Lawyer Wants No Diplomatic Immunity For Pope

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday on a press conference by Texas lawyer, Daniel Shea, who is representing three boys in a suit against Pope Benedict XVI for allegedly covering up the sexual abuse of children by a seminarian. Shea urged President Bush to abstain from confirming the Pope's diplomatic immunity. Shea said he would challenge the constitutionality of U.S. diplomatic recognition of the Vatican if the Pope is given diplomatic immunity in the case.

Indian Islamic Ruling Denies Women Full Rights To Challenge Elections

The Indian Times reports today that Darul Uloom, Deoband, an Islamic religious and academic center in India, has ruled that Muslim women should not contest elections, and if they have to, they must do so from behind the veil. The paper strongly criticizes the ruling as regressive and lacking in respect for the norms of secular democracy.

Disestablishment Urged In Britain

The Guardian reports today that the Fabian Society, a leading Labour think tank, has called for the Church of England's preferential status to end and for its bishops to the lose the right to sit in the House of Lords. In a book to be published next month titled "Islam, Race and Being British", Sunder Katwala, the society's general secretary, says that a fresh settlement is needed between religion and the state.

Vertical Grave Marker Bans Do Not Violate Religious Freedom

Yesterday, as reported by the Palm Beach Post, the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld regulations imposed by a city-owned cemetery in Boca Raton, Florida. Several owners of grave sites sued the city in 1998 arguing that a requirement that only ground level grave markers be used restricted their religious freedom to erect crosses, statues and other religious symbols. The Eleventh Circuit certified to the Florida Supreme Court questions relating to the application of Florida's Religious Freedom Restoration Act here. Yesterday in Warner v. City of Boca Raton, the Court of Appeals ruled, in accordance with the Florida Supreme Court's determination, that the regulations were permissible, and also rejected other state and federal constitutional attacks on the cemetery rules.

Bishop Calls For Procedures Before Denying Politician Communion

Bishop Donald W. Wuerl of Pittsburgh has issued a statement calling for the country's Roman Catholic bishops to create a more formal mechanism or procedure to decide whether a particular politician should be denied communion because of his stand on abortion. A story issued yesterday by the Catholic News Service quoted Wuerl's concern that: "Given the mobility of the population and the ubiquity and influence of the means of social communications, actions taken by one bishop within a diocese can have immediate national impact and affect the bishops of the rest of the dioceses throughout the country, especially neighboring dioceses which share the same media market."

Azerbaijan Moves Against Wahhabism

EurasiaNet reports that in recent weeks, authorities in Azerbaijan have taken various steps to crack down on Wahhabi Islam in the country. Several arrests have been made, imported extremist religious literature has been banned and, reportedly, the Ministry of National Security has placed several mosques in Baku under its control (though the Ministry denies this).

CA Primary Conflicts With Rosh Hashanah

At the recommendation of the Orange County, California Registrar of Voters, the Governor's office has scheduled an important primary election in conflict with the Jewish High Holy Days. The Los Angeles Times reports today that the primary election to replace Rep. Chris Cox, new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has been scheduled for October 4, the first day of Rosh Hashana. Observant Jews would be unable to vote on that day. Though posing somewhat less of a conflict for adherents, October 4 is also the first day of the Muslim month-long fast of Ramadan. Jewish groups have complained about the conflict, but Orange County Voting Registrar Steve Rodermund said that absentee voting and voting early at the registrar's office in Santa Ana are available alternatives.

Parents Win Appeal On Exposure of Child To Wicca

In Jones v. Jones yesterday, an Indiana appellate court held that a trial court judge had abused his discretion in entering a divorce decree requiring parents, both of whom were practicing Wiccans, to shelter their child from involvement in and observation of Wicca. (See prior posting.) The appeals court avoided deciding the case on constitutional grounds, finding instead that the trial court had no basis for its order because it had not found any endangerment to the child’s physical health or significant impairment of the child’s emotional health. The Associated Press reported on the appellate decision. The appeal was argued by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union.

Another Roberts Church-State Memo From 1985

Another short memo by Supreme Court nominee John Roberts on church-state issues has surfaced in the over 5,000 pages of documents released earlier this week by the National Archives. (See earlier posting.) The documents cover the period during which Roberts served as Associate Counsel to President Reagan. An article in today's Kentucky Post says that Roberts advised the President in 1985 not to endorse a movement to require Kentucky public schools to hang plaques inscribed with the national motto "In God We Trust", as well as the Preamble to the Kentucky Constitution which mentions God.

Roberts wrote: "It would be inappropriate for the president to interfere in the consideration of this resolution by the Kentucky legislature by sending a message of support." Roberts said that the proposed resolution raised the same Establishment Clause concerns that led the Supreme Court in 1980 in Stone v. Graham to hold that Kentucky public schools could not be required to post copies of the Ten Commandments. "The president should not gratuitously opine on the constitutionality of this specific resolution," he concluded.

Alabama Teachers' Union Promotes Appropriate Teaching About Religion

The Tuscaloosa News yesterday reported that the Alabama Education Association is distributing two booklets on dealing with religion in the public schools to 50,000 teachers around the state. The 16-page The Bible and Public Schools and the 20-page A Teacher's Guide to Religion in Public Schools were compiled by the First Amendment Center. The booklets give guidance to people of faith on how to take an academic, rather than a devotional, approach to religion.

Comparative Law and Religion Dominates This Week's New Scholarship

A number of interesting new law review articles focusing on law and religion around the world are reported this week by SmartCILP:

Shima Baradaran-Robison, Brett G. Scharffs and Elizabeth A. Sewell, Religious Monopolies and the Commodification of Religion, 32 Pepperdine Law Rev. 885-943 (2005).

Leigh Hunt Greenhaw & Michael H. Koby, Constitutional Conversations and New Religious Movements: A Comparative Case Study, 38 Vanderbilt Jour. Transnat'l Law 615-678 (2005).

Achim Seifert, Respectful Religious Pluralism In the Workplace. (Reviewing Douglas A. Hicks, Religion and the Workplace: Pluralism, Spirituality, Leadership.) 25 Comparative Labor Law & Pol'y J. 463-475 (2004).

Ann Black, Survival or Extinction? Animistic Dispute Resolution in the Sultanate of Brunei, 13 Willamette Jour. Int'l Law & Dispute Resolution 1-25 (2005).

Natan Lerner, How Wide the Margin of Appreciation? The Turkish Headscarf Case, the Strasbourg Court, and Secularist Tolerance, 13 Willamette Jour. Int'l Law & Dispute Resolution 65-85 (2005).

Peter Cumper, Book Review. (Reviewing Regulating Religion--Case Studies from Around the Globe, edited by James T. Richardson.) 13 Willamette Jour. Int'l Law & Dispute Resolution 87-108 (2005).

Vanessa Von Struensee, Stoning, Shari'a, and Human Rights Law in Nigeria, 11 William & Mary Jour. of Women & Law 405-425 (2005).

More Churches Closed Down In Indonesia

In West Java, Indonesia, Members of the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI), an organization of Muslim Clerics supported financially by the Indonesian government, last weekend entered eight Christian churches during worship services and ordered them closed. Christian Today has reported that this follows the issuing of eleven fatwas by the MUI condemning of any religious teaching "influenced by pluralism, liberalism and secularism". Since the end of July, 35 churches have been closed down in West Java. The closings are also being linked to the ongoing trial of three Christian women accused of enticing Muslim children to convert to Christianity through an after-school program called "Cheerful Sunday".

Challenge To Parochial School Closing Rejected On First Amendment Grounds

The Westchester County New York Journal News reported yesterday that a trial court judge has dismissed a lawsuit by parents and parishioners of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Scarsdale seeking to prevent the Archdiocese from closing the parish school. Justice Gerald Loehr held on Monday that the First Amendment protects the authority of the Church to decide where it will locate parochial schools.

India's Supreme Court Asked To Invalidate Sharia Tribunals

In India, both the Deccan Herald and the Hindustan Times yesterday have reported on a petition filed with the Supreme Court of India challenging the Sharia courts being run by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Islamic seminary Darul-Uloom. These courts operate in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Delhi. The suit seeks to restrain these organizations from establishing a parallel Muslim judicial system. It also seeks an order instructing them to refrain from interfering with the marital status of Muslim citizens and passing any judgment, remark or fatwa as well as deciding matrimonial disputes among Muslims. The petition, filed by advocate Vishwa Lochan Madan, urges the court to decide whether Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guaranteeing religious freedom includes the right to administer justice based on faith. (See prior related posting.)

UPDATE: Here from the Milli Gazette is the response of the Shariath Protection Council, arguing that the challenged tribunals are merely arbitration forums.

Prisoner Alleges No Shi'ite Clergy Permitted

In Cancel v. Mazzuca, 2005 US Dist. LEXIS 16713 (SDNY, Aug. 11, 2005), plaintiff, a former prisoner, alleges that the Islamic Affairs Coordinator for the New York State Department of Correctional Services violated plaintiff's religious exercise and free expression rights by hiring only Sunnis , and no Shi'ites, to serve as imams at New York correctional facilities. He also claims that defendant directed these imams to deny non-Sunni Muslims the opportunity to practice forms of Islam other than Sunnism. In this decision, the court ordered the defendant to respond to certain interrogatories.

Passions Still High On 10 Commandments In TN

The passion over displays of the Ten Commandments on public property seems to be as high as ever. Yesterday's Greeneville Sun reported on a County Commission meeting debating what to do with a privately-funded Ten Commandments plaque hanging in the front hall of the Greene County, Tennessee, courthouse. A petition carrying 4000 signatures supported leaving the plaque in place. A packed audience heard three local citizens support the petitions with statements that bordered on, or perhaps crossed the border to, hyperbole.

Danny Ricker, an ordained minister who is also the employee in charge of maintenance of county buildings, spoke first. Representing an organization called Citizens for Truth, he said that the Ten Commandments are part of the nation’s heritage, "but it’s our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we’re talking about today" as well. He continued, "It’s time we get some backbone about it."
Ricker said Americans have stood by for too long and let their religious freedoms be taken from them. "I believe in obeying the law of the land until they start messing with my Lord," he said.

The second speaker, Ray Rowney, also representing Citizens for Truth urged the County to leave the plaque in place and publicly reaffirm support for the God and Country wall as "now more necessary than ever" to correct what he called "an unconstitutional act by the Supreme Court justices."

The final speaker was Gerben Hoekstra who said that when he was 10 years old, "I saw Hitler’s soldiers come past our house on beautiful brown horses," to occupy Holland, "my birth country". "Now I see the same injustice happening to my beloved adopted country. The forces of good have mostly been silent and let this slow erosion of our freedom happen.... We can lie down and play dead and let evil win." Or the Ten Commandments plaque can be left in place with a "wait and see" attitude adopted. But if this is done, he said, "Evil will win again, with a slight delay." He concluded: "So far, our rights have been defended by lawyers," who tend to get tangled in "legal mumbo-jumbo." In the future, he said, "I suggest we use laymen."

Further Order In Case of DC Muslim Firefighters' Beards

In Potter v. District of Columbia (US Dist. Ct. D.C., Aug. 11, 2005), the court issued a Memorandum and an Order in the long-running dispute between Muslim firefighters who wish to wear beards for religious reasons, and the DC fire department that argues it is impossible to use certain face masks with a beard. Judge James Robertson ordered the fire department to allow plaintiffs to take an appropriate face-fit test despite the department's argument that reliable tests are impossible because of day-to-day variability of hair length on beards.

Dismissed Pastor's Suit Rejected

In Denny v. Prince, 2005 Va. Cir. LEXIS 85 (Va. Cir. Ct. Portsmouth, Aug. 8, 2005), a Virginia trial court dismissed a suit by the former Pastor of Cradock Baptist Church against those who were responsible for his firing. The Pastor claimed that the church finance committee held secret meetings, and asserted he had performed improper financial transactions regarding church property. He also claimed irregularities in the vote on his dismissal. The court , in a long opinion, said that ecclesiastical decisions regarding the appointment and removal of pastors are generally beyond the jurisdiction of secular courts.

New NJ Local Zoning for Houses of Worship Is Controversial

A controversial Houses of Worship Act setting new zoning standards for houses of worship in Marlboro Township, New Jersey was the subject of an article in today's Farmingdale NJ News Transcript. The ordinance changes the lot coverage and setback standards, parking space and the acreage requirements for a house of worship, though existing buildings and expansion of them are grandfathered in under old standards. Supporters say the new law is an attempt to create a balance between neighborhoods and houses of worship. Opponents say it effectively prevents any new houses of worship from being built.

Teacher Sues Over Removal of Religious Posters

The Rutherford Institute announced last week that is has filed a lawsuit in a Virginia federal district court against the York County, Virginia schools on behalf of a public high school Spanish teacher whose religious-themed posters were removed from his classroom while he was out sick. The Complaint (full text) in Lee v. York County School Division alleges violations of the free expression and equal protection provisions of the US and Virginia constitutions.

British Muslims React To PM's Statements

The Guardian today has published the full text of a joint statement by 38 British Muslim groups and individuals who "fear that recent events are being exploited by some sections in society to demonise legitimate Islamic values and beliefs". Reacting to statements and proposals by Prime Minister Tony Blair since the London bombings, the statement says: "To equate "extremism" with the aspirations of Muslims for Sharia laws in the Muslim world or the desire to see unification towards a Caliphate in the Muslim lands, ... is inaccurate and disingenuous." It also asserts that "the proposal to close mosques if they are arbitrarily defined as being "extremist" or to try and politically influence what may or may not be said during a religious talk ... would amount to a collective punishment of the community and will be likely to create fear and prevent legitimate political discussion within mosques."

Local Breakaway Episcopal Church Awarded Church Property

Today the Los Angeles Times reports on a decision by an Orange County, California Superior Court judge that awarded millions of dollars of church property to the breakaway Newport Beach parish that severed ties with the Episcopal Church over scriptural teaching and homosexuality. Judge David C. Velasquez's rejected the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles' claim that under canon law the local congregation, St. James Episcopal Church, held the property in trust for the diocese, and that it forfeited any right to the buildings and other property, including hymnals, when it broke with the diocese and national church. He said that church property disputes must be resolved under neutral principles of law. The diocese said it would appeal the ruling, which also relied on First Amendment free expression rights of the church.

1985 Memos By SCOTUS Nominee Roberts On School Prayer

The National Archives last week announced that it would release today 5,383 pages from the records of the Staff Member Office Files of John G. Roberts Files, 1982-1986. Included in these papers (which have been released but are not available online) are two memos on school prayer written by Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts when he Associate Counsel to the President in the Reagan White House. Bloomberg News reports on much of the text of the memos. The Washington Post quotes other portions of them.

On June 4, 1985, the day the decision was released, Roberts sent White House Counsel Fred Fielding a memo analyzing the Supreme Court decision in Wallace v. Jaffree . He pointed out that the Court found that lawmakers who sponsored Alabama's moment of silence law had an express purpose to return voluntary prayer to schools. Roberts wrote: "The statute was thus struck down because of the peculiarities of the particular legislative history, not because of any inherent constitutional flaw in moment-of-silence statutes." Roberts also wrote that despite the Court's conclusion, "careful analysis shows at least a majority of the justices would vote to uphold a simple moment of silence statute." He went on to speculate that "the outcome of this case shifted in the writing." He said he thought Justice William Rehnquist had started out writing a majority opinion to uphold the law, but his argument went too far for Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Lewis Powell, both of whom ended up filing concurring opinions. Roberts continued: "Thus, as I see it, Rehnquist took a tenuous five-person majority and ... ended up losing the majority."

In a November 21, 1985 memo to White House Counsel Fred Fielding, Roberts suggested that the White House could expect the Justice Department to support a Constitutional amendment permitting silent prayer in public schools. He wrote: "I would have no objection to such a position statement. Many who do not support prayer in school support a 'moment of silence'." Analyzing the Supreme Court's holding in Wallace v. Jaffree, he said that its conclusion "that the Constitution prohibits such a moment of silent reflection --or even 'silent prayer''-- seems indefensible.''

LA School Case Settled After Parents Move

Last Friday the Associated Press reported that the ACLU of Louisiana and the Bossier Parish School District settled a claim that the school district had violated the Establishment Clause by permitting a teacher-led prayer group during recess, and various Christmas activities. The suit, brought on behalf of parents of two school children, claimed that the children were sent to computer lab while others practices Christmas carols with religious themes. Also the school displayed a nativity scene in the library during the holiday season. On April 4, the U.S. District Court partially dismissed the case because the family had moved. The school's position was defended by the Alliance Defense Fund, whose attorney, Mike Johnson, said: "Stockwell Place Elementary School's display of a creche was unquestionably lawful and legitimate, and its allowance for equal access for Christian student organizations is in perfect compliance with the First Amendment." (ADF announcement of settlement.)

Justice Sunday II Report

Many newspapers this morning are reporting on the Justice Sunday II program that originated last night in Nashville and was broadcast to churches around the country. Sponsored by prominent Christian conservatives, Justice Sunday II was titled "God Save the United States and This Honorable Court". (See prior posting.) Typical of reports on the program is this article from the Chicago Tribune . Most political attention focused on remarks by Congressman Tom DeLay who said that the Constitution assigned Congress the power to make laws, but "this fact ... has been forgotten in recent decades by too many members of the American judiciary, including, most notably, the United States Supreme Court itself." A more interesting proposal was the one by the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, William Donohue. He urged a constitutional amendment to provide that "unless a judicial vote is unanimous, you cannot overturn a law created by Congress."

Also, a dozen bloggers entered live postings from the Justice Sunday II rally. Links to them are on the Justice Sunday II website.

Haaretz: "Beware the Zealots"

In Israel, religious opposition to the government's decision to disengage from the Gaza Strip continues to pose intriguing issues of the relationship of religion to government. Today's Haaretz carries an interesting editorial reflecting on the impact of religious zealotry in a democracy. The setting for the comments is today's Jewish holiday of the Ninth of Av which commemorates, among other tragedies, the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem the year 70 C.E. The editorial is worth quoting at length:

"The destruction of the Second Temple was not only the ruin of the physical Temple in Jerusalem, it was also the ruin of the national home. The actual destruction was carried out by foreigners, but it was the blind zealots, saturated with a megalomaniacal hunger for power, who presumed to lead the tiny Jewish state on their own stubborn path, turning their back on political reality and speaking in the name of a single principle: religion, according to their interpretation."

"The zealotry of those who destroyed the Temple and the national home sprouted from the fundamentalist flower beds of the religious hierarchy, which cloaked itself in eternal power in the name of a jealous God, deaf to the world and refusing all compromise. In the struggle over the image and existence of that Jewish state, the zealots bested the yearners for peace. The former chose suicide, slaughter and exile, and sealed the fate of the entire Jewish people. Much to our horror, the third Jewish commonwealth now faces a challenge which draws its inspiration from similar sources."

'The location is identical, and the balance of power between the state and the international community is similar. Once again, the fragile sovereignty of a state fighting for survival can be perceived. Once again, a stubborn, irresponsible, megalomaniacal group of zealous rabbis has arisen, kicking indiscriminately at the sovereignty of the state and at the chances for a normal, just life within the family of nations, and threatening to bring down the house if it does not get its way."

Bishop Harry Jackson Profiled In Post

Yesterday's Washington Post profiled Bishop Harry Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Lanham, Maryland, who has launched a campaign to get 1 million people to sign his "Black Contract With America". The document calls for a return to "biblically based values," such as preserving a traditional definition of marriage and eliminating abortion. Only a few thousand people have signed on so far. However Jackson is increasingly active with the Republican Party and was among a number of Black clergy recently hosted at the White House to discuss African Debt Relief. Jackson has been speaking around the country in support of Republican-backed judicial nominees, and he will participate in today's national broadcast titled Justice Sunday II sponsored by the Family Research Council in support of conservative judicial nominees.

New SSRN Article on Free Exercise

St. John's Law School Prof. Nelson Tebbe, has posted a new article on SSRN: Free Exercise and the Problem of Symmetry. The article will appear in the Hastings Law Journal.

Pakistani Court Imposes Life Sentence for Blasphemy

The Gulf Times reported yesterday that a Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced writer Younus Shaik to life in prison for writing an allegedly blasphemous book about the Qur’an and the Islamic justice system. The book, titled "Satanic Cleric" described the "four Imams" as Jews, public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa said. The four Imams were the third generation interpreters of the religion after the Prophet Muhammad, and their views on law are widely respected by Muslims, he said. Shaik was also found to have committed blasphemy by saying that stoning to death for adultery was not mentioned in the Qur’an. Pakistani newspapers said Shaik was a hotel manager who had little academic background and no religious education.

Fraternity Claims Religious Infringement In Refusal To Admit Its Return To Campus

Bloomberg.com reports today on a law suit filed against the University of Delaware by Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity. The Fraternity was banned from Delaware's campus 5 years ago for violating the University's code of conduct. Now, in a case filed in the Delaware Chancery Court, the Jewish fraternity claims that its free exercise of religion, as well as its free speech rights, are being violated by not allowing the group back on campus. The University claims that the fraternity will not be reinstated until at least 2009 because last October it held an illegal meeting seeking to recolonize. Richard McKaig, director of the Center for the Study of the College Fraternity, said he knows of no other case where a fraternity has attempted to be readmitted by claiming religious discrimination.

Ad On Gaza Raises Issues of Appropriate Religious Argumentation

A full page ad in today's New York Times titled An Open Letter to the President of the United States raises interesting questions about the appropriate use of religious argumentation in the Public Square. The letter, from a group of ultra-Orthodox Jews who follow the Lubavitcher Rebbe's teachings, asks President Bush to halt Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza Disengagement Plan. Here are some excerpts from the letter:

"By endorsing such actions, Mr. President, you foster the violation of two of the seven universal Noahide laws; causing the death of innocent human beings, and enabling the theft of personal property. Will your own conscience be clear Mr. President? Can you be at peace with yourself once the disastrous and irremediable effects of these actions become manifest? Remember! This is no less than a declaration of war against G-d and his holy Bible.... America's greatness and its might derive from the proud belief that "In G-d we trust." Now is the time to listen to Him and honor His eternal bond.... G-d has chosen you, Mr. President, to bring peace to the world, and to triumph over the forces of evil. He will bless your efforts only if you make manifest your concern for the welfare of His people and their Holy Land."

IN Court Holds Parents Liable For Child's Medical Bill Despite Religious Objections

In Schmidt v. Mutual Hospital Services, Inc., decided Wednesday, an Indiana state Court of Appeals held that parents are liable for over $171,000 in medical incurred in the treatment of their daughter in the neonatal intensive care unit, even though the parents had informed the hospital that they had religious objections to the medical treatment and would not pay for treatment given without their consent. The court found that the baby's initial treatment was emergency in nature, and that the parents were therefore liable for its costs. But that the hospital continued after the emergency passed to treat the infant over the parents' religious objections and without obtaining a court order. Nevertheless, the court held that the parents' failure to demand the child's release after the initial emergency, and their failure to themselves seek a court order to stop the treatment, operated as tacit consent to the treatment. Their religious objections did not negate their obligation to provide and pay for necessary medical care for their child. A concurring opinion argued that all the care the infant received was emergency care for which the parents were responsible.

Teacher's Claim On Use of Historical/ Religious Materials In Class Settled

The San Jose Mercury News reports today on the settlement of a much-publicized lawsuit by fifth-grade teacher Stephen J. Williams against Cupertino Union School District officials. Willams claimed that his First Amendment rights were infringed when the school principal and other officials limited his classroom use of historical documents with religious references in them. (See prior posting.) The settlement agreement, filed in federal court in San Jose on Thursday, restates the district's existing policy that "allows teachers, no matter what their religious beliefs, to use appropriate educational material, (including supplemental handouts of historical significance) during instructional time that has religious content -- so long as it is objective, age appropriate, and in compliance with curriculum." A website set up by Stevens Creek parents gives more information on the controversy.

New Tack Attempted in WI Priest Sexual Abuse Claim

The Associated Press reports today on a suit filed in Wisconsin that is attempting to get around the state's restrictive legal doctrines that prevent most suits against the Church for sexual abuse of children by priests. (See prior related posting.) The plaintiff, a man who claims he was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic priest for six years, has sued the Milwaukee Archdiocese for fraud.

Challenge To Christian Prayers At Commission Meetings in GA

The ACLU of Georgia announced yesterday that it had filed suit on behalf of 5 residents against the Cobb County Commission and Planning Commission over the kinds of prayers that are recited before Commission meetings. The suit seeks to keep the prayers free of references to specific religious denominations. An ACLU staff attorney said: “Cobb County is a diverse county and citizens of all religions and non-religion should be welcome at government meetings. If the County chooses to begin its meetings with a legislative prayer, it should not show a bias for one particular faith over another.” The lawsuit claims that the overwhelming majority of prayers at the meetings are given by Christian clergy and are made in the name of Jesus Christ.

NY Case Challenges School Rental By Churches

The Washington Times yesterday reported on an hearing scheduled for today in a New York Federal district court in Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York. The case involves a challenge to religious groups' renting of space in public school buildings on week ends for religious services, on the same basis that school buildings are available to non-religious organizations. In 2002, the court issued a preliminary injunction allowing about 24 churches and a mix of other religious groups to meet in 1,197 schools in the city's school system. That decision was affirmed by the Second Circuit (full opinion). Now Bronx Household is now asking the district court to make the order permanent. But the city wants the the temporary injunction rescinded. Lisa Grumet, senior counsel for New York City's law department, says: "Given the diverse backgrounds of the children attending the city's schools, the city is concerned about having any public school identified with a particular religion or congregation."

Proposal Looming To Permit Religious Hiring Criteria In Head Start Programs

In a release yesterday, the Anti Defamation League says that when the bill reauthorizing the Head Start Program comes before the House of Representatives in the near future, an amendment is likely to be offered which, for the first time, would permit Head Start programs run by religious organizations to engage in religious discrimination in hiring and firing of teachers and staff. The House Education and the Workforce Committee on May 18 approved the Head Start reauthorization legislation (H.R. 2123, the School Readiness Act) by a bipartisan, unanimous vote, with the existing anti-discrimination provisions in it. However Committee Chairman John Boehner, with the support of the administration, has announced that he intends to offer an amendment on the House floor to repeal the anti-discrimination provisions so that religious criteria could be used for staffing.

Gaza Withdrawal Poses Religious Crisis For Orthodox Jews

BBC News reports today that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to withdraw from Gaza has created spiritual turmoil in the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel. Most authorities on Jewish law say that land in the Biblical boundaries of Israel can only be given up if doing so would guarantee the preservation of Jewish lives.

Former Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira has issuing a ruling declaring the disengagement forbidden under Jewish law He said: "This prohibition applies to every Jew, soldier and civilian alike. An order to take part in the evacuation of Jews from their homes in order to give over the land to non-Jews is an order that is against the religion of our holy Torah and forbidden to fulfill. Anyone who violates this prohibition will not be exonerated, not in this world and not in the world to come." Not all Orthodox rabbis agree. US Yeshiva University Chancellor, Dr. Norman Lamm said he and other rabbis "felt very strongly that actual disobedience on the part of the Israeli forces would constitute a desecration of God's name that would haunt [the Jewish people] for generations".

Wisconsin Buddhists Face Opposition to Zoning Approvals

The newest clash before zoning authorities over obtaining permission to build religious facilities is about to take place in rural Caledonia, Wisconsin. Yesterday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on attempts by the Wat Lao Wattanaram Buddhist Temple of Wisconsin to obtain clearance to build a temple, meditation building, fellowship hall, Buddha building and nun facility on a 13 acre site that had been designated for a conservation subdivision and single-family homes. Residents say housing would contribute to the town's tax base, while the religious facility will not. The Buddhists who would use the temple are mainly immigrants from Laos or first-generation Laotian-Americans. They say the land is ideal because of its location.

CT Court Upholds Church In Dispute With Parent Body Over Pastor, Property

In Annual Conf. of Unison Freewill Baptist Church v. St. Luke's Unison Freewill Baptist Church, 2005 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1771 (Conn. Super. Ct., July 20, 2005), The Annual Conference of the Unison Free Will Baptist Church, its presiding bishop and various current and former members of St. Luke's Unison Freewill Baptist Church sued to remove Rev. Jesse Polite, Pastor of St. Luke's, and to gain control of the church property. Plaintiffs allege that various defendants have refused to recognize the authority of the Annual Conference to remove Rev. Polite. The majority of the congregation supported Rev. Polite and had voted to withdraw from the Annual Conference. The court decided that the church here had a congregational, and not an hierarchical, structure, and the the articles and by-laws of the church do not support the authority of the Annual Conference to suspend the pastor or determine disputes about the ownership of church property.

Fourth Circuit Upholds Pledge

[UPDATED AND CORRECTED] The Associated Press reports today that the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a Virginia law that requires public schools to lead a daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. It rejected a claim by the father of public school children that the pledge violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Instead, the court said, the pledge is a patriotic exercise. The full opinion in Myers v. Loudon County Public Schools is available online.

Plaintiff's claim was unusual. As the District Court described it: "Myers appears to claim that the pledge violates the Establishment Clause because it creates and supports the state sponsored religion of "God and Country." Myers' claim, as it relates to the pledge statute's impermissible state establishment of religion, is unique. Indeed, previous claims brought challenging the constitutionality of the pledge of allegiance as violative of the Establishment Clause focused on Congress' insertion of the phrase "under God" as establishing monotheism as a state sanctioned religion.... In contrast, Myers objects to the Pledge in its entirety, not simply the phrase "under God." 251 F. Supp.2d 1262 (DC EDVa., 2003) [LEXIS link].

Kansas Evolution Standards Move Ahead

The Wichitaw, Kansas Eagle reports today that the Kansas State Board of Education yesterday approved by a 6-4 vote the latest draft of science standards that include greater criticism of evolution and the origins of life. The board will now send the standard to be reviewed by outside academics., and will vote on final approval in October. (See prior posting.)

Magistrate Recommends No Injunction In VT Religious Plate Case

The Rutland, Vermont Herald reports today that a federal magistrate has recommended against issuing an injunction to require the state Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a West Rutland man a vanity license plate with a biblical message, "JN36TN", on it. (See earlier posting.) However the magistrate refused to dismiss the case entirely. Attorneys have until next week to decide if they will file any objections to the report. Then it will be up to a U.S. District Court judge to decide whether to adopt the magistrate's recommendations. The Magistrate wrote: "Although the statute appears to be viewpoint neutral on its face, Byrne asserts that some religious references have been permitted by the DMV. If that is the case, Byrne may have a viable equal protection claim, as distinctions between religious speech would not reasonable."

Impact of Bush's Statement on Intelligent Design

Yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle carried an interesting story on the impact of President Bush's recent statement encouraging the teaching of Intelligent Design. It suggests that this has encouraged proponents to do more to challenge biology teachers, such as presenting teachers with a list known as "Ten Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher".

Nonprofits Urge Cautious Reforms on Noncash Contributions

BNA's Daily Tax Report yesterday [subscription required] reported that a group of 280 nonprofit organizations (including religious ones) signed onto a July 20 letter urging Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) to adopt recommendations on the donation of noncash gifts contained in a June Independent Sector report.

The letter recommended continuing to base noncash donations on fair market value--as well as strengthening the definition of a qualified appraisal and appraiser, as recommended by the Independent Sector report. (Full text of Independent Sector report.)

The letter from the nonprofits also urged adoption of several other recommendations from the report, including expansion of penalties on taxpayers who grossly inflate valuations, imposing penalties on appraisers who make such valuations and mandating of electronic filing of Forms 8282, Donee Information Return, and 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions. It continued: "As you are considering reforms relating to the donation of noncash gifts, we urge you to move with caution," the letter said, "given the importance of such donations to many kinds of charities." [Thanks to Steven Sholk for this information.]

MA Legislature To Consider Church Financial And Property Disclosures

According to today's Boston Globe, this week the Massachusetts legislature will be considering a bill that would require all religious organizations to file annual financial reports and a list of real estate holdings with the attorney general's charities division. The legislation is opposed by the Catholic Church and major mainline Protestant denominations. The bill is discussed further at The Bostonist.

Arkansas Fears Results of Increased Immunization Exemptions

The Arkansas News Bureau yesterday published an interesting, and perhaps troubling, follow-up to an Establishment Clause victory in Arkansas over school immunization policy. Before 2003, parents or legal guardians seeking a waiver to keep a child from receiving immunization could do so only on religious or medical grounds. To satisfy the religious exception, parents had to be members of a recognized church. In 2002, in Boone v. Boozman, 217 F. Sup. 2d 938 [LEXIS link], the federal district court found the singling out in the statute of recognized churches for preferential treatment violated the establishment and free exercises clauses of the First Amendment.

In response to this, the Arkansas legislature joined 16 other states to add "philosophical reasons" to the statute as a basis for excusal from immunization. That has led to an almost doubling of the number of children who have been granted immunization waivers in Arkansas. During the 2004-05 school year, 100 students obtained medical waivers, 366 obtained a waiver on religious grounds, and 731 obtained a waiver for philosophical reasons. Most of the children are concentrated in six counties in the northwest part of the state.

State health officials now fear that this will lead to an outbreak of preventable diseases in the state. "We will see an outbreak," said Dr. Sandra Snow, medical director for the state Department of Health's Communicable Disease/Immunization Program. "The question is how many years is it going to be before it hits."

Compromise on Sikh Headwear In French Schools

A controversial French law enacted last year that banned conspicuous religious symbols and attire in public schools has posed problems for Sikh students, as well as others. Now, however, there appears to be some compromise on the part of the French government. The Panthic Weekly reported yesterday that lobbying by the Sikh community in France and around the European Union, as well as behind-the-scenes pressure by the government of India, has led to permission for Sikh students to wear "patkas"-- which are headscarfs or under-turbans. The Sikh community in France hopes this is a first step toward allowing students to wear the dastar (turban).

Russert Quizzes Cuomo and Kmiec on Roberts and Religion

Today on Meet the Press, Tim Russert interviewed former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and Law Professor (former Dean of Catholic University Law School) Douglas Kmiec on whether Supreme Court nominee John Roberts should be questioned in confirmation hearings about his religious beliefs. The full transcript of the interview is available online.

San Diego City Atty. Claims Proposed Lease Violates Establishment Clause

In San Diego, California, the San Diego Concourse is a city-owned mid-sized convention facility used primarily for local meetings and community events located next to City Hall. It has been losing money. So the city began looking for someone new to lease and operate the Community Concourse, including its Golden Hall. In June, the city's real estate division negotiated a lease agreement with a nonprofit business subsidiary of the North Park Apostolic Church. The lease would allow the church to rent the hall from its subsidiary, which would also lease the space to community groups. Today the San Diego Union Tribune reports that City Attorney Michael Aguirre believes that the lease violates the Establishment Clause. The lease for the concourse would require the city to "convert public property to a full-time church," he said.

College Resists Unionization On Religious Grounds; Hospitals Back It

The UAW is seeking to represent teachers at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The college, Presbyterian in its origin, is arguing to the National Labor Relations Board that allowing its faculty to unionize would force the school to put federal labor law above its religious mission. In January, 2005, in Carroll College, Inc. v. International Union UAW, the NLRB's Regional Director ruled against the College. The case was then appealed to the full NLRB. On Thursday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that a West Coast chain of Seventh Day Adventist hospitals has now intervened in the case by filing a brief with the NLRB in support of the college's religious freedom arguments.

New Saudi King Pledges Quran As His Constitution

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia's King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz died and was succeeded by his half-brother, Abdullah. (Washington Post report.) Yesterday, Ain Al-Yaqeen reported on King Abdullah's speech to the citizens of Saudi Arabia. In his address, the country's new ruler made clear the important place of Islam in the nation. He said: "I promise you to take the holy Quran as a Constitution and Islam as a way of life." He added: "I will dedicate my time for enhancing the pillars of justice and the service of all citizens without any discrimination." King Abdullah is taking the title that his predecessor King Fahd had adopted: "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques".

Hasba Act In Pakistan Province Declared Unconstitutional In Part

An earlier posting discussed the Hasba Act passed by the legislature in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. The act creates the office of the muhtasib, a religious ombudsman whose function is to assure that people strictly follow Islamic rules. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf submitted the Act to Pakistan's Supreme Court for an advisory opinion on its constitutionality. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled several clauses in the Act unconstitutional, and said that the province's governor may not assent to the bill in its present form. The Court's reasons for its decision will follow. A report yesterday by Dawn gave these details:

"The sections declared ultra vires by the court relate to powers and duties of the mohtasib under which he has to protect and watch the Islamic values and etiquettes and can monitor adherence to moral values of Islam at public places, discourage extravagance, particularly at the time of marriages and other family functions, follow the code of Islam in giving dowry, monitor adherence of Islamic values, its respect and regard at the times of iftar and taraveeh, discourage entertainment shows and business transactions at the times of Eid and Friday prayers around mosques, etc." The Provincial government will apparently now consider an amended bill that takes account of the Court's decision.

Bush Allies Differ With Him On Intelligent Design

While President Bush earlier this week said he favored teaching the theory of Intelligent Design along with evolution (see prior posting), some of his political allies are distancing themselves from that position.

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported: "At the White House, where intelligent design has been discussed in a weekly Bible study group, Mr. Bush's science adviser, John H. Marburger 3rd, sought to play down the president's remarks.... [He] said in a telephone interview that "evolution is the cornerstone of modern biology" and "intelligent design is not a scientific concept." Mr. Marburger also said that Mr. Bush's remarks should be interpreted to mean that the president believes that intelligent design should be discussed as part of the "social context" in science classes." (See Jeremy Leaming's discussion of this on The Wall of Separation blog.)

Then on Thursday, Reuters reported that Pennsylvania Republican Senator Rick Santorum also largely rejected President Bush's position. Santorum is quoted as saying: "As far as intelligent design is concerned, I really don't believe it has risen to the level of a scientific theory at this point that we would want to teach it alongside of evolution." But he added: "What we should be teaching are the problems and holes -- and I think there are legitimate problems and holes -- in the theory of evolution. What we need to do is to present those fairly, from a scientific point of view."

MI County Outlaws False Halal and Kosher Labeling

According to a report in today's Detroit Free Press, Wayne County, Michigan commissioners have voted to make it a misdemeanor for restaurant owners, butchers and other food sellers to falsely claim their meat conforms to Islamic or Jewish religious laws. The vote follows several complaints that sellers had falsely claimed their meat was certified as halal, or conforming to Islamic regulations. Violators could face a fine of $500 and up to 90 days in jail. Statewide statute in Michigan already prohibit this kind of false representation, but the new law will permit county health inspectors to enforce the prohibitions.

In 2002, in Commack Self Serv v. Weiss, the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals struck down on Establishment Clause grounds a New York statute that prohibited the sale of any food product represented to be "kosher" that has not been prepared "in accordance with the orthodox Hebrew religious requirements .

Some School Prayer Claims Dismissed On Procedural Grounds

In Dobrich v. Walls, (D.Del., Aug. 2, 2005), a Delaware federal district court dismissed on procedural grounds a number of claims challenging an extensive pattern of school sponsored prayer at functions, events and School Board meetings in the Indian River School District. However some of the plaintiffs' claims were permitted to go forward. Some, but not all of the claims were dismissed on standing grounds. Defendants' statute of limitations defense was rejected. Claims against school board members in their individual capacities were dismissed on a finding that they had immunity from liability because their actions were legislative in nature.

EU Objects To Turkey's Draft Law On Property of Minority Religions

Reuters reported yesterday that the European Commission has complained to Turkey that the country's pending legislation dealing with property rights of non-Muslim religious communities does not yet satisfy EU standards for religious freedom. The head of Turkey's Orthodox Church in Istanbul has long complained about bureaucratic regulations that prevent it from freely using property it owns. Turkey plans to address the EU concerns once its Parliament meets again in October.

Malaysia Charged With Persecuting Sky Kingdom Sect

Human Rights Watch yesterday strongly criticized Malaysian authorities for their prosecution of the Sky Kingdom religious sect. Sky Kingdom was founded by Ayah Pin, who claims to be the reincarnation of the holy figures of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. The community was one of 22 declared as “deviant sects of Islam” by the Malaysian government last month. Officials from the land office, state religious affairs department, and the police have demolished its religious structures—including a giant teapot. 58 members of the sect who have been arrested will appear today before a Shariah court on charges of practicing a “deviant religion”. They do not have legal defense counsel and have not had the opportunity to prepare a defense.

US Muslim Academics Criticize Anti-Terror Fatwa

Last week, a group of American Muslim scholars issued a fatwa condemning terrorism. (See prior posting.) Now, according to an Associated Press report yesterday, the fatwa is being sharply criticized by some American Muslim academics. They argue that the legal ruling was largely aimed at improving the public image of Islam and not at starting an honest discussion about Islamic teaching. These critics say that the fatwa was so broad it was meaningless, and that it should have denounced specific terrorist groups including al-Qaida. Also Emory University Professor Abdullahi An-Na'im, who specializes in Islamic law and human rights, said the American fatwa was misleading in taking the position that it applies equally when an Islamic country, like Iraq, is under occupation by a non-Muslim country.

Roberts Religion Clause Briefs Analyzed

Prof. Joseph M. Knippenberg at the Ashbrook Center has now analyzed all of the religion clause briefs that Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts participated in writing prior to his becoming a Circuit Court Judge. In his lengthy posting, John Roberts on Church and State: A Speculative Reconstruction, Knippenberg reviews the arguments set out in a number of the briefs and concludes:

"A careful review of the publicly available evidence suggests that John Roberts has put his name to positions solidly within the mainstream of judicial interpretation of the First Amendment religion clauses. As seems to be the case in many other areas of law, he would be careful to stay within the proper bounds of judicial competence and be respectful of the role and judgments of the political branches. Above all, he would apparently continue and perhaps extend somewhat the Court's tendency to look favorably on attempts to accommodate religious expression, not necessarily as a matter of judicially-enforced constitutional right, but rather as a matter of what might be called legislative grace. This deference and "judicial restraint" would require a rethinking of the Court's Establishment Clause jurisprudence, continuing the move away from a mechanical application of the Lemon test and perhaps an abandonment of Sandra Day O'Connor's "endorsement" test, in favor of a return to a focus on the traditional elements of establishment ("force and funds")."

NY Mayoral Hopefuls Court Religious Communities

New York's Jewish Week today carries a long article on the candidates in New York City's upcoming Sept. 13 mayoral primary. With 4 Democrats and 2 Republicans in the races, the article reports on how candidates are appealing to the interests of New York's religious communities. Two of the Democrats are supporting faith-based initiatives, despite broader opposition to them in the Democratic Party. Democrat Anthony Weiner proposes to appoint a "nonprofit czar" to find housing for large, religious families, work to keep Catholic schools open and devote more police to protecting yeshivas. Council Speaker Gifford Miller, also a Democratic candidate, surrounded himself with Jewish social-service leaders at a kosher food pantry to highlight the nearly $12 million allocated by City Council for the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. Not to be outdone, incumbent mayor and Republican candidate Michael Bloomberg's campaign spokesman said that no one trumps the mayor in helping the faithful help the needy.

GA Prison System Changes Religious Headgear Policy

Under pressure of a lawsuit by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Georgia prison system has changed its regulations prohibiting the wearing of religious headgear. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports today that new Georgia Department of Corrections policy will allow inmates to wear religious headgear if it is made of single-ply material, is white and is no larger than a standard cap. That policy allows Jewish prisoner Ralph Benning to wear his yarmulke. The Becket Fund's press release indicated that it is still negotiating to get Benning access to kosher meals.

New Compromises on Religion In Draft Iraqi Constitution

The New York Times reports today that the drafters of Iraq's new Constitution have made new compromises in the document's treatment of the role of Islam in the nation. The new draft provides that Islam will be "a main source of legislation" instead of "the major source". Islam will be the official religion and the government will protect Iraq's holy shrines and religious heritage. However no political authority will be granted to Islamic religious leaders.

Prisoner Required To Show Religious Beliefs Are Sincere

In Hawkins v. Mills, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15594 (WD Va., Aug. 1, 2005), a Magistrate Judge recommended dismissing a claim by a Virginia prisoner that his religious rights were infringed by denying him access to the prison's Common Fare diet. The judge upheld as reasonable the state's insistence that the prisoner show that his beliefs were sincere by adhering to the key tenets of his faith for at least nine months. Hawkins originally claimed to be a Siddha Yogi practitioner, but when informed that the Common Fare diet was not a requirement of that faith, the inmate claimed he was a member of the Nation of Islam. The Court also found that the doctrine of qualified immunity protected defendant from plaintiff's claim for monetary damages.

Kazakhstan's Religious Registration Law Has Sloppy Drafting

Forum 18 today discusses at length Kazakhstan's recently enacted law requiring the registration of religious organizations with the government. Legal experts examining the law in detail have found contradictory provisions relating to procedures for registration.

Commandments and Aphorism For Utah Park Spawn Litigation

On Monday, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and sent back to the district court for further development of the facts a suit involving the placement of a Ten Commandments monument in a park in Pleasant Grove, Utah. In Society of Separationists v. Pleasant Grove City, the Court said that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent Ten Commandments rulings now require the development of a myriad facts to determine whether plaintiffs can proceed.

Meanwhile, today the Salt Lake Tribune reports that followers of the Summum faith, founded in 1975 and based on Egyptian customs, have filed suit in federal district court in Utah to get its "Seven Aphorisms" posted in the Pleasant Grove park along with the Ten Commandments monument. They believe that these were handed down to Moses on a second trip down from Mt. Sinai as a "higher law" for the select few who could understand them.

AF Academy General's Promotion Delayed By Senate

The Associated Press reported yesterday that in considering a list of 21 Air Force Generals nominated to receive a second star, the U.S. Senate dropped the name of Brig. Gen. Johnny Weida, the second in command at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Weida, a born-again Christian, has been criticized for speeches and memos that proselytized Academy cadets. A Senate Armed Services Committee spokesman said Weida is still under investigation and the committee generally does not act on nominees in that situation. The Air Force inspector general's office cleared Weida in June of six allegations, finding he did nothing wrong. These included his June 2003 guidance to cadets telling them they are "accountable first to your God", and his urging cadets and staff to pray. One additional charge remains under review.

DeLay To Appear On "Justice Sunday II"

The New York Times yesterday reported that House of Representatives Republican Majority Leader Tom Delay has agreed to appear in an August 14 telecast sponsored by prominent Christian conservatives. Titled "Justice Sunday II", the program will call attention to what its organizers say is the Supreme Court's hostility to Christianity and traditional families. It will be broadcast to churches and Christian television stations and distributed as a video. This is part of a broader campaign to mobilize church members to support the nomination of Judge John Roberts for the U.S. Supreme Court and to focus on battles over the courts. In a televised prayer on Tuesday for Judge Roberts's confirmation, televangelist Pat Robertson asked his viewers to pray: "Take control, Lord! We ask for additional vacancies on the court." Democrats suggest that DeLay's appearance will hurt the Roberts nomination in the Senate.

Prisoner's Claim On Forced Cutting of Beard Continues

In two recently issued opinions, an Ohio federal district court denied a preliminary injunction, but permitted a claim for other relief to proceed, in the case of a prison inmate who claims that his free exercise of religion rights were violated when he was forced, in violation of his beliefs as a convert to Judaism, to cut his beard to comply with prison grooming policies. He had previously grown his beard for almost four years without disciplinary action. The cases are Smith v. Wilkinson, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15564 (SD Ohio, July 27, 2005), and Smith v. Wilkinson, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15567 (SD Ohio, July 29, 2005).

In Israel's Knesset: Discussion of Civil Marriage and of El Al

The Israeli papers are carrying reports of two interesting developments in the Knesset (Israel's Parliament). Haaretz today reports that Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar told the Knesset's Committee for the Advancement of Women and the State Control Committee that he is willing to support civil marriage in Israel for non-Jews and people who have no religion. Currently marriage is controlled by each religious community. The proposal is designed to solve the problem of 300,000 non-Jewish immigrants in Israel who have no religious affiliation. It would not apply to marriages between Jews and non-Jews.

In an unrelated matter, the Jerusalem Post reported yesterday that the Knesset's religious lobby has requested an urgent meeting with officials of El Al, Israel's national airline to protest two recent instances in which El Al flights took off on the Sabbath. The incidents have caused a storm of protest in the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community. El Al has apologized.

Conference on Religious Freedom In Central Asia

Last week the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) held a briefing on "U.S. Strategic Dilemmas in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan." Relief Web yesterday reported on the conference which focused on how the United States can support democracy and human rights, including religious freedom, in Central Asia without compromising its strategic military interests. The full text of all the presentations at the conference are available online.

President Supports Teaching of Intelligent Design In Schools

In a rather startling interview yesterday with reporters from a group of Texas newspapers, President George W. Bush supported the teaching of "intelligent design" along with evolution in the public schools. The Associated Press reports that Bush, while declining to talk about his personal views on the origins of life, said that students should learn both theories. He said: “I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought. You’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes.”

Ohio Restoration Project Seeks To Recruit Evangelical Voters

In a long story today, the Cleveland Jewish News reports on the fundamentalist Christian Ohio Restoration Project. ORP plans to recruit 2000 "Patriot Pastors" to get out the evangelical vote in Ohio's May 2006 primary. ORP leader Rev. Russell Johnson says of the upcoming primary: "This is a battle between the forces of righteousness and the hordes of hell." The paper reports that there will be Patriot Pastor policy briefings in eight Ohio cities. ORP seeks to have pastors host voter-registration drives in their churches, and distribute voter guides from the Christian Coalition and the Center for Moral Clarity to "clarify the positions of various candidates, who at times, would like to remain vague and noncommittal." As reported in a previous posting, the ORP's planned Ohio for Jesus rally will be promoted through radio ads featuring Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican candidate for governor supported by ORP.

Zoners' Motion To Dismiss RLUIPA Claim By Jewish School Loses

Last week, the federal district court for the Southern District of New York handed down another opinion in the long-running battle between the Orthodox Jewish Westchester Day School and Mamorenek, New York zoning authorities. The school had been denied a special permit that would allow it to construct a new school building and renovate existing buildings on its campus. In Westchester Day School v. Village of Mamorenek, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15380 (SDNY, July 27, 2005), the court refused to dismiss the school's RLUIPA claim challenging the denial. It found that material issues of fact remained that needed to be determined at trial on whether there had been a complete denial of the school's permit application and, even if the denial was not a complete one, whether it nonetheless constituted a substantial burden on WDS's religious exercise. The court, however, upheld the dismissal of the school's religious discrimination claim under 42 USC Sec. 1983 on the ground that the complaint did not allege religious discrimination in the denial.

Churches Again Challenge MN Concealed-Carry Law

Two churches have again filed suit challenging Minnesota's new law permitting the carrying of concealed weapons, according to a story in today's Twin Cities Pioneer Press. The law prevents churches from banning firearms in their parking lots and allows them to ban firearms inside the church only if they post detailed signs or verbally tell each person of the ban at the door. The churches contend that "religious institutions should have the right to control their own property and to be able to worship without firearms." This is the second round of litigation. An earlier 2003 statute was successfully challenged by churches on the ground that the Minnesota Constitution requires laws only deal with a single subject and the concealed carry law was part of a law that also dealt with ice-fishing houses. (See earlier posting.) In 2005, the legislature re-enacted the concealed carry permit law alone, with minor changes in the kind of notification that was required to prohibit guns inside (see Duluth News Tribune story.)

Wiccan's Claim Under Victoria Religious Tolerance Act Rejected As Frivolous

Yesterday the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of the Australian state of Victoria decided Fletcher v. Salvation Army and CMC Australasia, strongly rejecting as frivolous a claim under Victoria's controversial Racial and Religious Tolerance Act. (See prior posting.) Prisoner Robin Fletcher, a Wiccan, claimed that a course offered by the Salvation Army caused hatred of Wiccans, occultists and pagans.

In a strongly worded opinion, Judge Stuart Morris said: "In recent months there has been community concern that Victoria's Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 impairs legitimate free speech about racial and religious matters. This is not the case. The Act is reserved for extreme circumstances: such as where a person engages in conduct that inflames others to hate a person or persons because they adhere to an idea or practice or are of a particular race. The present proceedings, in which a person who says he practises a religion that involves nature worship and witchcraft has made a claim that certain Christian teaching amounts to religious vilification, come nowhere near the mark. In short, the claim is preposterous."

Today's Victoria Herald Sun reports on reactions to the decision.

Study Criticizes Public School Bible Curriculum

The New York Times today reports on criticism of The Bible in History and Literature, the curriculum that the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools has successfully gotten adopted in public schools around the country. (See prior posting.) A study released today (full text) by the Texas Freedom Network, concludes (Executive Summary): "The problems detailed by this report-- a blatant sectarian bias, distortions of history and science, numerous factual errors, poor sourcing-- reveal a curriculum that is clearly inappropriate for the 1,000 public schools the NCBCPS claims use its materials. Indeed, such schools would do far better by considering other Bible literacy curricula for what could be an enriching part of their students' learning experience." Among other things, TFN's Report says the curriculum promotes creationism and claims there are findings by NASA to support two Biblical stories of the sun standing still.

Italy's New Anti-Terror Law Bans Burqa

The Australian reports on Sunday on new anti-terrorism legislation just enacted by Italy's Parliament. In addition to giving police greater powers to trace, interrogate, and detain suspects, it doubles the existing penalty for wearing in public a burqa or chador -- traditional robes worn by Muslim women to cover their faces. It similarly prohibits the wearing in public of the kind of face mask often worn by terrorists, the balaclava. The new law imposes a penalty of up to 2 years in jail and a fine of 2000 Euros for anyone convicted of covering his or her face in public.

US Objects To Proposed Conversion Law In Sri Lanka

Newspapers in Sri Lanka reported Sunday that U.S. Secretary of State Christina Rocca has complained to Sri Lanka's ambassador to the United States about possible legislation in Sri Lanka that would restrict religious conversions. The proposal would outlaw "converting persons unethically, subjecting a person to punishment for refusal to convert, accosting people with a view to converting and holding funds for such activities." The U.S. official told Ambassador Bernard Gunatilleke that religion cannot be legislated. She also reminded the ambassador that his government had previously assured the US ambassador in Sri Lanka, Jeffrey Lunstead, that this bill would not be enacted.

RLUIPA and Religious Services In Homes and Offices

An article in yesterday's Miami Herald focuses on conflicts in cities around the country when religious services are regularly held in homes and office buildings. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act gives houses of worship a good deal of leverage against zoning officials. Some neighbors think they are wrongly being portrayed as anti-religious when they object to the noise and parking problems involved.

Warden Claims Illegal Religious Endorsement By Ohio Corrections Dept.

In Rose v. Wilkinson, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15235 (ND Ohio, July 27, 2005), a prison warden who was demoted sued Reginald Wilkinson, Director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, alleging that he used his position to promote Christianity in violation of the Establishment Clause. Plaintiff claims that Wilkinson led employees and inmates in Christian prayers during training and other secular state events, held mandatory employee training in Christian churches, ordered wardens to promote the Promise Keepers program, a Christian proselytizing event, in Ohio prisons, and required employees to support a religion-based offender reentry plan. As a result of these claimed violations, Plaintiff argues that he was wrongfully demoted. One of the charges in his letter of discipline was that he ordered inmates to watch the Promise Keepers broadcast.

In this decision, the court dismissed without prejudice the claims regarding the warden's discipline, demotion and fallback rights because those claims, which were also made in his Ohio Court of Claims case, are better left to that court. The federal district court retained jurisdiction over Plaintiff's claim for prospective injunctive and declaratory relief.

Foreign Aid Bill Urges Attention To Iraq's Minority Christians

On July 20, the U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to the Senate the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, H.R. 2601 (full text). The Associated Baptist Press on Friday reported on the Sense of Congress provisions added in Sec. 1056 of the Bill that ask the Bush administration to work with the United States Agency for International Development to use funding for welfare, education and resettlement of Iraq’s Christian minority. The provision was introduced by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), the only Chaldo-Assyrian Christian in Congress. The bill also urges "all relevant departments and agencies ...[to] pay special attention to the welfare of ChaldoAssyrians and other indigenous Christians in Iraq in order to prevent a mass exodus that would detrimentally affect the preservation of diversity in the Middle East and the promotion of general tolerance for others."

Soledad Cross Referendum Passes With Votes To Spare

Last Tuesday was the referendum in San Diego on Proposition A to authorize City Council to donate the Soledad Cross site to the Federal government as a veterans' memorial. (See earlier posting.) The Thomas More Law Center reported that the referendum passed with over 75% of the voters favoring it, well above the 2/3 vote that a court earlier had said would probably be required. However, a number of legal battles still remain over the fate of the site.

Earp Nominated For Another EEOC Term

On Friday, President Bush nominated Naomi Churchill Earp for a 5-year term on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This is a renomination of Ms. Earp whose current term on the Commission expired July 1. Among the anti-discrimination laws enforced by the EEOC are provisions prohibiting religious discrimination in employment.

Two Recent Prisoner Religious Freedom Cases-- One Succeeds On Hair Policy

Last Friday, the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Warsoldier v. Woodford upheld a claim challenging the hair grooming policy in a California minimum security prison. The suit was brought under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act by Billy Warsoldier and sought a preliminary injunction. A Cahuilla Native American, Warsoldier's religious faith teaches that hair embodies the knowledge a person acquires during a lifetime and it may be cut only upon the death of a close relative. The court held that the California Department of Corrections failed to demonstrate that its grooming policy is the least restrictive means necessary to ensure prison safety and security. The decision was discussed in a widely published AP story on Friday.

In Carson v. Williams, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15106 (ND Fla., July 27, 2005), a federal magistrate judge wrote an opinion giving a prisoner detailed instructions on how to amend his vague and incomplete complaint if he wishes to adequately allege violations of his religious freedom by jail officials.

10th Circuit Rejects Establishment Clause Challenge To University Art Exhibit

Yesterday, in O'Connor v. Washburn University, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to a statue that Washburn University included in its annual outdoor sculpture exhibit. A Catholic professor and a Catholic student sued the municipal university claiming that the sculpture, called Holier Than Thou, conveyed an anti-Catholic message. It depicted a Roman Catholic bishop with a contorted facial expression and a miter that some have interpreted as a stylized representation of a phallus.

Even though the exhibit is now over, the court permitted the plaintiffs' claim for nominal damages to proceed. Finding plaintiffs had standing to sue, the court proceeded to the merits and rejected plaintiffs' arguments. It found that the University's purpose in selecting the statute was campus beautification, not anti-Catholic bias. It also found that in the context of this kind of art exhibit, a reasonable observer would not conclude that the University was endorsing an anti-Catholic message.

Some Federal Dollars OK'd For California Mission Repair

The Monterey Herald reports today that California Sen. Dianne Feinstein has secured a $300,000 grant for the California Missions Foundation to help repair Mission San Miguel which has been closed since a 2003 earthquake. The money comes from Save America's Treasures, an Interior Department program to restore historically significant buildings. The action is subject to review by the Justice Department to ensure that it doesn't raise church-state problems. A pending lawsuit challenging Congress' earlier grants to California Missions on Establishment Clause grounds is pending, and Congress has failed to approve other funding for the 21 struggling Missions. (See earlier postings 1, 2.)

Vatican Ambivalent on Catholic Abortion Foes' Suggested Boycott of Vaccines

A report in today's Tidings News details a Vatican study on vaccines requested by a Florida pro-life group. The group's claims threaten to create tensions between state health authorities and Catholics over required vaccination for children. Children of God for Life says that the human cell lines used to cultivate the production of a number of vaccines used today come from tissue derived from two human fetuses voluntarily aborted in 1964 and 1970. In June 2003 the group asked the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for a formal statement on the church's position concerning the morality of using vaccines associated with human tissue coming from abortions.

The Vatican's study of the issue has now been released, and it does not squarely support the Florida group's contentions. While affirming the right of parents to refuse "morally objectionable" vaccines for their children, it urges substantial caution before a parent does so. Explaining the ruling, Msgr. Jacques Suaudeau, a Vatican spokesman, said: "If it is a question of protecting the whole population and avoiding death and malformation in others, that is more important" than abstaining from vaccines developed from abortions that might have occurred decades ago. The Vatican's ruling held that doctors and parents who use the vaccines for health reasons are carrying out "a form of very remote ... material cooperation," reflecting a "very mild" immoral act.

UPDATE: The full text of the letter sent by the Vatican to the Children of God for Life is now available online. Also the Children of God for Life claims that the Catholic New Service's report on the matter (the one linked above) contained misquotations, inaccuracies and omitted important information. A different report on the developments was published by Catholic World News.

CO Court Dismisses Pastor's Defamation Claim

Yesterday in Seefried v. Hummel, a Colorado Court of Appeals dismissed claims of defamation and interference with business relationships growing out of statements made at a meeting convened by a church and its board for church members to discuss whether plaintiff should be terminated as the church's pastor. The court found that this case came within the well-accepted doctrine that the First Amendment precludes a court from exercising jurisdiction over claims concerning a religious institution's activities on matters of religious doctrine or authority.

Publisher May Not Intervene In Intelligent Design Litigation

There has been another procedural development in the Pennsylvania federal district court litigation challenging the Dover Area School District's promotion of intelligent design in school classrooms. (See prior postings 1 , 2 , 3). On Wednesday, the court refused to permit the Foundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE), publisher of the leading book on Intelligent Design, to intervene in the case. FTE claimed that if the court found Intelligent Design Theory to be "religious", it would lose substantial sales of its book, Pandas and People, and of a new book it is about to publish, The Design of Life: Discovering Signs of Intelligence in Biological Systems. In Kitzmiller v. Dover Area Sch. Dist., the court held that the motion to intervene was untimely, that the publisher's interest in the case was insufficient to permit intervention, and at any rate its interests were being adequately represented in the litigation.

US Muslim Scholars Issue Anti-Terrorism Fatwa

For the first time, 18 American Muslim legal scholars have issued a formal fatwa condemning terrorism. A press release by the Muslim Public Affairs Council reports on yesterday's press conference at which the Fiqh Council of North America announced the ruling. Over 135 US Muslim organizations, mosques and leaders have endorsed the fatwa. Nihad Awad, Executive Director of the Council on American Islamic Relations said, "United, we can confront the terrorists and frustrate their goal of sparking an apocalyptic war between faiths and civilizations."

The full text of the Fatwa includes the following condemnation: "Islam strictly condemns religious extremism and the use of violence against innocent lives. There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism. Targeting civilians' life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram - prohibited in Islam - and those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not 'martyrs'."

It goes on to state: "In the light of the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah we clearly and strongly state: 1. All acts of terrorism targeting civilians are haram (forbidden) in Islam. 2. It is haram for a Muslim to cooperate with any individual or group that is involved in any act of terrorism or violence. 3. It is the civic and religious duty of Muslims to cooperate with law enforcement authorities to protect the lives of all civilians." [Interestingly, in an apparent transcription error, a purported full text posted by the Muslim Public Affairs Council omits this paragraph.]

A report by the Associated Press yesterday on the fatwa points out that unlike a similar ruling issued last week by British Muslim scholars, American scholars did not exclude suicide bombings in "occupied" countries like Iraq and Israel from the ruling's general condemnation. (See prior posting.)

US Representative Discusses Bombing Holy Sites In Response To Nuclear Terrorism

On a Florida radio talk show last week, US House of Representatives member Tom Tancredo, a Republican from Colorado and a member of the House International Relations Committee, angered Muslims by answering a rather hypothetical question. A press release issued by the Muslim Public Affairs Council reports the following colloquy:

After being asked what the U.S. should do in response to a nuclear attack on this country by "extremist fundamentalist Muslims." Tancredo said one possible response would be to "take out their holy sites." When Campbell asked if the congressman was "talking about bombing Mecca," Tancredo replied, "Yeah."

Muslim groups have called on Tancredo to apologize. The Denver Post reported yesterday that Tancredo said: "I'm not suggesting we do it. I have nothing to apologize for in that respect. I'm simply saying to have a good discussion on this issue, a thorough discussion on what is perhaps the most serious kind of possible situation we could face as a civilization, that you cannot simply take things off the table because they are uncomfortable to talk about."

AF Academy Faculty Ask For Truce To Solve Religion Problem

This week's Chronicle of Higher Education carries an interesting article by Prof. Barry S. Fagin, a faculty member at the US Air Force Academy and president of its Faculty Forum. Titled Faith and Tolerance at the Air Force Academy, he focuses on the pressures felt by faculty who find themselves in the middle of the political hurricane created by charges of religious intolerance at the Academy. (Here are some prior postings on the situation: 1 , 2 ). Prof. Fagin pleads: "Resident faculty members of the academy, civilian and military, have the experience, ability, and will to solve this problem. But to do so, we need both sides to step away from Defcon 4 alert. Sheath the bayonets, put the legal briefs back in the drawer. Give us a climate where those of us responsible for shaping young minds are as free as possible."

Commentary On Governmental Definition of "True Religion"

Rick Garnett has an interesting posting on Prawfs Blog titled Government Statements About "True Religion". He focuses on Tony Blair's statements after the recent London bombings that the "true voice of Islam" has to be mobilized. He raises the difficult question of whether it is appropriate for government to declare what the true interpretation of a religion is. Of course, President Bush made very similar statements about the peaceful nature of true Islam after 9-11.

It seems to me that one of the core functions of the Establishment Clause-- one that is often overlooked-- is to prevent government from redefining or watering down religious doctrine. That was Roger Williams' position in 1644 when he wrote in The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution, For Cause of Conscience: "When they have opened a gap in the hedge of or wall of separation between the garden of the church, and the wilderness of the world, God hath ever broken down the wall itself. . . and made his garden a wilderness, as at this day. And that therefore if He will ever please to restore His garden and paradise again, it must of necessity be walled in peculiarly unto Himself from the world." -- By the way, this, and not Jefferson's Letter, is the origin of the famous "wall of separation" metaphor.

Government attempts to redefine religion in numerous subtle ways. One of my favorite examples is the seemingly innocuous issuance by the US Postal Service of the Hanukkah Stamp. This is a statement by government that the minor Jewish holiday of Hanukkah is really Judaism's important celebration. It is the one that deserves recognition. Never mind, for example, about Rosh Hashanah where there is a stronger tradition of sending greeting cards through the mail.

Those who see the Establishment Clause as a threat to religion should consider the prospect of a prayer book that has been written by Congress or a state legislature after hearings that result in all the political compromise found in most legislation.