Problems In Israeli Rabbinical Court System Highlighted By Israeli Press

In Israel, today's Knesset approval of the controversial Professor Daniel Friedmann as the next justice minister is expected to help break the logjam over appointments of new judges to Israel's rabbinic courts. The Jerusalem Post reported yesterday that the Council for Rabbinic Judge Appointments has been deadlocked for over three years. 13 vacancies need to be filled, and a meeting of the Council is scheduled for March 29 to make the appointments. The picture is a complex one. Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) members control the Council by a 5-4 majority. Among them, there is disagreement on the allocation of power between Ashkenazi and Sephardi factions. The minority on the Council represent the modern-Orthodox movement, including one modern Orthodox feminist-- Sharon Shenhav -- who says that the appointment of Friedmann -- a professional who is not politically aligned-- could weaken Haredi control of the Council. Past justice ministers have used their power to convene or dismiss the Council to attempt to get compromise agreements on appointments.

Meanwhile, Haaretz reports on the problems being caused for a divorced woman by the Israeli Supreme Rabbinical Court's delays in deciding on the validity of the religious divorce-- get -- granted to her by her husband. The husband granted his wife a get, conditioned on their continuing to resolve other issues that had already been raised in the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court. Subsequently the wife filed a petition in the civil Family Court relating to her children's education, saying that this was never a part of the original rabbinical court proceedings, so there was no problem in raising it elsewhere. The Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court however said that the filing with the Family Court raised doubts about the validity of the original get. Meanwhile, relying on the get, the wife had already remarried and had a child with her new husband. If the get is cancelled, she will be seen as legally still married to her first husband-- and the child will be considered a "mamzer" who, under Jewish religious law, is limited in who he or she can marry.

South Carolina County Moves To Moment of Silence

In Oconee County, South Carolina, in hope of ending "the County being used as a Ping Pong ball", county council voted 4-1 on Tuesday to open meetings with a moment of silence instead of a prayer. For two years the ACLU has been complaining about Council opening its sessions with a sectarian prayer, explicitly invoking Jesus. (See prior posting.) Yesterday's Anderson (SC) Independent Mail reported on the council session at which the decision was made. Before the official opening of the session, three individuals in attendance offered competing prayers, one asking for moral courage to govern rightly in Jesus' name, one offered in the name of the Constitution of the United States and the rule of law the council swore to uphold, and a third-- interrupted by the start of the Council session-- described as a humanist and atheist prayer. An Alliance Defense Fund attorney at the Council session called the decision to move to a moment of silence cowardly and unfortunate. ADF had volunteered its services to represent the County if its practice of opening prayers was challenged in court.

Scientology Foe Arrested After Fleeing Misdemeanor Conviction

Keith Henson, a Silicon Valley engineer and long-time opponent of Scientology was arrested Friday in Arizona and faces extradition to California to face sentencing for a misdemeanor conviction handed down in 2001. CNet News yesterday reported that Henson's conviction under California Penal Code Sec. 422.6 for threatening to interfere with another person's free exercise of religion stemmed largely from an online posting on a Usenet bulletin board in which he joked about sending a nuclear "Tom Cruise" missile against a Scientology compound. He also had picketed Scientology buildings. After his conviction in 2001, Henson fled to Canada and has remained a fugitive until now. (Slashdot, Feb. 5).

Court Refuses Delay In Challenge To Faith-Based Prison Program

In Moeller v. Bradford County, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7965 (MD PA, Feb. 5, 2007), a Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge rejected defendant's motion to stay proceedings in a case challenging the constitutionality of federal, state and local funding of a faith-based vocational training program in the Bradford County (PA) Correctional Facility. (See prior posting.) Defendant had argued that the case should not move ahead until the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in the pending case of Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation. (See prior posting.) The court wrote: "It is speculative as to if any decision issued by the Supreme Court in Hein would in fact affect our case and the standing decision this Court has rendered, and it is speculative as to when the Supreme Court will issue its decision."

Canadian Court Permits Forced Blood Transfusion For Minor

In Canada, the Manitoba Court of Appeal has unanimously decided that lower courts may reject a minor's desire to not have a blood transfusion if doing so will likely save the individual's life. The Winnipeg Free Press yesterday reported that the appellate court's opinion, written by Justice Freda Steel, held that while forcing treatment may violate a child's rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights, those rights can be over-ruled to save the child’s life. She said: “Given the ... concerns of sanctity of life and protection of children, the infringement is not contrary to the principles of fundamental justice. The state does have a continuing interest in the welfare of a child."

California Court Orders Wisconisn Diocese To Release Records

In Los Angeles, California, Tuesday a Superior Court judge ordered the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to make public 3,000 pages of insurance records and hundreds of pages from files on a priest who had been convicted of molestation before he was transferred to California. Yesterday's Washington Post reported that the court rejected claims by the Archdiocese that release of the records would violate third-party privacy rights, the First Amendment and the Archdiocese's confidential business rights. The court's holding only applies to priests, like Siegfried Widera, who have died and in whose cases no protective order has been issued.

Turkey Celebrates 70th Anniversary of Secularism

In Turkey, this week marks the 70th anniversary of the Constitutional recognition of secularism as a basic foundation of the country's legal system. Todays Zaman reports on a message from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan praising secularism as a foundation of Turkey's democracy. Sabah reports on a message from Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer similarly marking the anniversary.

DC Circuit Prevents Chaplain's Discharge From Navy Pending Decision On Appeal

Chaplain Gordon J. Klingenschmitt is in the midst of a dispute with the U.S. Navy over chaplains' right to offer sectarian prayer at public events, and over his right to wear his Navy uniform at a press conference challenging the Navy policy. As reported previously, Klingenschmitt's tenure as chaplain was set to expire on January 31, as the Navy refused to accept his new endorsement as a chaplain from the Full Gospel Church. Klingenschmitt went to court and the U.S. federal district court for the District of Columbia refused to enjoin his discharge. Klingenschmitt then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals. In Klingenschmitt v. Winter, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 2339 (DC Cir., Jan. 31, 2007), the Court of Appeals, without ruling on the merits, enjoined the military from effectuating Klingenschmitt's separation from the Navy while the court is considering his appeal. Friday's Army Times reported on the decision. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Liberal Muslim Group Will Help Fund British School's Battle Against Niqab

As previously reported, in Britain's Buckinghamshire County a public school has banned a 12-year old Muslim girl from wearing her niqab (full face veil) to classes. However, the County's Council refused to pay for the school's litigation costs to defend its decision after it was sued by the girl's father. Now the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford (Meco)-- a liberal Muslim group-- has offered to contribute toward the school's legal costs. This Is London yesterday reported that Meco's chairman, Taj Hargey, said in his letter to the school: "We trust that you will continue to resist any move to implement this kind of minority ethnic obsession, which has no foundation whatsoever in Islamic law.... It is high time that moderate progressive Muslims tackle extremists on their own theological grounds."

Free Exercise Challenge To Hospital Closing Rejected By NY Court

St. Joseph Hospital of Cheektowaga, NY v Novello, (NY S.Ct., Erie Co., Feb. 2, 2007), a New York state trial court rejected a lengthy series of challenges by a Catholic hospital challenging the recommendation by the state's Commission on Healthcare Facilities in the 21st Century that the hospital be closed. Among otter claims, the court rejected the hospital's state and federal free exercise of religion claim. Plaintiffs had claimed unequal treatment in the amount of time they were given to meet with the Commission and that the closing prevented the hospital from practicing its religious ministry.

Texas HPV Immunization Order Said To Create Complex Religious Discrimination Issue

On Feb. 2, Texas Governor Rick Perry issued Executive Order RP65 , ordering the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules requiring the girls to receive the new vaccine against the Human Papillomavirus before they enter the sixth grade. (Press release). The vaccine protects girls against later contracting a sexually-transmitted disease that leads to cervical cancer. The Executive Order, however, requires that parents be able to submit an affidavit of conscientious objection if they object on conscientious or religious grounds to their daughter receiving the immunization. Indeed it calls for making affidavits available online.

Perry used the Executive Order route in order to bypass opposition in the state legislature by conservatives and parents' rights groups. (Associated Press.) Responding to critics of his order, the Governor in a February 5 statement said, "Providing the HPV vaccine doesn't promote sexual promiscuity anymore than providing the Hepatitis B vaccine promotes drug use. If the medical community developed a vaccine for lung cancer, would the same critics oppose it claiming it would encourage smoking?"

Yesterday, the Catholic group "Children of God for Life" (CGL) issued a release setting out a rather elaborate-- and somewhat dubious-- legal theory as to why the conscientious objection provisions in Governor Perry's Executive Order will create problems. In 2006, the Texas Attorney General ruled in Opinion No. GA-0420 that private schools-- including religious schools-- not accepting state funds did not have to honor immunization exemptions granted by the state-- e.g. exemptions for those who object to chicken pox vaccines that may have been made from fetal cell lines. According to CGL executive director, Debi Vinnedge, refusing to recognize exemptions for vaccines from fetal cells, but recognizing the exemption for HPV vaccine, could amount to illegal religious discrimination by private religious schools. They may not be able to favor one religion's objections over another's.

State Department Website Features Muslim Congressman

Yesterday, the U.S. State Department's USINFO website carried an interview with Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. Saying that his constituents elected him because of his values, he continued: "The values that underlie Islam ... are shared by all faith traditions. Belief in charity, in giving to others in need and facing adversity, the belief in equality and justice -- there is no religion, including Islam, that has a monopoly on these ideas.... In fact, they're not just compatible with democracy; they drive us toward a society in which there is consultation, in which there is input and approval from the populace." Emphasizing his point, Ellison, the article pointed out, quoted by memory a Quranic verse, Surah 49:13, that says humanity was "created you from a single pair, male and female, and fashioned you into tribes and nations, so that you would know each other ... and not hate and despise each other. Surely the most honored among you is the one who is most righteous and just."

Paraguay Bishop Suspended After He Announces As Presidential Candidate

Zenit earlier this week reported that Paraguay's Bishop Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez has been suspended from exercising his ministry after he announced that he intends to run for President of the country in its 2008 elections. The Vatican said it regretted the decision, but it is required by Canon Law. Section 285 (Par. 3) provides: "Clerics are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power." Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Bishops, imposed "the punishment of suspension 'a divinis' in keeping with Canon 1333, Paragraph 1" of the Code of Canon Law. In addition, Paraguay's Constitution (Art. 235(1)(5)) does not permit ministers or clergymen of any religion to hold the post of President. Mendez had already resigned from his active ministry in order to run. (Catholic News Service, Jan. 12).

USCIRF Focuses on China; U.S. Asylum Seekers

Last week (January 31), the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom held hearings on The Many Faces of China’s Repression: Human Rights, Religious Freedom, and U.S. Diplomacy in China. The text of the testimony of five of the witnesses is available online. Baptist Press yesterday, reporting on the hearings, said that the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics in China are driving China to change its regulation of religion to appear more tolerant of Christians to the international community.

On Feb. 2, USCIRF released Report on Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal, making recommendations on the protection and detention of asylum seekers.

UPDATE: The Associated Press reported on Feb. 8 that Sen. Joseph Lieberman and Rep. Chris Smith plan to introduce legislation to require the Department of Homeland Security to carry out the recommendations on treatment of asylum seekers recommended in USCIRF's report.

Michigan Court Dismisses Challenge To Islamic Association Election

In Syed v. Islamic Association of Michigan, (MI Ct. App., Feb. 1, 2007), a Michigan state court of appeals dismissed a challenge by a member of an Islamic religious-charitable-educational organization to the procedures used to replace the organization's trustees who had resigned. Relying on the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, the court held that it lacked jurisdiction because determining whether the election process was improper would also require determining whether the organization violated it own policies and procedures. the trial court had ruled in favor of the defendants on different grounds.

Foreigners Arrested By Saudi Religious Police For Partying Are Convicted

Both the Guardian and the Associated Press yesterday report that a Saudi Arabian judge has sentenced 20 foreigners to several months in prison and to lashes for arranging, attending and videoing a party where they drank alcohol and where men and women danced together. They were among 433 foreigners -- over half women-- who were arrested by Saudi religious police for arranging an "impudent" party held in Jiddah . Since May, the power of the religious police has been limited to arresting suspects. Previously they sometimes had held people incommunicado and took part in ensuing investigations.

Many New Scholarly Articles Of Interest Appear

From SSRN:

Kenneth C. Halcom, Taxing God, (Jan. 30, 2007).

Lee J. Strang, The (Re)Turn to History in Religion Clause Law and Scholarship, (Notre Dame Law Review, Vol. 81, No. 5, p. 1697, 2006).

Gerard V. Bradley, The Blaine Amendment of 1876: Harbinger of Secularism, (Jan. 30, 2007).

Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr., If Judges Were Angels: Religious Equality, Free Exercise, and the (Underappreciated) Merits of Smith, (January 2007, Washington & Lee Legal Studies Paper No. 2007-06).

Assaf Likhovski, The Time Has Not Yet Come to Repair the World in the Kingdom of God: Israeli Lawyers and the Failed Jewish Legal Revolution of 1948, (October 2006).

Lyman Johnson, Faith and Faithfulness in Corporate Theory, (Catholic University Law Review, Vol. 56, 2007 ).

From SmartCILP:

Tom Boellstorff, Domesticating Islam: Sexuality, Gender, and the Limits of Pluralism. (Reviewing John R. Bowen, Islam, Law, and Equality in Indonesia: An Anthropology of Public Reasoning; and Michael G. Peletz, Islamic Modern: Religious Courts and Cultural Politics in Malaysia) 31 Law & Social Inquiry 1035-1053 (2006).

Jason C.T. Chuah, Islamic Principles Governing International Trade Financing Instruments: A Study of the Morabaha in English Law, 27 Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business 137-170 (2006).

Heather Cook, Service Before Self? Evangelicals Flying High at the U.S. Air Force Academy, 36 Journal of Law & Education 1-32 (2007).

Chet K.W. Pager, The Establishment of Evolution: Public Courts and Public Classrooms, 81 Tulane Law Review 17-65 (2006).

Andrew White, Breathing New Life Into the Contemporary Islamic Waqf: What Reforms Can Figh Regarding Awqaf Adopt From the Common Law of Trusts Without Violating Shari-ah?, 41 Real Property Probate and Trust Journal 497-527 (2006).

Symposium: La Conception Americaine de la Laicite, University of Paris II (Pantheon-Assas)--Paris, France, January 28, 2005. Articles by Daniel O. Conkle, Christopher L. Eisgruber, Frederick Mark Gedicks, Carol J. Greenhouse, Douglas Laycock, Michael J. Perry and Elisabeth Zoller, 13 Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 417-594 (2006).

Egyptian Government Opposes Muslim Brotherhood

Front Page Magazine today carries a long story on the growing tensions between the Egyptian government and the Muslim Brotherhood. The growing political challenge by the group is seen by President Mubarak's government as a threat to Egypt's security. Egypt's religious establishment is upset with the group because its demonstrations have made it appear that Al-Azhar University is exporting terrorism. Muslim Brotherhood leaders say the group will create a civil political party with an Islamic source of authority. (See prior related posting.)

Bill Would Add "Under God" To Texas Flag Pledge

Probably few people know that the state of Texas has a formal Pledge of Allegiance to the state flag of Texas. Texas Government Code, Sec. 3100.101 provides that it is: "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible." Last week, Texas state Representative Debbie Riddle introduced HB 1034 into the Texas Legislature to add a reference to God in the pledge. If enacted, the new pledge would be: "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God and indivisible." WFFA-TV yesterday, reporting on the bill, quoted Rep. Riddle: "Our nation and our state was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics, Judeo-Christian values and I think it's a good thing to recognize that."

New Jersey Muslim Corrections Officer Claims Religious Discrimination

In Passiac County, New Jersey, Tamir Kozrosh, a Muslim provisional corrections officer says that he was fired by the sheriff's office for complaining about ongoing religious harassment. The Passiac County Herald News reports that Kozrosh says he was continually passed over for promotion. He claims he was reprimanded for refusing to work overtime during Ramadan, was yelled at for requesting that his food not be cooked on a grill covered with pork and was subjected to constant Muslim jokes, such as the posting of a doctored poster of his face superimposed on a poster of Osama bin Laden. A sheriff's office spokesman said that Kozrosh participated in making some of the doctored posters. The sheriff's department says he was fired primarily because he refused to cooperate in an internal affairs investigation of a complaint from a woman about an anonymous sexually explicit phone call from someone using a nickname said to have been used by Kozrosh.

Germany's Merkel Will Not Wear Head Scarf In Saudi Arabia

The UPI reported Friday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel who is beginning a tour of four Arab countries-- including Saudi Arabia-- has plans to appear there in public without wearing a headscarf . Saudi law says that women may only appear in public if they wear a headscarf and a long black garment. However the requirement is no longer enforced against foreign visitors. Merkel will follow the precedent set by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who appeared in Riyadh wearing a pants suit and without her hair covered.

City Says Prohibition On Animal Sacrifice Is Not "Land Use" Law

In Euless, Texas, the city has moved to dismiss a RLUIPA suit brought against it by a Santeria priest who who was refused a permit to sacrifice animals at his home in a religious ceremony. (See prior posting.) The city ordinance permits the slaughter of chickens so long as they are used for food. But it would not permit the slaughtering of goats that Santeria priest, Jose Merced, and his followers were preparing to do. According to yesterday's Dallas Morning News, the city claims that its law prohibiting the slaughtering of animals anywhere in the city is a health and safety law, not a "land use" regulation covered by RLUIPA. RLUIPA, Sec. 8(5), defines a "land use regulation" as "a zoning or landmarking law, or the application of such a law, that limits or restricts a claimant's use or development of land (including a structure affixed to land)".

Settlement Will Allow Religious Charities In Florida State Employee Campaign

The Alliance Defense Fund announced on Friday that a settlement has been reached in Association of Faith-Based Organizations v. Lewis, a case in which faith-based charities were seeking the right to participate in the Florida State Employees’ Charitable Campaign. (See prior posting.) Under the agreement, Florida officials have adopted new regulations that allow religious charities to be included in the voluntary payroll deduction program, even when those charities use religious criteria in their hiring of staff members.

Vietnam Issues Religious Policy White Paper

Voice of America reported on Friday that Vietnam has released its first government white paper on religious policy. The report reflects the Hanoi government's new more friendly approach to religion. Nguyen The Doanh, the vice chairman of the Government Committee on Religious Affairs, says that the government is making it easier for new religions to be recognized. However, despite new national policies, some provincial authorities still ban certain religious practices and interfere with Protestant leaders.

Proposal To Reinforce French Secularism

In France, the High Council on Integration is recommending a new charter to further define separation of church and state in the activities of government employees and in the provision of government services. The National Secular Society reports today that the need for new charter was emphasized by recent incidents in which male doctors in hospital maternity wards are subject to insults and physical attacks by Muslim husbands who object to doctors’ touching their wives in the course of medical examination or treatment. The new charter on secularism would be distributed at public events, including ceremonies at which immigrants are granted French citizenship.

6th Circuit: First Amendment Protects Expletive Using "God"

In Leonard v. Robinson, (6th Cir., Feb. 2, 2007), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment to defendant and sent back for trial a civil rights claim growing out of an arrest of a local resident Thomas Leonard who got into a heated argument at a Montrose (MI) Township Board meeting. In a 2-1 decision, the majority held that “no reasonable officer would have found probable cause to arrest Leonard solely for uttering “God damn” while addressing the township board because the First Amendment protects this sort of uninhibited debate”. In the course of its opinion, the majority held unconstitutional Michigan Compiled Laws § 750.103 that makes it a misdemeanor for “Any person who has arrived at the age of discretion … [to] profanely curse or damn or swear by the name of God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost….” The majority said that the section “if not facially invalid, is radically limited by the First Amendment”. The majority also found constitutional problems with the potential application of three other Michigan statutes to Leonard’s speech.

Judge Sutton, dissenting in part, said: “While I am prepared to accept the majority’s judgment that the application of all four statutes to Leonard violated his First Amendment rights, I am not prepared to accept its judgment that the Supreme Court, our court or the Michigan courts had clearly established the unconstitutionality of all four of these duly enacted laws before this incident.” The Associated Press today reported on the decision. [Thanks to How Appealing for the lead.]

British Jewish Community Divided On Gay Adoption Rules

In Britain, organizations in the Jewish community differ somewhat in the extent of their support for the Catholic Church’s strong opposition to new Sexual Orientation Regulations that will require religiously sponsored social service agencies treat gay and lesbian couples equally with heterosexual couples in placing children for adoption. (See prior posting.) On Thursday, TotallyJewish.com reported that Britain’s Federation of Synagogues called for strong support of the positions of the Catholic Church and the Church of England in opposition to the new requirements. However the Jewish Community’s leading adoption agency says it does not discriminate against any group or part of the community. Meanwhile, Britain’s Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, has issued an ambiguous press release, saying that Jewish law is committed to marriage and family, but at the same time the Jewish community is committed to compassion and sensitivity. The Board of Deputies of British Jews also issued an ambivalent statement.

Religious Discrimination Claim Filed Against California Athletic Club

In Hollister, California earlier this week, a family has filed a religious discrimination lawsuit seeking $4000 in damages against a local athletic club. The Hollister Free Lance reported on Thursday that Andrew and Christine Martinez have sued because Rovella’s Athletic Club refused to permit their son to participate in its competitive swim program after the Martinez’ crossed out several religious references in the club’s handbook before they signed an acceptance of it. The Martinez family is Catholic, but does not feel that a swim club is the proper place for their son to be exposed to religion.

Recent Prisoner Religious Freedom Cases

In Smithback v. Texas, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6033 (ND TX, Jan. 29, 2007), a Texas inmate brought a religious freedom challenge to a rule of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice that prohibited prisoners from placing extraneous drawings or illustrations on envelopes they mail out from prison. Plaintiff claims that prison authorities refused to let him send a letter to his family in an envelope containing a handwritten drawing of a large cross surrounded by the words "Jesus" and "LORD!" A federal Magistrate Judge held that this restriction did not substantially burden plaintiff’s free exercise of religion, and that prison authorities had a legitimate penological interest in imposing the restriction.

In Heleva v. Kramer, (3d Cir., Jan. 27, 2007), the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a Pennsylvania district court’s dismissal of a prisoner’s free exercise of religion claim. The Court of Appeals held that the lower court erred in finding that books sent to him by his sister were not "religious". The lower court’s distinction between religious books and spiritual, self-help books was found to be untenable. Also the court held that the fact the prisoner’s claim is based on the deprivation of personal property—refusal to give him the books sent to him—does not prevent him from asserting a free exercise claim.

In Kay v. Friel, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6391 (D UT, Jan. 26, 2007), and in the related case of Kay v. Bemis, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6392 (D UT, Jan 25, 2007), a Utah federal district court rejected a Wiccan prisoner’ free exercise, establishment clause and RLUIPA claims growing out of allegations that officials at two different prisons variously prevented him from possessing items needed for religious practices, including tarot cards, a Dungeons and Dragons game, and a metal religious symbol, and prevented him from purchasing incense and certain books. The court held that plaintiff’s complaint contains no allegations of facts showing that the items he desires are necessary to the practice of the Wicca religion, nor does it describe the nature of the religious ritual he was prevented from conducting, nor—in the Bemis case-- does he make clear his religious affiliation. The state had a reasonable explanation for the lack of Wiccan religious services. Finally, the relief he sought under RLUIPA is unavailable to him.

In Young v. Beard, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6950 (ED PA, Jan. 31, 2007), a Pennsylvania federal district judge, after a non-jury trial, rejected a prisoner’s claim that prison policy permitting religious musical bands—and permitting them to rehearse more frequently than secular bands—violates the establishment clause and equal protection clause.

In Nelson v. Miller, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6580 (SD IL, Jan. 30, 2007), an Illinois federal Magistrate Judge dismissed various claims by a Catholic prisoner that prison authorities failed to furnish him a diet that complies with his religious beliefs. The court found that plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies as to one free exercise claim. His claim relating to denial of a vegan diet are moot because he is now receiving such a diet, and there is no reasonable expectation that it will be withdrawn. The court found that the 11th Amendment barred plaintiff’s damage claim under RLUIPA against defendant in his official capacity.

In Thompson v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95008 (MD PA, filed Feb. 1, 2007), a Pennsylvania federal district court adopted recommendations of a federal magistrate judge rejecting claims of a Rastafarian prisoner who had been refused an exemption from a prison’s hair-length requirements. Officials found that his religious beliefs were not sincere. The court found that two of the defendants had in fact supported plaintiff’s claim for an exemption, so no cause of action lies against them.

NFL Says Church Super Bowl Parties Violate Copyright Laws

Yesterday's Indianapolis Star reports that the NFL is telling churches-- even through demand letters sent by overnight express-- that they will be violating the copyright laws if they host Super Bowl parties on large-screen TV's. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said: "We have contracts with our (TV) networks to provide free over-the-air television for people at home. The network economics are based on television ratings and at-home viewing. Out-of-home viewing is not measured by Nielsen." The only exception is for sports bars and other businesses that show televised sports as a part of their everyday operations. The NFL also objected to plans by Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis to show a video at their Super Bowl party of the Christian testimonies of Colts coach Tony Dungy and Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith. The NFL says that for groups other than businesses that regularly show televised sports events, gatherings are limited to use of one TV set no larger than 55 inches, no admission fees may be charged (even to pay for refreshments), no "message" may be promoted in connection with the game, and "Super Bowl" may not be used in the publicity. Christianity Today's Weblog has more on this story.

UPDATE: Compliments of a posting on Religionlaw by Marty Lederman, here are the copyright law sections involved. 17 USC 106(5) gives the copyright owner the "exclusive right" to "publicly display" an audiovisual work. However there is an exemption in 17 USC 110(5)(B) for displays that comply with certain limitations.

Senate Chaplain Cancels Out After Finding Conference's Political Slant

The Associated Press reports today that U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black has cancelled a speech he was scheduled to give at next month's Reclaiming America for Christ Conference after conference promoters put his photo-- along with those of prominent conservatives-- on a brochure promoting the event. Black told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he was concerned that his appearance would violate the Senate chaplain's "historic tradition of being nonpolitical, nonpartisan, nonsectarian". Black is the first military chaplain, the first African-American and the first Seventh-day Adventist to hold the post of Senate Chaplain. When Black agreed to appear at the Reclaiming America for Christ Conference, he was not aware of the conservative slant of the event or who the other speakers would be. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the link, and to Steven Sholk for a heads up on the story.]

President Speaks At National Prayer Breakfast

Yesterday President Bush spoke at the 55th National Prayer Breakfast held at the Hilton Washington Hotel. In his remarks (full text) he said: "Prayer changes hearts. Prayer changes lives. And prayer makes us a more compassionate and giving people. When we pray we surrender our will to the Almighty, and open ourselves up to His priorities and His touch. His call to love our neighbors as we would like to be loved ourselves is something that we hear when we pray. And we answer that call by reaching out to feed the hungry and clothe the poor and aid the widow and the orphan."

This year's breakfast attracted 3600 guests from 170 nations and all 50 states and U.S. territories. The keynote speaker was Dr. Frances Collins, Director of the Human Genome Project. Among the other speakers was U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre (D-NC) who hosted a spiritual heritage tour of the U.S. Capitol the night before the breakfast. (Topsail-Island.info).

Preliminary Injunction Granted To Student Anti-Abortion Protester

In M.A.L. v. Kinsland, (ED MI, Jan. 31, 2007), a Michigan federal district court granted a preliminary injunction against school officials to an 8th-grade student who was prevented from expressing his anti-abortion views at school last October to mark "Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity"-- an event sponsored by a Christian youth organization. (See prior posting.) The parties subsequently agreed that the student could wear red tape on his wrists and a sweat shirt containing a protest slogan. However they remained at odds on the school's literature distribution policy. The court found it likely that the plaintiff would succeed on the merits of his claim that the school's literature distribution policy is an unconstitutional violation of his First Amendment rights. A release by Alliance Defense Fund discusses the case as does an article in the Monroe (MI) News.

British Humanist Offical Urges End To Bishops' Seats In House of Lords

Ekklesia yesterday reported that in connection with discussions by the British government about House of Lords reform, Hanne Stinson, chief executive of the British Humanist Association, has urged that the practice of automatically setting aside 26 seats for bishops of the Church of England be ended. The House of Lords has a total of 746 members. In the past there have been suggestions about expanding representation to other religious groups, but Congregationalists, Quakers and others have objected to "religious representation" on principle. Stinson has urged that all appointment of Lords be solely on merit.

Federal Employee Has Partial Win On Discriminatory E-Mail Policy Challenge

In Gee v. Kempthorne, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6695 (D ID, Jan. 30, 2007), an Idaho federal district court has dismissed as moot a First Amendment and RFRA claim by a Mormon employee of the Department of Interior Bureau of Reclamation, but has permitted the employee to move ahead with an equal protection claim for a declaratory judgment that in the future, regardless of the Department's computer use policy, Plaintiff may not be treated differently in the enforcement of those policies because of his religious beliefs. The case grew out of limitations placed on plaintiff's use of his office computer for non-government business after he sent out e-mails objecting to other e-mails he had received from Department employees about recognition of June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.

Court Rejects Delay Motion In Wiccan Grave Marker Suit

A federal district court judge in Wisconsin has denied a motion by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to delay the start of a trial in a lawsuit seeking a decision on adding the Wiccan pentacle to the list of permissible symbols on veterans' memorial markers in national cemeteries. The Associated Press reported yesterday that in a one-line order, the court rejected a motion by the VA in Circle Sanctuary v. Nicholson to delay the trial while it finalizes a new rule on gravestone markers. The suit alleges that the VA has already delayed ruling on the matter for over nine years. (See prior posting.) Trial is now set to begin on the matter on June 29.

California Church Moves Ahead With RLUIPA Damage Claim

Yesterday's North County (CA) Times reports that Elsinore Christian Center will move ahead with a $1.9 million damage claim against the City of Lake Elsinore, CA for losses the church suffered when it was prevented from relocating to a downtown building. This follows the church's win last August in the 9th Circuit which upheld the constitutionality of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. (See prior posting.) A Los Angeles federal district court judge set January 31 as the trial date for this next phase of the case.

Former House Speaker Criticizes Wm. & Mary President

Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich has published an article in National Review Online severely critical of Gene R. Nichol, the president of the College of William and Mary who decided that the state school's chapel would only display a cross on Sundays and during Christian services. (See prior posting.) Gingrich said that the President's "reasoning bears the unmistakable influence of former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor, whose major contribution to church-state thinking centers on her concept of endorsement.... Unfortunately, the "endorsement test”"has proven itself a decidedly unhelpful legal criterion. It is indeterminate, bordering on arbitrary, because it focuses primarily on subjective perceptions; its first consideration is not how the law actually treats people, but rather how people feel they are treated by the law. Taken to its logical conclusion, the endorsement test leads to the rule of the perpetually aggrieved, a tyranny of the easily offended."

Arizona Bills Would Aid Women Who Flee FLDS Polygamous Community

Yesterday's Arizona Republic reported that two bills have been introduced into the Arizona legislature to assist women who have fled Colorado City's FLDS Church. Rep. David Lujan, an attorney with the non-profit Justice for Children, introduced HB 2325 that would severely limit courts in granting custody or unsupervised visitation rights to a parent who is practicing polygamy or child bigamy. This is designed to prevent having wives who have fled from being forced to send their children back to a father and his other wives. The second bill, HB 2647, would provide funding for transitional housing to women who have fled a polygamous relationship or have been victimized by child bigamy.

Canadian Marriage Commissioner Charged For Refusing To Perform Gay Marriage

In Regina, Saskatchewan yesterday the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal held a hearing on a discrimination complaint against one of the Canadian province's marriage commissioners who refused to perform a same-sex wedding ceremony on religious grounds. Canadian Press yesterday reported on the hearing. A lawyer for the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission said that marriage commissioners are required by law to provide civil wedding services for gay couples since same-sex marriage has been legalized in the province. However Orville Nichols, a devout Baptist, said he would have never taken the position as a marriage commissioner if at the time he was appointed there had been a requirement that he perform same-sex marriages.

Dallas Restrictions On Feeding Homeless Challenged

Today's Dallas (TX) Morning News reports that Rip Parker Memorial Homeless Ministry and Big Heart Ministries have filed a federal lawsuit to have Dallas' food distribution ordinance declared unconstitutional. The ordinance, which the city has enforced since February 2006, limits the places where groups can distribute food to the hungry. The primary permissible location is the city's downtown Day Resource Center. The ordinance stopped stopped charitable groups from serving food in vacant lots and cardboard box encampments under bridges. The suit claims that the ordinance violates the plaintiffs' free exercise of religion.

6th Circuit En Banc Rehearing Sought In "Teen Ranch" Case

On Tuesday, a petition for en banc review by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals was filed in Teen Ranch v. Udow (see prior posting). The panel's decision upheld Michigan's decision to cut off placement of abused, neglected and delinquent children with Teen Ranch, finding its program coerces religious participation by the youths. Representing Teen Ranch, the Alliance Defense Fund announced the appeal which argues that teenagers initially placed with Teen Ranch can opt out and be transferred to a different rehabilitation program. The Petition For Rehearing argues that these "'opt-out' procedures result in 'private choice' controlling the flow of state funds to religious groups, thus insulating the state from an Establishment Clause violation."

Canadian Argues For Limiting Tax Exemptions For Some Religions

Canadian Catholic News yesterday called attention to an essay by Janice Gross Stein published last Fall in Literary Review of Canada. The University of Toronto political scientist argued that Canada should not make tax exemptions available to religious groups that fail to comply with "Canadian values". This would include the Catholic Church because of its refusal to ordain women. Constitutional lawyer Peter Lauwers said Stein is attempting to force change on religious groups and this, he said, would meant that "the state is no longer being neutral".

Episcopal Diocese Sues 11 Breakaway Churches

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia has taken the next legal step in the property disputes between the Diocese and eleven local churches in which a majority of members have voted to leave the Episcopal Church. (See prior postings 1, 2.) Eight of those local congregations have already filed lawsuits seeking to transfer their property to the Church of Nigeria through the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. The Living Church Foundation reported yesterday that in each of the eleven suits, the Diocese is seeking a declaration "that there has been an improper trespass, conversion, alienation and use of the real and personal property”; an order upholding "the trust, proprietary and contract rights of the diocese"; an order restraining further use and occupancy of the property by the local congregations; an order transferring legal title to and control of the property to the Diocese; and an order requiring an accounting by local congregations of their "use of all real and personal property".

IRS Posts Online Training Course For Tax-Exempt Organizations

In mid-January, the Internal Revenue Service posted on its website a new web-based version of its Exempt Organizations Workshop on tax compliance issues confronted by small and mid-sized tax exempt organizations, including churches and other religious groups. The Stay Exempt web course covers keeping tax-exempt status, taxation of unrelated business income, employment issues, completing Form 990 and record disclosures.

Namibian Church Sues Government Paper For Defamation

In Namibia, the fast-growing Universal Church of the Kingdom of God filed a defamation suit seeking damages from the government-owned newspaper that ran an article characterizing the church as a "Satanic sect". Today's Namibian reports that the High Court suit against the Southern Times (jointly owned by the Namibian and Zimbabwean governments) focuses on a December 2005 headline that read "State bans 'Satanic' sect' " and which was published above a photograph showing the church's building in Windhoek. In fact the ban was in Zambia, and came after a riot stemming from rumors about the church.

Proposal For Court-Stripping Amendment To Arizona Constitution

Arizona State Senator Karen Johnson yesterday introduced a proposed state constitutional amendment (SCR 1026) that would strip all state courts in Arizona of jurisdiction over

any matter to the extent that relief is sought against the federal, the state or a local government or against an officer or agent [of such governments], whether or not ... acting in his official or personal capacity, concerning the government's of the officer's or the agent's acknowledgement of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty or government.

Today's Arizona Daily Star says that Sen. Johnson has introduced the amendment in reaction to decisions in other states finding problems with "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and with 10 Commandments displays on public property. Johnson explained her concerns:

In the (federal) Constitution, what it means is that there is to be no state religion. But we're supposed to have religion in everything — the opportunity to have religion in everything. I want religion in government, I want my government to have a faith-based perspective. The courts do their own thing. They're making up law out of how they feel about things. They're not following the Constitution.

The proposed amendment would not affect federal court jurisdiction over suits challenging governmental support of religion.

Israeli Court Convicts Muslim Husband For Unilateral Divorce

In Israel, a Magistrate's Court in Nazareth has convicted a Muslim man of ending his marriage without his wife's agreement and against her will. Yesterday's Haaretz reports that the husband began proceedings in a religious court, but became angry at accusations made by his wife and called for a divorce. Magistrate Court Judge Taufik Katili in his ruling wrote that "defendant's act was arbitrary, carried out during ongoing court discussions while ignoring court procedures. By so doing the defendant objectified and demonized the complainant while disregarding her autonomous will and right to joint determination over the fate of their relationship." The Magistrate's Court sentenced the man to five months of community service and a fine of NIS 30,000.

UPDATE: From Emory's Islamic Family Law site: "Israel's Women's Equal Rights Law 1951 provides penal sanction of imprisonment for husband's unilateral decision to divorce against wife's will and in absence of court judgement permitting such repudiation, but repudiation remains valid."

Rape Victim Denied Morning After Pill By Jail Worker With Religious Objections

The Associated Press yesterday reported on a case in Tampa, Florida in which a rape victim, after being taken to a rape crisis center where she was given the first dose of the morning-after pill, failed to get the needed second dose on time because of religious objections of a Tampa jail worker. While police were investigating the rape of the 21-year old college student, they discovered that she still owed a $4585 fine under an outstanding juvenile warrant from 2003. So they stopped their investigation and arrested the victim. That is where a jail worker refused to give the victim her next dose of medication on religious grounds. The victim ended up taking the second pill a day late after she was released from jail.

Trial Held On Kindergartener's Jesus Poster

On Monday, a New York federal district court heard witnesses in Baldwinsville Central School District v. Peck, on remand from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. (See prior posting). The suit was filed after suburban Syracuse school officials folded a kindergarten student's environmental poster in half to hide a robed figure representing Jesus before displaying the poster at a school assembly. The Second Circuit sent the case back to the trial court to determine whether the school district had engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, and whether the school had a compelling interest to take the action it did. Mathew Staver, lawyer for the student's mother said "We think we have shown that a secular picture would not have been covered up and this was censored only because of its religious nature. And that is unlikely that anyone would have misconstrued the full display of Antonio's picture as the school district supporting the establishment of a religion." The Associated Press yesterday reported on the trial.

Italian Judge Is No-Show At Hearing On Requirement For Cross In His Courtroom

In Italy, Judge Luigi Tosti failed to show up at a hearing Tuesday on whether he has violated the law by refusing to hear cases in his courtroom so long as a crucifix remains on display in it. Apparently this is the appeal of an October 2005 conviction. (See prior posting). UPI reports that Tosti, who is Jewish, says that courtrooms in Italy should be religiously neutral. While Italy's constitution requires separation of church and state, local authorities have been given the right to display crucifixes, crosses and other religious symbols in schools, courtrooms and other public buildings. Italy's Justice Department says that the Rocco Code, adopted during the Mussolini era, which requires the cross to be placed in Tosti's courtroom, still governs on this issue. (See prior posting.)

Preliminary Injunction Denied On Missouri Anti-Funeral Picketing Law

In Phelps-Roper v. Nixon, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5783 (WD MO, Jan. 27, 2007), a Missouri federal district court refused to grant a preliminary injunction to prevent Missouri authorities from enforcing the state's anti-funeral picketing law against members of the Westboro Baptist Church who wish to picket funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their signs generally say that God is punishing America for the sin of homosexuality by killing Americans, including soldiers. (See prior posting.) The court found that plaintiff had not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of her claim that the statute is a content-based restriction on speech and that is overbroad and vague. The court also refused to issue a proposed consent judgment filed by one of the defendants, Prosecuting Attorney for Carroll County, Missouri, that would have permanently enjoined enforcement of the statute. Other defendants in the case objected to the consent judgment.

Russian Prelate Criticizes Teaching Of Evolution

MosNews reports today that Patriarch Alexy II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has said that it is unacceptable to impose Darwin's theory of evolution on students in Russian schools. At an educational conference in Moscow, he said: "Teaching the biblical theory of the world’s creation will not harm students. If people choose to believe that they descended from apes, let them, but without imposing their opinions on others."

Indiana Senate Moves Back To Opening Prayers

According to yesterday's Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel, for the first time since 2005, Indiana's Senate opened its session with an oral prayer rather than a moment of silence. The Senate had moved to a moment of silence after a federal district judge said that sectarian prayers used to open sessions of the Indiana House of Representatives were unconstitutional. (See prior posting.) However the Senate's new President Pro Tem, David Long, said members felt it was important to go back to an oral prayer, even if they cannot mention the word Jesus. The Senate prayers will be given by one of six senators at first, Long said. He hopes more Senators will participate later, though some of them feel uncomfortable following judicial guidelines in praying.

Canadian Town Decrees "Norms" For New Immigrants

In Canada, the small village of Herouxville, Quebec has adopted a declaration of "norms" aimed at immigrants who might wish to settle in the town, according to today's Canadian Press. Sponsor of the declaration, Andre Drouin, one of six town councillors, said it was passed in reaction to a number of culture clashes recently in Canada. The 5-page declaration includes a prohibition on stoning women or burning them with acid; a prohibition on carrying weapons to school, including a Sikh kirpan; a prohibition on sex-segregated swimming pools; a provision that female police officers can arrest male suspects; a declaration that women can drive, dance and make decisions on their own; and a statement that children sing Christmas songs at Christmas and adults can drink alcohol. B'nai Brith Quebec called the declaration "an anti-immigrant, anti-ethnic backlash". Salam Elmenyawi, head of the Muslim Council of Montreal, said the declaration is insulting and full of stereotypes.

Public Expressions of Religion Act Reintroduced In Congress

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KA) yesterday reintroduced into Congress the Public Expressions of Religion Act that would ban plaintiffs from recovering attorneys' fees in civil rights suits against local governments when the successfully challenge public displays of religion and faith. (Press release.) Currently the 1976 Civil Rights Attorney Fees Awards Act (42 USC 1988(b) ) permits recovery of attorneys' fees by successful plaintiffs in Section 1983 suits. The bill was introduced in the last session of Congress. It passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 244-173, but was not voted on in the Senate.

New Mexico Bishops Back Outlawing Of Cockfighting

The Catholic Conference of New Mexico announced that the state's bishops support proposals ( SB 10 and SB 70) in the legislature to ban cockfighting. New Mexico is only one of two states where the practice is still legal. A report from the Catholic News Agency yesterday (which insists on referring to the practice as "rooster fighting") quotes Catholic Conference Executive Director Allen Sanchez: "The church teaches that we are supposed help God's creatures and there are established principles about how to care for animals. It is now time to pass this prohibition and move on to more important issues"-- such as abolishing the death penalty and prohibiting embryonic stem cell research.

Britain's Blair Give Catholic Church 21 Months To Prepare For Gay Adoptions

In Britain yesterday, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a compromise of sorts with the Catholic Church on implementation of Britain's new Equality Act that prohibits discrimination against gays and lesbians. (See prior posting.) Catholic adoption agencies will not be granted an exemption from the law's provision, but they will have 21 months to prepare for the new rules. Ekklesia reports that if Parliament approves Blair's proposal in February, Catholic agencies will have until the end of 2008 until the rules apply to them. Until then, they will have a "statutory duty" to refer gay couples to other agencies.

Zimbabwe Supreme Court Considers Rastafarian Challenge To School Rules

In Zimbabwe last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case challenging the expulsion of a first-grade boy from Ruvheneko Primary School in Glen Norah because he came to school wearing dreadlocks. The Harare Herald today reports that the boy's family is challenging the school's rule as a violation of the Rastafarian student's religious freedom. Zimbabwe's Constitution (Sec. 19) protects freedom of religion and conscience, but provides that actions "under authority of law ... with respect to standards or qualifications to be required in relation to places of education" do not violate these protections unless the action is shown to "not to be reasonably justifiable in a democratic society". The boy's lawyer argued to the Supreme Court that the school's grooming provision was a rule and not a "law" as that term is used in the exclusion in Sec. 19. The first-grader is currently back in school under a lower court order that permitted him to attend wearing his dreadlocks pending a decision by the Supreme Court.

New Study Praises Ohio's Implementation of Faith-Based Initiative

Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion last week (press release) published Ohio Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives: A Case Study. Written by William Wubbenhorst and Dr. Byron Johnson, the study praises Ohio's experience, saying that it has "received far-reaching and bipartisan support and has by all accounts been responsible for achieving many positive outcomes." The report says that Ohio's efforts were guided by three important principles: "a) The importance of protecting the faith identity of faith-based organizations; b) Assuring the appropriate safeguards against proselytizing when using public funds, both through clear communication of church/state boundaries and the development of indirect funding mechanisms; and c) Developing a process for assessing the outcomes and assuring a level of accountability of publicly-funded services."

Rev. Robert Drinan-- Human Rights Advocate-- Dies At 86

Rev. Robert Drinan, the Roman Catholic priest who as a member of Congress and as a Georgetown Law School teacher served as a champion of international human rights died yesterday at the age of 86. Before entering Congress, Drinan served as Dean of Boston College Law School. Today's Washington Post chronicles his life, as does a release from Georgetown University. Elected in 1971, Drinan was the first Roman Catholic priest to serve as a voting member of Congress. He reluctantly resigned in 1981 after the Vatican ruled that priests could not hold legislative positions. (Code of Canon Law, Sec. 285(3)). Drinan authored 12 books, including Can God and Caesar Co-Exist? Balancing Religious Freedom & International Law (Yale Press, 2004); God and Caesar on the Potomac: A Pilgrimage of Conscience (Michael Glazier, Inc., 1985); Religion, The Courts, And Public Policy (McGraw-Hill Book, 1963).

New Prisoner Claims Include Kosher Catholics and Employment Discrimination

In Presley v. Captain, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5235 (MD AL, Jan. 19, 2007), an Alabama federal district court permitted an inmate to proceed with free exercise and RLUIPA claims stemming from the alleged denial of access to religious property central to the prisoner's Native American religion at the time of his transfer to a different penal institution.

In Guzzi v. Thompson, (D MA, Jan. 25, 2007), a Massachusetts federal district court denied a preliminary injunction to a Catholic prisoner who claimed that his rights under RLUIPA were infringed when he was denied kosher meals. He argued that traditional concepts of Catholicism require the same dietary laws followed by Jewish sects. However the court held that where the plaintiff makes an argument for protection of a religious practice not generally associated with the system of beliefs of Christian-Catholics to which he belongs, it may properly decide that plaintiff has not shown the likelihood of success on the merits required to support a temporary injunction.

In Rouse v. Caruso, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4941 (ED MI, Kan. 24, 2007), a Michigan United States Magistrate Judge permitted an inmate to amend his civil rights complaint to allege that a Department of Corrections employee discriminated against him based on his religious beliefs. The court held that while verbal harassment disparaging a prisoner's religious beliefs "does not embody the type of coercive pressure which amounts to a substantial burden on religious exercise" under RLUIPA, a claim that a prisoner was terminated from his prison employment because of his religion does state a valid RLUIPA claim.

RLUIPA Claim By S.C. Church Dismissed, But 1st Amendment Claim Can Proceed

In Christian Methodist Episcopal Church v. Montgomery, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5133 (D SC, Jan. 18, 2007), a South Carolina federal district court dismissed a RLUIPA claim, but permitted a First Amendment claim to proceed, in a damage action brought by a church that was being asked to comply with zoning ordinances by the town of Atlantic Beach, SC. The suit alleged harassment by officials, but the church was not closed down. The court rejected plaintiffs' RLUIPA claim because the owners of of the church's building never attempted to obtain a zoning variance. It held that the Church could not prove that the Town's zoning laws substantially burden the exercise of religion by merely requiring the owners-- or the church as tenant through assignment of the owners-- to apply for a special use permit. The court also found that the Town has a compelling interest in requiring the owners of the land to be involved in the zoning application, instead of permitting the church alone as tenant to apply.

The court however permitted plaintiffs to proceed with their First Amendment claim that officials interfered with their free exercise rights by harassment such as repeatedly stopping by, inspecting and entering the church building, even during services. It held that the Town, and two officials if they acted intentionally, could be liable for damages.

Biblical Quote In Univ. Kentucky Weight Room Is Seen As Unobjectionable

University of Kentucky basketball coach Tubby Smith has approved the carving of a biblical quotation on a six-inch wooden slab that hangs in the middle of the ceiling of the weight room in UK's new basketball practice facility. The quote from Proverbs 27:17 reads: "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Apparently team members see it-- and are inspired by it-- as they lie on their backs lifting weights. The Lexington Herald-Leader today reports that spokespersons for both the ACLU and for Americans United for Separation of Church and State both say that the posting poses no serious church-state issue. American United's Jeremy Lemming said: "If it didn't say Proverbs, I might think it came from a Star Trek episode."

Public School Religious Bill of Rights Introduced In Colorado

Yesterday's Colorado Springs Gazette reports that state Senator Dave Schultheis has introduced SB07, the "Religious Bill of Rights for Individuals Connected with Public Schools Act", into the Colorado Legislature. Here is a summary of what the far-reaching bill would do, taken from a more extensive discussion of it on Sen. Schultheis' website:

Requires the state board of education to adopt a religious bill of rights for public school students and parents and a religious bill of rights for public school teachers and employees.

Directs the state board to distribute the religious bills of rights to school district boards of education.

Mandates each local board to adopt policies and procedures to implement the act, including the annual distribution of the religious bills of rights to students, parents, teachers, and employees of the school district. Directs local boards of education to provide opt out provisions to individuals for classes or course materials that are in conflict with the individual's religious beliefs.

Makes individual members of local boards personally liable for lawsuits brought under the act if the local board fails to adopt policies and procedures to implement the act or to ensure compliance with the act.

Federal Court Says High School Christian Atletes Group Must Get Equal Access

On Friday, according to the Associated Press, a Kansas federal district court granted a preliminary injunction ordering the Pleasanton School District to grant the Fellowship of Christian Athletes all the privileges that are granted to other noncurriculum clubs at Pleasanton High School. The school had been permitting the religious group to meet at the school and post signs announcing its meetings. However it had not been permitting it to be part of the photo club or the prom planning committee.

In England, Suit On Student Wearing Niqab To School

In Buckinghamshire, England, a lawsuit has been filed over the right of a 12-year old Muslim students to wear a niqab (full face veil) at school. On Friday, Bucks Free Press reported that the girl's father has taken the school to court after she was told not to wear her niqab. However the school is unable to afford the costs of defending the case, and the Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) does not have the funds either. BCC wants to find a compromise that will let the girl return to school. In the meantime, the school is funding the costs of her being taught at home. An initial hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 8 in the High Court in London.

Law Prof Suggests New Insights From Old Polygamy Cases

At PrawfsBlawg, Paul Horwitz has an interesting post titled "Teaching the 'Mormon' Cases". He suggests that reading the Reynolds case and Davis v. Beason along with the 1890 Revelation from Wilford Woodruff, then-President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, demonstrates that the Mormon Church's decision to end polygamy illustrates a fascinating effort of a religious group to grapple religiously with a set of secular facts.

Florida City Settles Suit; Permits Use Of Park Facility By Church

On Friday, the Alliance Defense Fund announced that a settlement has been reached in Life Ministries v. The City of Lauderhill Parks and Leisure Services Department, (SD FL, Case No. 06-61874-CIV) (dismissal order). In a complaint filed in a Florida federal district court in December, the religious group claimed that its rights under the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and the Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act had been infringed when the city refused to permit the group to continue meeting free of charge at a community room at a city park, while permitting other non-profit groups to continue to use the facilities without charge. (ADF release.) Under the settlement, the city will refund the monthly fee that the church was required to pay for several weeks.

Scientologists In Berlin Subject To Sunday Closing Laws

In Germany, residents of an upscale area in Berlin are upset about a new center recently opened by the Church of Scientology. Friday's Spiegel reports that city officials have found a creative way to limit the center's activities. In 1995, the German Federal Labor Court ruled that Scientology is "neither a religion nor an ideology", but merely a business. (Opinion full text in German.) This means that Germany's Sunday closing laws can be applied to the group, preventing it from offering courses or selling postcards, books, educational or fundraising goods on Sundays. Scientology has been under observation by Germany's domestic intelligence officials for a long time because of its aggressive recruitment practices.

Pennsylvania Court Permits Removed Episcopal Priest To Sue His Bishop

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday that a trial court in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania will permit an Episcopal priest to sue his bishop in state court for removing him from the priesthood. The long-running dispute (background documents) pits Rev. David Moyer, rector of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Rosemont, Pennsylvania against Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. who removed Moyer from the priesthood without granting him an ecclesiastical hearing.

Moyer is a conservative who opposes Bishop Bennison's feminist and gay rights views. After Moyer refused to permit the bishop to preach in his church, the bishop prohibited Moyer from dispensing the sacraments. Moyer then affiliated with the breakaway Anglican Church in America. Focusing on that move, Bennison invoked a little-know provision of church law that permits a bishop to summarily remove a priest who joins another faith. This avoided the public forum that Moyer wanted to use to accuse Bennison and others in the Episcopal hierarchy of disregard for the scriptures. Also reporting on the case, The Living Church Foundation quotes Moyer as taking the position that he did not abandon the Communion of the Church, so that the "abandonment canon" allowing removal without a trial was wrongly applied to him.

The trial court's decision is a surprising one in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1976 holding in Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese v. Milivojevich, that cast doubt on whether there is an exception for "fraud, collusion or arbitrariness" to the First Amendment doctrine that precludes civil courts from examining decision by hierarchical churches regarding religious disputes. However the trial judge apparently agreed with arguments made by Moyer's attorneys that the priest had no other remedy because Bishop Bennison denied him due process by removing him without a church trial. They also claim Bennison fraudulently concealed relevant documents from the diocesan standing committee that approved the priest's removal.

The trial judge's exact rationale seems unclear because apparently he did not (at least yet) issue an opinion to accompany his ruling. The case has provoked extensive discussion on the Religionlaw listserv ("Landmark First Amendment Religion Litigation?" thread in archive). [Thanks to Aaron J. Stemplewicz and to James Maule via Religionlaw for the lead.]

Yemen Jews Forced Out Of Their Village By Shi'ite Radicals

Earlier this week, the Jewish Press and the Jerusalem Post reported that in Yemen, 45 Jews have left their village in Sa'ada county after a leader of the Jewish community was warned-- in a letter delivered to him by 4 masked Shi'ite militants-- that if the Jews stayed they would be exposed to killings, abductions and looting. The letter said: "After accurate surveillance over the Jews residing in Al Haid, it has become clear to us that they were doing things which serve mainly global Zionism, which seeks to corrupt the people and distance them from their principles, their values, their morals, and their religion. Islam calls upon us to fight against the disseminators of decay."

The Yemen Times, reporting that the threats against Yemen's Jews are being discussed by the Israeli government, said that the trouble began when a Jewish teenager recently arrived from Israel took photos of some tribal girls on farms with his personal camera, as well as in a village jointly inhabited by both Jews and Muslims. The threatening letter that was delivered to the Jewish community has been posted on the website of Yemen's Islah Party. Yemeni Prime Minister Abdulqader Bajammal, at a press conference attended by Jordan’s Prime Minister, said: "We don’t allow anyone to harm any of the Jewish citizens in Yemen. We strongly reject what happened to Jews in Sa’ada." He promised all citizens, including Jews, state protection.

The Jews have moved to a hotel in Yemen's capital of Sa'ada. The Yemen Observer reported today that the governor of Sada'a, Yahya al-Shami, has promised that arrangements were underway to return the Jews to their homes with a security escort. However no date for their return has been set.

The Jews involved are part of a few hundred Jews left in Yemen. Most of Yemen's 45,000 Jews have been brought to Israel, beginning in 1949 after 1948 Muslim riots in Aden that killed 82 people.

Las Cruces Schools Seek Attorneys' Fees After Establishment Clause Win

Now that the Las Cruces, New Mexico Public Schools has won a suit brought against it challenging its logo and a school mural featuring three crosses (see prior posting), the school system is asking a federal judge to require unsuccessful plaintiff Paul Weinbaum to reimburse the schools for $16,000 of the nearly $53,000 that was spent to defend the lawsuit. Today's Las Cruces Sun-News says that the $16,000 represents that amount spent by the school system on the Establishment Clause litigation after a similar suit against the city was dismissed by the court. (See prior posting.) School system attorney William "Rusty" Babington says that once the city's suit was dismissed, the suit against the schools was clearly frivolous. City attorney Fermin Rubio said the city will not seek to recover the $20,000 it spent in legal fees defending the suit brought against it by Weinbaum.

UPDATE: Thanks to shlep, here is the full text of the school board's Motion For Award of Attorney's Fees.

Canadian School Board Ends Gideon Bible Distribution

In the Canadian province of British Columbia, the Burnaby School Board has voted to end the offering of free Bibles by the Gideons to public school students. CBC News reported yesterday that the long-standing practice of Gideons International giving out pamphlets to fifth grade students asking them and their parents if they would like to receive a free Bible was ended after a parent complained. The majority of school board concluded that it is not the role of the public school system to spread religious beliefs. Dissenting board member Richard Lee argued that the practice should be permitted, with other religions also having an opportunity to hand out literature.

Establishment Clause Challenge To Criminalizing Murder of Fetus Rejected

In Flores v. State of Texas, (TX 9th Ct. App., Jan. 24, 2007), a Texas state court of appeals rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to a provision of Texas criminal law that defines capital murder as including the murder of "an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth". The claim was raised in an appeal of a conviction by Gerardo Flores who had been sentenced to life in prison for killing his girlfriend's twin sons in utero by hitting the pregnant woman and stepping on her abdomen. Flores had argued that the statute was unconstitutional because it adopted a religious view of the commencement of life. The court, however, said that a statute does not violate the Establishment Clause merely because it is consistent with religious views. It said that the challenged statute does not foster excessive government entanglement with religion, but rather protects the future viability of the unborn child.

The court also rejected Flores equal protection claim that focused on the fact that the statute excepts from punishment a pregnant mother who aborts a fetus, while it punishes a biological father who takes action to do so.

House Resolution Honors Contributions of Catholic Schools

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representative passed H. Res. 51: Honoring the Contributions of Catholic Schools, by a vote of 428 to 0 (with 7 voting "present"). The Resolution supports the goals of Catholic Schools Week. It points out that 14% of students enrolled in Catholic schools are non-Catholic, and says that "Catholic schools produce students strongly dedicated to their faith, values, families, and communities by providing an intellectually stimulating environment rich in spiritual, character, and moral development."

Christian Group Excluded From Pagan Pride Festival Sues

In Grand Rapids, Michigan earlier this week, the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit in federal district court on behalf of David Ickes and seven other members of the Worldwide Street Preachers' Fellowship who were prevented by police from preaching to a crowd gathered in a public park for a Pagan Pride Festival. (Press release.) The complaint (full text) in Worldwide Street Preachers' Fellowship v. City of Grand Rapids, claims that city ordinances requiring a permit for public speeches and religious meetings in any public park, as well as the city's disorderly conduct ordinance, violate plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. Plaintiffs' memorandum in support of its motion for a preliminary injunction is also available online.

Ministerial Exception Bars Race Claim By Church Music Director

In Ross v. Metropolitan Church of God, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4784 (ND GA, Jan. 23, 2007), a Georgia federal district court applied the "ministerial exception" to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to dismiss a racial discrimination claim brought by the former Pastor of Worship Arts of the Metropolitan Church of God against the Church and its Senior Pastor. The Senior Pastor was charged with making racially insensitive remarks to plaintiff, who is African-American, and telling him that his music "won't work here" because "this is a white church". Ultimately plaintiff was fired. The court held that the First Amendment precludes it from making the kind of inquiry that would be involved in this case-- determining what is suitable music for worship services at the Metropolitan Church. The case had originally been filed in state court and removed to federal court. The court remanded the remaining state law claims to state court.

High School Graduation In Church Building Considered

In Montgomery County, Maryland, the Board of Education is struggling with a difficult decision on whether to hold this year's Blair High School graduation in the Jericho City of Praise Church. Wednesday's Washington Jewish Week reports that the Church's 10,000-seat auditorium is the only local venue large enough for the ceremony. However, some potential attendees say they are uncomfortable being in the auditorium that contains a pediment with the words "Jesus is the Lord" at the back of the stage. The Church says it will not cover the inscription for the graduation. Also a stained glass window with a cross is there, and "Jesus is the Lord!!!" is written in large letters on the outside of the building.

The Board's other choices for graduation, however, are not attractive. DAR Constitution Hall only seats 4,000, has parking and accessibility problems. Also the DAR has a segregationist history. Show Place Arena also is not well designed for graduations and is not near a Metro stop. An arena can be rented from the University of Maryland, but that will cost $37,000, while Jericho City of Praise Church does not charge for use of its facilities.

UPDATE: On Jan. 31, Washington Jewish Week reported that Blair High School graduation will be held at the Comcast Center in College Park, and that Montgomery County Public Schools will cover the cost for all other high schools in the county to also hold their graduations at Comcast Center.

Ohio Teacher Challenges Required Dues To Union That Supports Abortion

CNS News reported yesterday on a federal lawsuit that was filed this week in Columbus, Ohio challenging the constitutionality of a provision of the state's public employee labor relations law. Ohio Revised Code section 4117.09(C) exempts from the requirement to pay union dues "any public employee who is a member of and adheres to established and traditional tenets or teachings of a bona fide religion or religious body which has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting an employee organization..." St. Mary's school teacher Carol Katter is a Catholic, and refuses to pay dues to her public employee union because it supports abortion on demand. She says that Ohio's law amounts to an unconstitutional establishment of religion because it exempts only adherents of specific faiths such as Seventh-Day Adventists and Mennonites. She says that her union (Ohio Education Association) told her she would need to change religions in order to get an exemption.

Last September, in another similar suit, the Justice Department and the EEOC entered a consent decree with a different public employee union requiring it to allow any employee with sincere religious objections to paying union dues to instead make a donation to charity. (See prior posting.)

Shariah Divorce Refusal May Be Sentencing Consideration In Canada

In Canada, prosecutors have argued to a Montreal court that a Muslim man's refusal to grant a Shariah divorce to his wife should be considered an aggravating factor when he is sentenced for stabbing her and their baby daughter. Meanwhile, Quebec's ban on the use of religious tribunals to settle family law disputes has placed the wife in a difficult position. She wants to go back to her family in Lebanon, but fears that without an Islamic divorce, if she does she will be forced to return to her husband or be charged with abducting her own daughter. Reporting on the case yesterday, the Montreal Gazette says that Shahina Siddiqui, executive director of the Islamic Social Services Association suggested the woman obtain a civil divorce in Canada and then ask an imam or a panel of Muslim scholars to acknowledge the court divorce.

Detroit Muslim Says His Daughter Kept From Islam By State Caseworker

Yesterday's Detroit News reports that on Monday a suit was filed in a Michigan federal district court by a Muslim father who is in a custody fight over his daughter. The suit claims that the state's Department of Human Services and a local church are conspiring to prohibit his daughter from practicing Islam. Abraham Ben-Abbad of Dearborn alleges that a caseworker told his former wife that she could ignore a court order and keep their 13-year old daughter from visiting her father during Ramadan and on other religious holidays. He also claims that the caseworker permitted the pastor of Dearborn Assembly of God Church to help plan his daughter's future. The lawsuit claims that the church's pastor, Trey Hancock, operates an outreach program for American women married to Muslim men, and that his ministry is directed at converting Muslims to Christianity.

London Rabbi Cleared Of Excessive Noise Charges

In Britain, a High Court has ruled in favor of a North London rabbi charged with violating a noise abatement order. Yesterday's Metro reported that Rabbi Moshe Rottenberg had been charged by a Muslim neighbor of his synagogue with excessive noise-- chanting, stamping and shouting. However the crown court, overturning the rabbi's conviction by a magistrate, found that the noise was infrequent and did not amount to a nuisance. Rabbi Rottenberg's lawyers argued that the noise occurred only on holy days. The High Court, upholding the crown court, said that the judge did not have to follow the views of environmental health officers who thought the noise was excessive.

Rehearing Scheduled For Niqab-Wearing Woman's Small Claims Case

Yesterday's Detroit Free Press reports that a new hearing has been granted to Ginnnah Muhammad, the Muslim woman whose small-claims case in Hamtramck (MI) was dismissed last October when she refused a judge's order to remove her veil while testifying. (See prior posting.) Muhammad says she plans again to wear her niqab (full face veil). It is unclear what Judge Paul Paruk's reaction to this will be at the Feb. 21 hearing. The case involves claims between Muhammad and a rental car company.

Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws May Eventually Be Changed

Reform of Pakistan's blasphemy laws has become a subject of increasing interest. This recent background article from Pakistan's The News argues: "Blasphemy laws are objectionable for three fundamental reasons: (i) they violate Article 25 of the constitution that makes all citizens equal before law and entitled to its equal protection; (ii) they are manipulated to penalize and harass citizens belonging to minority communities; and (iii) they undermine free speech and encourage religious bigotry and obscurantism by threatening to persecute intellectuals and scholars who debate or question stereotypical views on religious doctrine."

The issue has become more pressing in light of last week's decision by the Lahore High Court overturning the 25-year sentence of a Christian, Shahbaz Masih Kaka. The court found that the original accusations against the mentally disabled youth, who had already spent 18 months in jail, were not credible. (AsiaNews.it, Jan. 22.) A senior Pakistani government official says that the blasphemy laws will be amended after the national elections that will be held later this year or early next year. Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman of the Pakistan Senate's foreign affairs committee, said that action any earlier than that would give an election issue to opposition Islamic parties. (Catholic News, Jan. 25).