Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Courts Rule On When Cases Pose Theological Issues
In Geiser v. International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, (Cal. Ct. App., March 22, 2006), a California appellate court, while upholding a volunteer assistant pastor’s claim against a church for battery, dismissed his claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The court held that the First Amendment requirement that a court not become involved in adjudicating issues of religious practice or orthodoxy precluded it from deciding the validity of the claim which was based on accusations that plaintiff made "unauthorized deliverances" and refused to "follow church policy". Deciding the case would involve the court in deciding the truth or falsity of defendant’s religious beliefs, or at least in making judgments about them. That, in turn, would place the court’s imprimatur on one version of church doctrine over another.
A case from Montana, decided some ten months ago, has just become available on LEXIS. In Raihl v. Passmore, 2005 Mont. Dist. LEXIS 1464 (Mont. Dist. Ct., July 21, 2005), a Montana trial court held that issues of negligent hiring, negligent supervision, breach of fiduciary duty and intentional infliction of emotional distress involving the Church of God could be decided without inquiring into religious teachings and beliefs. The court added: "to dismiss these causes of action on that basis would give a clear, green light to any church to conduct themselves in the same fashion given similar circumstances."
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
Following up an earlier decision permitting a Native American prisoner to move forward with his suit claiming he was intentionally denied the right to attend religious pipe and drum ceremonies, a Wisconsin federal district judge issued an opinion outlining in detail to the pro se litigant the exact procedures he must follow at trial and the elements that he must prove to win his case. Meyer v. Teslik, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5700 (WD Wis., Feb. 10, 2006). (Earlier decision discussed here.)
In Blount v. Johnson, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11961 WD Va., March 2, 2006), a Virginia federal district judge denied prison officials’ motion of summary judgment and sent to the Magistrate Judge for trial a Virginia state prisoner’s claims under the Free Exercise clause and RLUIPA. Inmate Donell Blount who was a member of the House of Yahweh was denied his request to be served the Common Fare Diet because officials determined that his religion did not require it. Subsequently the Virginia Department of Corrections added House of Yahweh to the list of religions requiring a special diet.
In Pepper v. Carroll, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11907 (D. Del., March 22, 2006), a Delaware federal district court rather summarily reject a prisoner’s claim that his free exercise rights were infringed when he was not furnished a television set on which to watch church services. He was, at his own request, housed in the Security Housing Unit where televisions are not permitted.
In Stewart v. Barr, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11516 (D. Wis., March 17, 2006), a Wisconsin federal district court granted summary judgment to prison authorities, finding they had shown a legitimate penological reason for their requirement that plaintiff, a prisoner claiming to be a Rastafarian, remove his dreadlocks before leaving the prison for medical treatment.
Friday, March 24, 2006
City Considering Law To Limit Pickets Protesting Jewish Divorce Concerns
Protests in front of Rosenbloom's home have been held for almost two years, and recently have been occurring on an almost weekly basis. They are organized by the New York-based Organization for the Resolution of Agunot. Pickets hope that signs and slogans such as "Unchain your wife" will "apply social pressure to free" Sarah Rosenbloom. The proposed ordinance (full text) would prohibit picketing by or in front of a private residence, though it would not ban marching in a residential area without stopping in front of a particular home. It would also not apply if the residence was also the occupant's sole place of business or if a public meeting were being held there. A similar law was upheld against constitutional attack by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1988 in Frisby v. Schultz. Protesters said that if the new law is passed, they will continue their protests in conformity with it. [Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw for the lead.]
Easter Bunny Banned From City Hall
California Agency Refuses To Fund Historical Mission Repair
University of Wisconsin Settles Suit On Dormitory Bible Studies
Indonesia To Adopt New Decree On Houses of Worship
Study On Attitudes Toward Atheists In US
Secy. Hughes Speaks At Conference On Faith and Service
[S]ome might question why a government official, especially one from a nation that prides itself on the separation of church and state, would be asked to speak at a conference on interfaith dialogue.... Why would a government -- a United States Government official convene a meeting of religious leaders? And the answer is both simple and profound. It's because faith plays such a critical role in the lives of so many people across our world. Governments would be foolish to ignore its power and impact or to leave the floor only to those who seek to use religion as a force to divide or destroy....
Voices from our diverse faith communities, such as those represented here today, are often the most credible voices to say that terror and violence are not a matter of religion at all. When you think about it in its starkest terms, urging young people to strap bombs on their bodies, to kill themselves, and in the process try to kill as many other innocents as possible, is not a legitimate tenet of any faith....
Promoting religious freedom is a central element of the President's agenda for democracy and freedom across our world.... We must not rest in this effort, nor ever forget those who are persecuted for their beliefs and denied the rights of conscience that we sometimes take for granted here in the United States.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Afghan Charge Against Muslim Convert Draws U.S. Criticism
We expect them to honor the universal principle of freedom. I'm troubled when I hear -- deeply troubled when I hear the fact that a person who has converted away from Islam may be held to account. That's not the universal application of the values that I talked about. Look forward to working with the government of that country to make sure that people are protected in their capacity to worship.
Later, in answer to a question, the President said: "It is deeply troubling that a country we helped liberate would hold a person to account because they chose a particular religion over another.... [W]e can solve this problem by working closely with the government that we've got contacts with -- and will. We'll deal with this issue diplomatically and remind people that there is something as universal as being able to choose religion."
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper called President Karzai yesterday to express deep concern, according to the Ottawa Star.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also issued an unusually strong statement on the matter:Religious decisions should be matters of personal choice, not a cause for state intervention. Faith imposed by force is not true belief, but coercion. Islam has no need to compel belief in its divine truth.... We urge the government of Afghanistan to order the immediate release of Mr. Abdul Rahman.Afghanistan responded by saying that the matter would be handled by its courts. Reuters yesterday reported that Mahaiuddin Baluch, a religious affairs advisor to President Hamid Karzai, said: "We in Afghanistan have the prosecutor who observes the law and the court that executes it. Whatever the court orders will be executed as the court is independent."
ISN Security Watch today has an excellent analysis of the constitutional issues and political pressures inside Afghanistan. (See prior related postings, 1, 2.)
Supreme Court Arguments Yesterday In Procedural Prisoner Free Exercise Case
At issue before the Supreme Court was whether inmates should be able to file federal lawsuits even if they miss state filing deadlines. Ngo's attorney, Meier Feder, argued that Congress never intended to block valid inmate complaints in passing the 1996 Prison Litigation Reform Act. Attorneys for California and for the Bush administration argued that in enacting 42 USC Sec. 1997e, Congress wanted inmates to comply with state prison grievance procedures, including deadlines. Northwestern University has a further summary of the case, along with links to the 9th Circuit's opinion below and to the briefs filed in the Supreme Court.
2nd Circuit Holds Asylum Applicant Need Not Have Religious Knowledge
Georgia House Permits Bible As Textbook In High School
The bill was originally introduced by Democrats in the Georgia Senate. Republicans, upping the ante, quickly substituted their own version, specifying that the Bible itself would be the course textbook. The measure easily passed the GOP-controlled Senate last month by a 50-1 vote. House lawmakers changed the Senate bill by taking out requirements that the New Testament courses must document the parables of Jesus and the travels of Paul. These changes now must be approved by the Senate. [Thanks to Jean Dudley via Religion law for the information.]
Meanwhile, the Auburn Plainsman today reports that the Alabama Senate Education Committee recently cleared SB472, a Democratic-sponsored bill that would permit the Bible to be taught as literature in public schools. A different version of the bill (HB58) is pending in the House. It is opposed by Republicans because it prescribes The Bible and Its Influence as the required text. (See prior posting.)
UPDATE: On March 27, the Georgia Senate also approved HB 1133, and Gov. Sonny Perdue is expected to sign the law, according to the New York Times.
Church Contributes Funds For Investors In SEC Suit
Background On Pending Satmar Litigation
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
British House of Lords Upholds School Policy Banning Jilbab
Denbigh High School had a uniform policy that allowed Begum to wear the shalwar kameez (trousers and tunic), but not a jilbab that covered her entire body. (See prior posting.) Today's Education Guardian reports that Lord Bingham's opinion emphasized that courts, lacking the experience, background and detailed knowledge of the headteacher, staff and governors, should not interfere in the school's decision. He pointed out that the school's policy was acceptable to mainstream Muslim opinion.
Shabina's counsel, Cherie Booth QC, said that the kameez was no longer suitable for Begum because she had reached sexual maturity and it did not sufficiently protect her modesty. Lord Bingham said any sincere religious belief such as that held by Shabina must command respect, but the issue was whether her freedom to manifest her belief by her dress was subject to limitation and whether that limitation was justified. He said Shabina could have attended another school, where the jilbab was permitted. He was satisfied there was no interference with her right to manifest her belief, and even if there was interference, it was a "proportionate" response by the school.
Agreeing, Lord Hoffmann said that Article 9 of the European Convention "does not require that one should be allowed to manifest one's religion at any time and place of one's own choosing." Shabina's family had chosen that school with knowledge of its uniform requirements.
Begum said she would be discussing with her lawyers whether they would appeal the case
to the European Court of Human Rights.
Afghan Who Converted May Be Mentally Unfit To Stand Trial
Additional Group To Recruit Jewish Military Chaplains
Are Islamist Enclaves Constitutional?
While the U.S. Constitution enshrines the right to religious freedom and the prohibition against a state religion, when it comes to the rights of religious enclaves to impose communal rules, the dividing line is more nebulous. Can U.S. enclaves, homeowner associations, and other groups enforce Islamic law?...
On their face, the fundamental principles of the internal Muslim enclave are no more invidious than any other religious enclave. But ideology matters. Many proponents of an Islamic polity promote an ideology at odds with U.S. constitutional jurisprudence and the prohibition against the establishment of a state-sponsored religion. The refusal to recognize federal law makes Islamist enclaves more akin to Ruby Ridge than to the Hasidic and Amish [communities]....
Prince Charles Gets Honorary Degree, Speaks At Al-Azhar University
USDA Finds Violations At Kosher Slaughtering Plant
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Texas School Sued Over Bible Group's Access To Website
Church-State Tidbits From Bush Q&A In Cleveland
Then, as part of a long answer to a question asking about domestic policy aimed at helping unsafe and poverty-stricken neighborhoods, the President promoted his faith-based initiative:Q [A]uthor and former Nixon administration official Kevin Phillips, in his latest book, American Theocracy, discusses what has been called radical Christianity and its growing involvement into government and politics. He makes the point that members of your administration have reached out to prophetic Christians who see the war in Iraq and the rise of terrorism as signs of the apocalypse. Do you believe this, that the war in Iraq and the rise of terrorism are signs of the apocalypse? And if not, why not?
THE PRESIDENT: The answer is -- I haven't really thought of it that way. (Laughter.) Here's how I think of it. The first I've heard of that, by the way. I guess I'm more of a practical fellow. I vowed after September that I would do everything I could to protect the American people....*** I take a practical view of doing the job you want me to do -- which is how do we defeat an enemy that still wants to hurt us; and how do we deal with threats before they fully materialize; what do we do to protect us from harm? That's my job. And that job came home on September the 11th, for me -- loud and clear.....
I believe that the idea of empowering our faith-based institutions -- government can help, but government sometimes can't find -- well, it just doesn't pass -- it's not a loving organization. And so I believe strongly -- I believe strongly in empowering faith-based and community-based programs all throughout America to help achieve certain objectives.
Mentoring, for example, mentoring of children in prisoners -- whose mother or dad may be in prison is an initiative I started. Drug rehabilitation, giving those who are eligible for drug money a voucher, money themselves, a scrip so they can redeem it at a program that they choose, not that the government assigns them to. In other words, there's a variety of social service programs aimed at lifting people up.
Nuns and Priests May Be Lawyers In India
Pennsylvania Pastors Network Nears Line On Tax Code Limits
Mother Theresa Statue Controversial In Northern Albania
Lawyer Criticizes Ontario's Ban On Religious Arbitration Panels
An earlier article by Kutty discussed the recommendations made by the 2004 Boyd Report that called for retaining religious-based arbitration, but imposing new regulation on arbitration tribunals and the family law arbitration process.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Indonesia Increasingly Convicts For Deviating From Islam
Sumardi Tappaya, a high school religious teacher, is awaiting trial for blasphemy after a relative claimed he was whistling while he prayed. Ardhi Husain and his editors were sentenced to five years in prison for writing a book that the ulemas said contained 70 errors, such as claiming Muhammad was not the last prophet and that non-Muslims could go to heaven. And Lia Aminuddin, who claims to be the Virgin Mary and leads the quasi-Islamic God's Kingdom of Eden cult, was arrested in December for blasphemy after thousands of protesters surrounded her headquarters in Jakarta.
Fallout From Muhammad Cartoons Continues
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur examining the situation has strongly criticized Denmark, according to a report yesterday in the Turkish paper, Zaman.
Meanwhile, in France, a draft law criminalizing blasphemy, has been proposed by an MP for the ruling Union for Popular Movement party (UMP). According to Friday's Islam Online, MP Marc Bouraud said he was driven by the Danish cartoons crisis, which "exposed the fragile link between freedom of expression and freedom of belief and thought."
New Prisoner Cases On Attendance At Religious Services
In Joseph v. Lewis, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10653 (ED Cal., March 15, 2006), a California federal district court found that a prisoner had a valid free exercise complaint growing out of prison authorities' refusal to permit him to leave a vocational instruction class to attend Friday Jumu'ah prayer services. However his claim that his inmate grievance form was improperly processed was dismissed.
Austria Moves Toward Greater Recognition of Muslims
In another development, the Catholic Church in the Upper Austria region has decided to allow the teaching of Islam in one of its 55 schools, as the number of Muslim students enrolled increases. Other Catholic schools were expected to do the same, since the education law calls for such classes once the number of Muslim students reaches 3.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Hindu Group Sues Over California Textbook Changes
Afghan Judge Threatens Death Sentence For Conversion To Christianity
UPDATE: The United States on Monday said that it was closely monitoring Rahman's trial, and urged Afghan authorities to deal with the case transparently and according to the rule of law.
Church Member's Suit Dismissed As Ecclesiastical Matter
Phillips' New Book-- "American Theocracy"
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Immigration Proposal Threatens Religious Social Services
UPDATE: Sunday's New York Times adds another dimension to this story in an article titled Rift on Immigration Widens for Conservatives and Cardinals. It focuses on the Catholic Church's opposition to tightening of restrictions on undocumented aliens.
Lutheran School Seeks Dismissal of Sexual Orientation Bias Claim
Suit Claims University's GLBT Program Violates Establishment Clause
6th Circuit Upholds Pro-Life License Plates
More On Governor's Bill To Exempt Boston's Catholic Charities
Here is one of its arguments. The bill provides that "it shall be lawful for any [religiously sponsored social service agency] to take any action with respect to the provision of adoption or foster placement services which is calculated by such organization to promote its religious principles..." The analysis argues that while placing a child with a gay couple might violate Catholic principles, not placing a child with a gay couple would not "promote its religious principles".
U.N. Committee Censures U.S. Policy Toward Shoshone Indians
Friday, March 17, 2006
Four New Prisoner Cases
In Asad v. Bush, (11th Cir., March 14, 2006), the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a state prisoner's free exercise and RLUIPA claims growing out of disciplinary action taken against the prisoner after a dispute over whether Muslim services were being held at the proper time. It found that prison authorities offered an acceptable alternative when inmates were permitted to conduct prayers individually at the requested time.
In Wolf v. Sheriff, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10009 (D. Ark., Jan. 30, 2006), an Arkansas federal district judge accepted the earlier recommendation of a Magistrate Judge (2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40978 (Sept. 8, 2005)), that the religious rights of a Native American prisoners were infringed when the state prison authorities denied them access to a prayer feather. However, disagreeing with the Magistrate, the court found that defendants were entitled to the defense of qualified immunity as to damage claims against them.
In Iron Thunderhorse v. Pierce, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9997 (ED Tex., Feb. 13, 2006), a Texas federal district court dismissed several constitutional claims by a Native American prisoner held in a Texas prison who claimed that existing Native American religious programs give preferential treatment to "Christian-oriented" Native American beliefs while disfavoring traditional ceremonial leaders known as shamans. His claims included ones for confiscation and denial of religious items; the lack of a program for shamans; denial of a racial category for "Native Americans"; failure to provide exemptions or accommodations for the dress code and grooming code; failure to allow equal access to services for inmates in segregation; and failure to honor prior agreements which he entered into with prison officials.
In Ragland v. Angelone, (WD Va., March 14, 2006), and a follow-up memorandum opinion issued on the next day, a Virginia federal district court rejected a claim under RLUIPA brought by a Rastafarian prisoner challenging a Virginia prison's grooming rules. The prisoner had refused to cut his hair and beard for religious reasons.
House Hearings on International Human Rights
In a related matter, the House on Wednesday passed H.Con. Res. 190 expressing the sense of the Congress that the Russian Federation should fully protect the freedoms of all religious communities without distinction, whether registered and unregistered, as stipulated by the Russian Constitution and international standards. Text of the debate and passage are available online.
Is Polygamy The Next Constitutional Battle?
Catholic On Alberta School Board Seeks To Retain Position
Mass. Governor Proposes Exemption For Catholic Charities Adoption Services
In response, the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA) and the Massachusetts chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State yesterday issued a release arguing that the proposed exemption for Catholic Charities would be unconstitutional. They said, "The First Amendment's free exercise clause grants us all the right to hold whatever beliefs we choose, and to act in accordance with them in our private affairs. It does not, however, permit any individual or institution to engage in bigotry in the discharge of a public or governmentally regulated function."
Oregon Court Demands More Religious Accommodation In School Basketball Schedule
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Suit Against UC Berkeley Evolution Website Dismissed
UPDATE: The full opinion in the case is now available on LEXIS: Caldwell v. Caldwell, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13688 (ND Cal., March 13, 2006).
U.N. Creates New Human Rights Council
School Board To Permit Distribution of Gideon Bibles
SC Trial Judge Decides Church's Dispute With Diocese
Danish Prosecutor Will Not File Charges Against Jyllands-Posten
Litigants Agree Elementary Students May Read Bible At Recess
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Pakistan Supreme Court Orders Websites With Muhammad Cartoons Blocked
The International Freedom of Expression Exchange reported last week that the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority ordered Internet service providers to block 12 websites carrying the offending cartoons. ISPs, apparently as required by the PTA order, to implement the blackout have blocked all blogs hosted by blogspot.com.
Long Beach Seeking To Take Church Property For Condos
Dutch Ministers Fail To Agree on Burka Ban
California Bill Would Require Consideration of Religion In Adoptions
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Law Prof Says Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment Would Violate Religion Clauses
[W]hen I hear testimony from my fellow Marylanders about how ending statewide marriage discrimination would collide with their church beliefs, my response is simple and, I hope, reassuring: Your church will never have to perform a marriage ceremony of any gay couple or indeed any couple of any kind that it disapproves of....Later, in response to a Senator's question about whether "God's law" prohibits gay marriage, Raskin replied:
But the irony here is that the State today is stopping many churches and temples from marrying gay couples that the churches want to marry. That is, the State today is violating the rights of many churches--including Unitarian, Episcopal, Presybeterian and Jewish congregations, among many others--who seek to perform lawful weddings for their parishioners but may not simply because other groups of citizens think it would be wrong for them to do it.
Because America is for all its citizens regardless of religion and because so many churches have so many different belief systems, we are governed here not by religious law but by secular law. The rules of civil marriage--the license that the State grants you to marry--must be determined with respect to the federal and state Constitutions, not particular religious claims, no matter how fervently held.
"Senator, when you took your oath of office, you placed your hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution. You didn't place your hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible."Raskin himself is a candidate for Maryland's State Senate this year. [Thanks to Roy Mersky via Religionlaw for the information.]
Ohio Clergy Group Plans Rally Today For Social Justice Issues
Article Chronicles New Partisan Appeals To Religion
Texas Moment of Silence Law Challenged
The law, (Educ. Code 25.082) passed in 2003, allows children to "reflect, pray, meditate or engage in any other silent activities" for one minute after the American and Texas pledges at the beginning of each school day. In 1985, in Wallace v. Jaffree, the U.S. Supreme Court found that an Alabama moment of silence law was an unconstitutional promotion of prayer. State Rep. Dan Branch who co-sponsored the 2003 Texas law, said legislators, aware of constitutional issues, carefully worded the statute to create a neutral time. He said teachers have told him the law helps calm children down. Letting children pray in school makes them feel the school is not hostile toward their religion, he said.
Prisoner Claims Punishment For Prayer
Monday, March 13, 2006
Tennessee Paper Opposes Special Christian License Plates
Battle In Wisconsin Over Angel Statue In Public Park
A new variation of the battle over placing religious symbols on public property is brewing in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Associated Press reports that the nonprofit grief-support group, Compassionate Friends, would like to place a "Christmas Box Angel" statue in the city's Menominee Park. The Freedom From Religion Foundation threatens to sue if the city accepts the offer. The angels, which cost about $20,000 each, are based on "The Christmas Box," a book by Richard Paul Evans about a widow and the young family who moves in with her. Christmas Box House International says that the angel statutes, currently located in Salt Lake City and a number of other areas, are places for grieving parents to come to heal.
Purim Humor Aims At U.S. Politics
Religious Freedom Issues In Tajikistan
Sunday, March 12, 2006
New Law & Religion Scholarship Online
From Bepress:
- Shelley Ross Saxer & Daryl Fisher-Ogden, World Religions and Clean Water Laws.
- Marc L. Roark, All in the Family: The Apocalyptic Legal Tradition as Crit Theory.
- Marc L. Roark, Understanding Jurisprudential Approaches to Islam.
- Mark Osler, Christ, Christians & Capital Punishment.
- Robin Charlow, The Elusive Meaning of Religious Equality, to appear in Winter 2006 Washington Univ. Law Review.
- Scott C. Idleman, Religious Premises, Legislative Judgments, and the Establishment Clause (recently posted online, though it appeared in the 2002 issue of the Cornell Journal of Law & Public Policy).
New Jersey Church Has Preliminary RLUIPA Win
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Workplace Chaplaincies Create New Legal Issues
Arizona House Moves On 4 Bills To Aid Parochial Schools
Another Israeli Election Ad Banned-- This Time For Religious Promises
Utah Schools Fear Cost of Distributing Notice On Religious Rights
Boston Catholic Agency Ends Adoption Services In Protest of Gay Adoption
The Globe also reports that Governor Mitt Romney said yesterday that he plans to file a bill that would exempt religious organizations from the state's antidiscrimination laws so that Catholic Charities and other religious groups could refuse to provide adoption services when doing so violates their faith.
According to the Associated Press, Massachusetts' four Catholic bishops earlier this month said that the law on gay adoptions threatens the church's religious freedom by forcing it to do something it considers immoral. Eight members of Catholic Charities board later resigned in protest of the bishops' stance. The 42-member board had voted unanimously in December to continue considering gay households for adoptions.
The Archdiocese of Boston has posted an interview with Dr. John Haas, president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, explaining the Church's position.
Kentucky Approves Ten Commandments On Public Property, As Roy Moore Presses the Issue Elsewhere
The bill, HB 277, permits the display in public buildings, on public property and in schools of historic monuments, symbols and texts if they are displayed in a balanced, objective and not solely religious manner. The display must neither favor nor disfavor religion generally or a particular religious belief. Also any display must promote Kentucky's historic, cultural, political, and general heritage and achievements. The bill also provides for the return to the Capitol grounds of a Ten Commandments monument that had been removed under court order in 2000 to a Fraternal Order of Eagles site. And the bill calls for posting "In God We Trust" in the House of Representatives chambers.
Meanwhile, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who is running for Governor of Alabama, is apparently speaking around the country pressing for the display of the Ten Commandments on public property. An interview with him was published today by the Toledo (Ohio) Blade, prior to Moore's appearance on Tuesday at a Toledo-area Christian school. The former judge, who was removed from office after refusing to obey a court order to remove a large Ten Commandments monument from Alabama's supreme court building, told the Blade: "I did not disobey the rule of law. I disobeyed the rule of man. No judge or person can put himself above the law he is sworn to uphold. And we are not sworn to obey such men, but the Constitution."
Friday, March 10, 2006
Montana Church Found To Have Violated State Campaign Restrictions
Alliance Defense Fund attorney Gary McCaleb claims the law unconstitutionally infringes on religious expression and free speech. He said: "It has a chilling effect on a church's speech. It means [the church] has to register with the state and jump through a bunch of election-law-reporting hoops merely for putting a few pieces of paper out in the foyer. It's a pretty outrageous extension of election law into the free speech realm."
California Supreme Court Upholds Antidiscrimination Pledge For Receipt of Subsidy
President's Remarks On Faith-Based Initiatives
As you know, this has been quite a controversial subject here in the United States Congress. We believe in separation of church and state -- the church shouldn't be the state and the state shouldn't be the church. No question that's a vital part of the country, and that's a vital part of our heritage and we intend to keep it that way. But when it comes to social service funding, the use of taxpayers' money, I think we're able to meet the admonition of separation of church and state and, at the same time, recognize that faith programs provide an important model of success. They help us achieve certain objectives in our country.The White House also issued a Fact Sheet, titled Compassion in Action: Producing Real Results for Americans Most in Need as well as a detailed report on grants to faith-based organizations in fiscal 2005.