red Deer less than two weeks following its publication. The panel concluded that Boissoin's letter expressed hatred or contempt for a group of persons on the basis of their sexual preference, and made it more acceptable to others to manifest hatred against homosexuals. The panel rejected the argument that Boissoin's freedom of religion and expression are defenses to the discrimination charge. Friday's Canadian Press reported on the decision.
Meanwhile, according to the Canadian Press, on Saturday the Executive Committee of the Conservative Party of Alberta refused to endorse the nomination of Concerned Christian Coalition leader Craig Chandler for election to the province's legislative assembly from Calgary-Egmont. Apparently the refusal was related to the Boissoin letter.
India's High Court Postpones Ruling on Rights of Christian and Muslim Dalits
Recently Available Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Floody v. Wagner, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86295 (D SD, Nov. 21, 2007), a South Dakota federal district judge permitted an inmate who was an candidate for conversion to Judaism to proceed on his claim for damages against prison officials who suspended his kosher diet after he bought a non-kosher item at the prison commissary. Subsequently the prison system changed it rules precluding removal from a religious diet as a sanction, making plaintiff's claims for declaratory and injunctive relief moot.
In Rogers v. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86607 (D AZ, Nov. 15, 2007), an Arizona federal district court dismissed (with leave to file an amended complaint) a series of allegations, including a free exercise claim, by a prisoner for violations while she was a pre-trial detainee. Plaintiff claimed that rules calling for discontinuation of her medication if she was not in her cell during medical call precluded her from attending religious services.
In Raper v. Adams, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87048 (ED NC, March 28, 2007), a North Carolina federal district court dismissed an inmate's First Amendment claims challenging prison rules that banned inmates' reading tarot cards for other inmates. It also rejected an equal protection claim complaining that plaintiff was required to use a cell that doubled as a restroom, rather than the day room, to practice his religion.
In Joseph v. Ware, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87459 (WD LA, Oct. 22, 2007), a Louisiana federal magistrate judge recommended dismissal of a Muslim inmate's First Amendment claim based on failure of prison employees on one occasion to provide him a pork-free meal.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Religious Sign In Police Cruiser Raises Church-State Questions
Religious Traditions Include Holiday Gambling
British Muslim Coalition Proposes New Moderate Guidelines For Mosques
OSCE Publishes Guide On Teaching About Religions In Schools
WV Proposes Promise Scholarship Holders Can Take Religious Service Leave
Pope Issues Encyclical "In Hope We Were Saved"
[E]very generation has the task of engaging anew in the arduous search for the right way to order human affairs; this task is never simply completed. Yet every generation must also make its own contribution to establishing convincing structures of freedom and of good, which can help the following generation as a guideline for the proper use of human freedom.... [M]odern Christianity, faced with the successes of science in progressively structuring the world, has to a large extent restricted its attention to the individual and his salvation. In so doing it has limited the horizon of its hope and has failed to recognize sufficiently the greatness of its task—even if it has continued to achieve great things in the formation of man and in care for the weak and the suffering....
All serious and upright human conduct is hope in action.... [W]e work towards a brighter and more humane world so as to open doors into the future. Yet our daily efforts in pursuing our own lives and in working for the world's future either tire us or turn into fanaticism, unless we are enlightened by the radiance of the great hope that cannot be destroyed even by small-scale failures or by a breakdown in matters of historic importance. If we cannot hope for more than is effectively attainable at any given time, or more than is promised by political or economic authorities, our lives will soon be without hope....
To protest against God in the name of justice is not helpful. A world without God is a world without hope.... Only God can create justice. And faith gives us the certainty that he does so. The image of the Last Judgement is not primarily an image of terror, but an image of hope; for us it may even be the decisive image of hope....
Detroit Judge Finds Religious Freedom Violation By Faith-Based Drug Program
Nigeria Implements Sharia In Moderate and Modern Form
Friday, November 30, 2007
Hidden Church-State Issue In Debate Over College Accreditors
Huckabee Discusses Role of Religion In Campaign and Government
MATTHEWS: ... What I’m trying to figure out here why is it relevant to run as a Christian leader, if, when I give you particular cases of life and death, perhaps war, you resort to the secular role, which is probably more appropriate to a politician?
HUCKABEE: Well, because, Chris, frankly, there are times when the Christian Gospel does very much apply — inasmuch as you've done it to the least of these, my brethren. When 75,000 evacuees came to my state from Hurricane Katrina, it was my Christian faith that said we’re not going to wait until paperwork is done to take care of these people.
Russian Officials Have Delayed Molokan Prayer House For Over 10 Years
Kansas Supreme Court Refuses To Halt Voter-Initiated Grand Jury
UPDATE: The Kansas City Star reported on Thursday that because of this decision, no appeal will be filed to challenge empaneling of a similar grand jury in Johnson County to investigate Planned Parenthood's activities there.
Canada's High Court Will Review Case On Religious Exemption From License Photos
Court Rejects Free Exercise Challenge to Wrongful Conviction Recovery Limits
Convicted murderer Daniel Ross had his conviction overturned because of faulty instructions to the jury on burden of proof. The state decided not to retry him. Ross then sought compensation for his wrongful imprisonment, but was denied it because he had not received a gubernatorial pardon. Ross then brought suit, alleging among other things, that conditioning the availability of damages on receipt of a gubernatorial pardon requires him to violate "a cardinal principle of his religious faith". He says he believes that "only the Almighty God . . . is responsible for granting grace or mercy as a covenant to His heirs." The court also rejected Ross' equal protection and 8th and 13th Amendment challenges.
Court Rejects Daughter's Relgious Objections To Autopsy On Father
Judge Says 14-Year Old Can Refuse Transfusion; Boy Dies
Free Exercise Challenge To Administration of Maine's Welfare Laws Rejected
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Spokane Police Chaplaincy Changes Insignia In Response To Lawsuit
Venezuela's Chavez Clashes With Church Over Constitutional Amendments
Veterans Challenge VA Hospital's Policy Change On Chapel Furnishings
Amish Object To NY Town's Proposal That Builders Have Insurance
Saudi Religious Police Acquitted In Death of Suspect
Developments In Sudan's Arrest of British School Teacher On Charges of Insulting Islam [UPDATED]
The case has turned into a full-blown diplomatic incident as British Foreign Secretary David Miliband summoned Sudan's ambassador for urgent talks. (Australia's Herald Sun, 11/29). The AP reports that Sudan's top clerical leaders, known as the Assembly of the Ulemas, issued a statement on Wednesday calling the incident part of a broader Western plot against Muslims, and comparing it to insults against the Prophet Muhammad by author Salman Rushdie. Future develoopments may turn on how imams deal with the case in their messages at Friday prayers this week. The Muslim Council of Britain said it was "appalled" at the actions of Sudan.
Today's Times of London says that British diplomats are trying to prevent the incident from interfering with peace making efforts in Darfur. A possible compromise would be for Gibbons-- who has already spent four days in jail-- to be tried, but then expelled from the country, or pardoned, instead of being punished. The Times describes Unity High School-- the school at which Gibbons taught-- as "an exclusive British-run school favoured by the Sudanese elite."
UPDATE: AP reports that on Thursday in Sudan, teacher Gillian Gibbons was convicted of insulting Islam, and sentenced to 15 days in prison, to be followed by deportation. The quick verdict after a 7-hour trial appeared to be designed to end the case before Friday prayers and the possible incitement of worshipers over the matter. (Times of London.) A senior government official told the AP that clerics had been ordered not to deliver inflammatory sermons about the case on Friday.
UPDATE: BBC News on Thursday carries an article discussing differing views among Muslims about assigning the name Muhammad to pets and toys.
UPDATE: CNN reported on Tuesday that Gillian Gibbons arrived back in London and said her experience should not deter peoople from visiting Sudan which she said was an "extremely beautiful place."
Buddhist Priest Offers Invocation At Pennsylvania Senate Session
Wisconsin Bill Would Restore Name of State Christmas Tree
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Religion Clause Nominated In Best 100 By ABA
Texas Court Rejects Plea To Bar Autopsies of Two Muslim Men
British Humanists' Report Criticizes Faith-Based Services In UK
The report’s findings demonstrate that there is no evidence that religious organisations offer any distinctive benefits to the supply and provision of public services and actually that the Government’s clear policy objective of expanding the role of religious organisations within the public services runs the risk of lowering standards, increasing inequalities, introducing ‘parallel services’ and damaging social cohesion.
The research warns of the dangers of discrimination against staff not protected by Employment Equality Regulations pertaining to religion or belief or sexual orientation because of the exemptions that religious organisations have from equality legislation, and of potential barriers to accessing public services for the general public.
Insurance Company Sued Under Fair Housing Act On "FaithGuard" Policy
Yesterday's Akron Beacon Journal , reporting on the case, quotes GuideOne that says its product is ''available to everyone — whether they attend church or not and without regard to religion or denomination. No one has ever been denied the product based on church membership or attendance. There are no religion-related underwriting eligibility guidelines to obtain the product, and the company does not consider whether someone is a churchgoer before issuing a policy."
3rd Circuit Interprets RLUIPA's "Equal Terms" Provision
The court held that the "equal terms" provision does not require a church to show that a "substantial burden" has been been placed on its religious exercise. However, it does require plaintiff to show that it was treated less well than a secular organization that has a similar negative impact on the aims of the challenged land-use regulation. Churches are not similarly situated because New Jersey law prohibits the issuance of a liquor license to establishments located within 200 feet of a church. The court also rejected plaintiff Lighthouse's claim under the First Amendment's Free Exercise clause, finding that its exclusion from a small area of the city did not burden its religious exercise, and that the redevelopment plan was a neutral regulation of general applicability. The court did however permit an award of damages under RLUPA for previous injury caused by a now-superseded zoning ordinance.
Judge Jordan, dissenting in part, argued that the "equal terms" provision of RLUIPA is violated when a zoning ordinance categorically excludes churches from an area where secular assemblies are permitted, without the church being required show that it is similarly situated in regard to the regulation's purpose. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to How Appealing via Alliance Alert for the lead.]
City Council In Michigan Rejects Opening Prayer Policy
California's Ban on GLBT Discrimination In Schools Challenged By Christian Groups
2nd Circuit's Invalidation of Student Fee Plan Protects Christian Student Groups
New Rules Permit Menorah Lighting At Rhode Island Town Hall
In A First, Nigerian Islamic Court Sentences Man For Adultery
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Cert. Denied In Two Church-State Cases
The second case in which cert was denied was Teen Ranch, Inc. v. Udow, (Docket No. 07-362). In the case, the 6th Circuit had upheld the decision of Michigan's Family Independence Agency to stop placing abused, neglected and delinquent children with Teen Ranch because the faith-based organization coerces religious participation by youths in their programs. (See prior posting.) Today's Detroit News reports on the denial of cert. [Thanks to Steven C. Sheinberg for the leads.]
Annapolis Conference Begins With Religiously-Compliant Dinner Menu
2nd Circuit OK's Border Policy Targeting Attendees At Muslim Conference
Retrial Opens In Vermont In Sexual Abuse Case Against Church
UPDATE: On Thursday, Judge Matthew Katz who is hearing the case ruled that while the claim for compensatory damages for negligent supervision may go to the jury, no award of punitive damages against the Diocese will be permitted because plaintiff did not prove that the Diocese knew of Rev. Alfred Willis' prior history of molesting children. (Rutland Herald).
Russian Authorities Urge Cult Members To Release Children From Cave
Yesterday, RIA Novosti reported that Kuznetsov has refused to help authorities convince the group to release four small children who are with them. Psychiatrists from Moscow are currently negotiating with those inside the cave, focusing on release of the children. They are being assisted by millionaire businessman German Sterligov who has himself been living in a remote forest hut to protect his family from the "negative influence of television and modern schools".
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sudan Arrests Primary School Teacher Over Name of Teddy Bear
New York's RFRA Proposals Generate Opposition
Islamic Academy In Virginia on Defensive As Legislators Press For Action
Saudis Attempt To Justify Sentence Imposed On Rape Victim
UPDATE: Arab News reported on Tuesday that Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem, lawyer for the woman who was sentenced, will now file a defamation suit through the Ministry of Culture and Information because of the statement by the Ministry of Justice that included a claim that the rape victim had confessed to having an illegal affair.
UPDATE: AP reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia's Prince Saud al-Faisal, in a statement issued while he is in the U.S., said that "the Saudi judiciary will review the case".
UPDATE: On Jan 21, 2008, CNN reported that lawyer Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem told CNN that the Saudi Jusice Ministry has reinstated his license to practice law. In December, the Justice Ministry claimed that the lawyer's license had never been revoked.
Recent Scholarly Articles of Interest
- Nathan B. Oman, Jurisprudence and the Problem of Church Doctrine, (Journal of the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology, Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall 2006).
- Don Ellinghausen, Jr. Venting of Vipassana? Mindfulness Mediation's Potential for Reducing Anger's Role in Mediation, 8 Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution 63-83 (2006).
- Aaron Jay Saiger, School Choice and States' Duty to Support "Public" Schools, 48 Boston College Law Review 909-969 (2007).
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Times Explores Churches' New Role In Economic Development
[S]ome huge churches ... are becoming catalysts for local economic development, challenging a conventional view that churches drain a town financially.... But the entrepreneurial activities of churches pose questions for their communities that do not arise with secular development.[Thanks to Melissa Rogers for the lead.]
These enterprises, whose sponsoring churches benefit from a variety of tax breaks and regulatory exemptions given to religious organizations in this country, sometimes provoke complaints from for-profit businesses with which they compete.... Mixed-use projects, like shopping centers that also include church buildings, can make it difficult to determine what constitutes tax-exempt ministry work, which is granted exemptions from property and unemployment taxes, and what is taxable commerce.
And when these ventures succeed — when local amenities like shops, sports centers, theaters and clinics are all provided in church-run settings and employ mostly church members — people of other faiths may feel shut out of a significant part of a town’s life, some religion scholars said.
Dispute Over Insurance Coverage For Marianist Order Is In Court
Mexican Officials Say Cathedral's Protest Closure Is Illegal
According to a posting at Lonely Planet, the public safety and security director for the Distrito Federal has announced a security plan to protect the Cathedral.
Fights Over Public Holiday Displays Begin
The Freedom From Religion Foundation has protested a decision by the Menominee, Michigan Parks and Recreation Committee to place a nativity scene in a park band shell, and allow non-Christians to add other holiday symbols to the display as well. (Winston-Salem Journal, 11/24).
Finally, in the village of Briarcliff Manor, New York, after litigation over its 2005 holiday display, this year the Village Board approved a non-religious display-- a tree with a star, a Hanukkah dreidel, and a banner reading: "The Village of Briarcliff Manor Extends Holiday Greetings and Wishes for Peace to All." Rev. Timothy Schenck, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Briarcliff Manor reacted: "if people are so passionate about this, put up a display in your yard, go to church, go to synagogue, go to your religious institution and celebrate. That's where the energy should be ... rather than publicly debating what symbols to put up." (NY Journal News, 11/25).
News Agency Interviews Israel's Chief Military Chaplain
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Religious Fredom Is An Issue In Meat Importation Case
What Are Establishment Clause Rules For Adult Education Courses?
Foster Care Does Not End Mother's Right To Object To Immunization
PBS Documentary-- Prayer In America
Oral Roberts University President Resigns Under Fire
UPDATE: An AP story on Saturday chronicles the reactions of students and others in the ORU community to the resignation.
Friday, November 23, 2007
House of Lords Debates IVF For Lesbians Partly In Religious Terms
For example, Lord Elton said: "to rule out the male responsibility seems to go in the face of nature, religion and good sensible politics on the part of a government who are trying to stop overfilling the jails of this country." Lord Ahmed argued that "Muslims have a profound belief not just in the sanctity of human life from conception onwards but in the importance of knowing your antecedents: the root from which you spring." Baroness Paisley of St George's argued: "This proposal totally disregards the biblical law on mixing kinds or species as laid down in Holy Scripture, and would be an offence to the Creator Himself, who made man in His own image." Responding for the government, Under-Secretary of State for Health, Lord Darzi said: "the available research evidence suggests that it is the quality of parenting that is the factor of prime importance, not the gender of the parent per se."
Hindus In Malaysia Sue British for Failing To Protect Against Malaysian Oppression
Nigerian Politicos May Use Religion To Postpone Their Own Ouster
Miami Federal Prison Warden Encourages Aleph Institute
Indonesian Poll Backs Sharia Law In Districts That Have Adopted It
Thursday, November 22, 2007
President Marks Thanksgiving In Several Venues
Our country was founded by men and women who realized their dependence on God and were humbled by His providence and grace. The early explorers and settlers who arrived in this land gave thanks for God's protection and for the extraordinary natural abundance they found. Since the first National Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President George Washington, Americans have come together to offer thanks for our many blessings. We recall the great privilege it is to live in a land where freedom is the right of every person and where all can pursue their dreams. We express our deep appreciation for the sacrifices of the honorable men and women in uniform who defend liberty. As they work to advance the cause of freedom, our Nation keeps these brave individuals and their families in our thoughts, and we pray for their safe return.On Monday the President spoke (full text) at Berkeley Plantation in Charles City, Virginia, which claims to be the site of the first Thanksgiving, predating that of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts. As the President recounted:
In 1619, a band of 38 settlers departed Bristol, England for Berkeley aboard a ship like the one behind me. At the end of their long voyage, the men reviewed their orders from home. And here's what the orders said: "The day of our ship's arrival h shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God." (Applause.) Upon hearing those orders, the men fell to their knees in prayer. And with this humble act of faith, the settlers celebrated their first Thanksgiving in the New World.Finally, on Tuesday in remarks in the Rose Garden, The President issued the traditional pardon for this year's two White House turkeys, May and Flower, and sent them on to Disney World to serve as honorary Grand Marshalls in the Thanksgiving Day parade. However the White House staff has apparently found some replacements since the Thanksgiving Day menu for the President at Camp David includes Oven Roasted Turkey.
Indiana Senate Opens With Sectarian Invocation
China's Rules For Olympic Visitors Bars Falun Gong Materials or Activities
Opening In VA Episcopal Church Case Published; More Defections Loom
[T]he General Assembly enacted the division statute to ensure that a neutral principle, majority rule, would govern situations when a group of congregations divided from their former denomination and formed a new branch of the church. That happened in the 19th century and it continues to happen today. What is perhaps unique about this case is that the division has played out at the international level of the church as well, but it is no less a division within the meaning of the statute. Indeed, the international element of this dispute merely confirms the magnitude of the division...Meanwhile last Saturday, the Episcopal Diocese of Forth Worth, Texas became the fourth Episcopal diocese to begin the process of leaving the Episcopal Church USA in order to affiliate with a more conservative Anglican province. Tuesday's Christian Post reports that the first of two required votes were taken at the diocese's annual convention.
Scalia Will Have Two Orthodox Jewish Law Clerks In 2008
Most of "Flying Imams" Claims Survive Motion To Dismiss
Yesterday's Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on the decision, quoted Frederick Goetz, one of plaintiff's lawyers, who praised the decision: "This has always been a straightforward civil rights case. You had six individuals ... doing absolutely nothing wrong. They prayed in the airport and got arrested. That's unconstitutional, and they deserve redress."
British Groups Produce Model Governance Documents for Independent Churches
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.