Radical Sheik In Australia May Be Charged For Inciting Violence

In Australia, Federal Police are investigating a series of DVD's featuring radical Sheik Feiz Mohammed, the leader of the Global Islamic Youth Centre in Sydney. Called the "Death Series", the DVDs urge young Muslims to to sacrifice themselves for Islam, talk of a Muslim killing a Jew and ridicule Jews as pigs. Today's Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australia's Acting Attorney-General, Kevin Andrews, labeled the preachings an "importation of hatred" and said an investigation had been launched. He told reporters, "There is an offense in Australia, in broad terms, for a person to incite violence against another person or group of people based on political opinion or religious grounds or belief."

Ohio Trial Court Dismisses Ritualistic Torture Case On Statute of Limitations Grounds

Today's Toledo (OH) Blade reports that the Lucas County (OH) Common Pleas Court has dismissed on statute of limitations grounds a civil suit against Fr. Gerald Robinson that accused him, Gerald Mazuchowski, a former lay minister, and others of bizarre ritualistic torture and rape that supposedly took place some 40 years ago. The result was required by Ohio Supreme Court precedent. The plaintiff, identified only as "Survivor Doe", said that Robinson and other men, dressed in nun's clothing chanted Satanic verses, cut her with a knife as a sacrifice to Satan, drew an upside-down cross on her abdomen, and forced her to drink the blood of sacrificed animals, such as a rabbit. Also she says she was forced to perform sexual acts on the men. The abuse originally took place at a North Toledo church, and later in an unidentified wooded area. The lawsuit claims that Robinson and Mazuchowski "had a close relationship with Survivor Doe's mother, who also participated in the ceremonies in the woods and was becoming high priestess of Satan." Robinson was convicted last year of murdering a Roman Catholic nun in 1980. (See prior posting.)

Ministerial Exception Leads To Dismissal Of FLSA Claims

In Schleicher v. The Salvation Army, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2836 (SD IN, Jan. 12, 2007), an Indiana federal district court dismissed a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act brought by two former ministers of the Salvation Army for unpaid wages and overtime pay. The court held that the "ministerial exception" developed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act also applies to suits under the FLSA. The exception prevents courts from intruding on matters of church administration. The court also held that the exception applies even though plaintiffs' duties were primarily to operate Salvation Army Thrift Stores. It said that those stores not only provide funds to support The Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Centers, but also provide work therapy for the beneficiaries who reside there.

Comedian Must Pay Real Estate Commission To Sabbath-Observant Broker

The New York Law Journal and the New York Post earlier this week both reported on a lawsuit against Comedian Jerry Seinfeld by a real estate broker whose religious observance almost led to her not getting her commission on the sale of a $3.95 million townhouse to Seinfeld. Real estate broker, Tamara Cohen, acting as a co-broker, showed an 82nd Street townhouse to Seinfeld's "estate manager", and then a second time to him and Seinfeld's wife Jessica. However, when on the next day-- a Saturday-- Cohen failed to return a telephone call, Seinfeld and his wife went back to the townhouse and negotiated a purchase directly from the owner. Cohen's delay in returning the call-- that had been placed by Seinfeld's estate manager-- was because she had her telephone turned off for the Jewish Sabbath. Seinfeld testified that he did not know this was the reason for Cohen's not calling back. In Cohen's suit for her commission, New York state Supreme Court (trial court) Judge Rolando Acosta ruled that Cohen was entitled to her sales commission.

No 1st Amendment Bar To Sex Abuse Claims Against Churches; But No Liability Found

In C.B. v. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, (MN Ct. App., Jan. 16, 2007), a Minnesota state appellate court rejected claims by several churches that the Free Exercise and Establishment clauses preclude the court from having jurisdiction over a claim against them on behalf of a minor who was sexually abused by a retired Lutheran minister. (The suit was brought by a mother on behalf of her minor daughter.) The court held that the claims arise out of standard tort law and merely require a determination of whether the minister was an employee of the churches and whether the abuse occurred within the scope of the alleged employment. This does not excessively entangle the court in the interpretation of doctrinal matters. However, the court upheld summary judgment that had been granted in favor of the churches because it found that the minister was not an employee of any of them. With no employment relationship, claims against them for vicarious liability, negligent supervision, and ratification, could not be maintained.

Evangelicals and Scientists Urge Political Movement on Environmental Issues

The National Association of Evangelicals announced yesterday a first of its kind collaboration with scientists from the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School to encourage protection of the environment. The coalition sent its "Urgent Call To Action" to President Bush and Congressional leaders urging "fundamental change in values, lifestyles, and public policies required to address these worsening problems". The coalition plans an ongoing effort, including release of a Creation Care Bible study guide. Reuters, reporting on the coalition's activities, said that one hurdle was for scientists to become used to terminology-- such as "responsible care for Creation"-- used by evangelicals in referring to environmental concerns. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

North Carolina Appeal Finds Quran-In-Court Suit Justiciable

Yesterday in American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, Inc. v. Matteen, (NC Ct. App., Jan. 16, 2007), the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that enough of an actual case or controversy exists that a challenge can move forward to North Carolina's practice of only allowing court witnesses and jurors to be sworn in on the Christian Bible. Reversing the trial court's earlier decision (see prior posting), the Court of Appeals found that an actual controversy existed between the state and both a Muslim whose request to be sworn in using the Quran had been refused, and Jewish members of the ACLU who, if called for jury duty or as witnesses, would prefer to be sworn in using the Old Testament.

Now the case will go back to the trial court for it to decide the merits of the ACLU's claim that when the statute, N.C.G.S. § 11-2, calls for persons be sworn in using the "Holy Scriptures", that should be interpreted to include not just the Christian Bible, but also other religious texts including the Quran, the Old Testament, and the Bhagavad-Gita. The ACLU says that if this is not the case, then the statute is unconstitutional under the free exercise andestablishmentt clauses of the federalconstitutionn and under the religious liberty provision of North Carolina's constitution (Art. I, Sec. 13).

The Associated Press yesterday reported on the Court of Appeals decision.

European Hindus Oppose EU Proposal To Ban Swastika

As Germany's Prime Minister Angela Merkel assumes her 6-month term as president of the European Union, Germany is encouraging the EU to harmonize laws across all member nations to make Holocaust denial a crime and ban Nazi symbols, particularly the swastika. (BBC News, Jan. 15). However, Hindus across Europe are organizing to oppose a ban on the swastika. There is even an online petition to register opposition. Hindus have used the symbol for 5,000 years to represent peace. It is used at Hindu weddings to mean May Goodness Prevail. (The Australian, Jan. 17.)

Evangelical Marine Chaplain Claims New Retaliation By Navy

Sparring between the United States Navy and some of its evangelical Christian chaplains over Navy policies on sectarian prayer continues. Baptist Press reported yesterday that Marine chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Gary Stewart claims the Navy is retaliating against him because of his efforts to challenge a 2006 Navy policy mandating that chaplains use non-sectarian prayers at service-wide events. In a lawsuit filed last year by 41 current and former chaplains, Stewart claims he was reprimanded for praying in Jesus’ name and relieved of his duties at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. Now Stewart has filed a complaint with the Department of Defense’s inspector general claiming new retaliation.

Stewart says he was transferred on short notice to a Tennessee naval base after, at a meeting in South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham’s office, he engaged in an exchange with former Chief of Chaplains (and current U.S. Senate Chaplain) Barry Black over what Black knew about actions taken by the Navy against evangelical chaplains. The meeting concerned an attempt to get Congress to reverse Navy policy. (See prior posting.)

Moroccan Journalists Get Suspended Sentence For Article On Religious Jokes

In Morocco, a court this week handed down three-year suspended sentences to the editor and to a reporter of the independent weekly magazine Nichane, according to a report yesterday by the Committee to Protect Journalists. They were charged with denigrating Islam under Morocco’s Press and Publication Law because of a 10-page article analyzing popular jokes about religion, sex, and politics. (See prior posting.) The journalists were also fined the equivalent of US$9,300. The prison terms can be imposed if either defendant is convicted of a future offense. The defendants could have been sentenced to as much as 5 years in prison.

Today Is National Religious Freedom Day

Today is National Religious Freedom Day-- the anniversary of the adoption of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom by the Virginia legislature on January 16, 1786. Last week, President George W. Bush issued a Proclamation formally setting this year's commemoration. The Proclamation, in part, said: "Across the centuries, people have come to America seeking to worship the Almighty freely. Today, our citizens profess many different faiths, and we welcome every religion. Yet people in many countries live without the freedom to worship as they choose and some face persecution for their beliefs. My Administration is working with our friends and allies around the globe to advance common values and spread the blessings of liberty to every corner of the world. Freedom is a gift from the Almighty, written in the heart and soul of every man, woman, and child, and we must continue to promote the importance of religious freedom at home and abroad."

President Signs Red Cross Treaty Protocol Creating Emblem Usable By Israel

Last Friday, President Bush signed the instrument of ratification for the Third Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and also signed into law H.R.6338, the "Geneva Distinctive Emblem Protection Act of 2006" (signing statement). The Protocol's ratification will lead to the admission of Israel's Magen David Adom as a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. For decades, Muslim countries refused to permit Israel's emergency service to membership because MDA used the Star of David as its emblem. The Protocol creates a new "Red Crystal" as an emblem-- and permits Israel to place the Star of David inside the diamond shaped crystal. (See prior posting.) The Protocol was finally adopted by 29th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent last June. The accompanying legislation signed last week by President Bush punishes improper use of the new emblem in the United States.

RLUIPA Suit Filed In Illinois; Another Settled In New Jersey

Today's Courier News reports that in Elgin, Illinois, HELPS Ministry, the operator of a downtown homeless shelter, has filed suit in federal court claiming that the city has violated HELPS' free exercise rights and its rights under RLUIPA. The suit alleges that the city has indefinitely delayed a vote on granting it a conditional use permit to reopen its shelter at Family Life Church after the facility had been closed down for code violations that made it unsafe for overnight occupancy. The city's zoning board voted unanimously to recommend the permit, but before the Nov. 29, 2006 City Council meeting at which the recommendation was to be approved, the item was removed from the agenda "and sent to the city's legal department indefinitely." Since it was forced out of Family Life, HELPS has provided sleeping space for the homeless on its school bus, at various churches and at a Christian camp.

In Bedminster Township, New Jersey, Church of the Hills and the township have reached an agreement that will permit the church to expand the size of its facility. (Bridgewater, NJ Courier News.) The church had sued under RLUIPA after the township denied it a crucial zoning variance. (See prior posting.) Under the terms of the settlement, the church agrees to various limits that will deal with concerns about excessive noise levels and other disruptions. In the settlement, which still must be approved by the court, the township has agreed to pay the church $150,000. Of that amount, $100,000 is covered by the township's insurance.

Congress Imposes Sanctions On Belarus For Denying Religious Freedom

President Bush, last Friday, signed H.R. 5948, the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2006. Part of the new law imposes various sanctions on Belarus until it makes significant progress in meeting a long list of desired democratic reforms. Among the conditions imposed are the release of individuals in Belarus who have been jailed based on their religious beliefs and the cessation of all forms of harassment and repression against religious organizations. The initial Findings in H.R. 5948, conclude in part: "The Lukashenka regime has increasingly subjected leaders and members of minority and unregistered religious communities to harassment, including the imposition of heavy fines, denying permission to meet for religious services, prosecutions, and jail terms for activities in the practice of their faith."

Malaysia Will Not Force Non-Muslims To Testify In Sharia Courts

In Malaysia, the Chief Judge of the country's Syariah Judiciary Department, Datuk Sheikh Ghazali Abdul Rahman, announced at an international conference on family law that non-Muslims would no longer be forced to attend Syariah courts to testify in cases involving differences between Muslims and non-Muslims. (Bernama.) The issue has been raised in the wake of high-profile cases involving the question of whether an individual had changed religious affiliations. (Sun2Surf).

German Court Upholds Ban On Teachers Wearing Head Scarves

The Associated Press reports today on a decision issued by the Constitutional Court of the German state of Bavaria that upholds a ban on German teachers who are Muslim wearing head scarfs while teaching. A 2004 Bavarian law prohibits teachers in class from wearing clothing or other items that express views "incompatible with the basic values of the constitution and its educational goals, including western Christian educational and cultural values." Bavarian educational authorities have interpreted the law to ban head scarves, while permitting Roman Catholic nuns to wear head-covering habits in schools. The court ruled that the Bavarian law did not infringe freedom of religion and did not discriminate against non-Christians. Albin Dannhaeuser, head of the Bavarian teachers association, said there are only two Muslim female teachers in Bavaria. Both of them wear hats in order to get around the ban on head scarves. The Islamic Religious Community is considering whether to appeal the case to Germany's Federal Constitutional Court.

MLK Day and Church-State Issues

Today is Martin Luther King Day-- celebrating the birthday of the nation's pre-eminent modern civil rights leader. The relationship of the King federal holiday to church-state issues is intriguing. Even though King was a minister, and his movement was suffused with religious overtones, the President's Proclamation (full text) declaring today as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday makes no mention of religion, prayer or Dr. King's religious connections. Exactly what constitutes appropriate celebration of the holiday has never been clear. President Bush merely says: "I encourage all Americans to observe this special day with appropriate civic, community, and service programs and activities in honor of Dr. King's life and legacy."

One of Dr. King's most complete expressions of his views on church-state issues took place in an interview which few in either religious or political affairs would grant today-- an interview with Playboy Magazine (Jan. 1965) (full text). The interviewer was Alex Haley. When asked about mistakes he had made, King said:

the most pervasive mistake I have made was in believing that because our cause was just, we could be sure that the white ministers of the South, once their Christian consciences were challenged, would rise to our aid.... The projection of a social gospel, in my opinion, is the true witness of a Christian life.... The church once changed society. It was then a thermostat of society. But today I feel that too much of the church is merely a thermometer, which measures rather than molds popular opinion.

However, when asked his view of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision striking down school prayer, King said:

I endorse it. I think it was correct. Contrary to what many have said, it sought to outlaw neither prayer nor belief in God. In a pluralistic society such as ours, who is to determine what prayer shall be spoken, and by whom? Legally, constitutionally or otherwise, the state certainly has no such right. I am strongly opposed to the efforts that have been made to nullify the decision. They have been motivated, I think, by little more than the wish to embarrass the Supreme Court.

Recent Scholarly Articles On Law and Religion

From SSRN:
> Ira C. Lupu & Robert W. Tuttle, The Limits of Equal Liberty as a Theory of Religious Freedom, (Texas Law Review, April 2007), review of Christopher L. Eisgruber and Lawrence G. Sager, Religious Freedom and the Constitution, (Harvard University Press, 2007).

> Kay E. Goodall, Incitement to Religious Hatred: All Talk and No Substance?, (Modern Law Review, Jan. 2007).

From Theoretical Inquiries In Law:
> Peter Fitzpatrick, "What Are the Gods to Us Now?": Secular Theology and the Modernity of Law, (Vol. 8, No. 1, 2007).

From SmartCILP:
> Richard Albert, Religion in the New Republic, 67 Louisiana Law Review 1-54 (2006).

> Shubba Ghosh, Belief: An Essay in Understanding, 54 Buffalo Law Review 807-831 (2006).

> Steven K. Green, Religion Clause Federalism: State Flexibility Over Religious Matters and the "One-Way Ratchet", 56 Emory Law Journal 107-124 (2006).

> Martin H. Pritikin, Punishment, Prisons, and the Bible: Does "Old Testament Justice" Justify Our Retributive Culture?, 28 Cardozo Law Review 715-778 (2006).

> Christian Faith and Political Life: A Dialogue. Introduction by Randy Beck; articles by Jason Carter; response by Randy Beck; reply by Jason Carter. 41 Georgia Law Review 65-168 (2006).

Ohio's Governor Pinch-Hits On Invocation; Officials Choose Various Books For Oath

In an unusual twist on invocations at public ceremonies, yesterday at the formal inauguration of Ohio's new governor, Ted Strickland, the minister who was scheduled to deliver the invocation failed to show up. Governor Strickland, an ordained Methodist minister, filled the gap. He probably became the first public official anywhere to deliver-- unrehearsed-- an invocation at his own inaugural. No explanation appears to have been published for the failure of Portsmouth, Ohio's Rev. Evan Fisher-- a Strickland family friend-- to show up. (Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer.) After that, Strickland was sworn in on a Bible printed in 1763 and used by Ohio's second governor in 1807 for his inaugural. Strickland's Lieutenant Governor, Lee Fisher, who is Jewish, was sworn in on a Bible owned by his wife, Peggy, and three copies of the Torah owned by other family members. (Columbus Dispatch).

Meanwhile other Ohio office holders mostly used a Bible to take their oaths of office. However, Jewish state Sen. David Goodman used a prayer book that belonged to his grandfather. Hindu state Rep. Jay Goyal followed the lead of all the other state House of Representatives members being sworn in and carried no book at all during the formal ceremony on the House floor. (Columbus Dispatch).

School Bathroom Is No Place For Biblical Verses

In Kentucky, the bathroom in Christian County Middle School had become filled with graffiti. So-- according to the Associated Press yesterday-- the school's principal, Larry Cavanah, granted permission to teachers and students to beautify the bathroom by painting over the graffiti. When he returned after winter break, he discovered that graffiti had been covered with upbeat art and inspirational messages. However some of the new artwork was religious in nature-- including a quotation from Psalms 45 reading: "So the King will greatly desire your beauty; because He is your Lord, worship Him." After complaints from a parent, Superintendent Bob Lovingood consulted with the school's attorneys and ordered that the Biblical verses be covered up. (By the way, the names of the county, the superintendent, and the quote from Psalms, are for real.)

Environmental Agency and Church Argue Over Whether A Building Is Necessary

In Phillipsburg, New Jersey, the Alliance Church has sued the state's Department of Environmental Protection over whether the church is exempt from environmental restrictions on building in the Highlands Protected Area. The Easton (PA) Express-Times reported yesterday on the filing of the federal lawsuit. The 2004 New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act grandfathered in exemptions for building by churches that existed in March 2004. New Jersey's DEP says that means they must have had a building on site before that date. Alliance Church says it should be enough that they held worship services outside on the land in question before March 2004. Phillipsburg Alliance Church has already paid more than $250,000 toward the $1 million purchase price for the 30-acre site on which it hopes to build.

Religious Abortion Parade Protesters Win Speech, But Not Free Exercise, Claim

In Grove v. City of York, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1837 (MD PA, January 10, 2007), a Pennsylvania federal district court held that relegating religious abortion-protesters in a Halloween parade to the least obtrusive rear of the march violated their free expression and free assembly rights. However it did not violate their right to the free exercise of religion since the group would have been placed at the rear of the parade even if their anti-abortion views were solely secular. The city had attempted to justify its action on the ground that the pictures of aborted fetuses carried by the protesters would be offensive to many onlookers.

County Commissioner Now Privately Pushes 10 Commandments

The Murfreesboro (TN) Daily News Journal reported yesterday that after reluctantly voting with others in favor settling the ACLU's lawsuit against Rutherford County that successfully challenged county display of the Ten Commandments, County Commissioner Mike Sparks has found an alternative. The Tennessee county commissioner has spent $125 of his own money to print up 400 copies of the Ten Commandments. He is distributing them local businesses for them to hand out the copies to customers. (See prior related posting.)

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Parks-El v. Fleming, (4th Cir., Jan. 10, 2007), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of an inmate's equal protection claim, but vacated the dismissal of his RLUIPA and free exercise claims. The inmate had been suspended from attending chapel services because he was involved in posting unauthorized flyers in inmate housing units.

In Justus v. Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1161 (WD VA, Jan. 5, 2007), a Virginia federal district court rejected an inmate's challenge to a lock down that kept him in his cell when he said that he did not wish to attend religious services being held in his pod.

In Banks v. Fraiser, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 235 (D NJ, Jan. 3, 2007), a New Jersey federal district court dismissed a prisoner's claim that he was denied a religious "no meat" diet.

Another case, decided several months ago, has recently become available on LEXIS. In Boyd v. Lehman, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94223 (WD WA, May 19, 2006), adopting Magistrate Judge's report and recommendation (2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94222), a Washington federal district court dismissed claims by a prisoner that he was only given a vegetarian diet, and not one that included halal meat. It also rejected his claim regarding temporary problems with the time of Ramadan meals.

10th Circuit Says BYU Police Force Does Not Create Establishment Clause Problems

In Raiser v. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, (10th Cir., Jan. 10, 2007), the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a novel Establishment Clause claim. Aaron Raiser, an applicant to Brigham Young University's graduate school, sued claiming the University disclosed information about his prior psychiatric history. Part of his claim related to the University's sharing information about him with its police force. In particular, Raiser alleged that the "[state] statute . . . which allows [BYU] to maintain a state empowered police force . . . fosters an excessive governmental entanglement with religion," and that "[t]he state/church entanglement has injured Plaintiff." The court said that there was no religious component to the actions of the police force in dealing with Raiser, so that the district court was correct in holding that Raiser lacked standing to pursue an Establishment Clause claim.

Utah Files Brief Opposing Cert. In Polygamy Case

In October, convicted bigamist Rodney Holm filed a petition for certiorari [Westlaw link] with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of the Utah Supreme Court's determination that the state's polygamy laws were constitutional. Today's Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Utah Attorney General originally waived a response to Holm's petition, citing costs involved and the unlikelihood that cert. would be granted. However, the Supreme Court's clerk notified the state in November that the justices wanted Utah's views before they decided whether to grant certiorari. So on Friday the state filed a brief in opposition to the granting of cert., arguing that the case does not pose an issue of widespread national importance and that Holm's case, which involved a minor, is not the appropriate case to use for testing the constitutionality of the law.

European Court Finds Russia Violated Religious Rights of Jehovah's Witnesses

On Thursday, the European Court of Human Rights handed down a decision in Kuznetsov and Others v. Russia, (Application No. 184/02, Jan. 11, 2007), finding that various actions by the Russian government that disrupted religious services being held by Jehovah's Witnesses and which led to the termination of their lease for an auditorium in which to hold services violated their religious freedom as protected in Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Institute On Religion and Public Policy issued a release detailing more information about the decision.

School Board Requires Opposing Views On Climate Change After Religious Objection To Gore's Film

In Federal Way, Washington, the School Board last week required that teachers showing Al Gore's film on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth, must also present their classes "a credible, legitimate opposing view" to Gore's views on global warming. In addition, teachers must obtain consent of the principal and superintendent to show the film. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Thursday reported that the school board action followed a complaint by parent Frosty Hardison-- who also believes in teaching creationism and opposes sex education in schools. Hardison said: "Condoms don't belong in school, and neither does Al Gore. He's not a schoolteacher. The information that's being presented is a very cockeyed view of what the truth is. ... The Bible says that in the end times everything will burn up, but that perspective isn't in the DVD." Meanwhile, Hardison's wife Gayla, said: "If you're going to come in and just say America is creating the rotten ruin of the world, I don't think the video should be shown." School board President Ed Barney said that the district has a policy of presenting both sides of controversial issues. [Thanks to Ronald L. Chichester for the lead.]

9th Circuit Vacates State Constitutional Challenge To Mt. Soledad Cross As Moot

Yesterday, in Paulson v. City of San Diego, (9th Cir., Jan. 12, 2007), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an appeal as moot and ordered the lower court to vacate its May 3, 2006 order to enforce a 1991 injunction to remove the Mt. Soledad cross from its prominent display on city land. The federal district court had found that the display of the cross violated provisions in California's constitution on separation of church and state. Last year, federal legislation divested the city of title to the land and transferred the Mt. Soledad Veterans War Memorial to the United States. So the city no longer has any interest in the Memorial and the federal government is not subject to the provisions of the California constitution. Today's San Diego Union-Tribune and North County Times covered the decision.

Clergy Abuse Claims Against Vatican May Proceed In U.S. Court

In O'Bryan v. Holy See, (WD KY, Jan. 10, 2007) [available in PACER], a Kentucky U.S. District Court issued an 18-page opinion interpreting the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) to permit certain claims relating to clergy sexual abuse in the United States to be brought against the Vatican. It held that while the Vatican is a foreign state covered by the FSIA (see prior posting), the "tort exception" to the Act permits some of plaintiffs' claims to be brought in U.S. courts. It held that to the extent that archbishops, bishops and priests acted in the United States as officials or employees of the Vatican pursuant to Holy See policy, they were acting within the scope of their employment. The Vatican can thus be liable for clergy's failure to warn parishioners that their children would be under the care of known or suspected pedophiles, and for failing to report known or suspected abusers to state and local authorities. However the court left open the possibility that future evidence might show that the Holy See does not exert sufficient control over clergy to make them officials or employees of the Vatican.

Yesterday's Louisville Courier-Journal reporting on the decision quoted plaintiffs' attorney William McMurry who said that the lawsuit could lead to attorneys taking depositions of Vatican officials, obtaining copies of church documents and ultimately determining "what prompted all of the bishops to keep quiet, hide these pedophiles and refuse to report child abusers.".

Commentary: The First Amendment Dilemma In The Battle Against Islamic Terrorism

In the 1943 Flag Salute case that upheld the right of Jehovah's Witness students to refuse to salute the flag, Justice Robert Jackson wrote the following paragraph that has come to be seen as the essence of First Amendment protections: "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us." Since 9/11, a troubling question has been whether government officials may prescribe what is orthodox Islam in an attempt to distinguish radical jihadists-- who the U.S. is fighting-- from other Muslims whose religious practice the U.S. is dedicated to protect. Two developments this week point up the problem.

President Bush, speaking yesterday to military personnel and families at Ft. Benning, Georgia (full text) arguably attempted to define what is and is not a valid religious belief. He said: "It's important for the American people to understand al Qaeda still is in Iraq.... They don't believe in freedoms, like freedom to worship. I, frankly -- well, speaking about religion, these are murderers. They use murder as a tool to achieve their objective. Religious people don't murder. They may claim they're religious, but when you kill an innocent woman, or a child to create a political end, that's not my view of religion. And yet, there are a lot of peaceful, religious people in the Middle East."

On Tuesday the House of Representatives passed HR 1, a bill implementing recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Title XIV is titled "Quality Educational Opportunities in Arab and Predominantly Muslim Countries". The bill establishes a fund to encourage educational reform in Arab and predominantly Muslim countries. One of the bill's goal is to "dramatically increase... the availability of modern basic education through public schools in Arab and predominantly Muslim countries, which will reduce the influence of radical madrassas and other institutions that promote religious extremism." (Sec. 1411(b)(1)). Is Congress here attempting to supplant the teaching of Islamic fundamentalism with a version of Islam that it finds more acceptable? If that is a fair characterization of the bill, are there any First Amendment objections to it?

Court Orders Release of Diocese Records To Insurance Companies

Yesterday's Boston Herald reported that Berkshire Superior Court Associate Justice John A. Agostini has ordered the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts to release nearly 7,500 pages of documents to insurance companies that the Diocese is suing in order to get them to cover claims of 57 people who allege they were sexually abused by priests. The court rejected the Diocese's claim that the records are protected by the First Amendment or by the priest-penitent of psychotherapist-patient privilege. However the court agreed that some of the records are protected by the lawyer-client privilege. Insurers want to determine how the Diocese handled allegations of sexual abuse by priests when they received complaints. (See prior related posting.)

Rabbis Tell Congress To Raise Minimum Wage

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism reports that 450 rabbis and rabbinical students sent a letter to every member of Congress yesterday in support of an increase in the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Director of Education at Jewish Funds For Social Justice, is an authority on wage issues in Jewish law. Supporting the letter, she said: "Jewish labor law rests on the assumption that a full time worker shall earn enough to support his/her family."

New Jersey AG Says Clergy Need Not Perform Civil Unions

New Jersey Attorney General Stuart Rabner yesterday issued written advice to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics concluding that, when a New Jersey law authorizing civil unions takes effect on February 19, members of the clergy are not required to perform civil union ceremonies if doing so would conflict with "sincerely held religious beliefs". However public officials who are available to solemnize marriages would be violating the state's anti-discrimination laws if they refuse to also solemnize civil unions. (Press release; full text of letter.) The Associated Press reported on the AG's letter.

FDA's Approval Of Cloned Animals Poses No Issue For Kashrut Certification

While some conservative religionists have objected to the Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of the safety of milk and meat from cloned animals (see prior posting), apparently cloned animals pose no problems for Orthodox Jewish determinations of whether meat is kosher. Wednesday's Washington Jewish Times reports that Maryland Rabbi Yitzchok Breitowitz said: "I do not see a kashrus issue here. Judaism as a whole does allow us to use creative ways of reproduction." Avrom Pollak, head of the Star-K agency that certifies food as kosher, said: "If it looks like a cow, if it chews its cud like a cow, if it has split hooves like a cow, then it's a cow; and how it got to be a cow does not affect its kosher status."

Church's Proposed Deal With High School Debated

Los Angeles' Daily Breeze yesterday reported on an unusual proposal for use of El Segundo, California High School premises on Sundays by El Segundo Foursquare Church. Last November, a bond measure to repair the school's auditorium failed to pass. So now it is proposed that Foursquare Church will pay for $180,000 worth of renovations, in addition to paying a monthly rental, in exchange for using the school all day each Sunday. Loyola Law School Professor Kurt Lash said: ""If this is a unique deal that has not been offered to anybody else and is unlikely to be offered to anybody else, we might have a problem here as a public facility showing preference and getting uniquely involved with a religious group."

6th Circuit Holds Hospital Did Not Waive Reliance On Ministerial Exception To ADA

Yesterday, in Hollins v. Methodist Healthcare Inc., (6th Cir., Jan. 10, 2007), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the ministerial exception to claims under the Americans With Disabilities Act requires dismissal of a discrimination claim brought by resident in the clinical pastoral educational program of a religiously affiliated hospital. The court refused to accept plaintiff's argument that the hospital had waived its right to rely on the ministerial exception by agreeing it would not discriminate on the basis of disability when it sought and obtained accreditation from the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Israeli Activist Claims House Arrest Monitoring Violates His Religious Freedom

In Israel, Avraham Zarbiv, an Haredi (ultra-Orthodox Jewish) activist, was removed from house arrest and placed in jail because he refused to wear an ankle bracelet to monitor his movements on the Sabbath. Yesterday's Jerusalem Post reports that there is a disagreement among Orthodox rabbis over whether wearing the bracelet is consistent with Sabbath restrictions. Haredi activists view the court's order against Zarbiv as an attack on religious freedom.

Rehearing and En Banc Review Sought In Boy Scouts Case

As previously reported, on December 18, 2006, in order to avoid deciding a federal constitutional question, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals certified three questions to the California Supreme Court in Barnes-Wallace v. Boy Scouts of America. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the City of San Diego's leasing, at nominal rentals, to the Boy Scouts city property on which the Scouts operate a campground and aquatic center. The 9th Circuit asked the California court to consider whether the leases, under state law, unconstitutionally provide support for a creed. However, on December 26, the 9th Circuit issued another order requesting the California Supreme Court to delay considering the certified questions because a 9th Circuit judge had filed a notice that might lead to en banc review. In a press release issued last week, the Boy Scouts revealed that they had filed a petition for rehearing and for en banc review with the 9th Circuit. The petition to the 9th Circuit (full text) argues that the panel majority's decision on standing was in conflict with controlling US Supreme Court decisions, and that it ignored the procedural posture of the case and failed to include the facts necessary for an informed resolution of the certified questions. [Thanks to How Appealing for the lead.]

House of Lords Refuses To Reject Sexual Orientation Anti-Discrimination Rules

Despite demonstrations and pressure from Christians, on Tuesday the House of Lords defeated a motion to reject Northern Ireland's Sexual Orientation Regulations. Gay.com reported yesterday that the Lords voted 199 - 68 to reject a motion by Lord Morrow who had argued that "the regulations threaten to override the conscience and free speech of Christians". (See prior related posting.)

Bus Company Sued By Employees For Religious Discrimination

Yesterday's Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that nine current and former employees of MV Transportation Inc. have filed a religious discrimination suit under both state and federal law in federal district court in Minneapolis. Among the allegations are that an MV manager read Bible passages to the employees, seven of whom are Muslim, confiscated their prayer rugs and forced them to listen to loud Christian music. The suit also alleges various acts of national origin discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigated the employees' complaints and issued "right to sue" notices to them.

Egyptian Official Opposes Wearing of Niqab

Middle East Online yesterday reported that an aide to Egypt's Minister of Religious Endowments expelled a religious counselor attending a training session for religious advisors and prayer leaders because she refused to remove her niqab (full face veil). Minister Hamdi Zaqzuq, who opened the training session, later said: "I totally reject the niqab (face veil). No religious counselor needs to wear it since it is not required by Islamic law."

No Tax Exemption For Combined Synagogue- Living Quarters

In Sephardic Congregation of S. Monsey v Town of Ramapo, (Sup Ct Rockland Co. NY, Jan. 8, 2007), a New York state trial court has held that property owned by s Sephardic Jewish congregation and used both as its synagogue and as a residence for its rabbi is not tax exempt. Because the property is not used primarily for religious services, it is not exempt under RPTL 420-a. Because the rabbi has full-time outside employment as a special education teacher at a school, Yeshiva of North Jersey, he is only a part-time clergyman for the synagogue and, as such, the residence is not exempt as a parsonage under RPTL 462. Today's Lower Hudson Journal News covers the decision.

Litigation Looms Over Property of Breakaway Anglican Churches In Virginia

After nine Virginia Episcopal congregations voted last month to break away from the Episcopal Church of the United States and affiliate instead with the Anglican Church of Nigeria (see prior posting), they signed an agreement with the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in which both sides pledged not to bring litigation over church property. The 30-day standstill agreement would automatically renew unless either side opted out. Today's Washington Post reports that the Diocese of Virginia, saying that the churches are not interested in working on a compromise, has now elected not to renew the agreement. It is planning-- after the initial agreement's expiration next Wednesday-- to take steps to claim the property of all nine churches while it is considering each church's situation on a case by case basis. Some of the nine churches are refusing to permit congregants who opposed the break off to hold their own separate services on church premises.

Italian Bishop Criticizes Proposed Law On Religious Equality

Giuseppe Betori, the secretary of the Italian Bishops' Conference, spoke out today in opposition to a draft law being considered by the Italian Parliament that would grant equal rights to all religious faiths in predominately Catholic Italy. Even though Catholicism is no longer the official state religion in Italy, it still enjoys some preferences. AKI says Betori told Parliament's Commission on Constitutional Affairs: "In the current constitutional context, the equal freedom of each confession does not imply full equality. The state should be careful not to sign too many agreements."

VA's Spirituality Assessment of Patients Does Not Violate Establishment Clause

On Monday, according to the Associated Press, a Wisconsin federal district court rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to the Veterans Administration practice of giving most patients spiritual assessments that include questions about their religious observance as part of a holistic treatment program. The VA says it believes that spirituality should be integrated into health care, but it allows patients to decide whether that involves religion. The court concluded that the VA program serves a valid secular purpose. The opinion said: "The choice to receive spiritual or pastoral care, the choice to complete a spiritual assessment, and the choice to participate in a religious or spiritually based treatment program always remain the private choice of the veteran. Accordingly, there is no evidence of governmental indoctrination of religion." (See prior related posting.)

The case was brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The Madison (WI) Capital Times quotes FFRF spokesperson Annie Laurie Gaylor who criticized the judge's decision: "He just didn't get it. Part of his decision stated that VA chaplains are there to bring healing through God's grace and he said it without putting it in quotes. Does his courtroom operate that way, too?"

UPDATE: The full opinion in Freedom From Religion Foundation , Inc. v. Nicholson,(WD WI, Jan. 8, 2007) is now available online. Also BBS reported on Thursday that FFRF will appeal the district court's ruling.

Controversial Navy Chaplain's Discharge Upheld

After having previously refusing to grant a temporary restraining order (see prior posting), last week, according to yesterday's Navy Times, a federal district court in the District of Columbia refused to grant an injunction to Navy Chaplain Gordon J. Klingenschmitt to keep him in the Navy beyond his January 31 discharge date. The controversial Chaplain who has been challenging the Navy's policy on sectarian prayers by chaplains resigned from the Evangelical Episcopal Church and obtained a new endorsement as a chaplain from the Full Gospel Church. The Navy treated this as a new application and rejected it. Klingenschmitt claims that the Navy has permitted as many as 42 other chaplains to change endorsers without losing their positions.

UPDATE: On January 24, the Air Force Times reported that Klingenschmitt asked the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to reconsider the district court's denial of an injunction to prevent his discharge.

Arizona Supreme Court Rejects Original Jurisdiction In School Voucher Challenge

Without comment yesterday, the Arizona Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to two new state tuition grant programs offering school vouchers to foster parents and parents of disabled children. The ACLU and People for the American Way brought the challenge directly in the state Supreme Court claiming that the programs violate state constitutional prohibitions against public funding for private and religious schools. Reporting on the decision, the Associated Press said that plaintiffs can now refile the case in a trial court. Praising the court's decision, the Institute for Justice said that judicial precedent indicates that the voucher programs are constitutional. In a press release it said: "School choice opponents should stop their legal battle against programs that simply empower parents choose the educational environment that best suits their children."

North Carolina Pastor Seeking Support For Christian Prayer At City Council

In Thomasville, North Carolina, Rev. Donnie Lunsford was concerned that only 50 people turned out for a City Council meeting last month at which City Councilman Dwight Cornelison proposed including Christian prayers at Council meetings. So Lunsford is planning a Feb. 3 breakfast billed as a "Christian involvement conference" to increase support for Cornelison's proposal, according to yesterday's Lexington (NC) Dispatch. Cornelison is attempting to create a policy that will both allow Christian prayer and pass Constitutional scrutiny. He says that options are offering invocations before meetings are officially called to order; having council members pray only for themselves instead of on behalf of the entire city; or to inviting clergy on a rotating basis from various faiths. Councilman Cornelison supporting Rev. Lunsford's "involvement conference" said: "We're going to dispel the rumors that Christians can't be involved.... God ordained government, church and the family. It's a Christian duty and obligation to participate in civil government."

Maryland Non-Public Schools Seek Additional State Aid

The Maryland Catholic Conference and the Maryland Nonpublic Schools Legislative Coalition hosted a series of conferences around the state on Monday to build support for proposals to increase Maryland funding for non-public schools. Southern Maryland Online today reports that the groups' legislative goals for 2007 are (1) to increase funding for the Nonpublic School Textbook and Technology Program; (2) to include nonpublic school teachers in benefits already available to public school teachers, such as teacher scholarships and the Quality Teacher Incentive Tax Credit; and (3) to enact a Maryland tax credit for businesses who contribute to both public and nonpublic schools.

Michigan School Board Rejects Bible As Literature Class

After lengthy testimony on both sides of the issue at a Board of Education meeting, the Howell, Michigan Board of Education decided against offering a class on the Bible as literature in its school system. Today's Livingston (MI) Press & Argus reports that the motion to approve the curriculum made by board member Wendy Day died for want of a second. A committee of the social study teachers had decided not to recommend the new course because a world religion course already covers the same areas.

Cert. Denied In Case On Invalidating Donations To Churches By Debtor In Bankruptcy

Yesterday the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in Universal Church v. Geltzer, (Case No. 06-583), in which the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals had held that treating some contributions to churches as fraudulent conveyances in bankruptcy does not violate the Free Exercise or Establishment clauses. It also held that under the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donations Protection Act the shield for charitable donations of up to 15% of a debtor's annual income applies to aggregate annual transfers, not to individual donations. (See prior posting.)

Now It's Harder To Deduct Charitable Contributions

Religion News Service reported yesterday that new Internal Revenue Service requirements that became effective on January 1 will make it more difficult for taxpayers to deduct contributions placed anonymously in the church collection basket. The requirements, contained in the Pension Protection Act of 2006, Sec. 1217, call for a cancelled check, bank record, credit card record or receipt from a charity in order to claim an amount as a charitable deduction. In the past, personal records were sufficient to document the contribution if it was under $250. The IRS explained the new rules in a December news release.

Religious Coalitions Weigh In On Immigration; Education

As the new Congress opened, religious coalitions weighed in on two important issues. Today's Washington Times reports that a coalition made up mostly of conservative Christian groups has proposed a compromise on immigration reform. The coalition, known as Families First On Immigration, sent letters to President Bush and Congressional leaders urging strong border security and amnesty for aliens already here illegally if they have an American-born child or another relative who is a citizen. Finally the compromise calls for an end to citizenship merely because an individual is born in the United States-- though this part of the proposal might require a Constitutional amendment. The group urged President Bush to defer his guest worker proposals until the rest of the issues are resolved. It also urged Congressional Democrats to exercise oversight on the Administration's handling of immigration.

Meanwhile, a separate coalition of 100 religious, civil rights, educational and disability organizations known as the Forum on Educational Accountability has taken the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act to urge some 14 changes to the law. (ABCUSA Press Release.) Among these are calls for less reliance on standardized testing and increased federal funding of costs that will be imposed on states by the recommendations.

Romney's Mormonism Remains A Factor In His Presidential Bid

The McClatchy Newspapers yesterday examined how Protestant conservatives in the Republican Party are reacting to presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's Mormon religious beliefs. Some voters remain concerned about now-rejected beliefs of the Mormon Church-- its advocacy of polygamy and its belief that Blacks were cursed. Others are concerned about Mormonism's present-day beliefs, such as its openness to modern-day prophecies and its belief that the church president is "the mouthpiece of God." Some conservatives worry that Romney is too liberal, citing his support of equal rights for gays and lesbians in his unsuccessful 1994 bid for the U.S. Senate. A report by CNS News last week focused on the concern over whether Romney has been consistent in his conservative views on homosexuality and abortion.

Satirical Attack On Intelligent Design Becomes Popular

Yesterday's Toronto Star carries an article on a satirical challenge to supporters of Intelligent Design which has caught on. Bobby Henderson, a 26-year-old physics graduate from Oregon State University, in 2005 wrote that the earth and all living things were created by a Supreme Being, the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Last March he published a book, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, (Villard, 2006), and he has launched a website that includes his "Open Letter to Kansas School Board" requesting that his theory be taught as an alternative version of Intelligent Design. Apparently the site gets 30,000 unique visits per day. The FSM movement has its own subculture of "Pastafarians". Some proponents of Intelligent Design, however, do not completely appreciate the humor. Last month, the Discovery Institute's website attacked FSM as mocking those who hold Judeo-Christian religion beliefs, saying that FSM is reportedly endorsed by 50 Darwinist academics.

Faith-Based Welfare Poses Discrimination Issues In Britain

Britain is now struggling with issues similar to those in the U.S. on the offering of social services by faith-based organizations. Britain's National Secular Society reports today that it has asked Parliament's Human Rights Committee to recommend clarifying the Human Rights Act, Sec. 6, to ensure that when a public body delegates social service functions to a private organization, protections against discrimination based on religious belief or sexual orientation still apply. Both Labour and Conservatives in Britain are promoting faith-based welfare programs.

French Appeals Court Says Pork Soup To Homeless Is Discriminatory

MWC yesterday reported that a ban by Paris police on the serving of pork soup to the homeless has now been upheld by France's highest administrative court, the Conseil d'Etat. A lower court had overturned the police determination that the right wing soup kitchens were discriminating against Muslims and Jews. (See prior posting.) However the French interior ministry successfully appealed. The appeals court confirmed the police ban on Friday, holding that it did not infringe freedom of expression. Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe praised the decision.

Indiana House Speaker Has Not Decided About Opening Prayer

Last year, an Indiana federal court ruled that the Indiana House of Representatives had violated the Establishment Clause by opening its sessions with specifically sectarian prayers. (See prior posting.) After the ruling, House members gathered in the back of the House Chamber before the sessions began to offer prayers, rather than switching to non-sectarian prayers from the podium. The state Senate, even though it was not a party to the litigation, switched to a moment of silence at the opening of their sessions. The Indianapolis Star reports that as of Friday, current House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer had not decided whether, when the new session opens tomorrow, the House will have an official invocation as has been the tradition for 189 years. He says that whatever he does will be consistent with the court's order. The court's decision is currently on appeal.

UPDATE: On Monday, House Speaker Pat Bauer opened the 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly with a non-sectarian prayer whose text had been approved by state Attorney General Steve Carter. The same prayer will be read every day as the opening invocation. (Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal).

Italian Interior Minister Wants To Monitor Foreign Funds For Mosques

Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato is urging closer monitoring of foreign funding for religious buildings and mosques in Italy. BBC News and the International Herald Tribune reported last Friday on his proposal. He wants to copy the French example and set up a foundation, with government representation on the board, that would monitor funds coming in, particularly from foreign governments. Amato is concerned about foreign Islamic groups attempting to gain a foothold in Italy. He is also concerned about the teaching of radical ideas in Islamic schools, and wants to monitor them to make sure they respect national standards, particularly in selecting teachers. Italy's Islamic Council, an advisory group to the government, supports the proposals. However, Hamza Roberto Piccardo, secretary of the radical Union of Islamic Communities, opposed the proposal. He says that Italy's Constitution assures religious groups autonomy. He also said: "There are no Islamic schools in Italy. There are only Arabic schools."

Hindu Violence Against Christians In India Reported

BosNewsLife yesterday reported on a number of physical attacks against Christians by Hindus in India during New Years week. Apparently the violence was encouraged by media reports criticizing Christian missionary workers. Also, on Christmas Eve over 100 Christians re-converted to Hinduism in Chhattisgarh. The incidents are related to concern among Hindus about the conversion of low-cast Hindu Dalits to Christianity. (See prior related posting.)

Books Treat Role of Religion In U.S. History

The Associated Press last week reviewed a new college history book, Unto a Good Land: A History of the American People (Eerdmans). Focusing on social and cultural history, the book is different because of its coverage of the impact of religion on American history. The book is nonsectarian, and covers both the good and bad impact religion has had from pre-Columbian times to present in the U.S.

The same publisher-- Eerdmans-- has also recently published Geiko Muller-Fahrenholz, America's Battle for God: A European Christian Looks at Civil Religion (2006).

UPDATE: Sunday's New York Times reviews Chris Hedges, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, (Free Press). Reviewer Rick Perlstein says that Hedges "writes on this subject as a neophyte, and pads out his dispatches with ungrounded theorizing, unconvincing speculation and examples that fall far short of bearing out his thesis."

Nurse Who Refused To Administer "Plan B" Still In Court

In Lemly v. St. Tammany Parish Hospital District No. 1, (LA Dist. Ct., Dec. 15, 2006), a Louisiana state trial court denied hospital’s motion for summary judgment in a case brought by a nurse employed there who objected on religious grounds to administering the "morning after" pill to patients. She claimed (full text of complaint) that the hospital refused to make reasonable accommodation for her religious beliefs and dismissed her from her full time position because of those beliefs, in violation of the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law. A release issued yesterday by Alliance Defense Fund discusses the case.

Recent Articles On Law and Religion

From SSRN:
Qerkin Berisha, The Right to Nondiscrimination in the Context of Kosovo, (2005).

Ali L. Khan, Combating Defamation of Religions, (The American Muslim, January 1, 2007).

From SmartCILP:
Dominique Custos, Secularism in French Public Schools: Back to War? The French Statute of March 15, 2004, 54 American Journal of Comparative Law 337-399 (2006).

Richard Hardack, Bad Faith: Race, Religion and the Reformation of Welfare Law, 4 Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal 539-649 (2006)

Gidon Sapir, How Should a Court Deal With a Primary Question That the Legislature Seeks to Avoid? The Israeli Controversy Over Who Is a Jew As an Illustration, 39 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 1233-1302 (2006).

Michele Alexandre, Big Love: Is Feminist Polygamy an Oxymoron Or a True Possibility?, 18 Hastings Women's Law Journal 3-30 (2007).

Jay Michaelson, In Praise of the Pound of Flesh: Legalism, Multiculturalism, and the Problem of the Soul, 6 Journal of Law in Society 98-153 (2005).

Eighth Grader Sues School To Be Part of "Silent Solidarity"

Last week, the Alliance Defense Fund (release) filed suit on behalf of a Clifton Park, NY eighth grade student who, with several friends, was prevented from expressing pro-life views in school during the "3rd Annual Students' Day of Silent Solidarity" sponsored by the Christian youth organization Stand True. The middle school student attempted to hand out leaflets, wore a t-shirt with a pointed message on it, and wore tape over his mouth for the day with the word "Life" on the tape. The student had obtained permission from his teachers to remain silent in class that day. The students were instructed by the principal to turn their t-shirts inside out so the messages could not be read, to dispose of the fliers and to remove the tape on their mouths. Students who had already received fliers were instructed to hand them to school officials. The suit alleges violation of plaintiff's free speech rights, arguing that the principal's action constituted viewpoint discrimination and imposition of a prior restraint, and claims school regulations were unconstitutionally vague and that plaintiff was denied equal protection of the laws. (Full text of complaint.)

California Senator Rescinds Award To Islamic Activist

Democratic U.S. Senator from California, Barbara Boxer, has rescinded a certificate of achievement award that her office gave to Sacramento Islamic activist Basim Elkarra last November, according to CAIRwatch attacked the award, claiming that the group Elkarra represents -- Council on American Islamic Relations -- holds extremist views and supports international terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. CAIR spokesman Hussam Alyoush says his group is being attacked because of its criticism of Israel. Yesterday CAIR issued a press release giving its official response, anindicatingng that Senator Boxer has indicated she is willing to meet with CAIR officials to hear their views.

Tennessee County Commission Hesitates On 10 Commandments Settlement

The Rutherford, Tennessee County Commission is balking over approving the settlement of a lawsuit filed against it in 2002 by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the county’s decision to post the Ten Commandments at the county courthouse. The Murfreesboro, TN Daily News Journal today reported on developments. In September, the federal district court issued a declaratory judgment in favor of the ACLU, and now County Mayor Ernest Burgess has recommended approval of a settlement in which the county would agree not to appeal the preliminary injunction and would pay $50,000 of the ACLU’s attorneys’ fees.

This past Thursday, the county’s Steering Committee refused to either accept or reject the proposed settlement, in part because county attorney Jim Cope was not at the meeting to answer questions. So the proposal will now go to the full County Commission for discussion. Mike Sparks, one of the Commissioners opposed to the settlement said, "This is nothing but a shakedown by the ACLU to use the taxpayers’ money to foot their agenda." But Steve Cates, a retired high school government teacher who was one of the plaintiffs said: "It's not the ACLU that has an agenda. It's various religious groups that has an agenda…. My people have been here since the early 1800s, and I don't get it. I understand the historical connection to Christian faith, but I also understand our country is composed of lots of other faiths. There's no need for the government to be using religion to be cruel to other people whether it be Christians or Muslims or whoever it is."

Georgia Governor Will Propose Elimination of "Blaine Amendment"

Southern Voice yesterday reported that Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s December 12 speech to state lawmakers outlining his 2007 legislative agenda includes a proposal to amend Georgia’s constitution (Sec. IX) to eliminate prohibitions on state funding of social services delivered by faith-based organizations. The proposed Faith and Family Services Amendment would eliminate Georgia’s prohibition on pending that directly or indirectly aids any religious denomination, and would instead impose only the same limitations that the federal constitution does. (Governor’s press release.) Larry Pelligrini, a gay rights activist and statehouse lobbyist, says that the proposal will allow social service agencies that receive state contracts to discriminate against gays and lesbians, as well as allowing them to proselytize clients who receive services from them. However Bert Brantley, speaking for the Governor’s office, said—without specifying details-- that the amendment would not foster anti-gay discrimination by religious groups. The same amendment failed to get approval of the Georgia legislature last year. (See prior posting.)

New Congress Is Religiously Diverse

The Baptist Standard today reprints a report from Religion News Service on the diverse religious make-up of the new Congress that was sworn in yesterday:

The new Congress will, for the first time, include a Muslim, two Buddhists, more Jews than Episcopalians and the highest-ranking Mormon in congressional history.

Roman Catholics remain the largest single faith group in Congress, accounting for 29 percent of all members of the House and Senate, followed by Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Jews and Episcopalians.

While Catholics in Congress are nearly 2-to-1 Democrats, the most lopsidedly Democratic groups are Jews and those not affiliated with any religion. Of the 43 Jewish members of Congress, there is only one Jewish Republican in the House and two in the Senate. The six religiously unaffiliated members of the House all are Democrats.

The most-Republican groups are the small band of Christian Scientists in the House (all five are Republican), and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (12 Republicans and three Democrats)—though the top-ranking Mormon in the history of Congress will be Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the incoming Democratic majority leader.

Spokane Diocese Files Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan

The Seattle Times reports that yesterday the Catholic Diocese of Spokane, Washington filed a reorganization plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The Diocese will pay $48 million to settle claims of sex abuse victims and other creditors. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Gregg Zive who has acted as mediator says that the plan calls for parishes to raise $10 million, insurers will pay about $20 million, and the Diocese will raise the remaining $18 million through sales of assets and contributions from other Catholic entities. In addition, the plan calls for the Diocese to post the names of all known abusers on its website, furnish victims a forum to talk about their experiences, and have Spokane Bishop William Skylstad identify abusive priests from the pulpits of the parishes in which they served. The plan also sets out procedures to deal with claims that are asserted in the future by sex abuse victims who have not yet come forward. The plan must still be confirmed by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Patricia Williams and then voted on by creditors. The Spokane Diocese will be the third diocese to emerge from a bankruptcy reorganization.

State Department Praises Ellison's Swearing-In

The State Department's USINFO website yesterday extensively covered Representative Keith Ellison being sworn in using the Quran. Ellison, a representative from Minnesota, is the first Muslim elected to Congress. In a story apparently designed to appeal to Muslims around the world, the State Department said:

The introduction of the Quran into congressional oath-taking is evidence of the growing religious diversity of the United States. The Quran used by Ellison during his January 4 ceremonial swearing-in is unique. It once belonged to Thomas Jefferson, drafter of the Declaration of Independence and third U.S. president. The Library of Congress, which obtained the book from Jefferson in 1815, loaned it to Ellison for the occasion. It is an English translation from the Arabic first published in London in 1734.

Jefferson, who gave much thought to religion, in 1802 wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association: “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between church and State.”

Muslims first arrived in the United States in slave ships from Africa. One of these, Abdur Rahman Ibrahima ibn Sori, was brought from Guinea to Mississippi in the early 19th century. He won his freedom through the intercession of Mississippi Senator Thomas Reed and the sultan of Morocco, who successfully petitioned Secretary of State Henry Clay and President John Quincy Adams to free Sori.

Today, Muslim Americans number several million. Ellison’s election and his inclusion of the Quran in his swearing-in ceremony highlight the legacy of religious freedom enshrined in the Constitution and the contributions to American society made by people of diverse faiths.

Workday Minnesota yesterday said that at a community send-off in St. Anthony, MN, Ellison received blessings from a Baptist pastor, a Jewish rabbi, and a Muslim imam. Meanwhile on the floor of the House of Representatives, Ellison and Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode-- who had strongly criticized Ellison's use of the Koran-- shook hands and agreed to talk more at a later date. (Richmond (VA) Times Dispatch).

Iranian Musician Sentenced For Insulting Islam

Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty reported yesterday that Iranian authorities have sentenced a member of the well-known band, Shanbezadeh, to two years in prison for "insulting Islam" by playing religious music of the southern Iranian city of Bushehr during a performance in Paris last year. The court issued the judgment after watching a recording of the performance.

Suit Challenges Church's Eviction of Charter School

The Arizona Republic reports on arguments yesterday in Maricopa (AZ) County Superior Court in a lawsuit against Village of Oak Creek Community Church of the Nazarene which has evicted a state-run charter school from the church premises. Pastor Jeff Branaman said that when the church rented space to Desert Star Community School, it did not know that it would teach material that contradicted the church's beliefs. The church objects to some of the books used by the school, to fliers that used images of dragons, and to teaching of Greek mythology. Branaman said: "We take very seriously the Bible. . . . We have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ." However, Assistant Attorney General Michelle Swann representing the Sedona-area charter school argued that the church has engaged in religious discrimination. Judge Timothy Ryan has issued an order allowing the school to remain temporarily while he decides the case. A ruling is expected next Wednesday.

Park Service Still Sells Creationist Account Of Grand Canyon

The National Center for Science Education yesterday issued a release calling attention to the National Park Service's failure to carry through on its promise to review its 2003 approval for the sale at the Grand Canyon National Park Bookstore of a book that claims the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's flood instead of by geologic forces. The promise to review approval of Grand Canyon: A Different View was made to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) (Dec. 2006 press release). PEER renewed its call for review shortly after Mary Bomar took office as new director of the National Park Service.

India Court To Hear Challenge To Statue of Anti-Hindu Reformer

Today India's Supreme Court will hear arguments in a controversy over a statue of E.V. Ramasami Naicker, known as Periyar, that was put up in front of Sri Ranganathaswamy Hindu Temple in Srirangam, a small town in southern India. (Background from News Today.) A number of court cases have been filed to prevent the statue from being dedicated, and the statue was vandalized in early December. (India eNews.) Periyar, who died in 1973, was an atheist, anti-Hindu social reformer who founded the Dravidar Kazhagam, a radical party that, among other things, wanted to eliminate "untouchability".

A report yesterday from News Today says that the Supreme court arguments today focus on a request to have the statue covered pending a hearing on the underlying dispute scheduled in the Madras High Court. The controversial statue carries an inscription (quoting Periyar) that reads: "One who worships god is a barbarian. One who preaches about god is an idiot and one who professes any religion is a fraud." The suit alleges that allowing the statue to remain near the temple would infringe Constitutionally protected freedom of religion. The suit argues that it is the duty of the State to protect residents from injury or insult to their religious sentiments.

Ellison Will Use Thomas Jefferson's Quran For Swearing-In

Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, has demonstrated his political skill in dealing with his controversial plan to have his ceremonial swearing-in take place on the Quran. (See prior posting.) Yesterday's Washington Post reports that Ellison will use an English version of the Quran that once belonged to Thomas Jefferson. It is now held by the Library of Congress which acquired it in 1815 as part of a collection Jefferson sold for $24,000 to replace the congressional library that had been burned by British in the War of 1812. Rick Jauert, a spokesman for Ellison, said: "Jefferson's Quran dates religious tolerance to the founders of our country."

Minneapolis Airport Proposes To Suspend Muslim Cabbies Who Refuse Passengers

Last fall, the media reported widely on a proposal by the Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) to accommodate the religious concerns of some Muslim taxi drivers who objected to transporting passengers carrying openly displayed alcohol. (See prior postings 1, 2 .) It was less widely reported that the proposals were never adopted. Instead, according to yesterday's Minneapolis Star Tribune, the MAC staff is now proposing to suspend the license of any driver who refuses to transport a passenger for reasons other than safety concerns. The full commission is expected to vote to hold public hearings on the proposal that would suspend drivers who refuse on religious grounds to accept passengers transporting alcohol or service dogs (Islam considers the saliva of dogs unclean). The cabbie's airport license would be suspended for 30 days for a first offense and two years for a second offense.

Refusals of service on religious grounds has become a significant problem as a large percentage of airport cab drivers are Somali Muslims. However the Somali Justice Advocacy Center supports the proposed new penalties.

Muslims also have another disagreement with the Airports Commission. They want a separate prayer room at the airport. However MAC spokesman Patrick Hogan says that there is a quiet area currently open to everyone for contemplation and prayer, and separate space for a particular religion will not be provided.

Military Times Poll On Religion In Military Released

Blog from the Capital on Tuesday called attention to a poll published last week by the Military Times, asking questions about race and religion in the military. 55% of respondents said that religion does not play a more important part in military life today than when they first joined the service. 80% said they feel free to practice and express their religion in the military. Asked how often military events they attended other than meals and chapel services began with a prayer, 36% said once per month while 25% said never.

The methodology used for the poll makes it unclear how accurate it is in reflecting the opinions of the entire military. Military Times mailed questionnaires to 6,000 people drawn at random from its list of active-duty subscribers-- those who pay the annul $55 subscription fee. It is unclear whether the subscriber base is representative of the entire military. The Military Times did not specifically indicate how many of the 6,000 questionnaires were returned; however an examination of the raw data available online suggests that 955 readers responded. The Military Times did report that 35% of respondents said they were Protestant, 29% were Catholic, 7% were Evangelical Christian, 2% were Mormon, 1% were Jewish, 0% were Muslim, 13% were Other, and 12% had No Preference.

Arrest Warrant Need Not Reflect Current Religious Name

In Raahkim El Bey v. Roop, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93995 (SD OH, Dec. 29, 2006), an Ohio federal Magistrate Judge held that while some state action that interferes with a person's use of his religious name would violate the Free Exercise clause, no violation occurs when a person is arrested under a warrant charging him with a crime under a different name. It was sufficient that police and federal marshals had a well-founded belief that Raahkim El Bey was the same person wanted on the arrest warrant issued for Billie Greene. The court held that a person may not "avoid criminal liability incurred under one name merely by changing that name, regardless of the religious or cultural motivation."

Discrimination Against Christians In Syria

Agape Press yesterday reported that even though many Iraqi Christians are fleeing to Syria, they will not receive a warm welcome there. Keith Roderick, an official with Christian Solidarity International, says that Christians in Syria suffer oppression and discrimination, particularly in employment. Even principals in Christian schools are required to be Muslims.

Michigan Church Wins RLUIPA Challenge; Law's Constitutionality Upheld

In Lighthouse Community Church of God v. City of Southfield, Civil Case No. 05-40220 (ED MI, Jan. 3, 2007) [available on PACER], a Michigan federal district court held that Southfield, Michigan's denial of an occupancy certificate to Lighthouse Community Church violated RLUIPA. Southfield denied Lighthouse the right to operate a church in a building it owned because the building had too few parking spaces. An ordinance required a certain number of parking places, and Southfield refused to grant the church a variance. In its decision, the court upheld the constitutionality of the land use provisions of RLUIPA, finding them to be a valid exercise of Congress' powers under Sec. 5 of the 14th Amendment. The court rejected claims that RLUIPA violates the Establishment Clause and the 10th Amendment. Yesterday's Detroit Free Press reported on the decision. (See prior postings 1, 2.)

UPDATE: The decision is now available on LEXIS at 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28.

Romania's President Signs Controversial Religion Law

Despite appeals from human rights groups (see prior posting), on December 27 Romania's President Traian Basescu approved a Religion Law that was passed hurriedly by Parliament. Forum18 yesterday reported that challenges to the law are planned in the Constitutional Court and possibly in the European Court of Human Rights. The new law bans "religious defamation" and "public offence to religious symbols," provisions that might be used to silence minority religions. Activists are also concerned about provisions in the law that impose long waiting periods for recognition and give different levels of legal recognition for religious communities depending in part on the number of members in the community.

UPDATE: The Romanian civil rights group, Solidarity for Freedom of Conscience, plans to go to the European Court of Human Rights to challenge Romania’s new Religion Law. On Friday Playfuls.com reported that critics claim this provision is broad enough to cover rock songs or works of Western literature and philosophy such as Nietzsche’s, The Antichrist. Meanwhile the Catholic Church in Romania says that the new law “is still perfectable”. (Mediafax).

No Plaintiffs Volunteer To Challenge Florida County's Ten Commandments

Today's St. Petersburg, Florida Times reports that the Freedom From Religion Foundation has been unable to find a resident of Dixie County Florida to act as plaintiff in a suit to challenge a Ten Commandments monument that the county has placed on its courthouse steps. (See prior posting.) The county's population is only 14,000. The Thomas More law Center has offered to represent the county without charge if suit is filed against it.

Iraqi Christians Formally Petition For Separate Province

ANS reports today that the Assyrian Christian Community in Iraq has presented the government of Iraq with its Formal Request for an Assyrian Province. Reacting to a "brain drain" of almost half of the Christian community, Iraq's foreign minister encouraged the Assyrian community to take this step. He said: "According to the Constitution the Assyrian Christians as the original people of Iraq are entitled under the constitution to a Province of their own." (See prior related posting.)

Malaysia's High Court Permits Challenge To Selangor Sharia Enforcement

Malaysia's Federal Court today gave permission for a lawsuit to be filed by a Muslim who has been charged by Selangor state authorities with illegally claiming to be God's prophet. Both the International Herald Tribune and Sun2Surf report on the case. Abdul Kahar Ahmad received permission from Malaysia's highest court to bring a challenge to the power of Islamic authorities in Selangor state after authorities issued a fatwah declaring his teachings as deviationist beliefs and then filed charges against him. Ahmad's lawsuit claims that various provisions in the Selangor Syariah Criminal Enactment 1995 and the Islamic Religious Administration (Selangor) Enactment 2003 violate his constitutionally protected freedom of religion. It also claims that under the Malaysian Constitution, only Parliament, and not state assemblies, have the right to make criminal laws. Finally Ahmad claims that some of the offences with which he is charged are not violations of Islamic law. Ahmad's lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar said the suit is in part intended to challenge the narrow interpretation of Islam by Malaysian religious authorities.