Indian Tribe Seeks To Preserve Sacred Items Far From Reservation

The Day (New London, CT) today reprints a New York Times News Service story on the legal battle being waged by Arizona's Quechan Indians. They are attempting to force Arizona Clean Fuels, developers of a planned $4 billion refinery located 40 miles away from the Quechan reservation, to conduct an archaeological and cultural inventory to look for sacred Quechan remains. At issue is how far beyond the borders of their reservations Indian tribes can extend their demands for cultural preservation. The Quechans have already stopped a planned gold mine and a planned nuclear waste dump in California beyond the borders of their reservation. However in June a federal district court refused to issue a preliminary injunction to stop the land transfers involved in the refinery project. Quechan Indian Tribe v. United States DOI, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47974 (D AZ, June 29, 2007), and the case is on appeal to the 9th Circuit. Meanwhile, last month the district court completely dismissed a portion of the complaint in the case, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50776 (D AZ, July 12, 2007).

Sri Lankan Buddhists Concerned About New Movie, "Music and Lyrics"

The February 2007 Warner Bros. film, Music and Lyrics, has created a legal and religious controversy in Sri Lanka. Colombo's Sunday Times reports that the film has offended Buddhists who have seen it because of the final scene in which film character Cora Corman (played by Haley Bennett) emerges, scantily clad, from a figure of Buddha. Sri Lanka's Secretary of Religious Affairs and Moral Uplift, P. Kodituwakku , said that currently there is no law on the books that allows the government to take action against the film, though the Cabinet has been considering new legislation that would prohibit the misuse of religious symbols. Last year, Ven. Daranagala Kusaladhamma Thera, Chief Incumbent of Sri Sambodhi Viharaya, filed a suit in the Supreme Court challenging misuse of religious symbols in another case, and, while the Court has not yet decided the case, it did order that no religious image should be used in a manner that insults a religion until its decision is handed down.

Connecticut Episcopal Diocese Sues Break-Away Parish

Another lawsuit joins the long list of those involving property disputes between break-away Episcopal congregations and their former Diocese. This time it is the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut suing Trinity Episcopal Church in Bristol. In May, the parish affiliated with the conservative Anglican Church of Nigeria in a dispute over the ordination of an openly gay man as the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire. Yesterday's Hartford Courant reported the lawsuit claims that by doing so, Trinity's leaders gave up the right to control parish property. Trinity and five other parishes are already appealing a case they lost last year in which they challenged the Diocese's attempt at that time to remove their priests and take over parish property. [See prior posting.] [Thanks to Nick Uva for the lead.]

NYT Magazine Explores the Politics of God

This morning's New York Times Magazine carries a long cover story by Columbia University professor Mark Lilla titled The Politics of God. Here is an excerpt:

A little more than two centuries ago we began to believe that the West was on a one-way track toward modern secular democracy and that other societies, once placed on that track, would inevitably follow. Though this has not happened, we still maintain our implicit faith in a modernizing process and blame delays on extenuating circumstances like poverty or colonialism. This assumption shapes the way we see political theology, especially in its Islamic form — as an atavism requiring psychological or sociological analysis but not serious intellectual engagement. Islamists, even if they are learned professionals, appear to us primarily as frustrated, irrational representatives of frustrated, irrational societies, nothing more. We live, so to speak, on the other shore. When we observe those on the opposite bank, we are puzzled, since we have only a distant memory of what it was like to think as they do. We all face the same questions of political existence, yet their way of answering them has become alien to us. On one shore, political institutions are conceived in terms of divine authority and spiritual redemption; on the other they are not. And that, as Robert Frost might have put it, makes all the difference....

Even the most stable and successful democracies, with the most high-minded and civilized believers, have proved vulnerable to political messianism and its theological justification. If we can understand how that was possible in the advanced West, if we can hear political theology speaking in a more recognizable tongue, represented by people in familiar dress with familiar names, perhaps then we can remind ourselves how the world looks from its perspective.

Hindu Priest To Open California Senate Session

Later this month, a Hindu priest will deliver the opening prayer before the California state Senate. India-West reports that the invocation, scheduled for August 27, will be delivered by Rajan Zed, who last month became the first Hindu clergy member to deliver the invocation in the United States Senate. That milestone was accompanied by protests in the U.S. Senate Gallery by a group of conservative Christians. (See prior posting.) [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Court Dismisses Suit Over Expulsion of Student From Catholic School

In Connor v. Archdiocese of Philadelphia, (PA Super. Ct., Aug. 16,2007), a Pennsylvania state appellate court upheld the dismissal of claims alleging defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress brought by the parents of a 7th grade Catholic school student who had been expelled from school. The claims grew out of a letter sent to other school parents by school personnel , allegedly falsely accusing their son of bringing a penknife to school. The trial court dismissed the claims under the First Amendment-based "deference rule" which denies civil courts jurisdiction over ecclesiastical issues. The appellate court agreed that "it is not within the purview of the courts of this Commonwealth, under the guise of a tort action, to review a decision to expel a student from a parochial school." It went on to say that, "if our civil courts may not review an action that challenges the legitimacy of a disciplinary decision of a parochial school, then, in like fashion, they may not review an action that challenges the dissemination of information regarding that decision, at the very least within the narrowly circumscribed limits of the parish community."

Indian State to Ban Non-Hindu Activities Near Temple

Bowing to the wishes of the board that administers the Sri Venkateswara Temple (see prior posting), the government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has announced that it plans to impose a ban on non-Hindu religious activities in a 110 sq. km. area surrounding the shrine. Christian Today reported on Saturday that the Global Council of Indian Christians has asked the governor of the state not to approve the legislation imposing the ban. They fear the ban will be used to harass non-Hindu residents in the area. The law will also require federal government approval before it can go into effect.

UPDATE: Apparently this new legislation is in addition to legislation enacted in June that permits the Andhra Pradesh government to prohibit propagation of religion in places of worship other than the religion traditionally practiced there. That law, the Andhra Pradesh Propagation of Other Religions in the Places of Worship or Prayer (Prohibition) Ordinance, 2007 was implemented by Government Order 747 that applies the prohibtion to 20 Temples in the state. (Persecution Update India.) The Aug. 20 Times of India says that Christian groups will file suit in the High Court challenging the constitutionality of that Order, and arguing that it is being misapplied to also ban social work by non-Hinud groups in the 20 towns involved.

Utah Judge Interviews Candidates For FLDS Trust Advisors

In St. George, Utah on Friday, a state district judge held a hearing to interview eight individuals who have been nominated to serve on the advisory board for the United Effort Plan, the trust that holds the property of the Fundamentalist Church of latter Day Saints, formerly led by Warren Jeffs. The court took control of the trust in 2005 and appointed Bruce Wisan as special fiduciary to manage the trust’s $100 million in assets. Today’s Deseret Morning News and Salt Lake Tribune both report on the hearing and on the complexities involved in determinations the board will need to make in allocating businesses and homes to individuals who are or were FLDS members. (See prior related posting.)

NY Court Decides Standing Issues In Challenge To Yeshiva Housing

Last Tuesday, a New York State appellate court issued a complicated decision on various parties’ rights to bring suit to challenge an enactment by the Town of Ramapo that permitted the construction in residential areas of adult married-student housing for students attending Orthodox Jewish educational institutions in the town. Four villages located within the Town, as well as two residents of the Town, challenged the ordinance on various grounds.—including the procedures used in enacting the law, its compliance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), and constitutional challenges based on alleged discrimination against unmarried students, on favoritism of one religious group and on alleged improper exercise of the Town’s police powers.

In In re Village of Chestnut Ridge v. Town of Ramapo, (App. Div., 2d Dept., Aug. 14, 2007), the court concluded that the Villages have standing to assert the environmental claims and claims regarding required reviews of the proposed zoning law. The individuals have standing to assert these, plus claims that the law was inconsistent with provisions on municipal home rule, that it was inconsistent with the Town’s comprehensive plan, and that its enactment exceeded the Town’s police powers. None of the parties have standing to raise the other constitutional claims being asserted.

Covering the decision, today’s Lower Hudson Journal News quoted Dennis Lynch, attorney for one of the developers involved, who said the appeals court decision "is a lawyer's delight because everyone can sue everybody."

Church Appeals RLUIPA Eminent Domain Decision

In Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Life United Pentecostal Church filed an appeal Friday of a trial court's decision that allows the Board of Education to take the church’s property through eminent domain. The church had invoked the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act to prevent the taking. (See prior posting.) The Rocky Mount Telegram says that the parties, however, are scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss the price that the Board is willing to pay for the land. The church wants $1.8 million. The Board says the land is worth $788,400.

11th Circuit Rejects Dismissal of Free Exercise Claim By MSW Student

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals today issued an interesting split opinion in a First Amendment speech and free exercise case-- Watts v. Florida International University, (11th Cir., Aug. 17, 2007). The case arose when John Watts, a Master of Social Work student at Florida International, a state university, could not graduate because he had been terminated from participating in a required practicum in which he was enrolled at a private psychiatric hospital. His dismissal came after he advised a patient that she join a bereavement support group. When the patient asked where she could find such a group, Watts, noting that her record showed she was Catholic, indicated that "church" was one of the options. The hospital said that this was "inappropriate behavior related to patients, regarding religion."

The Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's dismissal of Watts free speech claim, finding that, under the Supreme Court decision in Connick v. Myers, the government as Watts' employer could dismiss him even though it was based on speech. He was not here speaking as a citizen on matters of public concern. The court assumed, without discussing the matter, that the Connick test does not apply to a dismissal of an employee for exercise of religious beliefs.

The majority (Carnes, J. with Hill, J. concurring in his opinion) then held that, at least on the pleadings, Watts stated a valid free exercise claim when his complaint alleged: "Mr. Watts' religious beliefs include the belief that a patient who professes a religion is entitled to be informed if the counselor is aware of a religious avenue within the patient's religion that will meet the appropriate therapy protocol for the patient. Mr. Watts' termination for his 'religious speech' evidences Defendants' intent to compel Mr. Watts to act contrary to his religious beliefs and constitutes a substantial burden on the exercise of his religious beliefs."

Judge Tjoflat dissenting argued that while Watts had adequately plead that his beliefs were sincere, he had not adequately plead that they were religious as opposed to philosophical or professional. The majority responded to this argument, saying that Supreme Court precedent indicates that Watts need only "plead that he believes his religion compels him to take the actions that resulted in his termination. He need not plead now, or present later, 'objective' evidence that his belief is of the type that a judge would generally consider to be religious in nature. Watts is not on the hook for our inability to understand his religious system." [Thanks to Joel L. Sogol via Religionlaw listserv for the lead.]

New British Law Could Impose Faith-Based Probation Programs

Britain's National Secular Society says that under the country's new Offender Management Act 2007, faith-based organizations will be among those that can be used to provide probation services in local communities in England and Wales. Under the new law, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) can contract with private providers to offer service that can be made part of an offender's community service or release on license from prison. The public probation service will remain the only "lead provider" of services for the next three years, but after that, private providers, including faith-based ones, could be appointed as lead providers alone or as part of a consortium. Providers though will have to meet national standards, and offenders have an appeal to NOMS if they are unreasonably found in breach of their conditions of release.

NY Judge Orders Mosque Reopened While Dispute Is In Court

In Suffern, New York, a lawsuit has been filed in state court in an internal disagreement over finances and administration between factions in a local mosque. The board of Masjid Darul Ehsan had changed the locks on the mosque's doors, leading congregants to have to pray in the mosque's parking lot and in the village of Suffern's gazebo. After a hearing on Wednesday, Justice William Sherwood ordered the mosque be reopened for daily prayers under the leadership of Imam Mohammad Abdul Rehman Shah, who had been fired by the board earlier this month. However the order does not call for the mosque's summer school to be resumed. The lawsuit asks for an accounting of the mosque's income and expenditures, including the use that has been made of donations. The Lower Hudson Journal News yesterday reported on the developments, saying that another hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 14.

Court Rejects Mother's Demand For Christian Therapist In Custody Case

In Alameda County Social Service Agency v. K.H., (CA 1st Dist. Ct. App., Aug. 15, 2007), a California court of appeals rejected a mother's claim that her Free Exercise rights, as well as her statutory rights to "reasonable" reunification services, were infringed when a juvenile court failed to provide her with a Christian therapist after the mother's children were removed from her custody because of physical abuse. The court said: "Given mother’s varied and numerous objections to the referrals and her failure to attend her own appointments or to take her children to all of their appointments, the record supports a finding that this new request [for a Christian therapist] was nothing more than another tactic by mother to evade therapy...." The court said that her First Amendment argument "borders on the frivolous".

Turkmenistan Sentences Conscientious Objector To Jail

Forum18 reported this week that in Turkmenistan, a conscientious objector-- Suleiman Udaev-- who adheres to the Jehovah's Witness faith has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for evading military service. Last month, three other Jehovah's Witnesses received suspended sentences for refusing military service. Ten others have not at this point been prosecuted.

Cub Scout Working To Develop Native American Emblem

A Cub Scout who engages in special projects can be awarded a special emblem from his religious organization that he can wear on his scout uniform. Now a Clermont, Florida, Cub Scout is working to establish Scouting's first Native American religious emblem. Earlier this week, the AP reported that 9-year old Kinlichiinii John, along with his family and Navajo medicine men, are working on a design for the emblem and the guidelines for earning it. Religious emblems earned by scouts are issued by religious organizations, but must be approved by the Boy Scouts. At least 25 scouts must be members of the Native American church for the scouts to approve the emblem. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Louisiana College Plans To Open a "Biblical Worldview" Law School

TheAdvocate reports today that Louisiana College in Pineville, LA, has announced that it plans to open a "biblical worldview" law school in 2009. The newspaper reports that:

[College president, Joe] Aguillard said the law school will "unashamedly embrace" the nation’s "biblical roots" but still prepare graduates to pass the bar exam and practice law in Louisiana or nationwide. "We teach our students to have a passion to change the world in the name of Christ," he said.

Some anti-Christian courts have improperly interpreted the U.S. Constitution on issues involving religious liberties and family values, Aguillard said....

Louisiana College requires all of its faculty to "accept Jesus Christ" and was the scene of protests over an alleged lack of academic freedom as the college became more fundamentalist and conservative in recent years....

[Thanks to Melissa Rogers for the lead.]

Military Stops Group from Sending Apocalyptic Video Game To US Troops

ABC News yesterday reported that the Department of Defense has stopped plans by a Christian evangelical group to send soldiers in Iraq a video game in which Christian believers fight the Antichrist in the Battle of Armageddon. (See prior posting.) Operation Straight Up, an evangelical group that offers faith-based entertainment to military families, had been planning to include the games in care packages to troops. Troy Lyndon, producer of the game "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" says the game encourages players to recruit believers instead of killing the forces of the Antichrist.

Christian Groups Proposing Code of Conduct For Seeking Converts

The Associated Press reported yesterday that the World Evangelical Alliance has endorsed a move initiated last year by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Vatican to create a common code of conduct to govern proselytizing. The move comes in response to increasing concern over Christian evangelization expressed by Muslim and Hindu adherents in various countries. The WCC said the code of conduct could be an "advocacy tool in discussions with governments considering anti-conversion laws".

Group Urges IRS To Investigate California Church For Political Endorsement

On Tuesday, Americans United for Separation of Church and State wrote the Internal Revenue Service (full text of letter) urging it to investigate a Buena Park, California church for possible violations of Internal Revenue Code provisions that prohibit non-profits from endorsing political candidates. (AU press release.) AU says that on August 11 Dr. Wiley S. Drake, pastor of the First Southern Baptist Church, issued a press release on church letterhead endorsing Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, and urging other Southern Baptists to support him also. The endorsement was also broadcast on an August 13 Internet radio show.

Issues of Secularism Remain In Turkey's New Presidential Election

In Turkey, now that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that he will again nominate Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul for President, secular parties are again questioning whether the nomination is consistent with Turkey's tradition as a secular state. (See prior posting.) In Gul's previous run for President, much attention was focused on the fact that his wife wears an Islamic headscarf. Gul says that the country's constitution guarantees his wife the right to wear her religious symbol, and that he does not expect that this will become an issue with the Turkish military this time. Last time Gul ultimately withdrew and new Parliamentary elections were held. Yesterday, both Reuters and the Associated Press ran long articles on the background of the upcoming presidential selection by Parliament and the religious-secular clash posed by Gul's candidacy.

Woman Arrested After Disturbing Neighbors With Wicca Ritual

Waukesha, Wisconsin resident Brenna Barney, a practicing witch, told police they were infringing her free exercise of religion when they arrested her for disturbing her neighbors just after midnight on Tuesday. WISN-TV reports that Barney, engaging in a Wicca ritual marking the new moon, chanted and threw a doll into a bonfire she had lit. Barney, now out on bail, was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Agreement Furthers Proper Burials For Jewish Military In Russia

In Russia, the Federation of Jewish Communities (FJC) recently signed a cooperation agreement with VMK, the Russian company that is in charge of military funerals in the country. The agreement is designed to assure that Jewish religious law is followed in burying Jewish soldiers. A news release issued yesterday by Chabad.org says that FJC and VMK will also develop a new gravestone appropriate for Jewish military members, and will work on other problems faced in burying Jews, especially those who are indigent.

Indiana State Agency Ends Controversial Chaplaincy Program

The Associated Press reported yesterday that Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) has decided to end its new program of creating a network of volunteer clergy to work with its employees. Rev. Michael Latham, the Baptist minister who had been hired by the agency to implement the program, has been ill and recently went on disability leave. His job performance had become the subject of criticism. Also in May, the Freedom From Religion Foundation had filed suit challenging the constitutionality of using state funds to pay Latham's salary. (See prior posting.) The FSSA said that its decision to end the program was not a result of the pending litigation.

Canadian Company Settles Complaint On Muslim Cabbies and Guide Dogs

In the Canadian province of British Columbia, a taxi company has settled a complaint that had been filed with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal by Bruce Gilmour, a blind man who was refused service in West Vancouver by a Muslim cab driver. Driver Behzad Saidy considered Gilmour's guide dog "unclean" under Muslim law. According to yesterday's Toronto Star, the taxi company agreed to pay $2500 in damages, and to adopt a policy that would require Muslim drivers refusing passengers for religious reasons to call for another cab and stay with the blind person and guide dog until that cab arrives.

Texas State School Board Offers Narrow Policy On Student Religious Speech

Earlier this year, the Texas legislature passed and the governor signed the Religious Viewpoint Anti-Discrimination Act that requires schools to establish "a limited public forum for student speakers at all school events at which a student is to publicly speak". The law goes on to set out a model policy that schools may adopt to meet the requirements of the law. (See prior posting.) However, today's Austin (TX) American-Statesman reports that the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) has furnished its members with a different-- and narrower-- model policy that they could use to meet the requirements of the statute. Unlike the statutory model, the TASB policy does not require schools to have student speakers introduce football games and school announcements. More importantly, perhaps, the TASB policy says that public speech to which the new law applies is only speech in the student's own words-- and not speech that is first approved by school officials. Proponents of the law are concerned that schools adopting the TASB model could avoid the law's thrust by requiring all student remarks to first be approved by school officials.

Vermont Policy On Religious Vanity Plates Upheld Again

A Vermont federal Magistrate Judge has concluded that a challenge to the state Department of Motor Vehicles policy on vanity licence plates should be rejected. The policy prohibits the issuance of plates displaying religious references. Today's Rutland (VT) Herald says that the magistrate's report concluded that "The DMV has the right to prohibit religious messages on license plates provided it does not discriminate based on the particular message or viewpoint." Shawn Byrne, who applied for plates with the number "JN36TN" (referring to the biblical verse John 3:16), already lost his attempt to obtain a preliminary injunction when he first filed the case in 2005. (See prior posting.) Attorneys have until Aug. 27 to file objections to the recent Magistrate's report. Lawyer Jeremy Tedesco said Byrne will continue to press his claim that the state's policy amounts to unconstitutional discrimination against religious viewpoints.

Report On White House Faith-Based Conference In Minneapolis

The Minnesota Monitor this week carried a two-part series (part 1, part 2) on the White House Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives held last week in Minneapolis. Monitor reporter Andy Birkey reported that over 1000 people were in attendance. He summarized the atmosphere as follows:

Inside the conference, the official message was that government partnering with faith-based services can make America a better place. Unofficially, the message was apologetic and sometimes persecutive. Faith-based groups have been discriminated against in receiving grant money, many argued. The initiative is a way to "level the playing field."

Many presenters pointed to 'Minnesota Nice' as the ideal of the initiative, and the recent bridge collapse became a narrative for how faith-based groups and government can work together, particularly in Minnesota....

Perhaps the most important part of the conference was teaching the attendees, as well as state officials, the legal responsibilities that faith-based groups face in accepting government funds.

Despite those concerns, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty began his remarks by reading from the Bible.

Canadian University To Install Footbaths Without Controversy

In Canada, the University of British Columbia is planning to install foot baths in the men's and women's washrooms in the University's Brock Hall where a prayer room used by Muslim students is located. The decision seems to have been made without the controversies that similar decisions have generated in the United States. Vancouver's The Province yesterday quoted a university spokesperson who said: "It's no different from upgrading washrooms to accommodate transgender students or students with disabilities."

Role of Non-Profits In Election Campaigns Debated

Last week, the Hudson Institute sponsored a discussion between author Robert Egger and Georgetown University fellow Pablo Eisenberg titled Should Nonprofit Organizations Play an Active Role in Election Campaigns? A transcript of the discussion, an audio recording of it and opinion pieces from the participants that appeared in the Chronicle of Philanthropy are all available from a page on the Hudson Institute's website. Melissa Rogers has a long posting about the exchange on her blog, and BNA's Daily Report for Executives [subscription required] covered the discussion last Friday.

Here is Egger's provocative challenge:

If most people have a choice between feeding a poor kid and fighting the reason the kids are poor, they’re going to opt, right now, historically, for the organization that feeds the kid. It's like the old line – and I forget which activist said it: When I fed the poor, they called me a saint. When I asked why they were poor, they called me a communist. That's to a certain extent what’s going on here. And I think that we have to challenge this. And I do want to be able to say, vote for Joe, or vote for Jane, openly.

Eisenberg however thinks that there is plenty for non-profits to do without endorsing political candidates:

There are so many issues on which nonprofits ought to be speaking out and putting their muscle into that they're not doing. For example, how many nonprofits have had the guts to challenge foundations, corporate donors, and United Ways throughout the country on the pattern of their giving, which has in fact neglected poor people, has refused to find advocacy, and has supported primarily established organizations. You can almost count the number of nonprofits on the fingers of both hands.... How many nonprofits have attacked the excesses of corporate America? .... They should focus on those issues and not try to get involved in politics, which at the same time would endanger their tax status.

Czech Official Suggests State Funding of Catholic Church End

In the Czech Republic, Government Legislative Council head Cyril Svoboda has suggested that the Catholic Church become independent of the government by all Catholics sending 1% of their monthly income to the Church. The Prague Daily Monitor yesterday said that the proposal does not reflect the official position of the Christian Democrat party leadership.

Tax Fraud Indictment Against Evangelist Dismissed For Prosecutorial Misconduct

In United States v. Cerullo, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58142 (SD CA, Aug. 8, 2007), a San Diego, California federal district judge dismissed a tax evasion indictment against evangelist Morris Cerullo on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct that misled the grand jury. The court found: "During the prosecutor's presentation, the grand jury asked at least three times about how to differentiate between earned income and gifts. Each time the prosecutor answered without mentioning the most critical factor: the donor's intent. And each time he told the grand jury to listen to the testimony of the Internal Revenue Service Agent." The testimony of the IRS agents however was incorrect and misleading. The court went on to say:

this case illustrates the specter of a federal tax prosecution that faces every clergyman, minister, rabbi, and cleric who receives money after delivering a sermon. Such tax cases must be considered by government prosecutors with great care lest the Government trench on rights afforded by the Free Exercise Clause and convert that which is a guaranteed liberty into a federal crime. In this case, the prosecutor did not exercise that necessary care before the grand jury. Consequently, the grand jury was misled on the law, was unable to correctly adjudge the evidence, and no longer operated as an independent body and buffer between the Government and the Defendant.

Today's San Diego Union-Tribune reports on the decision.

Buddhists Illegally Release Reptiles Into New Jersey River

Officials of the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife are working with New York authorities to track down members from a New York sect of Amitabha Buddhists who released hundreds of live reptiles into the Passaic River on Sunday. The Buddhists are devout vegetarians who purchased the animals in New York's Chinatown in order to allow them to complete their natural life cycles and realize "their full karmic potential". NorthJersey.com reports that stocking fish or other species into the river without a permit can lead to a civil fine of up to $1000.

Kinghts of Columbus Will Shun Politicians Who Do Not Support Pro-Life Stance

LifeSite News reports that at its annual convention last week, the Knights of Columbus passed a resolution broadly reaffirming its pro-life stance, including its "long-standing policy of not inviting to any Knights of Columbus event, persons, especially public officials or candidates for public office, who do not support the legal protection of unborn children, or who advocate for the legalization of assisted suicide or euthanasia." The Resolution on Building a Culture of Life (full text) also said that candidates or public officials who do not have a pro-life agenda cannot use KofC facilities and will not be invited to serve as honorary chairpersons of KofC events or committees. The resolution also supported the Catholic Church's traditional teaching in opposition to the death penalty.

British Catholic School Cannot Fire Headteacher Who Entered Civil Union

Articles today in London's Daily Telegraph and yesterday in Britain's Pink News report that lawyers for the Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool have advised it that it cannot legally fire Charles Coyne, the head of St. Cecilia's primary school, who has entered into a same-sex civil union with a man who is believed to also teach at another school nearby. The archdiocese said that Coyne's personal life had not interfered with his management of the school. Britain's Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations provide only narrow exemptions for some religious positions outside the clergy. (See prior related posting.)

ACLU Sues Louisiana Over Unrerstricted Earmarks For Two Churches

An unusual earmarking of funds for two churches-- with no explanation of the purpose for which the funds are being granted-- has led the ACLU of Louisiana to bring suit against Louisiana's governor and state treasurer seeking a declaration that the state's budget bill (House Bill 1) violates the Establishment Clause and an injunction to prevent payment of the funds or obtain their return. (Full text of complaint.) In its press release and its Memorandum in Support of Its Motion the ACLU said that disclosure of the grants of $100,000 to Stonewall Baptist Church in Bossier City and $20,000 to Shreveport Christian Church came as a result of legislative reforms that require earmarks to be specifically listed. No restrictions are placed by the legislation on permissible use of the grants. The legislator who sponsored the earmarks did not respond to the ACLU's request for additional information about them.

San Diego Diocese Risks Dismissal of Its Bankruptcy Case After Misrepresentations

In the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings of the Diocese of San Diego, a California federal district judge on Friday issued an order described by the San Diego Union-Tribune as "rare and blistering". In the order (full text), Judge Louise DeCarl Adler orders the parties to show cause why the bankruptcy proceedings should not be dismissed in light of a July 30 report by court-appointed expert R. Todd Neilson. The report concludes that (1) some parishes are hiding assets and not depositing cash with the Diocese, (2) the Diocese has failed to properly account for all its land and fully disclose its bank accounts, (3) the Diocese has reported its assets at assessed valuation instead of fair market value, and (4) the Diocese failed to disclose material facts about its cash management system. Meanwhile, a federal mediator is working this week with the Diocese and attorneys for abuse victims to attempt to reach a settlement in some 150 pending claims. The report was ordered in April after Judge Adler threatened the Diocese with contempt for misrepresentations and shifting of assets. (See prior posting.) [Thanks to Rachel Steamer for the lead.]

NJ Church Group Sues To Prevent Order To Open Its Facilities For Civil Unions

In New Jersey, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OCGMA) filed suit last Saturday in federal court to prevent the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights from ordering it to open its Boardwalk Pavilion for use by a lesbian couple wishing to enter a civil union. The Pavilion, which is used for religious services and other activities, is also available for wedding ceremonies. OCGMA is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, whose doctrines specifically prohibit civil unions. Announcing the litigation, a release by the Alliance Defense Fund explains the state is investigating a complaint that contends the facility should be classified as a "public accommodation" subject to the state's anti-discrimination law. The lawsuit in Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association of the United Methodist Church v. Vespa-Papaleo (full text of complaint) seeks a declaratory judgment and an injunction to insure that the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination is not applied in a way that prevents OCGMA from using its buildings only for purposes consistent with its religious beliefs. the complaint asserts that OCGMA's First Amendment rights have been violated by subjecting it to an investigation and threat of prosecution.

UPDATE: Today's New York Times reports on the lawsuit, saying that the Boardwalk Pavilion is viewed by many as a public facility because it is regularly used for rest or shade by members of the public. The Times also reports that OCGMA has stopped using the Pavilion for weddings in order to avoid the kinds conflicts that are presented in this lawsuit.

Justice Department Settles Religious Discrimination Suit Against Florida County

The U.S. Department of Justice yesterday announced that it had reached agreement with Palm Beach County, Florida in connection with a complaint that the county had refused to reasonably accommodate a park ranger's request that his work schedule permit him to attend church and refrain from work on Sundays. The agreement to reinstate the ranger, who resigned after accommodations were refused, will be incorporated into a consent decree in a Title VII religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in a Florida federal district court. The agreement also provides for back pay and retroactive pension contributions for the ranger, and for enforcement and training so that the county's existing religious accommodation policy is properly enforced.

Florida Defendant Will Dress As Satanist At His Murder Trial

In Florida, an accused murderer defending himself has been permitted by a Miami-Dade County judge to wear a Satanic outfit-- all black with a cap and special jewelry-- in court today as jury selection begins for his murder trial. Today's Miami Herald says that defendant Lazaro Galindo argues that the First Amendment gives him the right to wear the outfit that is related to his religion.

UPDATE: The Miami Herald reported that just before he began picking a jury on Monday, defendant Lazaro Galindo told the judge that he had found God and would not wear his Satanic garb in court.

Egypt To Stengthen Penalties Against Female Circumcision

MedIndia reports that Egyptian authorities plan to introduce legislation this fall to strengthen penalties against female circumcision after a 13-year old died while undergoing the procedure. The International Herald Tribune said that this is the second such death within the last two months. After the first death, Egypt's health minister banned all members of the medical professions from performing the procedure, currently punishable by up to 3 years in prison. Egyptian religious leaders have begun to speak out against the practice which many Egyptian Muslims and Christians think is religiously mandated.

Church Says Zoning Forcing Social Service Clients Into Church Violates RLUIPA

Yesterday's Washington Post reports that in Calvert County, Maryland-- generally seen as part of the Bible Belt-- the Chesapeake Church has filed an interesting RLUIPA claim against county officials. At issue is a food pantry and counseling center next to the church building. The county wants the church to close a driveway entrance from an adjacent highway to the social service areas. The church says this will essentially require it to integrate the counseling center and food pantry with the church-- forcing those who have different religious beliefs to go through the church itself to gain access to food or counseling. That will likely drive away social service clients with different religious beliefs. The church, however, has complicated its burden by refusing to file a site plan at all-- saying that the Planning Commission will likely not overrule the recommendation of its staff that the driveway be closed. Instead the Church sued in federal district court in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Church's website has an FAQ page regarding the lawsuit.

High Execution Rate In Texas Attributed To Conservative Christian Influence

A Reuters article yesterday focuses on the large number of executions carried out by the Texas penal system-- almost 400 so far this year. It attributes this emphasis on capital punishment in large part to "the influence of the state's conservative evangelical Christians." SMU political science Professor Matthew Wilson says: "A lot of evangelical Protestants not only believe that capital punishment is permissible but that it is demanded by God. And they see sanction for that in the Old Testament especially."

Indonesians Rally In Support of Caliphate

In Jakarta, Indonesia on Sunday, some 80,000 people attended a rally in support of re-establishing the Islamic Caliphate. Today's CNS News reports on the gathering, organized by the Sunni organization, Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation). More mainstream Muslim leaders in Indonesia reject the call for recreating a single Islamic state. Government authorities at Indonesian airports denied entry to a British and and Australian supporter who were to speak at the rally.

Thailand's Queen Calms Protests Over New Constitution

Sirikit, Queen of Thailand, seems to have calmed the protests over the country's proposed new Constitution that does not recognize Buddhism as the country's official religion. NNN-TNA today reports that the queen, in an address marking her 75th birthday, said that Buddhism should be held in high esteem as a guiding light for all Thais, but that the religion should not be mixed with politics. Following this pronouncement, Gen. Thongchai Kua-sakul, chairman of the Buddhist Organisation of Thailand, said his organization would not organize additional protests even if next Sunday's national referendum approves the new constitution. (See prior related posting.)

Recent Articles and Book on Law and Religion

From SSRN:
Frederick M. Lawrence, Memory, Hate, and the Criminalization of Bias-Motivated Violence, (to appear in Breaking the Cycles of Hatred: Memory, Hate and the Criminalization of Bias-Motivated Violence, Martha Minow, ed., Princeton University Press, Forthcoming.)

Jody Lynee Madeira, The Execution as Sacrifice, (Aug. 2007).

From SmartCILP:
Kristi L. Bowman, An Empirical Study of Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design Instruction in Public Schools, 36 Journal of Law & Education 301-380 (2007).

Robert A. Kahn, The Headscarf As Threat: A Comparison of German and U.S. Legal Discourses, 40 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 417-444 (2007).

Julie F. Mead, Preston C. Green & Joseph O. Oluwole, Re-Examining the Constitutionality of Prayer in School in Light of the Resignation of Justice O'Connor, 36 Journal of Law & Education 381-406 (2007).

Ronald L. Nelson, Social Instrumentalism in the Jacksonian Decade: State High Court Decisions Regarding Marriage and Religion, 1828-1837, 48 American Journal of Legal History 1-38 (2006).

Marah Carter Stith, Immigration Control: a Catholic Dilemma?, 84 University of Detroit Mercy Law Review 73-98 (2007).

Bradley S. Tupi, Religious Freedom and the First Amendment, 45 Duquesne Law Review 195-267 (2007).

Joseph Vining, Legal Commitments and Religious Commitments, (Reviewing Steven D. Smith, Law's Quandary), 44 San Diego Law Review 69-84 (2007).

Recent Book:
Ibrahim Warde, The Price of Fear: Al Qaeda and the Truth Behind the Financial War on Terror (IB Tauris, March 2007), reviewed by Pakistan Daily Times.

ECUSA and Virginia Diocese Enjoy Initial Win In Property Dispute

Episcopal News Service reports that yesterday in Fairfax, Virginia, a state Circuit Court judge gave a preliminary victory to the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia in their suits against eleven break-away congregations. (See prior postings 1, 2, 3.) The court rejected motions made by the individual congregations to prevent the court from considering the Episcopal Church’s Constitution and Canons in resolving the property dispute between the parties. Those documents provide that congregational property is held in trust for the diocese and the Church.

Also yesterday the parties reached an agreement that the litigation would proceed only against the congregations themselves, and not against individual clergy or vestry members. However those individuals agreed that they would be bound by any ruling regarding ownership of real or personal property that the court makes, and that they would implement an orderly transition if the congregations lose their bids to keep the properties. The Church and the Diocese reserved the right to bring the individuals back into the litigation in order to obtain an accounting of funds spent by the break-away churches. Finally, the court dismissed—apparently on procedural grounds -- a claim that the individual congregations had committed a trespass by holding onto the property.

Spanish Leader, Church, Spar Over Education Reforms

In Spain, Catholic bishops have attacked the public schools’ new "Education for Citizenship and Human Rights" curriculum. Kath.net says that the curriculum’s goal is to encourage students to reject "racist, xenophobic, sexist, and homophobic social prejudices." The bishops say that the program violates Sec. 27(3) of Spain’s Constitution that provides "The public authorities guarantee the right which will assist parents to have their children receive the religious and moral formation which is in keeping with their own convictions." However a leading socialist party figure who was one of the drafters of the constitution, Gregorio Peces-Barba Martínez, published an op-ed this week accusing the Bishops of "extreme arrogance" and threatening a "new status", presumably a less privileged one, for the Church in Spain if it does not stop attacking the Education for Citizenship program.

Egyptian Gets 3rd Lawyer In Suit For Recognition of Conversion

In Egypt, the case of Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy—suing to change his national identity card to reflect his conversion from Islam to Christianity-- has become more complicated. As previously reported, Hegazy’s first lawyer withdrew from the case. But now, according to Christian Today, his second lawyer, Dr. Adel Fawzy Faltas, president of the Middle East Christian Association in Egypt, is being held by Egyptian police after the lawyer held a high-profile online conversation with Hegazy. So now a third lawyer, Ramses Raouf el-Nagar, has stepped in as Hegazy’s counsel.

Another City Hall Will Display "In God We Trust"

In 2002, a Bakersfield, California councilwoman, Jacquie Sullivan, founded "In God We Trust America", an organization that encourages every city hall in America to display the national motto, "In God We Trust." Last Monday, Sonora, California became the 26th city in the country to agree to display the motto. Friday’s Modesto (CA) Bee reports that Sonora City Council voted unanimously to display the motto. Reactions to the vote were predictable. Supporter Jacquie Sullivan praised council, saying: "Patriotism is love of God and love of country. I feel this is one of the most important things going on in our country now. It's important to retain our national identity." On the other hand, Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State said: "Cities ought to fill potholes, pay police well and leave religion alone."

Malaysian Authorities Continue To Deal With Religious Issues

In Malaysia, religious issues continue to raise legal controversies. Selangor state Islamic authorities have freed a Muslim woman after she was held for four months for marrying a Hindu man. However, according to today’s Economic Times of India, the couple was ordered to live separately because their marriage is not legal under Islamic law.

Meanwhile, in the Malaysian state of Penang, a Syariah High Court has postponed for four months a ruling in a suit brought by Chinese-born Siti Fatimah who wants the state Islamic Affairs Council to declare that she is no longer a Muslim. She also wants the court to order that her national identity card be changed to indicate that she is Buddhist—her religion until her 1998 conversion to Islam. Today's Star reports the court said that Fatimah should get counseling from the Penang Islamic Affairs Department, and that the Department’s ukhwah unit should report back to the court.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Shaheed Allah v. Jordan-Luster, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56631 (CD IL, Aug. 3, 2007), an Illinois federal district court rejected an inmate's claim that his free exercise rights under RLUIPA were violated when authorities refused to supply him with a Halal diet. The court relied both on the difficulty of accommodating the request and the plaintiff's failure to present verification from a spiritual leader of his need for the accommodation.

In Berryman v. Granholm, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56581 (ED MI, Aug. 3, 2007), a Michigan federal district court rejected claims by two inmates claim that their rights under RLUIPA were violated when he was temporarily removed from the kosher meal program because they had ordered non-kosher food items from the prison store.

In Al Ghashiyah v. Frank, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57060 (WD WI, Aug. 1, 2007), a Wisconsin federal court permitted an inmate to proceed with claims that by prohibiting him from using his religious name on his grievances, authorities violated his rights under the 1st and 14th Amendments and RLUIPA.

Tremayne v. Crow, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57121 (ED WA, Aug. 6, 2007), a Washington federal district court rejected a religious freedom challenge to an order confining an inmate to his cell for ten days. Prison authorities claimed the inmate was teaching others martial arts; the inmate claimed he was sharing his religious beliefs.

In Byrd v. L.C.S. Corrections Services, Inc., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57286 (WD LA, April 27, 2007), a Louisiana federal Magistrate Judge recommended rejection of an inmate's claim that a prison's failure to provide a "faith-based honor dorm" violated the inmate's free exercise rights and denied him equal protection of the laws. In a July 23, 2007 opinion, the court accepted the magistrate's recommendations, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53530.

In Dean v. Blum, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57419 (D NE, Aug. 6, 2007), a Nebraska federal district court rejected free exercise of religion claims by a prisoner who practices and worships in the Ma'at faith. He was fired from his position at the prison's law library for refusing to work on a Monday night in conflict with a Ma'at religious service. UPDATE: The remaining claims were dismissed at 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80057 (D NE, Oct. 29, 2007).

Appeal Filed In Conviction of Catholic Priest For Killing Nun

Now that 4000 pages of a trial transcript have become available, attorneys in Toledo, Ohio have filed an appeal in last year's murder conviction of Catholic priest Gerald Robinson. (See prior posting.) Robinson was found guilty of the 1980 murder of a nun, Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, whose body was found in the sacristy next to a chapel at Toledo's Mercy Hospital. Today's Toledo Blade says that one ground for the appeal is the introduction of evidence at trial relating to Satanism that "invited the jury to speculate on the issue of guilt, and sensationalized the entire proceeding". Prosecutors say that Satanism was not a key part of the evidence against Robinson.

Bishop's Endorsement of Obama Criticized

New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, the Church's first openly gay bishop, last week endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president according to today's Washington Blade. Reacting to the endorsement, Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said that Robinson was misusing religion for political gain. Gaddy said: "While endorsements like today's raise the possibility of legal action against religious leaders, our concerns are rooted more in the impact on the sanctity of religion and the integrity of government." Robinson, however, responded that his endorsement, announced in a teleconference, was made as a private citizen, not as a religious leader.

London Synagogue Named National Monument

Britain last Tuesday declared London's new West End Synagogue a national monument, according to Haaretz. English Heritage, the body making the decision, said that the new status is justified both because of the synagogue's architecture and its historical importance. The upgrading of the building from an historic site to a national monument means that the British government will be responsible for the building's maintenance, and that the congregation can request state funding for any needed renovations. In total, Britain has about 15,000 national monuments.

Many Iraqi Christians Flee Mosul

IWPR this week carries a long article on the problems faced by Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul. It reports: "Once a solid, middle-class community in this northern city, thousands of [Christians] have fled their homes under threat from militants. Their churches have been bombed, their clergy murdered, and community members regularly face threats and kidnappings."

Domestic Assault Charges Growing Out of Religious Argument Dismissed

The Hamilton County (TN) General Sessions Court on Wednesday dismissed domestic assault charges that had been filed 24-year old Ronnie Lynn Price against his 62-year old grandmother, Nellie Gray Smith. Yesterday's Chattanoogan reports that during an argument with Smith, Price called Jesus "a goat". When Smith told Price to leave, Price grabbed his genitals saying "[expletive] you, Jesus and the Holy Spirit". At that point Mrs. Smith slapped Price and his head struck the door. Mrs. Smith apparently argued that Price's injury was self-inflicted.

Court Refuses To Stop Meeting At Which Catholic School Coach Is Dismissed

On Monday, a state trial court judge in Iowa denied a temporary injunction to stop a meeting of the Cedar Valley Catholic Schools' Board of Education brought by teacher and football coach Tom Girsch. The judge said that granting the injunction would entangle the court excessively in religious matters. The Waterloo, Iowa Courier reported yesterday that Girsh has taught for 32 years-- and coached the football team of 28 of those years-- at Columbus High School, a Catholic school in Waterloo. He became the subject of controversy after he remarried a year ago without receiving an annulment of his first marriage from the Church. At that point the Board negotiated an amended contract with Girsh, requiring him to seek an annulment, and to submit his resignation if it was denied. The annulment was denied, but last month by a vote of 6-8 the board refused to accept Girsch's resignation. However on Monday, the Board by a unanimous vote reversed itself after Archbishop Jerome Hanus wrote saying that the Board has acted contrary to church doctrine in continuing to employ Girsh.

Right Wing Dutch Politican Says Koran Should Be Banned In Netherlands

In the Netherlands, right-wing politician Geert Wilders has stirred controversy by urging, in a letter to a national newspaper, that the Koran be banned in the country. DPA ysterday reported on the letter written by the leader of the Dutch Freedom party (PVV) to the daily Volkskrant, in which Wilders argues that the Koran is "fascist" and should be banned just as Mein Kampf is banned. Following publication of the letter, an attorney filed a complaint against Wilders with Dutch police charging Wilders with incitement against Muslims. The Dutch News reports today that most other political leaders have strongly criticized Wilders' proposals. Christian Democrat Foreign Minister Maxine Verhagen said that Wilders has "exceeded the boundaries of decency", and emphasized that religious freedom is strongly protected by the Dutch constitution. Verhagen has also sent Dutch ambassadors in other countries a copy of a letter in which the cabinet repudiates Wilders' statements.

Police Officers Decertified For Loyalty To FLDS Leader

Police officers in Colorado City, Arizona are losing their certification as law enforcement officers because of their allegiance to fugitive religious sect leader Warren Jeffs and his Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. FLDS promotes plural marriage. Today's Arizona Republic reports that in the Colorado City's police department that normally has six officers, four have already been decertified by Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board. Two others are being considered for decertification. Some of the officers were bigamists. Others failed to assist in the hunt for FLDS leader Warren Jeffs or allowed looting by church crews. Yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune reports in more detail on the pending decertification cases against Colorado City Town Marshal Fred Barlow and Deputy Preston Barlow. While Jeffs was a fugitive, Fred Barlow wrote him a letter pledging loyalty and asking for advice about hiring and other matters in the marshal's office.

Court Upholds Neutral Brick-and-Mortar Grants To Churches

In an important Establishment Clause decision yesterday-- apparently a case of first impression-- a Michigan federal district court upheld the inclusion of churches in a local government's grant program for brick-and-mortar projects. American Atheists, Inc. v. City of Detroit Dowtown Development Authority, (ED MI, Aug. 8, 2007), involved a challenge to a Facade Improvement Plan (FIP) designed to enhance the appearance of a portion of the city of Detroit in anticipation of the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the 2006 NFL SuperBowl. Under the program, approved applicants could receive up to 50% of the cost of improvements to building facades and parking lots-- with specified upper limits on reimbursements. Among the projects funded were nine by churches.

Focusing particularly on the Supreme Court's 2000 decision in Mitchell v. Helms, the court held the fact that churches are pervasively sectarian institutions does not automatically disqualify them from participating in an otherwise permissible aid program. It also held the fact that funds are granted directly to churches does not invalidate the FIP so long as the program does not discriminate on the basis of religious sect and so long as the reimbursements do not amount to government endorsement of a church's message. The grants are not forbidden just because they may free up funds for religious purposes that the churches would otherwise have used for building repairs.

Applying these criteria, the court upheld grants for most of the church repair projects, but found that aid to three projects was unconstitutional because it would be perceived as government support for the advancement of religion. The prohibited projects were repair of two stained glass windows displaying religious images and projects involving monolithic signs that "identify and solicit the churches as sites of Christian worship".

The decision is covered today by the Detroit News and in an Alliance Defense Fund release yesterday.

Article Charges Apocalyptic Video Games Being Sent To Soldiers In Iraq With DoD Approval

Max Blumenthal, in a posting yesterday on the blog page of The Nation, charges that an evangelical entertainment group, Operation Straight Up, will be mailing "Freedom Packages" to soldiers serving in Iraq. The packages will include the video game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces. He describes the game as follows:

The game is inspired by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' bestselling pulp fiction series about a blood-soaked Battle of Armageddon pitting born-again Christians against anybody who does not adhere to their particular theology. In LaHaye's and Jenkins' books, the non-believers are ultimately condemned to "everlasting punishment" while the evangelicals are "raptured" up to heaven.

The Left Behind videogame is a real-time strategy game that makes players commanders of a virtual evangelical army in a post-apocalyptic landscape that looks strikingly like New York City after 9/11. With tanks, helicopters and a fearsome arsenal of automatic weapons at their disposal, Left Behind players wage a violent war against United Nations-like peacekeepers who, according to LaHaye's interpretation of Revelation, represent the armies of the Antichrist. Each time a Left Behind player kills a UN soldier, their virtual character exclaims, "Praise the Lord!" To win the game, players must kill or convert all the non-believers left behind after the rapture. They also have the option of reversing roles and commanding the forces of the Antichrist.

Blumenthal says that the Freedom Packages have the endorsement of the Defense Department.

Giuliani Refuses To Discuss His Religious Practices

Unlike some candidates who are willing to discuss their religious beliefs in detail, Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani refused yesterday to answer a questioner at an Iowa town meeting who asked if he was a "traditional, practicing Roman Catholic." The Washington Post reports that Giuliani responded: "My religious affiliation, my religious practices and the degree to which I am a good or not so good Catholic, I prefer to leave to the priests. That would be a much better way to discuss it. That's a personal discussion and they have a much better sense of how good a Catholic I am or how bad a Catholic I am." Giuliani favors abortion rights. Also, he has been married three times. One of his prior marriages was annulled, but the other ended in divorce-- which would prevent him from receiving communion in the Catholic Church.

Massachussets Episcopal Diocese Settles With Break-Away Parish Members

The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts has settled a suit that it brought five weeks ago against members of a parish in Attleboro (MA) who broke away and affiliated with the more conservative Anglican Province of Rwanda's Anglican Mission in America. Reports yesterday from the Boston Globe and Episcopal News Service indicate that while neither side would disclose details of the settlement, the break-away members returned some books and "a respectable" fraction of the $180,000 of parish assets they controlled. The break-away group is now worshipping in rented space at Fisher College as All Saints Anglican Church, while the parish members who remain loyal to the more liberal Episcopal Church USA continue to worship as All Saints Episcopal Church. Both sides say the settlement was fair.

Discrimination Claims Dismissed Under Ministerial Exception

In Cronin v. South Indiana Annual Conference, United Methodist Church, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57029 (SD IN, Aug. 3, 2007), an Indiana federal district court held that the position of associate council director of the South Indiana Annual Conference falls under the ministerial exception to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. The associate council director's position involves preaching, program development and administration, and therefore was functionally ministerial. On this basis the court dismissed Deborah Cronin's charges of discrimination, finding it lacked jurisdiction over them.

LA Church Leader Convicted of Selling Marijuana As Sacrament

Rev. Craig X Rubin, leader of the 420 Temple in Los Angeles, has been convicted of selling marijuana as part of his church's services. (See prior postings 1, 2, 3.) Sunday's New York Daily News reported that Rubin, who faces up to 4 years and 8 months in prison, will be sentenced Aug. 17. Yesterday Rubin issued a long statement to the press saying that he has no remorse for his actions. He continued: "My only crime is wanting to reach people of my community ... with the Word of God.... I taught them that God created this wonderful plant and that they should study the Word of God as known through the Bible to know the will of God. I am now going to be taken from our society and my seven children, all of whom live at home, for many years for my faith that cannabis is the Tree of Life."

Korean Christians Want To End Licensing Tests On Sundays

In South Korea, the National Assembly's Human Rights Forum and the Christian Council of Korea are questioning the practice of administering state-run tests for teachers' licenses and certain other occupational licenses only on Sundays. Today's Korea Times reports that while over 40% of Koreans are Christians, the country's Central Personnel Committee said that administering the tests on week days would pose significant problems. the Committee rents out space in school buildings to give the tests. Currently only bar exams and higher civil service exams are held on week days.

Conviction For Distributing Religious Flyers Without Permit Reversed

In Baumann v. City of Cumming, (GA Super. Ct., Aug. 1, 2007), a Georgia Superior Court avoided passing on a constitutional challenge to a city parade permit ordinance. Instead it reversed the conviction of Frederic Baumann, who was distributing Christian religious literature on a sidewalk outside the City of Cumming Fairgrounds, finding that the permit ordinance did not apply to Baumann's activities. Apparently the permit requirement applies only to to private organizations or groups of three or more persons. (Alliance Defense Fund release). Baumann had been convicted by a municipal court judge and sentenced to the two days in jail that he had already served.

Clergy To Pray At School Board Meetings Are Scarce

The School Board in Virginia Beach, Virginia is having trouble finding enough clergy to deliver opening prayers at board meetings. Today's Virginian Pilot reports that only 31 pastors, priests or rabbis have agreed to be called on to deliver an invocation. Some clergy have refused to be included on the list because the School Board insists that the prayers be non-sectarian.

Romney Debates His Religion With Talk Show Host

Today's Deseret News reports on an exchange both on and off-the-air between Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and conservative talk-show host Jan Mickelson in which Romney engages in a rather heated and detailed explanation of his Mormon religious beliefs, including his beliefs on abortion. At one point, Mickelson suggested to Romney that he is distancing himself from his religion-- a position that Romney vehemently denied. The exchange is available here on YouTube.

Suit Challenges Moment of Silence In Texas Schools

Today, a federal district court in Dallas, Texas hears arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of holding a "moment of silence" at the beginning of school days in Texas. Plaintiff David Wallace Croft alleges that a teacher told his son that the time was to be used for prayer. Today's Dallas Morning News reports on the case which alleges that Texas legislators had primarily a religious purpose in providing for a moment of silence. Croft has a long history of complaining about manifestations of religion at the Carollton, Texas elementary school where his three children are enrolled. He has objected to Boy Scout rallies, fliers sent home about the Good News Bible Club, and a holiday concert that included "Silent Night" and a Hanukkah song. He took photos of "In God We Trust" posters hanging in the school and complained that a teacher was wearing an Abilene Christian University shirt.

Break-Away Episcopal Churches Appeal To California Supreme Court

Three break-away Episcopal congregations filed appeals yesterday with the California Supreme Court asking it to reverse the state Court of Appeals decision in the Episcopal Church Cases (See prior posting.) Virtue Online reported that the churhes seek a ruling from the California Supreme Court that church property disputes should be settled through the application of "neutral principles", instead of by giving deference to the highest church tribunal in an hierarchical church. The appeal also asks the Supreme Court to rule that California's anti-SLAPP statute applies to these suits by the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Los Angeles against individual congregations. (See prior posting.)

Cardinal Lustiger, Defender of Church's Role In Politics, Dies

French Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger died on Sunday at the age of 80. Catholic News Service traces the career of the Jewish-born cleric who converted to Catholicism as a teenager, and who maintained a strong interest in Catholic-Jewish relations throughout his life. Lustiger was known for defending the right of French bishops to express views on national political issues. He argued that the French Catholic Church has a right to use its "substantial moral credit" in discussions of public issues. In 2003, he urged the government not to "disturb a fragile balance" between church and state, encouraging it not to ban the wearing of religious symbols in public schools.

Egyptian Convert To Christianity Sues For Recognition of Change

An unprecedented lawsuit has been filed in Egypt by Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy. The 24-year old man is suing the Interior Ministry to force it to recognize his conversion from Islam to Christianity by changing his religious designation on his national identity card. While similar suits have been brought by Christian Copts who converted to Islam and then back to Christianity (see prior posting), Compass Direct News says this is the first case of its kind brought by a Muslim-born convert. Hegazy's attorney, Mamdouh Nakhla of the Kalema Center for Human Rights, has felt the backlash caused by his taking of the case. Muslim clerics and lawyers have filed charges against him of causing sectarian strife and baptizing Muslims. Egypt's security police, the SSI, have warned Nakhla that he may be killed if he does not withdraw the lawsuit.

UPDATE: On Wednesday, Compass Direct News reported that Hegazy's attorney has withdrawn from the case, and Hegazy has gone into hiding while seeking a new lawyer. Mamdouh Nakhla said he was withdrawing from the case both because he did not want to provoke public opinion and because his client failed to provide him necessary documents. However a member of the Center for Human Rights said Nakhla was withdrawing under pressure and death threats.

Pakistan Religious Minorities To Rally For Equal Rights

The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance is planning a massive rally on August 11-- the 60th anniversary of the founding of Pakistan-- to call for increased religious freedom for minority faiths. AsiaNews.it reported last week that organizers expect 100,000 Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsees and others to demonstrate in Lahore for protection of equal rights and abolition of Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Baltimore Schools Investigate Church's Free Use of Building

Maryland law permits community groups, including churches, to rent space in public school buildings after school hours and on week ends. However, according to today's Baltimore Sun, city school officials in Baltimore are launching an investigation to make sure that churches are in fact paying the usage fees that they are supposed to be charged. Concern was triggered by reports that a Baltimore principal was permitting a church, run by his wife, to hold services without paying the $4140 in annual fees that are supposed to cover electricity and maintenance. Ronald N. Shelley, executive director of the Stadium School, says that he is providing janitorial services and security himself during the Friday night and Sunday services that the Holy Temple Holiness Church of Deliverance conducts in the school building. Stadium School is one of Baltimore's first small, innovative schools. Shelly, its principal, is also an ordained minister and missionary of the Church, a fact that appears on Stadium School's website.

Arabic Public School In NY Generates Continued Controversy

CNSNews today reports that controversy continues to surround the Khalil Gibran International Academy, a public middle school and high school in Brooklyn (NY) that will concentrate on Arab language and culture. (See prior posting.) Opponents, organized as the Stop the Madrassa Community Coalition, fear that the school which will open next month with its first 6th grade class will teach from a religious and political agenda. Officials say that the school's curriculum and textbooks will be the same as in other New York public schools. Joe Klein, chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, says the school is not religious and will be closed down if it becomes religious. The school's advisory board includes three imams, as well as Christian and Jewish clergy.

New Zealand Bishops Lose Appeal In Offensive "South Park" Case

In New Zealand, the High Court at Wellington has rejected an appeal by the Catholic Bishops' Conference challenging a controversial episode of the television show South Park shown by CanWest TV last February. The show, mainly about an alcoholic's struggle to stay sober, contained one scene-- the so-called "Bloody Mary" episode-- showing the Pope being squirted with menstrual blood from a statue of the Virgin Mary. (See prior posting.) Reporting on the decision, last week's New Zealand Herald said CanWest lawyers had defended the broadcast of free speech grounds. The Church, which argued that the program infringed good taste, decency and fairness, said that the court's opinion failed to consider the episode's denigration of women. The court also indicated that it would award $8000 in costs to CanWest.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Hammons v. Jones, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55170 (ND OK, July 27, 2007), an Oklahoma federal district court rejected a challenge under RLUIPA to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections policy that prohibited in-cell possession of prayer oils. The oils could be used to mask the scent of drugs, and are lubricants that can be used in prohibited sex acts and to avoid or escape restraints. Permitting use of oils in prison religious facilities was found to be the least restrictive alternative to in-cell possession.

In Salgado v. Grams, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55129 (WD WI, July 30, 2007), a Wisconsin federal district court dismissed an inmate's RLUIPA and free exercise claims. Plaintiff alleged he was denied prayer oil, a prayer rug and prayer beads. However defendants explained that plaintiff never made a request for these items. Also plaintiff made no showing that he held sincere Muslim religious beliefs.

In Echols v. Ramos, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55248 (SD IL, July 31, 2007), an Illinois federal district court permitted a Rastafarian prisoner to proceed with his claim against prison officials (but not against the Department of Corrections) alleging that his First Amendment rights were infringed when he was informed he would be required to cut his dreadlocks.

In Toler v. Leopold, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55531 (ED MO, July 31, 2007), a Missouri federal district court refused to grant defendants summary judgment in a claim by a prisoner that the First Amendment and RLUIPA were violated when he was denied a kosher diet and instead limited to a vegetarian food option, the ability to self-select items from the menu, and the ability to purchase kosher food from the canteen.

In Barrett v. Williams, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39882 (D OR, June 6, 2007), an Oregon federal district court adopted the recommendations of a federal Magistrate Judge (2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55824) that a prisoner's First Amendment and RLUIPA claims be rejected. Inmate Jacob Barrett was not permitted to purchase a book, The Secret of the Runes, because he owed fines. The Magistrate found that this did not impose a substantial burden on Barrett's free exercise rights.

In Robinson v. Department of Corrections, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56355 (ND FL, June 6, 2007), a federal Magistrate Judge dismissed an inmate's Free Exercise claim, finding that the inmate failed to allege that withholding religious materials denied him a reasonable opportunity to pursue his religion. Also the court rejected the inmate's retaliation claim, finding he failed to show that withholding these materials was in retaliation for filing grievances.

"Adopt-A-School" Program For Churches Questioned

Yesterday's Visalia (CA) Times-Delta reports on a program operated by the Visalia (California)Unified School District that permits faith community organizations to "adopt" public schools. The guidelines for the program, published by the school board, call for groups to create a supportive presence at their adopted schools, for them to establish and nurture relationships and serve as a practical demonstration of personal faith. However, the guidelines prohibit groups from engaging in overt prayer with students, offering spiritual advice, wearing items that promote a particular faith, inviting students to religious events or arranging contact with then outside of school. Now some critics are questioning whether the church-state separation line has been crossed, especially by a summer sports camp operated by a church at one of the schools. The camp included Bible study. School officials say the church rented school premises for the camp, just as any non-profit group could rent the facilities.

Recent Articles and Book of Interest

From SSRN:
Anne K. Knight, Striking the Balance between Anti-Discrimination Laws and First Amendment Freedoms: An Alternative Proposal to Preserve Diversity, (Aug. 1, 2007).

From Bepress:
Asher Maoz, Religious Education in Israel, (Tel Aviv University Legal Working Paper Series, No.44, July 2007).

Multi-article issues:
From the State House to the Schoolhouse: Religious Expression in the Public Sphere, articles by Cynthia A. Baker, Kevin C. McDowell, Luke Meier, Mark Strasser, 40 Indiana Law Review 491-584 (2007).

Journal of Church and State, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Spring 2007) has recently been published.

From SmartCILP:
Robert Audi, Religion and Public Education In a Constitutional Democracy, (Reviewing Kent Greenawalt, Does God Belong in Public Schools?), 93 Virginia Law Review 1175-1195 (2007).

David Keane, Addressing the Aggravated Meeting Points of Race and Religion, 6 University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender & Class 367-406 (2006).

Andrew Koss, Anti-Semitism in Poland, Then and Now: A Review of Two Books, (Reviewing Jan T. Gross, Fear: Anti-Semitism After Auschwitz; and Joanna Beata Michlic, Poland's Threatening Other.) 1 Columbia Journal of East European Law 188-199 (2007).

Alenka Kuhelj, A Socio-Legal View on Multi-Culturalism and Religious Changes in Post-Communist EU States, 1 Columbia Journal of East European Law 114-141 (2007).

Jennifer M. Smith, Morse Code, Da Vinci Code, Tax Code and ... Churches: An Historical and Constitutional Analysis of Why Section 501(c)(3) Does Not Apply to Churches, 23 Journal of Law and Politics 41-88 (2007).

Mark Totten, The Politics of Faith: Rethinking the Prohibition on Political Campaign Intervention, 18 Stanford Law & Policy Review 298-323 (2007).

New book:
Bill Osinski, Ungodly: A True Story of Unprecedented Evil (2007),(reviewed by Fulton County Daily Report).

Scientology's Help In Disaster Areas Questioned

An ABC News report on Friday focuses on the Church of Scientology's large corps of ministers who appear at natural and man-made disasters around the world. Scientology says they are there to assist and console. Critics say that Scientology uses these disasters to convert people when they are most vulnerable. 20 Scientologists in the Minneapolis area headed to the site of the collapsed bridge last week to help the Red Cross. In recent years, Scientology volunteers have been at Virgina Tech, New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and Ground Zero after 9/11.

Trial Set To Begin In Suit To Recover Funds Donated To Church

Today's Palm Beach Post reports that jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in a suit against a West Palm Beach (FL) Baptist church and its former pastor. Lucinda Bennett is seeking to recover $1.8 million she gave to the church and its pastors, claiming that the church's pastoral staff improperly obtained the funds from her, knowing that she was mentally ill at the time. The church argues that Bennett donated her recently-inherited funds freely in the exercise of her constitutional right to practice her religion.

Italian Premier Wants Church To Help With Tax Compliance

Italy's Premier Romano Prodi has asked the Catholic Church to help the government in its attempt to crack down on tax evasion. In an interview with a religious weekly, Prodi said: "A third of Italians heavily evade taxes.... Why, when I go to Mass, is this issue, which is ethically charged, almost never touched upon in the homilies?" The AP reported last week that Prodi's appeal has led his opponents to charge that he is violating the principle of secularism that he has strongly defended in the past.

Some of Pastor's Defamation and Related Claims Dismissed

In Seung Jin Lee v. Tai Chul Kim, (Nassau Co. Sup. Ct., Aug. 2, 2007), a New York trial court dismissed several defamation claims brought by the Senior Pastor of the Korean Church of Eternal Life (Woodside, Queens) against two opponents of her serving in that position. It found the statements underlying those claims do not constitute defamation. However, the court permitted plaintiff to move ahead with her claim that certain other statements were defamatory. The court also dismissed the pastor's claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, trespass, conversion and tortious interference with contract.

Complex Housing Discrimination Case Generates Multiple California Lawsuits

In Santa Monica, California, suits alleging housing discrimination on the basis of religion have been filed in both federal and state court by tenants about to be evicted from an apartment building and by the City Attorney's Office. Yesterday's Santa Monica Daily Press reports on developments. The suits claim that Or Khaim Hashalom-- whose status as a religious organization the suits are challenging-- has been attempting to evict current tenants so it can demolish the building in which they live and put up high-priced condominiums that would be sold only to Jewish refugees from the Middle East. The tenants' suit seeks compensatory damages of $5 million per tenant, plus punitive damages and attorneys' fees.

In the complicated dispute, the city has has declared the current building a "landmark" so it cannot be torn down. Or Khaim has challenged that in its own lawsuit, claiming both that the designation is not justified under the landmark law, and that as a religious institution it is exempt. (Cal. Govt. Code. Sec. 37361). Meanwhile, Or Khaim says it has given up on its plans to house Jewish refugees and instead plans to offer transitional housing for the poor. The suit filed by the city indicates that it is skeptical, saying that Or Khaim has already begun "ethnic and religious cleansing" of the apartment building. A more detailed account of the controversy appears in today's Iranian Jewish Chronicle.

UPDATE: On Aug. 6, a federal district judge issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting eviction of tenants. The Santa Monica Daily Press reported the court found that there may have been a violation of the Fair Housing Act.