Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Malawi Human Rights Commission Orders Buddha Statues Out Of Orphanage
Compromise On Chaplains In Defense Appropriations Act
The conferees direct that the Secretary of the Air Force rescind the policy and revised interim guidelines concerning the exercise of religion in the Air Force issued on February 9, 2006, and direct that the Secretary of the Air Force reinstate the policy that was set fort in Air Force directive 52-1 dated 1 July 1999. The conferees further direct that the Secretary of the Navy rescind Secretary of the Navy Instruction 1730.7C dated February 21, 2006, titled "Religious Ministry within the Department f the Navy" and direct that the Secretary of the Navy reinstate the policy that was set forth in the Secretary of the Navy Instruction 1730.7B dated October 12, 2000.The regulations that Congress ordered rescinded had been explicit in calling on chaplains to offer non-sectarian prayers when officiating at military events other than religious services. The earlier versions that are to be reinstated are less explicit on this issue. (Background on Navy policy. Background on Air Force policy.)
This is merely a temporary solution, however, to the debate over the extent to which military chaplains should be permitted to offer explicitly sectarian prayers at service-wide ceremonies with interfaith audiences. Those on both sides claimed that the compromise was a temporary victory. Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice said:
On the other side, Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation said that keeping the House language out of the final bill was a victory.In a temporary victory, Congress rolled back those regulations that were causing the difficulty for the chaplains and reinstated earlier regulations that were more protective of the free exercise of religion. Congress also said that they will visit this issue fully in January when the new Congress returns. We anticipate major hearings on these issues.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Does Yom Kippur Ceremony Violate Los Angeles Law?
"First Monday" Without Oral Arguments To Accommodate Yom Kippur
Some More Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Massingill v. Livingston, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68249 (ED TX, Aug. 9, 2006), a Texas federal magistrate judge recommended rejection of free exercise and RLUIPA claims of a prisoner who was a member of the Israyl Identity faith. The prisoner challenged the application of the prison's grooming requirements to him, seeking to grow a beard and shoulder-length hair. He also wanted to be kept separate from inmates of other races, and to have his meals for Saturday delivered to him on Friday so that prison employees who serve him would not have to work for him on Saturday.
In Vega v. Lantz, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69120 (D CT, Sept. 26, 2006), a Connecticut federal district court permitted claims by a Muslim prisoner to proceed against certain of the defendants. The plaintiff had charged denial of daily congregate prayer, of Jumah services when no Islamic chaplain is present, a lack of timely Ramadan prayers,, insufficient calories in the meals during Ramadan, inability to purchase Islamic items, no Halal meats, no inmate chaplains, denial of his request for circumcision, improper handling of the Quran, and discrimination.
In Hill v. Cruz, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69094 (SD TX, Sept. 26, 2006), a Texas federal district court dismissed for lack of proof a Muslim prisoner's claim that processed American cheese containing pork enzymes is placed in non-pork food entrees at the prison.
In Jordan v. Carr, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68753 (ND IA, Sept. 22, 2006), an Iowa federal district court rejected a jail inmate's claim that he should be allowed to attend both Christian and Muslim religious services.
In Jonas v. Schriro, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69427 (D AZ, Sept. 25, 2006), an Arizona federal district court rejected First Amendment and RLUIPA claims by a Native American prisoner who complained that he was prohibited from engaging in pipe ceremonies, smudging, wearing of colored headbands, and using a sweat lodge.
Middle School Sued For Refusing To Let Student Read Bible
Competing Guides Issued For Catholic Voters
Reacting to the new voter guide issued by Catholics In Alliance, Catholic League president Bill Donohue is quoted by LifeSite News as saying: "[It] is a slick attempt to get the abortion albatross off the necks of Catholic Democrats, but it's a failed effort-the noose is still there."
Boston Islamic Society Can Go To Trial On Defamation and Conspiracy Claims
Court Holds RLUIPA Claims Covered By Four-Year Statute of Limitations
The Virginia district court's holding came in a case in which a Sunni Muslim prisoner alleged that for several years during Ramadan he was denied adequate food and nutrition and was denied the Eid Al Fitr meal and prayer service. The court found that a reasonable jury might conclude that receiving only 1000 daily calories would substantially pressure inmates to break their Ramadan fast. It also permitted plaintiff to move ahead with his claims that Eid Al Fitr meals were served and the feast's prayer services were held at the wrong times to meet religious requirements.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Montana Church Loses Challenge To State Campaign Laws
UPDATE: Here is the full opinion in Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church v. Higgins, (D MT, Sept. 26, 2006).
Suit Filed To Get VA Approval Of Wiccan Symbols On Military Headstones
Tennessee School To Reconsider Distribution Of Gideon Bibles
Airport Will Accommodate Muslim Cabbies' Objections To Alcohol
Friday, September 29, 2006
Security At Red Mass Does Not Violate Religious Protesters' Rights
Many New Articles Of Interest Have Recently Appeared
Carolyn M. Warner & Manfred W. Wenner, Religion and the Political Organization of Muslims in Europe, (Perspectives on Politics, Sept. 2006).
From SSRN:
Tanya Marie Johnson, The Defense of Marriage Act and the Establishment Clause , (April 21, 2006).
From Bepress:
Jennifer Kreder, Undoing the Native American Graves and Repartriation Act, (September 6, 2006).
Elisabeth D. Reid, The Faith Based and Community Initiative and the Challenge Posed by the Establishment Clause, (September 9, 2006).
Andrew Koppelman, Conscience, Volitional Necessity, and Religious Exemptions, (September 15, 2006).
Kojo Yelpaala, Legal Consciousness and Contractual Obligations, (September 19, 2006).
From SmartCILP:
Adlia Abusharaf, Women in Islamic Communities: The Quest for Gender Justice Research, 28 Human Rights Quarterly 714-728 (2006).
Waheeda Amien, Overcoming the Conflict Between the Right to Freedom of Religion and Women's Rights to Equality: a South African Case Study of Muslim Marriages, 28 Human Rights Quarterly 729-754 (2006).
Nora O'Callaghan, Lessons from Pharaoh and the Hebrew Midwives: Conscientious Objection to State Mandates As a Free Exercise Right, 39 Creighton Law Review 561-639 (2006).
Daniel J. Rosenthal, Charitable Choice Programs and Title VII's Co-religionist Exemption, 39 Creighton Law Review 641-665 (2006).
Panel: The History, Religion, and Philosophy of American Exceptionalism. Articles by Claes G. Ryn, Joseph Boyle, William T. Cavanaugh and Charles J. Reid, Jr. 3 University of St. Thomas Law Journal 211-310 (2005).
Tennessee School Sued Over "Praying Parents" Group
EEOC Sues On Behalf of Jehovah's Witness Waitress
Hungarian Protests Have Antisemitic Flavor
Religious Polygamists Prevalent In Upscale Utah Subdivisions
Vatican Message To U.N. On Religious Freedom
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Pennsylvania Upholds Father's Right To Teach Religious Belief In Polygamy
Based on the record before us, it is clear that the Commonwealth’s interest in promoting compliance with the statute criminalizing bigamy is not an interest of the "highest order" that would supersede the interest of a parent in speaking to a child about a deeply held aspect of his faith.... The state’s compelling interest to protect a child in any given case ... is not triggered unless a court finds that a parent’s speech is causing or will cause harm to a child’s welfare.However Justice Baer dissenting argued:
It is imperative ... to distinguish matters of free expression from matters of immoral and criminal conduct. Where the former amounts to indoctrination into the latter, constitutional rights begin to yield to society’s interests in regulating such conduct.The Associated Press reports on the decision.
Wisconsin City Settles RLUIPA Suit
EEOC Charges Private College With Religious Discrimination
Religious Clubs Thrive In South Florida Schools
FLDS Jeffs Charges Religious Persecution
German Officials, Muslim Leaders, Confer On Divisive Issues
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
State Employee's Religious Discrimination Claim Survives
Florida Church For Homeless Sues For Discrimination In Zoning
Illinois Church Election Under Court Supervision Upheld
Los Angeles Churches Have Made Political Contributions
German Opera Company Cancels Mozart Performance Fearing Religious Violence
Accommodation For Religious Group Is Problem For British Pension System
Justice Department Sues NY Village Under RLUIPA
Michigan Township's Zoning Violates RLUIPA
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
House Passes Ban on Attorneys' Fees In Establishment Clause Cases
Michigan School's Policy On Choir Music Stirs Debate
Spain Will Change Method Of Financing Catholic Church
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Roddy v. West Virginia, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68106 (ND WV, Sept. 21, 2006), a federal district judge dismissed without prejudice claims by an inmate that his free exercise rights were infringed when certain Native American religious items were confiscated from him. The court found that the inmate had not exhausted his internal grievance procedures before filing suit.
In Lee v. Wenderlich, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 67731 (WD NY, Sept. 21, 2006), a New York federal district judge permitted an inmate to move ahead with his First Amendment challenge to a prison rule that resulted in his name being removed from the list of those attending Ramadan services because he had 3 unexcused absences in attending.
In Mize v. Lewis, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68008 (ED TN, Sept. 21, 006), a Tennessee federal district court upheld prison rules that denied a prisoner Christian Identity literature that promotes racism, anti-Semitism, and white separatist views connected with security threat group activity.
In Ghani v. Caldwell, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66475 (ED MI, Sept. 18, 2006), a Michigan federal district court dismissed a Buddhist prisoner's claims regarding his access to vegan meals. The court found that he was now receiving such meals and that at the time meals were first refused, the 6th Circuit had held that RLUIPA was unconstitutional and the U.S. Supreme Court decision to the contrary had not yet been rendered.
Army Temporarily Enjoined From Placing Conscientious Objector On Active Duty
Polygamy Ban Being Challenged In 10th Circuit Case
"See You At The Pole" Is Tomorrow
Monday, September 25, 2006
Clerics Maneuvering In Advance of Iranian Election of Assembly of Experts
Free Exercise Challenge To Migratory Bird Treaty Act Eagle Protection Rejected
Pope Meets With Muslim Envoys Over His Remarks
Parent's Suit Against School's "Opposite Sex Day" Survives Dismissal Motion
Recent Articles On the Constitution, Law and Religion
David B. Kopel, The Catholic Second Amendment, 29 Hamline Law Review 519-565 (2006).
Pat Nolan & Marguerite Telford, Indifferent No More: People of Faith Mobilize to End Prison Rape, 32 Journal of Legislation 129-141 (2006).
From SSRN:
Richard W. Garnett IV & Joshua D. Dunlap, Taking Accommodation Seriously: Religious Freedom and the O Centro Case (2006 Cato Supreme Court Review 257 ).
From Bepress:
Robert J. Delahunty, Varied Carols: Legislative Prayer in a Pluralist Polity (August 24, 2006).
Sunday, September 24, 2006
University Of Wisconsin Refuses To Recognize Catholic Foundation As Student Group
Last May, the University's chancellor reluctantly recommended approval $145,000 for the Foundation even though he believed that use of the funds for an evangelical ministry, prayer groups and Lenten booklets would violate the Establishment Clause. Recently the University applied the rule requiring students to control recognized organizations to deny recognition to the Knights of Columbus as a student group. (See prior posting.)
Religion In Russian Schools
Vermont Supreme Court Rejects Free Exercise Argument In License Suspension
Church Land Use Denial Arises In Claim Against Army
Recalled Trustee's Challenge To Pledge of Allegiance Fails
A report on the case in Saturday's Rocky Mountain News points out that the U.S. Justice Department had entered the case on the side of the town, arguing that the Pledge is merely a patriotic exercise.
Bush Addresses Muslims On Ramadan and In Radio Address
The next day in his weekly radio address, the President said that Muslim nations are bound together with other civilized nations in the struggle between moderation and extremism throughout the Middle East.
Friday, September 22, 2006
NAACP Says Clinic Closing For Jewish Sabbath Is Discriminatory
UPDATE: Here is the full text of the complaint filed with the State Division of Human Rights by the NAACP, courtesy of Eugene Volokh.
President's Greetings As Rosh Hashanah Begins
Detroit Muslims Say Charity Harassed Again This Ramadan
No Establishment Clause Problem With Minnesota Criminal Sexual Conduct Law
Riots After Indonesia Executes Three Catholics
Church Votes To Fight IRS Summons
House Resolution Condemns Repression of Bahais By Iran
Funeral Picketers Become Kansas Election Issue
Thursday, September 21, 2006
9th Circuit OK's Exclusion Of Worship Services From Library Rooms
A dissent by Judge Tallman argued that any attempt by the County to distinguish worship from other kinds of religious speech would create excessive government entanglement with religion, in violation of the Establishment Clause.
However, the most interesting reading was Judge Karlton's concurring opinion. He wrote:
The San Jose Mercury News covers the decision. (Also see prior related posting.)I concur in Judge Paez's well-reasoned opinion, which reflects the sorry state of the law. I write separately to express my dismay at that sorry state.
This should be a simple case it asks whether the county can be forced to subsidize a religious organization's prayer meetings by requiring it to provide the religious organization with a free place to worship. A quick reading of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States should answer the question....
[Prior cases] turn on the High Court's purported inability to distinguish between a sermon and a speech. That distinction, however, is compelled by the First Amendment.... [R]eligious speech is categorically different than secular speech and is subject to analysis under the Establishment and Free Exercise Clause without regard to the jurisprudence of free speech.
Those, like myself, who advocate adherence to the strictures of the Establishment Clause, do so not out of hostility towards religion.... Rather, we are motivated by recognition of the passions that deeply-held religious views engender, and the serious threat of marrying those passions to government power.... That threat is not merely historic. One need only look about the world to see that danger in play.
Study of Black Churches and Faith-Based Initiative
Pope Again Tries To Explain His Remarks About Islam
For the careful reader of my text, it is clear that I did not wish at any time to make my own the negative words uttered by the medieval emperor in this dialogue and that its controversial content does not express my personal conviction.... I wished to invite the Christian faith to dialogue with the modern world and to dialogue with all cultures and religions.He said that he has tried to make clear his
deep respect for the great religions, in particular for Muslims -- who 'adore the one God' and with whom we are engaged in "preserving and promoting together for all mankind social justice, moral values, peace and freedom."
Two Decisions On Jurisdiction Over Religious Employment Disputes
In Vann v. Guildfield Missionary Baptist Church, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66947 (WD VA, Sept. 19, 2006), a Virginia federal district court permitted the minister of a church to proceed with his claim that his dismissal by the deacon of his church violated the church's bylaws. The bylaws provided for the minister's dismissal only by a vote of a majority of the church's members. The court said that since no member vote was ever taken, "the Church itself has never acted. Thus, I have subject matter jurisdiction to consider this case because the decision to fire Vann .... was not the decision of a religious entity or church. As a result, that decision is not constitutionally protected from judicial review."
Maruani v. AER Services, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66789 (D MN, Sept. 18, 2006), involved the dismissal of Leo Maruani , a shochet (kosher butcher), from the employ of AER Services, a commercial business that provides slaughtering services for companies that sell kosher meat products. He was dismissed after the rabbi supervising the plant in which he worked objected to the fact that Maruani was not leading a visibly pious life because he did not live within walking distance of an Orthodox synagogue.
The court dismissed Maruani's claim that he was discriminated against because of his religion in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act. He alleged that the supervising rabbis placed religious requirements upon him that they did not impose on other shochtim. The court held: "An examination of the gradations in the rules of Kashruth or severity with which the rabbis enforced those rules is precisely the type of religious-based claim the Court is forbidden from entertaining." However the court permitted Maruani to proceed with claims that the rabbis' religious objections were not the real reason for his dismissal, and that the real reasons violated Minnesota's Whistleblower Act and its Workers Compensation Act.
Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate Favors Teaching Intelligent Design
Secretary General Warns of Possible Global Religious Warfare
[A]t the very time when international migration has brought millions of people of different creed or culture to live as fellow-citizens, the misconceptions and stereotypes underlying the idea of a "clash of civilizations" have come to be more and more widely shared; and insensitivity towards other people's beliefs or sacred symbols -- intentional or otherwise -- is seized upon by those who seem eager to foment a new war of religion, this time on a global scale.DPA reported Tuesday on this aspect of Annan's remarks.
Indonesia Court Dismisses Blasphemy Case From Muhammad Cartoons
School Appeals Gideon Bible Distribution Ban
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
College Can Require Instructors To Avoid Irrelevant Religious Discussion In Class
The court concluded that: " the college had an interest in ensuring that its instructors stay on message while they were supervising the beauty clinic, just as it had an interest in ensuring that the instructors do the same while in the classroom.... [W]e see no reason why a college or university cannot direct its instructors to keep personal discussions about sexual orientation or religion out of a cosmetology class or clinic." [Thanks to How Appealing for the lead.]
Chicago's Jewish Aldermen Urged On Religious Grounds To Keep Foie Gras Ban
Lawyers Say Shared-Use By YMCA, School, Not A Church-State Problem
Congress Will Award Medal To Dalai Lama
Texas State School Board Limited In Reviewing Textbook Content
Conditions Of Parole At Faith-Based Shelter Challenged
Election Day Sukkot Holiday Poses Problem In Belgium
New EEOC Commissioner Named
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Church Involvement In Political Campaigns Decried
Meanwhile, Americans United For Separation of Church and State announced a national campaign to alert churches to the requirements of the federal tax law that prohibit them from taking sides in partisan political campaigns. The letter was sent to 117,000 churches in eleven states, in reaction to efforts by those on the religious right to mobilize churches on behalf of conservative Republican candidates. In a news conference yesterday, AU executive director, Rev. Barry W. Lynn, particularly criticized the political efforts of Dr. James Dobson's organization, Focus on the Family.
Virginia Senator Reacts Angrily To Suggestion Of Jewish Roots
Allen recoiled as if he had been struck. His supporters in the audience booed and hissed. "To be getting into what religion my mother is, I don't think is relevant," Allen said, furiously. "Why is that relevant -- my religion, Jim's religion or the religious beliefs of anyone out there?"Allen also lectured the reporter about the importance of "not making aspersions about people because of their religious beliefs." In the past, Allen has denied that his mother was Jewish, but has said that his grandfather was incarcerated by the Nazis in World War II.
UPDATE: The New York Times reports that on Tuesday, Sen. Allen issued a statement confirming his Jewish ancestry, saying "I embrace and take great pride in every aspect of my diverse heritage..."
Judge Reprimanded For Ordering Probationer To Church
Suit To Challenge Arizona Tax Credit For Tuition Grant Contributions
India's Supreme Court Stays Ban On Haj Subsidy
Supreme Court To Screen Cert Petitions Next Week
Monday, September 18, 2006
DA Under Investigation For Legal and Spiritual Advice To Prisoner
California Church May Resist IRS Summons
The Church has issued a Release regarding the summons and another one that ordered the church's rector, Rev. Ed Bacon, to appear before the IRS in October. In a sermon yesterday to an overflow congregation, Bacon said: "Our faith mandates that always stopping short of endorsing or opposing political candidates, the church can neither be silent nor indifferent when there are public policies causing detriment to the least of these." Bacon said that he would consult with attorneys, but that he felt most congregants wanted to resist the summons. (See prior posting.) [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]
Orthodox Jews Gain Majority On Long Island School Board
New Study on American Piety
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Scott v. Beard, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65673 (MD PA, Sept. 14, 2006), a Pennsylvania federal district court held that defendants had qualified immunity in a prisoner's claim for damages growing out of a denial of his request on religious grounds for an exemption from prison requirements about hair length. The prisoner was a member of the Assemblies of Yahweh and had taken a Nazarite vow. The court found that the prisoner's RLUIPA claim for an injunction was moot because he had now been released from prison and the prison system had adopted revised policies making it easier to obtain an exemption from grooming rules.
In Northrop v. Summersett, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65136 (ND CA, Aug. 30, 2006), a California federal district court dismissed on res judicata grounds a prisoner's claim that the removal of pork from menus in some California prisons violates the Establishment Clause, as well as his rights under the Free Exercise clause, RLUIPA, the equal protection clause and the California Constitution.
In Price v. Caruso, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64322 (ED MI, Sept. 8, 2006), a Michigan federal district court refused to grant summary judgment to defendants in a prisoner's suit claiming that policies prohibiting travel between prison complexes interferred with Jewish prisoners' being able to adequately have Sabbath services and a Passover Seder.
In Smith v. Crose, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64250 (D NJ, Sept. 7, 2006), a New Jersey federal district court permitted an inmate to move ahead with a claim that his free exercise rights were violated when he was prevented from attending Ju'ma services because he had an injured ankle. A number of plaintiff's other claims were dismissed.
In Skenandore v. Endicott, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64175 (ED WI, Sept. 6, 2006), a Wisconsin federal district court rejected a RLUIPA challenge by an inmate who is a member of the Oneida Indian tribe to Wisconsin policies on the practice of religion in correctional institutions. Plaintiff complained that he was not permitted to possess a prayer pipe, smoke tobacco or smudge herbs; that he was prevented from forming a Native American Cultural Activity Group; that he was not given time com complete sweat lodge ceremonies; that he is being denied religious feasts and ceremonial foods; that he may not possess traditional regalia; and that non-Native American inmates are allowed to participate in Native American religious activities.
In Dixon v. Wodruff-Fibley, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65911 (SD IN, Sept. 14, 2006), the court rejected a First Amendment claim by an inmate who was refused permission to pray outside of his cell. He claimed that his prayers are considered invalid if offered in the midst of pictures or drawings of living objects, such as his cellmate has in his cell.
New Publications In Law and Religion
William E. Nelson, The Utopian Legal Order of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1630-1686, 47 American Journal of Legal History 183-230 (2005).
From SSRN:
Steven Douglas Smith, The Jurisdictional Establishment Clause: A Reappraisal (forthcoming Notre Dame Law Review).
From Bepress:
Steven H. Shiffrin, Liberalism and Religion (August 22, 2006), ExpressO Preprint Series. Working Paper 1601.
New Book:
Ray Suarez, The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America (Harper Collins, August 29, 2006)-- reviewed in Sunday's Washington Post.