Ten Commandments Battles Continue in Legislatures and Courts

State bills authorizing the display of the Ten Commandments on public property have moved forward recently in two states.

In Georgia yesterday, the House of Representatives by a vote of 140-26 approved HB 914. The bill would permit "a uniform, pedagogically sound, distinctive, and appropriate presentation of the story of the role of religion in the constitutional history of America and Georgia" to be "publicly displayed in governmental buildings throughout the State of Georgia". The bill sets out the text of the Declaration of Independence, the Mayflower Compact and the King James version of the Ten Commandments which, together with a prescribed statement captioned "context for acknowledging America's Religious Heritage", comprise the document that the Secretary of State is to prepare and distribute to governmental entities. The Associated Press, reporting on the House vote, quoted one Republican Rep. Fran Millar, who said: "If we lump the Bible with the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence, are we demeaning the Bible?"

Meanwhile, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal, in the Kentucky House of Representatives on Tuesday, the Committee on State Government approved House Bill 277. It permits state and local governmental agencies and public schools to display "historical artifacts, monuments, symbols and texts, including but not limited to religious materials", if the displays have historical and cultural, rather than religious, purposes. At the last minute, however, the Committee tacked on an amendment that calls for the posting of "In God We Trust" above the dais of the speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. Backers fear this provision will threaten the constitutionality of the entire bill.

There have also been developments in the courts. Today's Deseret Morning News reports that Utah federal district Judge Dee Benson had denied preliminary relief to plaintiffs in a case in which a Salt Lake City religious group is seeking permission to place a monument declaring Summum's Seven Aphorisms next to a 10 Commandments monument in a Pleasant Grove, Utah park. A Sunstone taken from the LDS temple at Nauvoo, Ill., and donated by a Pleasant Grove resident is also in the park. The city says that it has a long-standing, though unwritten, policy of only allowing monuments that relate to the city's history or donated by those with long-standing ties to the Pleasant Grove community. (See prior related posting.)

Falun Gong Found Protected Under Ontario Human Rights Code

For the first time, the Ontario (Canada) Human Rights Commission has found that Falun Gong is a "creed" under the Ontario Human Rights Code. This means that Falun Gong practitioners are protected against discrimination of various kinds. The Epoch Times today reports that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ordered the Ottawa Senior Chinese Cultural Association and two of its former executives to pay Ms. Huang Daiming $18,000 in damages after the club revoked her membership over her practice of Falun Gong—apparently under pressure from the local Chinese Embassy. The tribunal also ordered the seniors club to end its ban on Falun Gong members, to prominently post the Human Rights code on the Association premises, and to include anti-discrimination provisions in its policies and constitution. The full text of the Jan. 18 decision is available online.

Further Proceedings In 2 Jail Free-Exercise Cases

Opinions involving further proceedings in two different free-exercise cases involving claims against county jails have recently been released.

Earlier this week, the Associated Press reported that in the Western District of Arkansas, federal district Judge Jimm Larry Hendren accepted most of a magistrate's findings, agreeing that denying a Native American prisoner access to a prayer feather was not reasonably related to the goal of security in a county jail. (See prior posting.) However the judge rejected the magistrate's imposition of nominal damages, finding that the defendants had qualified immunity.

In Andreola v. State of Wisconsin, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3359 (ED Wis., Jan. 18, 2006), after previously granting summary judgment to defendants on an inmate's other claims, a Wisconsin federal district court now also granted defendants summary judgment on a claim under RLUIPA by an Orthodox Jewish pre-trial detainee who was not given access to kosher food meeting his religious requirements while held in the Rock County Jail. Instead he was served selected items from the jail's regular menu. Strictly kosher food was not easily available in the county where the jail was located. The court found a compelling security interest in not permitting the inmate to prepare his own food, and a compelling interest in preserving county funds and not subsidizing religion in the jail's refusal to serve plaintiff prepackaged kosher meals.

Italian Judge Suspended After Banning Crosses From His Courtroom

ANSA reported yesterday that in Rome, the Italian judiciary's self-governing body, the Supreme Council of Magistrates, removed judge Luigi Tosti from his post and cut off his pay because of his "unjustifiable behavior" in refusing to hold court until the cross posted in his Camerino court room is removed. Last year Tosti was convicted of refusing to perform his duties and sentenced to a 7-month suspended sentence. (See previous posting.) Tosti insists that defendants have the constitutional right not to be tried under a religious symbol, and questions the continuing validity of the Fascist-era Rocco Code which is the source of the requirement for the cross to be placed in his courtroom. Italy's Justice Ministry says that the Rocco Code has never been abolished and so remains in force .

Britain's Religious Hatred Bill Passes In Modified Form

In Britain yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Blair suffered a major defeat as the House of Commons accepted changes proposed by the House of Lords to Britain's pending Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. (See prior posting.) Today's Daily Mail and London Times report on the developments. The amendments limit the bill's prohibitions to threatening words and behavior. Criticism, insult, abuse and ridicule of religion, belief or religious practice were explicitly excluded from coverage. Amendments also provide that the law will be violated only by intentional conduct. The first vote in Commons on the bill backed the House of Lords amendments by 288 to 278. Then a major political miscalculation occurred. Hilary Armstrong, the Chief Whip, advised Prime Minister Blair that there was no point in staying for the second decisive vote on the bill, given the wide margin of defeat in the first vote. However when the second vote was taken, the House of Lords amendments won by only one vote (283 to 282), with Mr. Blair absent and not voting. The bill will go for royal assent in its now-amended version.

Tacoma Municipal Court To Change No-Hat Policy

In Tacoma, Washington, municipal court judges are revising a long-standing policy against wearing hats in the courtroom to clearly permit head coverings worn for religious or medical purposes. The Tacoma News Tribune today reports that the move follows complaints from the Council on American-Islamic Relations after Mujaahidah Sayfullah, a local real estate agent, was asked to leave Judge David Ladenburg's courtroom because she would not remove her hijab. Sayfullah said she has been a juror in Pierce County Superior Court twice in the last year or so, and no one ever mentioned her Muslim head scarf. Judge Ladenburg has apologized, saying he thought that Muslim religious law permitted individuals to remove their headwear.

Navajos' Free Exercise Claim Rejected

In Benally v. Kaye, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39751 (D. AZ, Sept. 8, 2005), decided last September by an Arizona federal district court and recently made available, the court rejected free exercise of religion and RFRA claims by a group of Navajo Indians who were prevented from holding a 3-day Sundance Festival on land belonging to the Hopi Indian Tribe. Plaintiffs claimed that tribal law enforcement officers, the Navajo County Sheriffs Office, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs all violated their free exercise of religion rights by restricting their access to the site of the religious celebration. The court, however, held that there was no right to practice one's religion on property belonging to someone else.

Indian Muslims Reject Uniform Civil Code

In India yesterday, the All Muslim Personal Law Board has called for repeal of Article 44 of the Indian Constitution that calls for the promulgation of a uniform civil code in the country to govern marriage, divorce and inheritance. Developments are reported by Calcutta's Telegraph and by WebIndia123. Currently personal laws give Muslims the right to follow Islamic rules on marriage and divorce. A separate statute protects Hindu marriage practices. The Indian Supreme Court has several times urged Parliament to frame a uniform code for all Indians. Now the AIMPLB formally has said implementation of a Uniform Civil Code would not be acceptable in a country with diverse religions and castes. (See prior related posting.)

Legislators Ask NV Pharmacy Board To End Consideration Of Rules

The Las Vegas Sun yesterday reported that the Nevada Board of Pharmacy has dropped an effort to create regulations to allow "conscience refusals" to fill prescriptions, while setting guidelines for them. The proposal would have required a pharmacist to disclose moral or religious beliefs at the time of employment and to have a backup plan for prescriptions to be filled by someone else or at another pharmacy. State legislators, however, asked the board turn the matter over to the legislature, saying the issue was too political for an appointed board. However, the legislature is unlikely to act this year on the matter.

Summary Judgment Denied In Two Prisoner Claims

Two more prisoner free exercise cases have just been handed down.

In Meyer v. Teslik, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3003 (WD Wis., Jan. 26. 2006), a Wisconsin federal district court refused to grant summary judgment to defendant, a prison chaplain, in a case alleging denial of a Native American prisoner's right to attend group religious services. The court found that a dispute remained as to whether or not the omission of the inmate's name from the list of those authorized to attend services was intentional.

In Collins v. Alameida, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3258 (ED Cal., Jan. 30, 2006), a California federal district judge refused to grant summary judgment to Avenal State Prison officials in a case challenging prison grooming regulations under RLUIPA. Inmate Collins claimed that his Nazarite religious beliefs prevented him from cutting his hair. The court found that defendants had failed to prove that that the California Department of Corrections grooming standards are the least restrictive means of furthering their interest of maintaining institutional safety and security.

Update on Muslim Challenge To Danish Jyllands-Posten Cartoons

Events are moving rapidly in the case of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that last September published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that Muslims in many parts of the world have found offensive. Yesterday's posting gave the background and chronicled some of the protests. Here are developments since then:

• Jyllands-Posten sent an apology to "all Muslims" in a statement sent to the Jordanian News Agency. According to the AP, on Sunday the newspaper also printed a statement in Arabic addressed to Saudis, who had initiated the boycott against Danish products. It said the drawings were published as part of a Danish dialogue about freedom of expression but were misinterpreted "as if it were a campaign against Muslims in Denmark and in the Islamic world."
• The Scotsman reports that in a live television interview, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Denmark's government "cannot make apologies on behalf of a Danish newspaper. That is not how our democracy works. Independent media cannot be edited by the government." But he did appeal to Muslim groups in Denmark to defuse the situation once the paper itself issued its apology, according to Bloomberg.com.
• The Irish Examiner reported that in Gaza, gunmen seized an EU office as part of the protest. Also a boycott of Danish goods is beginning to have an effect. Danish firm Arla Foods, which employs 800 in Saudi Arabia, says it is losing over 1 million Euros a day. It has threatened to suspend production at its dairy plant in Riyadh and lay off its workforce, after 2 of its employees were attacked and beaten on Sunday.
• A roadside bomb targeted a joint Danish-Iraqi military patrol near the southern city of Basra on Monday. According to Al-Jazeerah, coalition forces are investigating if there was any link between the attack and publication of theMuhammadd drawings.
• Internet hackers have launched attacks on the web site of Jyllands-Posten and other Danish papers, according to Viking Observer. In response, Danish hackers have stuck back.
• Denmark has warned its citizens against non-crucial travel to Saudi Arabia, and has urged Danes to be cautious in countries such as Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Algeria, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories, according to Newswire.co.nz.

Additional blog coverage is on PBS Watch and Brussels Journal.

Falun Gong Protest Exclusion From San Francisco Parade

The traditional San Francisco parade celebrating the Chinese New Year is scheduled for February 11. But this year, according to yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle, controversy surrounds the parade. The spiritual movement, Falun Gong, applied to take part in the parade, but the Chinese Chamber of Commerce which runs the parade rejected its application. The Chamber claims that in 2004 the group violated parade rules by handing out political material. Some $77,000 of the parade's $800,000 budget comes from the city of San Francisco, and Falun Gong supporters are pressing the city to withdraw its funding and other support for the event if they are not permitted to participate. Since 1999, Falun Gong has been banned by the Chinese government in Beijing. A Falun Gong spokesman, Huy Lu, said "The Chinese chamber is using taxpayer money to help the Chinese government. It's helping the persecution of Falun Gong followers."

World AIDS Funding By US Goes Increasingly To Religious Groups

Yesterday's Washington Post reports that the Bush administration is directing more of its $15 billion program to fight AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa to groups with religious ties. Most of the funds go for treatment programs. The administration is encouraging new community and religious groups to get involved. Conservative Christian groups are encouraging the U.S. Agency for International Development to give fewer dollars to groups that distribute condoms or work with prostitutes. However, secular organizations in Africa are concerned that giving money to groups without AIDS experience may dilute the impact of the program. According to the State Department, last year religious organizations accounted for more than 23 percent of all groups that got HIV/AIDS grants. Longtime AIDS volunteers criticize the increasing emphasis on abstinence in the Bush administration programs. It has added to the stigma of condom use in parts of Africa, and has put pressure on girls to marry early and not finish their education.

Texas State Board of Educations Asks AG To Permit Them To Review Textbooks

According to the Dallas Morning News yesterday, two members of the Texas State Board of Education have asked Texas Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott to reconsider a 1996 Attorney General's Opinion (Opinion No. DM-424). That opinion said that said the Board had no authority to screen school textbooks other than for factual errors. The Board members would like to be able to prescribe general textbook content standards. (Full text of 1/6/06 request for new AG opinion.) A bill passed by the legislature in 1995 took away the Board's authority to review textbooks, and several attempts since then to change the law have been rejected by the state legislature. Social conservatives would like to restore the board's authority to review the way in which books present issues like evolution, birth control and sexual abstinence, and interpretations of history. Texas requirements often impact the version of textbooks that are marketed throughout the country.

Cartoons In Danish Paper Spur Yemen's Parliament and Other Arab States To Act

Yemen's Parliament has stepped into a dispute over the propriety of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed published last September in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and reprinted this month in the Norwegian publication, Magazinet. (See prior posting.) The Yemen Observer reported yesterday that Parliament's Committee of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has criticized the publication of the 12 cartoons which were said to mock the Prophet. The Committee called on the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to ask the Danish and Norwegian governments to apologize. Online petitions and websites have been launched to protest the cartoons and call for a boycott of Danish products. The Observer article reprints the full text of a letter which readers are urged to send to Danish ambassadors around the world.

This morning, Bloomberg reported that in the West Bank, the Danish flag was burnt in protest over the cartoons. In Gaza, protesters demanded that Danes and Norwegians be sent home until an apology is forthcoming. Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Syria and Yemen are now boycotting Danish goods. And both Saudi Arabia and Libya have closed their embassies in Copenhagen.

Arab concern began to grow when Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen refused last October to meet ambassadors of 11 Muslim countries to discuss censuring the Jyllands-Posten paper. In December, a Danish umbrella group of 21 Muslim organizations sent a delegation to the Middle East to rally support against Denmark. The group met Muslim leaders including the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and the General Secretary of the Arab League, Amre Moussa. According to Newspaperindex.com, a complaint from the Organization of Islamic Conferences led Louise Arbour - United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - to appoint two UN experts on racism to carry out a detailed investigation into what Arbour characterizes as a "disrespect for belief."

Newspaperindex.com has also made the controversial cartoons available online.

Three Prisoner Free Exercise Decisions Become Available

Opinions in three prisoner free-exercise of religion cases decided over the last few months have just been released.

In Orafan v. Goord, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2931 (ND NY, January 17, 2006), five Shiite Muslim prisoners from three different New York facilities sued claiming that furnishing them only a unified Muslim religious service rather than a separate Shiite Jumah service violated their state and federal free exercise rights, violated RLUIPA and amounted to an establishment of religion. The court rejected all plaintiffs' claims except for a limited free exercise claim based on discriminatory treatment and comments by prison chaplains acting in their administrative capacities.

In Boles v. Neet, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39662 (D. Colo., Nov. 30, 2005), a Colorado federal district court reviewed the recommendation of a magistrate judge (2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39655) in a case in which an Orthodox Jewish prisoner complained that the was not permitted to wear his yarmulke and tallit katan while he was being transported outside a state prison facility for medical treatment or eye surgery. Subsequently, however, the Colorado Department of Corrections reversed its policy. The court, nevertheless, permitted plaintiff to proceed with his First Amendment free exercise claim for damages stemming from physical injury, mental anguish and emotional distress from the infringement of his religious practice. However, the court held that damages, as opposed to injunctive or declaratory relief, were not available under RLUIPA.

In Newsome v. Ozmint, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39659 (D. SC, Nov. 29, 2005), a federal magistrate judge in South Carolina recommended dismissal of general claims by two Muslim prisoners that their free exercise and equal protection rights were being infringed because they were not permitted to congregate for prayer five times a day in the prison chapel area. Prison officials indicated that the limitations on access to the chapel stemmed from past security problems, and that arrangements for prayer twice a day in day rooms, as well as Friday congregational prayer in the chapel, have been made.

Iraq Internal Fights Turn More Sectarian

In Iraq, the line between political divisions and religious ones is difficult to discern. However, this past week end according to an Associated Press report, internal conflicts seemed to take on a more explicitly sectarian tone. Adnan al-Dulaimi, leader of the main Sunni Muslim bloc in the next parliament, said he opposed giving Shiite Muslims the key top posts in the Interior and Defense ministries. "Mosques and houses are empty because clerics and ordinary men are being chased as if there was a sectarian cleansing in Baghdad," al-Dulaimi said. However, the head of the Shiite militia, the Badr Brigade, said that Shiite religious parties would "never surrender" the key interior and defense ministries. Also over the week end, car bombs exploded in synchronized attacks outside at least four churches (Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican) in Baghdad and Kirkuk.

Politicians "Play the 'God' Card"

As part of its series Focus on Faith, today's USA Today carries an opinion piece by Tom Krattenmaker titled Playing the 'God' Card. He argues that "religious-talking Republicans have brought ... hypocrisy charges on themselves in their rush to position their party as God's chosen." He continues, "It hasn't taken long for events to demonstrate how silly God's-on-our-side political rhetoric can end up looking when things go south." But, he says, "Democrats also have gone to the religion well in their quest for political gain and have sometimes looked just as ridiculous."

Sectarian Prayers Still Used In Some California Public Meetings

In 2002, in Rubin v. City of Burbank, a California appellate court struck down as unconstitutional sectarian prayer at city council meetings. However a recent investigation by the North County Times has discovered that several governmental bodies are still opening their sessions with prayers that specifically refer to Jesus. Meetings of the Temecula and Murrieta city councils and the Menifee Union and Perris Union High School governing boards are often begun with sectarian invocations. Paloma Valley High School teacher Gail Simpson said, "I have a hard time as a teacher explaining to my government students why it's not a violation of (the separation of) church and state. All I say to them (students) is, 'Yes, you're right, it does seem to violate the separation of church and state, but they're the school board and they can do what they want to do'."

Revisionist View Of Bin Laden As Religious Reformer Suggested

In a thoughtful, if controversial, article in yesterday's Los Angeles Times, author Reza Aslan suggests that Osama Bin Laden should be understood as a radical reformer of Islam, with parallels to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Here are some excerpts:

In 100 years ... we may look back on Bin Laden not only as a murderous criminal but as one of the principal figures of ... the Islamic reformation. Indeed, historians may one day place Bin Laden alongside 16th century Christian revolutionaries ... as a "reformation radical" who pushed the principle of religious individualism to terrifying limits. ...

[A]s Muslims have increasingly been forced to regard themselves ... as citizens of individual nation-states, a sense of individualism has begun to infuse this essentially communal faith. ...[T]he authority of traditional clerical institutions over their Muslim communities has been eroding. ... Muslims now have access through the Internet (an invention whose role in the Islamic reformation parallels that of the printing press in the Christian Reformation) to the religious opinions of myriad Islamic activists, academics, self-styled preachers, militants and cult leaders throughout the world who are, for better or worse, reshaping the faith....

Like Luther, Bin Laden is concerned above all else with "purifying" his own religious community.... Bin Laden's primary target is neither Christians nor Jews (both of whom he refers to as "the far enemy"), but rather those Muslims who do not share his puritanical view of Islam and who, as a consequence, make up the overwhelming majority of Al Qaeda's victims.

Bin Laden has also deliberately placed himself in direct opposition to the institutional authorities of his religion by repeatedly issuing fatwas and making judgments on Islamic law — things that, according to Islamic tradition, only a cleric affiliated with one of Islam's recognized schools of law has the authority to do.

Even more striking is his fundamental reinterpretation of jihad: What was once considered a collective duty to be carried out solely at the behest of a qualified cleric has become a radically individualistic obligation totally divorced from institutional authority....

RLUIPA Upheld Against Spending Clause Challenge

In Madison v. Ritter, (WD Va., Jan. 25, 2006) a Virginia federal district court rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the prisoner -protection provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. The court held that RLUIPA is valid Spending Clause legislation that is not barred by the Tenth, Eleventh or Fourteenth Amendments, the separation of powers doctrine, or the Establishment Clause. However, the court also certified its constitutional holdings for interlocutory review by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Legislative Prayer Offered By Imam

The Roanoke Times reports on the Virginia legislature-- Friday's opening prayer in the House of Delegates was offered by a Roanoke Muslim imam, Ibrahim Hamidullah. "We are mainstream Muslims," said Hamidullah, who converted to Islam at the age of 21. "We're community-minded, we're not separatists."

Hamas Will Introduce Changes Based On Islamic Law In PA

Today the Toronto Globe and Mail reports that in the Palestinian Authority, Hamas has set out its domestic agenda for the first time since its surprise victory in Parliamentary elections this week. That agenda includes changes impelled by religious law. Sheik Mohammed Abu Teir, number 2 on the Hamas list of candidates, said that the new government will quickly make Islamic sharia "a source" of law in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and will overhaul the Palestinian education system to separate boys and girls and introduce a more Islamic curriculum. He quickly added, however, that alcohol will not be banned and women will not be required to cover their heads when outdoors. He said, "We are centrists, we are against any kind of extremism. The motto that we operate on is that in religion, you cannot force people." He said that Palestinian Christians have nothing to fear from the changes.

UPDATE: Sunday's Washington Post carries a related article by Scott Wilson, Some Palestinians See End of Secular Dream.

California Teachers Have Religious Objections To Classroom Posters

In California, five high school teachers last week objected on religious grounds to displaying posters in their classroom that were designed to prevent bullying of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students, though several of the teachers have now relented in the face of a school board order from last December. The banner, designed by the Gay-Straight Alliance at San Leandro High School south of Oakland, shows a rainbow flag and reads "This is a safe place to be who you are."

The banners, along with faculty training about racism and homophobia, were required in the 2002 settlement of a lawsuit filed by a San Leandro High teacher who was disciplined after teaching those topics in his honors English class in the mid-1990s. Various aspects of the story were reported Wednesday and Thursday by the San Francisco Chronicle, WorldNet Daily, and 365Gay (1 , 2). School principal Amy Furtado said that her expectation is compliance by next week's deadline for hanging the posters. Superintendent Christine Lim who is responsible for the policy said, "This is not about religion, sex or a belief system. This is about educators making sure our schools are safe for our children, regardless of their sexual orientation." [Thanks to Rick Duncan via Religionlaw listserv for the information.]

Initial Hearing In Italy On Charges of False Assertions About Jesus

In Viterbo, Italy, according to the AP, a hearing was held on Friday to determine whether a parish priest should stand trial on alleged violations of two Italian laws-- "abuse of popular belief" and "impersonation". (See prior posting.) The widely noted case involves an atheist, Luigi Cascioli, who filed a criminal complaint accusing parish priest Enrico Righi, accusing him of deceiving people with the fable that Christ existed. Lawyers for Righi and Cascioli made their arguments in a brief closed hearing before Judge Gaetano Mautone. Righi's attorney, Severo Bruno, told reporters that his client is innocent because "he said and wrote what he has the duty to say and write." He told the judge that Righi was not asserting a historical fact when he wrote of Jesus' existence, but rather "an expression of theological principles." "When Don Righi spoke about Christ's humanity ... he was affirming that he needs to be considered as a man. What his name is, where he comes from or who his parents are is secondary," he said.

New Law and Religion Scholarship

The Journal of Law and Religion (Hamline Law School), Vol XX, No.2, has recently appeared. The table of contents is available online.

From Bepress:
Rishi S. Bagga, Living by the Sword: The Free Exercise of Religion and the Sikh Struggle for the Right to Carry a Kirpan, (Jan. 2006).

Today Is International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today is the first annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day honoring victims of the Holocaust. Last November, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 60/7, designating January 27 as the date for this remembrance. The resolution was introduced by Israel and co-sponsored by 90 other nations. However, the resolution nowhere mentions Jews as the unique victims of the Holocaust. The resolution's text rejects Holocaust denial and urges member states to develop Holocaust education programs. According to a U.N. press release, January 27 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. The US Holocaust Memorial Museum website covers relevant activities from around the world.

January 27 competes with three other commemoration dates. The most widely recognized date until now has been Yom Hashoah-- the 27th of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. This date was set by the Israeli Knesset in 1951. Here is an account by Jennifer Rosenberg on how that date was chosen:

The Zionists in Israel, many of whom had fought in the ghettos or as partisans, wanted to commemorate the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising - April 19, 1943. But this date on the Hebrew calendar is the 15th of Nissan - the beginning of Passover, a very important and happy holiday. Orthodox Jews objected to this date.
For two years, the date was debated. Finally, in 1950, compromises and bargaining began. The 27th of Nissan was chosen, which falls beyond Passover but within the time span of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Orthodox Jews still did not like this date because it was a day of mourning within the traditionally happy month of Nissan. As a final effort to compromise, it was decided that if the 27th of Nissan would affect Shabbat (fall on Friday or Saturday), then it would be moved to the following Sunday.

On April 12, 1951, the Knesset (Israel's parliament) proclaimed Yom Hashoah U'Mered HaGetaot (Holocaust and Ghetto Revolt Remembrance Day) to be the 27th of Nissan. The name later became known as Yom Hashoah Ve Hagevurah (Devastation and Heroism Day) and even later simplified to Yom Hashoah.

Some Jews choose one of two other dates, as described by Rabbi David Golinkin:

The Orthodox Rabbinate of Israel attempted to promote the Tenth of Tevet -- a traditional fast day commemorating the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem in ancient times -- as the "General Kaddish Day" in which Jews should recite the memorial prayer and light candles in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust. Several ultra-Orthodox rabbis have recommended adding piyyutim (religious poems) that were written by contemporary rabbis to the liturgy of the Ninth of Av, and many communities follow this custom. Ismar Schorsch, the chancellor of the Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary, has also suggested moving Holocaust commemorations to Tisha b'Av, because that is the day in which Judaism ritualizes its most horrible destructions.

Charities Protest Provision In Pending Tax Relief Bill

On January 20, a group of over 60 charitable organizations, including many religious groups, signed a letter addressed to the House Ways & Means and Senate Finance Committees opposing a provision in S. 2020, the Tax Relief Act of 2005. The bill, as passed by the Senate, will now go to Conference with the House. While the bill creates a number of incentives to charitable giving, including a charitable deduction for non-itemizers, it has one provision that could discourage giving. The new law would permit charitable deductions (even by itemizers) only for contributions exceeding $210 per year ($420 for joint filers). The organizations protested that "The withholding of a deduction implies that a smaller gift is not substantial, not a sacrifice worthy of recognition. But for many donors and charities, smaller gifts are extremely significant." The full text of the letter is available online, and a report on it appears in the January 25 BNA Daily Tax Reporter (subscription required). [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the information.]

Mass. Gov. Romney Discusses His Religion and 2008 Presidential Chances

Yesterday, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a possible Republican candidate for President in 2008, discussed with reporters the impact of his Mormon faith on his political chances. The Knight Ridder Newspapers quote Romney as saying that his Mormon faith would not matter to most voters, though polls show that between 11% and 17% would not vote for a Mormon. Romney said that he is likely to have support from most evangelical Christians, since they are primarily looking for a person of faith to vote for. Romney also discussed his views on a number of issues, including abortion.

Saudi Officials Seek Clerical Permission For Changes In Hajj To Promote Safety

Saudi Arabian authorities are seeking ways to prevent further deaths and injuries like those caused by a stampede during the recent hajj pilgrimage, according to Wednesday's Washington Examiner. Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz asked Muslim clerics to find religious dispensations that would give pilgrims more time to perform the hajj stoning ritual, currently lasting three days from noon until sunset. A solution that would prevent situations like that which caused 363 deaths this year would be to permit the ritual to be performed throughout the day, instead of just during the 5 1/2 hours between noon and sunset. Some members of the Saudi council of top clerics have approved extending the hours of the stoning ritual, but its head, grand mufti Abdul-Aziz al-Sheik, says that alternative violates Islamic law.

British University Bars Christian Group For Discrimination

Wednesday's Birmingham Post reports on a dispute in Britain that is reminiscent of recent battles on a number of U.S. campuses. (See prior postings 1, 2 .) Birmingham University's Student Guild has frozen the assets of the Evangelical Christian Union, and prohibited it from using university facilities for meetings, because the student group refuses to admit non-Christians to membership. The Student Union Guild has demanded that the Christian group amend its constitution to allow people of all faiths to become members and sit on its leadership body. The Guild also objects to the fact that the group's constitution uses the words "men" and "women" instead of "persons", claiming it discriminates against transsexuals. Pod Bhogal, communications director for Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, said: "In all our years of working with hundreds of higher education establishments, this action by Birmingham's guild is unique." (Press release.) The Student Guild, however, said it was merely enforcing the 1994 Education Act that prohibits discrimination by student groups.

Justice Breyer Discusses Establishment Clause

Yesterday's Washington Jewish Week carries an interesting report on a dialogue with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer held last Sunday at Kesher Israel Congregation, a synagogue in the District of Columbia. Breyer said the Establishment Clause was designed not as an "absolute separation" of church and state, but as a way to "minimize social conflict based on religion." He traced the language of the Establishment Clause to "the wars of religion" between Catholics and Protestants in 17th-century Europe. He pointed out that the clause's interpretation has evolved in the 20th century, as the country has changed and immigrants introduced dozens of new religions. "The Founders did engage in a lot of activities that would be forbidden today under ... current interpretations of the Establishment Clause", he said, because they lived in a generally homogeneouss nation. While the court's view of the Establishment Clause has changed, Breyer believes it has still stayed true to the original values that the Founders intended.

When confronted with a question about Jewish law, Breyer said that he didn't know that much about it, quipping that he was "bar mitzvahed in a Reform congregation." He added, however, that he believes the profession of law is squarely in the Jewish tradition of social justice.

Newly Elected Canadian Prime Minister Acknowledges God In Victory Speech

Newly-elected Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper broke with tradition of the past 12 years and ended his election night victory speech by saying "God Bless Canada". Yesterday's LifeSite News reports that Bishop Frederick Henry of the Calgary , Alberta Diocese praised Harper's new willingness to recognize religion in the public sphere.

Jewish Chaplain In Dispute With AG Over Defense In Prisoner Suit

Ynetnews yesterday reported on an interesting dispute between a Jewish prison chaplain and Washington state's Attorney General. The Attorney General's office has refused to defend Jewish prison chaplain Gary Friedman on the terms Friedman demands in a recent lawsuit filed against him by a state prisoner. Friedman takes the position that a prisoner should not be entitled to receive kosher food if the prisoner is not Jewish under the standards of Jewish law (halacha). However, courts have generally not required a formal conversion before recognizing religious claims by a prisoner. Chaplain Friedman, who has been sued before, says that in the past when the state has provided him legal defense, they have been too willing to settle out of court and have ignored his claims that Jewish law should be factored into the defense arguments. The most recent suit is by James Shilling, a prisoner who requested, but did not receive, kosher food. Chaplain Friedman has refused to give the Attorney General's office authority to make litigation decisions for him that involve religious law or practices, and has instead hired outside lawyers to represent him in the lawsuit. Jewish Prisoner Service International is raising funds to cover Friedman's legal bills.

A New 10 Commandments Display Approved By Indiana City

The Anderson, Indiana City Council has voted unanimously in favor of allowing Lone Oak Wesleyan Church to begin raising $12,000 for a granite monument of the Ten Commandments that will be placed on the front lawn of the city building. Yesterday's Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, in reporting on the development, quoted one church member as saying that the Ten Commandments monument "has nothing to do with religion". He insisted that the Ten Commandments were the basis of modern law, and said that the church would pay legal fees if the city were sued over the display. In something of an understatement, Ken Falk, an attorney for the ACLU of Indiana said that the "display is problematic".

New Hampshire Bill Proposes Disclosure of Abuse Disclosed In Confessions

In New Hampshire, proposed HB 1127 would make it clear that clergy are not exempt from requirements of the Child Protection Act that requires reporting of suspected child abuse or neglect to law enforcement officials. The Keene New Hampshire Sentinel yesterday reported that for the second time in three years a bill has been introduced into the legislature in order to make clear that the reporting requirement applies even to information learned by clergy in confession or in giving similar spiritual advice. Diane Quinlan, chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Manchester spoke out in opposition to the bill, saying that allowing a "limited exception" for sacramental confession is crucial to the free practice of Catholicism.

Massachusetts House Votes Down Financial Reporting Bill

According to the Boston Globe, the Massachusetts House of Representatives yesterday defeated controversial legislation that would have required religious organizations to file annual financial reports with the state. Even though the bill had been approved by the Senate, the House vote against the proposal was 147-3. Opposition to the bill had grown in recent weeks. Not only the Catholic church, but many other religious organizations had come out in opposition to the measure. (See prior postings 1, 2, 3, 4). [Thanks to Blog From the Capital for the information.]

Lobbying On Portrayal Of Religions In Textbooks

Today's Wall Street Journal carries a long front page article titled New Battleground In Textbook Wars: Religion in History (subscription required). It focuses particularly on efforts by Hindu groups to influence the portrayal of Hinduism in school textbooks used in California. (Religion Clause reported on this a week ago.) The Wall Street Journal article also discusses efforts by Islamic and Jewish groups to monitor the portrayal of their religions in school texts.

Anti-Evolution Legislation Pending In Five States

Legislation that has been introduced and is pending in the legislatures of at least five states would permit the teaching of intelligent design or encourage critical analysis of evolutionary theory. Here are the bills and their current status:

• Mississippi-- H.B. 953 (in Committee) and S.B. 2427 (in Committee)
• New York-- A.B. 8036 (in Committee)
• Oklahoma-- H.B. 2107 (Introduced) and H.B. 2526 (Introduced)
• Pennsylvania-- H.B. 1007 (in Committee)
• Utah-- S.B. 96 (passed Senate)

Blog From the Capital has more on the Utah bill.

Pope's Encyclical On Church's Relation To Government In Achieving Just Society

Zenit News Agency today has published an English translation of Pope Benedict XVI's first Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est ("God Is Love"). In it, the Pope includes the following discussion of the relationship of the Church's charitable activities to civil government:

The Church's social teaching argues on the basis of reason and natural law, namely, on the basis of what is in accord with the nature of every human being. It recognizes that it is not the Church's responsibility to make this teaching prevail in political life. Rather, the Church wishes to help form consciences in political life and to stimulate greater insight into the authentic requirements of justice as well as greater readiness to act accordingly, even when this might involve conflict with situations of personal interest. Building a just social and civil order, wherein each person receives what is his or her due, is an essential task which every generation must take up anew. As a political task, this cannot be the Church's immediate responsibility. Yet, since it is also a most important human responsibility, the Church is duty-bound to offer, through the purification of reason and through ethical formation, her own specific contribution towards understanding the requirements of justice and achieving them politically.

The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet the promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply.

8th Circuit Remands Prisoner's Establishment Clause Claim

In Munson v. Norris, (Jan. 24, 2006), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has remanded an Arkansas prisoner's Establishment Clause claim to the district court for examination of the prisoner's objection to participation in a sex-offender class that was imposed as a condition of parole. James Munson objected to the requirement that he recite a serenity prayer at class meetings. Munson claimed his religious beliefs only permitted him to say "God" at night. The court held that the district court had incorrectly viewed the assertion as only a free exercise claim. Arkansas News Bureau has reported on the decision.

Illegal Christian Evangelism In Morocco

Yesterday's Morocco Times reports that police in Marrakech have recently seized documents which confirm the existence of a secret evangelical group that has been trying to convert many Moroccans to Christianity. The Moroccan Constitution protects freedom of religion; however proselytizing is also forbidden. Article 220 of the Moroccan Penal Code applies the same potential punishment of a fine and up to 6 months in prison for any attempt to interfere with a person's exercise religious beliefs or attendance at religious services , and to "anyone who employs incitements to shake the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion." The documents, seized in an apartment of a foreign missionary who suddenly disappeared, also revealed the existence of secret spiritual schools to teach Moroccans the concepts of Christianity. Moroccan newspapers carry wildly varying reports on the number of Christians in the country, as well as on the number of missionaries and converts.

Jurors May Be Excluded For Religious Objection To Death Penalty

In State v. Fry, (Dec. 8, 2005), the New Mexico Supreme Court held that in a capital case jurors who express religious opposition to the death penalty may be excluded without violating the state's constitutional provision (Art. VII, Sec. 3) prohibiting excluding citizens from a jury on the basis of religion. The court also held that defendant cannot insist that such individuals be placed on the jury for the determination of guilt and then replaced in the sentencing phase of the trial.

Zoning Enforcement Found Discriminatory and Vague

Today's Orlando, Florida Sentinel reports that a Florida federal district court has ruled in favor of Rabbi Joseph Konikov in the latest installment in four years of litigation over the rabbi using his home for twice-weekly religious services. Neighbors had complained to zoning officials about traffic and parking problems. In a case that has been up to the 11th Circuit and back, Orange County officials had imposed fines that now totaled $50,000. Judge John Antoon II said that the county had discriminated against religious groups because another group such as the Cub Scouts or a gathering of friends to watch sports would not violate the county's code. He also held that the code was vague because it lacks enforcement standards.

Malaysian Religious Authorities Focus on Music, Botox

Malaysian authorities are once more looking at adopting principles of Islamic law as part of the civil code of variious states. Reuters India reports today that Malaysia's National Fatwa Council has condemned Black Metal music, a rock variant dominated by occult imagery, in a fatwa calling for Malaysian states to ban it because it leads to devil worship, free sex and drinking of liquor.

In a separate development the Council is studying whether the key biological agent in botox treatments, known as Botulinum Toxin Type A, meets the Muslim requirement for food considered to be "halal", or permitted for human consumption. The panel is concerned as the use of botox has expanded from medical to cosmetic purposes.

South Carolina Debates Teaching of Evolution

South Carolina joins the list of states debating whether to teach theories on the origin of life other than evolution in the public schools. According to The State (Columbia, SC), a 4-person panel of the state's Education Oversight Committee held hearings Monday on the issue, but decided to take no action at the present time. According to a Charlotte Observer AP report, at issue is whether guidelines should call for students to "critically analyze" evolution. Instead of deciding, the EOC panel agreed to work with the state Department of Education before the full EOC meets on Feb. 13 to find a compromise that would direct teachers to analyze evolution only using scientific testing methods.

This follows a series of events in which the EOC originally voted 8-7 to strike old wording that limited schools to teaching evolution; the state Board of Education voted to overrule that decision; but the state attorney general ruled that the Board of Education overstepped its authority in reinstituting the old guidelines because the new standards were in dispute. The state Education Department writes education standards; the EOC recommends approval or rejection of the standards but may not revise or rewrite them.

Recently Published In Law Reviews

From SmartCILP:

Jill Goldenziel, Blaine's Name In Vain?: State Constitutions, School Choice, and Charitable Choice, 83 Denver Univ. Law Rev. 57-99 (2005).

Noah Feldman, Third Annual Henry Lecture: The Democratic Fatwa: Islam and Democracy in the Realm of Constitutional Politics; also Replies by Randall T. Coyne, Harry F. Tepker and Joseph T. Thai, 58 Oklahoma Law Rev. 1-57 (2005).

Israeli Party Supports Religion-State Separation

In a surprise announcement, the right wing Israeli political party, Yisrael Beiteinu, has come out in favor of separation of religion and state, including public transportation on the Sabbath. Haaretz yesterday reported that the move is an attempt to attract voters in the upcoming Knesset election from the recently-collapsed Shinui party.

Paper Discusses Prison Program InnerChange

Today's Boston Globe carries a long story on the faith-based InnerChange Freedom Initiative, an offshoot of the Prison Fellowship movement launched by Charles Colson, which has been adopted by 4 state prison systems, and will shortly expand to 2 more. Final arguments are scheduled on Feb. 17 in a case in Iowa in a challenge to the program that was filed by Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Decision Available In Boston Case On Standing To Challenge Sale of Land

Two months ago I reported that in Boston, a Suffolk Superior Court judge denied defendants' motion to dismiss a lawsuit charging the city of Boston with violating state and federal limits on the separation of church and state in selling land to the Islamic Society of Boston for a mosque in Roxbury. The full opinion in the standing case is finally available on LEXIS. The case is Policastro v. City of Boston, 2005 Mass. Super. LEXIS 579 (Nov. 8, 2005).

Concerns That Hamas Success In Palestinian Elections Will Bring Sharia Restrictions

In the Palestinian Authority as Hamas appears to be gaining strength in Wednesday's Parliamentary elections, Palestinian women fear that Hamas will press for the imposition of Islamic family law and dress codes. The Middle East Times reports today from Gaza City that women like Naila Ayesh, director of the Women's Affairs Center fear that a Hamas-dominated Parliament will permit polygamy and permit discrimination against women in divorce and custody proceedings. Others, like male hairdresser Hossam Abu Mohammed fear that males working for women will be banned. Five years ago, Hamas supporters burned down Gaza's movie theater, furious that it was too frivolous and was incompatible with Islamic mores.

Virginia Legislation To Protect Against False Halal Labeling Introduced

In Virginia, state representative Kenneth C. Alexander has proposed a law making it a misdemeanor to fraudulently label products as halal if they do not in fact comply with Islamic religious law. Yesterday, the Virginian-Pilot reported that HB 153 would extend to halal food products the same restrictions against false advertising that Virginia now applies to kosher food. An identical bill, SB 349, has been introduced into the Virginia Senate. Another bill, SB 354, would require proper labeling of both kosher and halal foods in stores and restaurants. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United For Separation of Church and State said that Jewish and Muslim organizations should enforce their own dietary laws, and the state should not be empowered to enforce compliance with religious law.

Proposed Slovak-Vatican Treaty On Conscientious Objection

Mirror of Justice yesterday called attention to a proposed treaty between the Vatican and the Slovak Republic protecting Catholic conscientious objectors in Slovakia, especially Catholic medical and health care workers. In December, the European Union's Committee of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights issued a report on the potential conflict of the draft treaty with various European human rights documents protecting women's right to reproductive health, contraception and abortion services. The Report also looks at other human rights implications of the draft treaty.

Roe v. Wade's Anniversary-- And What Blackmun Said About Religion

Today is the 33rd anniversary of the Supreme Court case that has been the catalyst for much of the involvement of the religious right in political action in the United States-- Roe v. Wade. Yesterday's San Jose, California Mercury News reported on some of the demonstrations in California on both sides of the abortion rights issue. Today's New York Times Magazine carries an article by Eyal Press, My Father's Abortion War, adapted from his upcoming book, "Absolute Convictions: My Father, a City and the Conflict That Divided America".

In this context, it might be useful to look again at language from Justice Blackmun's original Roe v. Wade opinion, 410 US 113 (1973). Today, what he had to say about the view of religion toward abortion is often forgotten:

The absence of a common-law crime for pre-quickening abortion appears to have developed from a confluence of earlier philosophical, theological, and civil and canon law concepts of when life begins. These disciplines variously approached the question in terms of the point at which the embryo or fetus became "formed" or recognizably human, or in terms of when a "person" came into being, that is, infused with a "soul" or "animated." A loose consensus evolved in early English law that these events occurred at some point between conception and live birth. This was "mediate animation." Although Christian theology and the canon law came to fix the point of animation at 40 days for a male and 80 days for a female, a view that persisted until the 19th century, there was otherwise little agreement about the precise time of formation or animation. There was agreement, however, that prior to this point the fetus was to be regarded as part of the mother, and its destruction, therefore, was not homicide. Due to continued uncertainty about the precise time when animation occurred, to the lack of any empirical basis for the 40-80-day view, and perhaps to Aquinas' definition of movement as one of the two first principles of life, Bracton focused upon quickening as the critical point. The significance of quickening was echoed by later common-law scholars and found its way into the received common law in this country. ...

Texas urges that, apart from the Fourteenth Amendment, life begins at conception and is present throughout pregnancy, and that, therefore, the State has a compelling interest in protecting that life from and after conception. We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.

It should be sufficient to note briefly the wide divergence of thinking on this most sensitive and difficult question. There has always been strong support for the view that life does not begin until live birth. This was the belief of the Stoics. It appears to be the predominant, though not the unanimous, attitude of the Jewish faith. It may be taken to represent also the position of a large segment of the Protestant community, insofar as that can be ascertained.... As we have noted, the common law found greater significance in quickening. Physicians and their scientific colleagues have regarded that event with less interest and have tended to focus either upon conception, upon live birth, or upon the interim point at which the fetus becomes "viable," that is, potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid.... The Aristotelian theory of "mediate animation," that held sway throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Europe, continued to be official Roman Catholic dogma until the 19th century, despite opposition to this "ensoulment" theory from those in the Church who would recognize the existence of life from the moment of conception. The latter is now, of course, the official belief of the Catholic Church. As one brief amicus discloses, this is a view strongly held by many non-Catholics as well, and by many physicians. Substantial problems for precise definition of this view are posed, however, by new embryological data that purport to indicate that conception is a "process" over time, rather than an event, and by new medical techniques such as menstrual extraction, the "morning-after" pill, implantation of embryos, artificial insemination, and even artificial wombs.

Suit In Lebanon Charges Violations of Civil Law In Issuance of Fatwa

In Beriut, Lebanon, the Daily Star reported on a lawsuit that was filed last Thursday by eight intellectuals, human rights activists and legislators representing all religious denominations of Lebanon against the Shiite scholar and leader Sheik Afif Naboulsi. In December, Naboulsi purported to issue a fatwa prohibiting Shiite politicians from replacing current Amal and Hizbullah representatives in the Lebanese government with Shiites, saying that foreign forces are behind the attempt. The suit charged Naboulsi with "identity theft, threatening and terrorizing in an attempt to obstruct the practice of civil rights, instigating sectarian differences and portraying political disputes as disputes between religions and sects." It says that Naboulsi was not a member of the Shiite's religious committee and so could not issue a fatwa. In a statement released on Saturday, the Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights Federation supported the lawsuit.

Evangelicals Are Recently Also Social Activists

Today's Atlanta Journal Constitution has published an article titled This Isn't Your Father's Moral Majority. It argues that conservative evangelicals are re-evaluating what it means to be a Christian. Their new concern about social activism has the potential to fundamentally reorder the federal government's priorities as well as trigger shifts in the Republican and Democratic parties. As examples, the article points to Alabama Gov. Bob Riley's failed attempt to raise taxes on the wealthy and reduce them on the poor; to support among the religious right in South Carolina for more state money for poor rural public schools; and to the arrest in Washington last month of more than 100 evangelical Christians who were protesting the plans of President Bush and the Republican Congress to cut spending on anti-poverty programs like food stamps.

Student Athlete Permitted To Refuse Vaccination On Religious Grounds

In Hadley v. Rush Henrietta Central School District, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1372 (WD NY, Jan. 10, 2006), a federal district judge issued a temporary injunction requiring a New York school district near Rochester to permit a high school senior to to play on the lacrosse team even though he refused on religious grounds to be vaccinated for tetanus.

Jewish Organizations Oppose Massachusetts Financial Reporting Proposal

According to Friday's Jewish Advocate, many Jewish groups are now joining the opposition to a bill pending in the Massachusetts legislature that would require religious institutions to make the same financial disclosures as nonprofit organizations. (See prior posting.) State Rep. Ruth Balser said the bill was a response to issues that arose in the Boston Catholic archdiocese after the child sexual abuse scandals. But, Balser noted, because of the centralized nature of the archdiocese, only four dioceses in the state would have to file disclosure statements, while each individual synagogue, Protestant church and mosque would have to file separately. A statement issued by Boston's Jewish Community Relations Council argues that the bill "unfairly and disproportionately" affects religious institutions such as synagogues, which have lay-led structures. Also opposing the legislation are the Massachusetts Council of Churches and the Islamic Council of New England.

Questions Raised About Bible Literacy Project

The January issue of Church and State, published by Americans United, carries and interesting review of the Bible Literacy Project by Joseph L. Conn. He titles his article Chuck Stetson's Trojan Horse. Even though the Project's new textbook, The Bible and Its Influence, has garnered support from individuals across the political spectrum (see prior posting), Conn has his doubts. He argues that Chuck Stetson, chairman of the Project, has extensive ties to the religious right. He also criticizes the book for only discussing the use of the Bible as an inspiration for progressive change, and omitting its use historically by pro-slavery, pro-segregationist and anti-feminist forces. The entire article is worth a read. [Thanks to Joel Sogol via Religionlaw for the lead.]

Challenge To Prison Limit On Religious Items Partly Successful

In Roy v. Arizona, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1488 (D. Ariz., Jan. 13, 2006), an inmate who was an "Occultist/Esoteric Christian" challenged various restrctions on the practice of religion imposed on inmates by the Arizona Department of Corrections. Prisoners were limited to possessing religious items that could fit into a box of a specified size. This restriction was justified by the limited size of cells, the need to minimize friction between cellmates on over-crowding of the cell, the fact that random searches become more complicated as possessions increase, and the need to comply with fire codes. Religious books must be obtained either from the inmate store or directly from the publisher, in order to minimize the introduction of contraband into the prison. Inmates may keep additional books in storage, and may access those books upon request. The court granted the state's request for summary judgment on most of the claims, but permitted plaintiff prisoner to move ahead with his claim that he was improperly denied permission to posses seven requested religious items.

Vatican Paper Defends Evolution

The AP reports that on Tuesday, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano carried an article by Fiorenzo Facchini, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Bologna. The article described Darwin's theory of evolution, and said that in the scientific world, biological evolution "represents the interpretative key of the history of life on Earth." He wrote that intelligent design "doesn't belong to science and the pretext that it be taught as a scientific theory alongside Darwin's explanation is unjustified. It only creates confusion between the scientific and philosophical and religious planes." However, he concluded by saying, "in a vision that goes beyond the empirical horizon, we can say that we aren't men by chance or by necessity, and that the human experience has a sense and a direction signaled by a superior design." [Thanks to Joel Sogol via Religionlaw listserv for the information.]

Pataki's Tax Credit Plan Stirs Controversy

In his budget address on Tuesday, New York Governor George Pataki proposed giving as much as $500 in tax credits to parents of public and private school students in New York City and 82 other failing school districts. According to yesterday's New York Sun, parents could use the dollar-for-dollar credits to pay for textbooks, school supplies, or for tuition at private and religious schools. Immediately, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the leading Democratic candidate for governor, and Republican gubernatorial candidate William Weld began to argue over whether the governor's plan would violate New York's constitutional ban on aid to parochial schools. The Constitution, Art. XI, Sec. 3 prohibits state aid going to "any school or institution of learning wholly or in part under the control or direction of any religious denomination, or in which any denominational tenet or doctrine is taught".

Catholic Group Seeks Student Fees For Worship Booklets

Yesterday's Madison, Wisconsin, Capital Times reports that the Roman Catholic Foundation, an organization serving University of Wisconsin-Madison students, wants to be the first group to spend student fees on activities that are openly religious. The group, which operates St. Paul's University Catholic Center is seeking $205,000 in segregated fees, and would use part of the money to pay for Lenten booklets. UW-Madison Interim Dean of Students, Lori Berquam, has urged student government to refrain from financially supporting the operating costs of "a church-related activity" like worship. At issue is the interpretation of the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Board of Regents v. Southworth, also involving the University of Wisconsin student activity fee system. The Catholic foundation's budget request was scheduled for a vote Wednesday night by the Associated Students of Madison Council; but the council delayed the vote in order to seek legal advice.

Shinto Representatives Oppose Female Imperial Succession

In Japan, 700 representatives of the country's 80,000 Shinto shrines adopted a resolution Thursday to oppose a government plan to allow women and their descendants to ascend the Imperial throne. The Japan Times reports that the representatives are defending what they believe is the dignity of the Imperial family, in opposition to a government-sponsored bill scheduled be submitted to the next ordinary session of the Diet starting Friday. Before World War II, Shinto was the state religion and it had strong mythical ties with the Imperial family.

Texas Church Reaches Property Tax Settlement

The Fort Worth, Texas Star-Telegram reported yesterday that a 20-year dispute between New Mount Calvary Baptist Church and Texas county tax authorities was finally about to be settled. At issue has been the taxation of a vacant portion of the property on which the church's building sits. The church's leader, Rev. Tom Franklin, has paid $200 toward the church's $33,000 delinquent property tax bill and has agreed to pay at least $50 a month until the amount owed is paid off, said Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector Betsy Price. Franklin and other African-American ministers have argued that poor, black churches are not treated as well as wealthier churches with mostly white congregations.

Pa. Court Rejects RLUIPA Claim

In City of Hope v. Sadsbury Twp. Zoning Hearing Bd., (Jan. 17, 2006), a Pennsylvania appellate court held that the Township Zoning Hearing Board's denial of a Church's application for use of a campground and hiking trails as an accessory use does not impose a "substantial burden" on the Church's exercise of religion in violation of RLUIPA because neither the Church nor its visitors will be required to forego or modify the exercise of their religion. Also, there are other campsites nearby that are available for use by the Church's visitors.

Challenge To California Missions Funding Dropped

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty announced yesterday that plaintiffs have dropped their December 2004 lawsuit, captioned Doe v. Norton, seeking to stop the federal government from funding the preservation of California's 21 historic Spanish missions, 19 of which are still used for worship services. Americans United for Separation of Church and State said that since no money was in fact appropriated by Congress to fund the California Missions Preservation Act, it is withdrawing the suit without prejudice so that it could be filed again. A hearing had been scheduled for today. (See prior posting.)

Two Courts Rule On Church Disputes

In Bowie v. Murphy (Jan. 13, 2006), the Virginia Supreme Court held that deciding a defamation suit would not unconstitutionally involve the court in deciding a matter of religious faith and doctrine. The claim grew out of an an attempt by some members of Greater Little Zion Baptist Church to remove Murphy as the church's pastor. Murphy, in turn, called a special meeting to take action against one of the church's deacons, David Bowie. At the meeting Murphy accused Bowie of assaulting another member who was a supporter of Murphy during the vote of members on Murphy's removal. Two other members moved to remove Bowie as Deacon and reduce his membership status. Among other things, Bowie sued for defamation. The court held that while the allegedly defamatory statements were made during a church meeting, the defamation claim is separate from the church governance issue involved in Bowie's status as a deacon that was being considered at the meeting. The alleged defamatory statements could be evaluated for their veracity and the impact they had on Bowie's reputation the same as if the statements were made in any other, non-religious context. A dissent by two justices argued that the defamation claims could not be removed from the church-governance context in which they arose.

In a second case, Boone v. Christian Chapel United Church of Christ, (Jan. 17, 2006), a North Carolina Court of Appeals held that the trial court had acted properly in interpreting a Church's bylaws and finding that the Church had violated its own procedures in terminating its pastor. However, it infringed on the separation of church and state when it ordered the Church to conduct a new vote, because that involve an ecclesiastical matter. Having determined that the vote was in violation of the bylaws, the court should have merely directed the church to resolve on its own the matter of whether or not to retain its pastor's services.

Third Circuit Hears Arguments In Ursuline Academy Case

On Tuesday, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in Curray-Cramer v. Ursuline Academy of Wilmington Delaware, Inc. The decision of the trial court is at 344 F. Supp.2d 923 (D Del., 2004). Wednesday's Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the oral arguments, which the court extended for 10 minutes because of the importance of the case. At issue is whether Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 protects a teacher who was fired from a Catholic school after publicly advocating on behalf of abortion rights. The argument was complicated by plaintiff's claim that the First Amendment free exercise issues considered by the trial court no longer apply because the Ursuline Academy's charter no longer includes the word "religion". The academy now markets itself as an independent college-preparatory school.

Quran Used To Take Affirmation of Office In New Jersey

In Boonton, New Jersey last week, Tajammul "Taj" Khokhar made history of a sort when he took office as a member of the town's Planning Board using the Quran to take an "affirmation" instead of taking an oath on a Bible as the other two new members of the Board did. Wednesday's Morris County Daily Record reported however that it is not uncommon for the Quran to be used by Muslims to take an affirmation in court in Morris County, NJ, and a former mayor of another town in Morris County may have been sworn in using the Quran as well.

Religion Heats Up Politics In Ohio

In Ohio, religion is becoming a central issue in the 2006 election campaign that has already begun. Paul Hackett, an Iraq war veteran who is a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, is refusing to back down from his statement that "the Republican Party has been hijacked by the religious fanatics" who "aren't a whole lot different than Osama bin Laden." The Cleveland Plain Dealer today reports that the comments have drawn sharp criticism from state Republicans.

Meanwhile, in the northeastern Ohio town of Hartvillle, major Republican office-holders on Tuesday attended a rally sponsored by Ohio Restoration Project founder Russell Johnson. The event was part of his 10-city Patriot Pastors tour. Keynote speaker was Ohio Secretary of State, and candidate for Governor, Kenneth Blackwell. According to the Canton Repository, Blackwell, wearing a small silver cross on his lapel, criticized the media for focusing on his appearances at a Columbus Restoration Project rally while ignoring Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland, who spoke, "Bible in hand" at a counter rally at a nearby church.

The Akron Beacon-Journal reported that among those attending the Hartville ORP rally were Republican Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O'Donnell; former appeals court judge William Batchelder, who is running for state legislature; and former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen, a lobbyist who is planning to run for Congress this year. Offering the opening prayer at the rally was Sandra O'Brien, a candidate for state treasurer, while the closing prayer was given by state Sen. Tim Grendell, a candidate for attorney general.

ORP leader Russell Johnson criticized the religious leaders who, last week, asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the tax exemption of Johnson's church. (See prior posting.) Johnson also warned that Christians have allowed a "secular jihad'' to remove prayer, the Ten Commandments and the Bible from public places, and said it was like Nazi Germany, where church congregations would sing so that they could not hear the passing of trainloads of crying Jews headed for a nearby concentration camp.

Michigan County Permits Modified Swimwear For Religiously Observant

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Washtenaw County Park and Recreation Commission has for the first time adopted a swimwear policy to accommodate individuals who cannot wear traditional swimsuits for religious reasons. Last week the Ann Arbor News reported on the imminent passage of the measure which will accommodate Muslims, Orthodox Jews and the Amish. Park staff will also receive religious sensitivity training to learn about the different faiths practiced by patrons, and the county will offer for sale at swim facilities inexpensive long nylon pants and long-sleeved shirts that meet safety regulations and respect religious requirements.

Indonesia Court Rejects Attack On Child Protection Law

Today's Jakarta Post reports that a 9-judge panel of Indonesia's Constitutional Court has rejected a challenge to a provision in the country's Child Protection Code. Under the law, a person found guilty of persuading children to convert to another religion are subject to five years in jail and/or a Rp 100 million fine. Rev. Ruyandi Hutasoit argued that this violates Indonesia's constitutional provision protecting religious freedom (Constitution, Art. 29). The court held that Hutasoit lacked standing to challenge the law, and that Article 86 of the Child Protection Law did not contradict the Constitution because the statute applies to the use of "tricks, lies or force" to convert children. As result of the ruling, three Christian women jailed last year in West Java for inviting Muslim children to their Sunday school program will stay in prison for three more years.

Defendant Sentenced To Attend Church

In Cincinnati, Ohio, a man convicted of disorderly conduct has received an unusual sentence. Yesterday's Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the defendant, Brett Haines, who used racial slurs and threatened a black cab driver, has been ordered to attend services at any one of Cincinnati's predominantly African-American churches for six consecutive Sundays. Judge William Mallory Jr. was concerned about church-state issues when he offered Haines the optional sentence, so he asked Haines if the alternative would offend his beliefs. Haines said he was not a church-going man but would "absolutely" like to choose church over jail. Haines told his lawyer, Dennis Deters, that the sentence might do some good. Assistant prosecutor Kirstin Fullen did not object. [Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw listserv for the information.]

Catholic Group Endorses Alito Nomination

The Christian Communications Network yesterday reported that the Knights of Columbus has endorsed the nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, and has called on "members of the United States Senate to vote in a timely manner to confirm" him. The resolution passed unanimously by the organization's Board says that "during his fifteen years as a federal judge (Alito) has articulated a clear and well-reasoned view of the religion clauses of the First Amendment that is protective of religious liberty and which incorporates an appropriately broad view of the Constitution's guarantee of religious free exercise."

Suit Challenging Philosophy Course On Intelligent Design Settled

A settlement has been reached in the suit filed last week by parents against the El Tejon Unified School District challenging its intersession course in Philosophy of Design. (See prior posting.) The course at Frazier Mountain High School in Lebec, California had originally been defended as a philosophy class meant to introduce students to both Intelligent Design and evolution. It turns out, however, that the course, taught by a minister's wife, was one-sided, almost all about Biblical creationism, and not about intelligent design. The Associated Press reported yesterday on the settlement (full text) in which the school district agreed it would not in the future offer any "course that promotes or endorses creationism, creation science, or intelligent design." Teacher Sharon Lemburg who had developed the course defended it in a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, Mountain Enterprise, writing "I believe this is the class that the Lord wanted me to teach." Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has issued a release on the case, represented the parents in the litigation.

New Orleans Mayor Nagin Says God Is Angry

In a Martin Luther King Day speech yesterday, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin made a number of controversial remarks about race and religion. CNN today reports that Nagin said New Orleans will remain a "chocolate" city, i.e. mostly African- American, because "It's the way God wants it to be." He also said that "God is mad at America," in part because we are "in Iraq under false pretenses." "He is sending hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it is destroying and putting stress on this country," Nagin said. He said God is "upset at black America also." "We are not taking care of ourselves. We are not taking care of our women, and we are not taking care of our children when you have a community where 70 percent of its children are being born to one parent."

California To Consider Changes In Textbooks On Hinduism

The California State Board of Education will review a recommendation of the California Curriculum Commission that a number of corrections be made in textbook discussions of Hinduism. The Indo-Asian News Service reports today that several Hindu groups, including the Hindu American Foundation, have urged the changes. In a press release, Hindu American Foundation president, Mihir Meghani, said: "Hindus throughout the United States are watching this process with concern since the results have broad implications for all Hindus. For many years, Hinduism was taught from a non-Hindu perspective. All that we are asking is that Hinduism be taught as per state law, which asks that the education 'Instill in each child a sense of pride in his or her heritage; develop a feeling of self-worth...; eradicate the roots of prejudice... and enable all students to become aware and accepting of religious diversity while being allowed to remain secure in any religious beliefs they may already have'."

Pat Robertson Charity Receives Millions In Federal Aid

The Virginian-Pilot yesterday carried a long article on the extent to which Pat Robertson's organization has benefited from President Bush's faith based initiative. Despite Robertson's skepticism several years ago about federal money going to religious organizations, his international relief organization, Operation Blessing, last year received $14.4 million in federal funding. Operation Blessing says it carefully follows federal guidelines that insist on church-state separation. It uses the grants for humanitarian relief, not evangelism. The largest amount of federal aid received by Operation Blessing has been $27.7 million of surplus nonfat dry milk from the Department of Agriculture over a two-year period. Operation Blessing then goes to food manufacturers and trades much of the milk for ready-to-eat puddings, soups and other products that are distributed by Operation Blessing trucks.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that Israel is reconsidering its decision to end its cooperation with Pat Robertson on his construction of a Christian heritage park after Robertson apologized for saying Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for the Gaza withdrawal. (See prior posting.)

Schools Already Looking At Next Christmas

Attention to the celebration of Christmas in public schools did not stop in December. Today's Hartford, Connecticut Courant reports that the superintendent of the East Windsor, Conn. schools has decided that his district went too far last year in removing holiday decorations. The school had taken down a Christmas tree that had been put up, and told the town's park and recreation department not to advertise its annual Santa Call program or hold its Easter egg hunt in the schools. At the request of parents, the school district has now had its attorney review the case law, and symbols of various religions will be back in the schools next December.

Iraqi Insurgents To Coordinate In Compliance With Sharia

The website Jihad Unspun reports today that six Mujahideen groups in Iraq have formed the "Shura (consultation) Council of Mujahideen in Iraq" to direct the insurgency against the United States and coalition partners in accordance with Sharia (Islamic law). The media departments of the six groups will coordinate annnouncements of their operations through the Shura Council.

Dr. Martin Luther King On Church-State

Today, on Martin Luther King Day, the Wall of Separation blog reviews Dr. King's views on separation of church and state. Here is one quote from Dr. King: "The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool."