Religion Heats Up Politics In Ohio

In Ohio, religion is becoming a central issue in the 2006 election campaign that has already begun. Paul Hackett, an Iraq war veteran who is a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, is refusing to back down from his statement that "the Republican Party has been hijacked by the religious fanatics" who "aren't a whole lot different than Osama bin Laden." The Cleveland Plain Dealer today reports that the comments have drawn sharp criticism from state Republicans.

Meanwhile, in the northeastern Ohio town of Hartvillle, major Republican office-holders on Tuesday attended a rally sponsored by Ohio Restoration Project founder Russell Johnson. The event was part of his 10-city Patriot Pastors tour. Keynote speaker was Ohio Secretary of State, and candidate for Governor, Kenneth Blackwell. According to the Canton Repository, Blackwell, wearing a small silver cross on his lapel, criticized the media for focusing on his appearances at a Columbus Restoration Project rally while ignoring Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland, who spoke, "Bible in hand" at a counter rally at a nearby church.

The Akron Beacon-Journal reported that among those attending the Hartville ORP rally were Republican Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O'Donnell; former appeals court judge William Batchelder, who is running for state legislature; and former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen, a lobbyist who is planning to run for Congress this year. Offering the opening prayer at the rally was Sandra O'Brien, a candidate for state treasurer, while the closing prayer was given by state Sen. Tim Grendell, a candidate for attorney general.

ORP leader Russell Johnson criticized the religious leaders who, last week, asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the tax exemption of Johnson's church. (See prior posting.) Johnson also warned that Christians have allowed a "secular jihad'' to remove prayer, the Ten Commandments and the Bible from public places, and said it was like Nazi Germany, where church congregations would sing so that they could not hear the passing of trainloads of crying Jews headed for a nearby concentration camp.

Michigan County Permits Modified Swimwear For Religiously Observant

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Washtenaw County Park and Recreation Commission has for the first time adopted a swimwear policy to accommodate individuals who cannot wear traditional swimsuits for religious reasons. Last week the Ann Arbor News reported on the imminent passage of the measure which will accommodate Muslims, Orthodox Jews and the Amish. Park staff will also receive religious sensitivity training to learn about the different faiths practiced by patrons, and the county will offer for sale at swim facilities inexpensive long nylon pants and long-sleeved shirts that meet safety regulations and respect religious requirements.

Indonesia Court Rejects Attack On Child Protection Law

Today's Jakarta Post reports that a 9-judge panel of Indonesia's Constitutional Court has rejected a challenge to a provision in the country's Child Protection Code. Under the law, a person found guilty of persuading children to convert to another religion are subject to five years in jail and/or a Rp 100 million fine. Rev. Ruyandi Hutasoit argued that this violates Indonesia's constitutional provision protecting religious freedom (Constitution, Art. 29). The court held that Hutasoit lacked standing to challenge the law, and that Article 86 of the Child Protection Law did not contradict the Constitution because the statute applies to the use of "tricks, lies or force" to convert children. As result of the ruling, three Christian women jailed last year in West Java for inviting Muslim children to their Sunday school program will stay in prison for three more years.

Defendant Sentenced To Attend Church

In Cincinnati, Ohio, a man convicted of disorderly conduct has received an unusual sentence. Yesterday's Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the defendant, Brett Haines, who used racial slurs and threatened a black cab driver, has been ordered to attend services at any one of Cincinnati's predominantly African-American churches for six consecutive Sundays. Judge William Mallory Jr. was concerned about church-state issues when he offered Haines the optional sentence, so he asked Haines if the alternative would offend his beliefs. Haines said he was not a church-going man but would "absolutely" like to choose church over jail. Haines told his lawyer, Dennis Deters, that the sentence might do some good. Assistant prosecutor Kirstin Fullen did not object. [Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw listserv for the information.]

Catholic Group Endorses Alito Nomination

The Christian Communications Network yesterday reported that the Knights of Columbus has endorsed the nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, and has called on "members of the United States Senate to vote in a timely manner to confirm" him. The resolution passed unanimously by the organization's Board says that "during his fifteen years as a federal judge (Alito) has articulated a clear and well-reasoned view of the religion clauses of the First Amendment that is protective of religious liberty and which incorporates an appropriately broad view of the Constitution's guarantee of religious free exercise."

Suit Challenging Philosophy Course On Intelligent Design Settled

A settlement has been reached in the suit filed last week by parents against the El Tejon Unified School District challenging its intersession course in Philosophy of Design. (See prior posting.) The course at Frazier Mountain High School in Lebec, California had originally been defended as a philosophy class meant to introduce students to both Intelligent Design and evolution. It turns out, however, that the course, taught by a minister's wife, was one-sided, almost all about Biblical creationism, and not about intelligent design. The Associated Press reported yesterday on the settlement (full text) in which the school district agreed it would not in the future offer any "course that promotes or endorses creationism, creation science, or intelligent design." Teacher Sharon Lemburg who had developed the course defended it in a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, Mountain Enterprise, writing "I believe this is the class that the Lord wanted me to teach." Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has issued a release on the case, represented the parents in the litigation.

New Orleans Mayor Nagin Says God Is Angry

In a Martin Luther King Day speech yesterday, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin made a number of controversial remarks about race and religion. CNN today reports that Nagin said New Orleans will remain a "chocolate" city, i.e. mostly African- American, because "It's the way God wants it to be." He also said that "God is mad at America," in part because we are "in Iraq under false pretenses." "He is sending hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it is destroying and putting stress on this country," Nagin said. He said God is "upset at black America also." "We are not taking care of ourselves. We are not taking care of our women, and we are not taking care of our children when you have a community where 70 percent of its children are being born to one parent."

California To Consider Changes In Textbooks On Hinduism

The California State Board of Education will review a recommendation of the California Curriculum Commission that a number of corrections be made in textbook discussions of Hinduism. The Indo-Asian News Service reports today that several Hindu groups, including the Hindu American Foundation, have urged the changes. In a press release, Hindu American Foundation president, Mihir Meghani, said: "Hindus throughout the United States are watching this process with concern since the results have broad implications for all Hindus. For many years, Hinduism was taught from a non-Hindu perspective. All that we are asking is that Hinduism be taught as per state law, which asks that the education 'Instill in each child a sense of pride in his or her heritage; develop a feeling of self-worth...; eradicate the roots of prejudice... and enable all students to become aware and accepting of religious diversity while being allowed to remain secure in any religious beliefs they may already have'."

Pat Robertson Charity Receives Millions In Federal Aid

The Virginian-Pilot yesterday carried a long article on the extent to which Pat Robertson's organization has benefited from President Bush's faith based initiative. Despite Robertson's skepticism several years ago about federal money going to religious organizations, his international relief organization, Operation Blessing, last year received $14.4 million in federal funding. Operation Blessing says it carefully follows federal guidelines that insist on church-state separation. It uses the grants for humanitarian relief, not evangelism. The largest amount of federal aid received by Operation Blessing has been $27.7 million of surplus nonfat dry milk from the Department of Agriculture over a two-year period. Operation Blessing then goes to food manufacturers and trades much of the milk for ready-to-eat puddings, soups and other products that are distributed by Operation Blessing trucks.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that Israel is reconsidering its decision to end its cooperation with Pat Robertson on his construction of a Christian heritage park after Robertson apologized for saying Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine retribution for the Gaza withdrawal. (See prior posting.)

Schools Already Looking At Next Christmas

Attention to the celebration of Christmas in public schools did not stop in December. Today's Hartford, Connecticut Courant reports that the superintendent of the East Windsor, Conn. schools has decided that his district went too far last year in removing holiday decorations. The school had taken down a Christmas tree that had been put up, and told the town's park and recreation department not to advertise its annual Santa Call program or hold its Easter egg hunt in the schools. At the request of parents, the school district has now had its attorney review the case law, and symbols of various religions will be back in the schools next December.

Iraqi Insurgents To Coordinate In Compliance With Sharia

The website Jihad Unspun reports today that six Mujahideen groups in Iraq have formed the "Shura (consultation) Council of Mujahideen in Iraq" to direct the insurgency against the United States and coalition partners in accordance with Sharia (Islamic law). The media departments of the six groups will coordinate annnouncements of their operations through the Shura Council.

Dr. Martin Luther King On Church-State

Today, on Martin Luther King Day, the Wall of Separation blog reviews Dr. King's views on separation of church and state. Here is one quote from Dr. King: "The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool."

IRS Asked To Investigate Two Ohio Churches

Today's New York times reports that a group of 31 religious leaders has sent a complaint to the Internal Revenue Service requesting an investigation of two large churches in the Columbus, Ohio area, Fairfield Christian Church and the World Harvest Church. They claim the churches, that were active in getting out the vote for President Bush in 2004, are now improperly helping Kenneth Blackwell, a conservative Republican running for governor. Both churches denied that any of their activities violated limitations on nonprofit political activity., saying they "endorse values, but not candidates."

Rod Parsley, the pastor at World Harvest Church, has organized Reformation Ohio whose goal is to win 100,000 converts, register 40,000 new voters and help the poor. The Ohio Restoration Project, a nonprofit organization led by Rev. Russell Johnson, Fairfield's minister, has said its goal is to create an army of "Patriot Pastors" to help increase the participation of church members in this year's statewide elections.

Recent Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

Robert K. Vischer, Associate Professor of Law, St. Thomas University, Conscience in Context: Pharmacist Rights and the Eroding Moral Marketplace.

From SmartCILP:

• University of Baltimore Law Professor Kenneth Lasson, Incitement In the Mosques: Testing the Limits of Free Speech and Religious Liberty, 27 Whittier Law Rev. 3-76 (2005) .
• Hastings Law School Prof. Calvin Massey, The Political Marketplace of Religion, 57 Hastings Law Jour. 1-54 (2005).
• Pepperdine Law School Prof. Joel A. Nichols, Religious Liberty In the Thirteenth Colony: Church-State Relations in Colonial and Early National Georgia, 80 New York Univ. Law Rev. 1693-1772 (2005).
  

Free Exercise Issues Continue To Arise In Malaysia

Two recent developments illustrate the continuing effort in Malaysia to enforce the protection of religious liberty found in the country's Constitution. Yesterday, the Khaleej Times reported that Malaysia's Education Ministry has overturned a school's attempt to force a Sikh student to shave off his facial hair, kept for religious reasons. The Ministry ruled that religious practices should be permitted if they are not extreme. Senior ministry official Khusaini Hasbullah said that for the Sikhs, this means they can wear a turban and keep facial hair.

The Financial Times yesterday reported more broadly that Malaysia is reviewing its Islamic religious laws after recent protests that they infringe on the rights of non-Muslims and women. However, the review will not challenge the jurisdiction of Sharia courts over family law issues. Last week, the government suspended a new Islamic family law bill criticized as injurious to women. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has also promised clarification of laws on religious conversion to Islam after a recent dispute over the Islamic burial of an ethnic Indian whose religious affiliation was in dispute. (See prior posting.)

Unemployment Compensation Awarded To Seventh Day Adventist

Last week in Gent v. Pride Ambulance Co., (Ct. App. MI, Jan. 12, 2006) a Michigan appellate court found that a Seventh Day Adventist who refused to work as a paramedic on Saturday, her Sabbath, was nevertheless entitled to unemployment compensation payments. A rule of the Michigan Employment Security Commission provides :"An individual who refuses to work on the Sabbath designated by his or her religion ... solely because of conscientious observance of the Sabbath as a matter of religious conviction shall not, for that reason, be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits."

Tribes Lose Bid To Stop Snowbowl Upgrades

Last week, in The Navajo Nation v. U.S. Forest Service, (D. Ariz., Jan. 11, 2006), an Arizona federal district court rejected efforts by various Indian tribes to prevent the U.S. Forest Service from upgrading facilities at the Arizona Snowbowl, an existing ski area in the Coconino National Forest. (See prior posting.) Plaintiffs claimed that the proposed upgrades, especially the use of reclaimed water to make snow, "will have negative, irreversible, and devastating effects to their religious, traditional and cultural practices". However the court rejected plaintiff's First Amendment and RFRA claims, finding that the government's land management decision did not impose a "substantial burden" on plaintiffs' religious practices, and that the government has a compelling interest in managing the public land for recreational uses.

The court said: "The evaluation of when the government's land management decisions cross the line from legitimate conduct to unconstitutional prohibitions on the free exercise of religion cannot depend on measuring the effects of a governmental action on a religious objector's spiritual development." It found: "The Snowbowl decision does not bar Plaintiffs' access, use, or ritual practice on any part of the Peaks. The decision does not coerce individuals into acting contrary to their religious beliefs nor does it penalize anyone for practicing his or her religion. Indeed, Defendants have committed ... to ensuring that religious practitioners will have access to the 777-acre SUP area and the approximately 74,000 remaining acres of the Peaks for religious purposes."

The court concluded: "While Plaintiffs may find it offensive that lands that have cultural and religious significance to them also host recreational activities, this cannot justify a "religious servitude" over large amounts of public land. "

GA Court Refuses To Enjoin County Commission Opening Prayers

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that on Friday, an Atlanta, Georgia federal district court, in a 65-page order, refused to issue a preliminary injunction against the Cobb County Commission's practice of opening its sessions with a prayer. Judge Richard Story said the plaintiffs had not proven that the Commission's practice of inviting clergy of various faiths to deliver an opening prayer resulted "in the impermissible appearance of an official preference for one sect or creed to the exclusion of others." The court explained: "To be sure, many of these speakers, in offering their invocations, identify the deity to whom they direct their prayer. In that respect, they surely convey their alignment with one religious creed to the exclusion of others. But viewed cumulatively, given the diversity in the denominations and faiths represented, it is difficult to extrapolate from any one speaker's affiliation the preference on the part of the Cobb County government." The suit, captioned Pelphrey v. Cobb County, was filed by the Georgia Civil Liberties Union. (See prior posting.) The text of the complaint, plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction and the GCLU's press release upon filing the case are available at its website.

UPDATE: The full opinion in BATS v. Cobb County is now available at 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1428 (ND Ga., Jan. 13, 2006).

President Proclaims Jan. 16 As Religious Freedom Day

President George W. Bush has issued a Proclamation declaring January 16 as "Religious Freedom Day". It celebrates the 220th anniversary of the 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, as well as the protection of religious freedom in the First Amendment.

Zoning Exclusion of Church Upheld

In Petra Presbyterian Church v. Village of Northbrook, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 876 (ND Ill., Jan. 11, 2006), an Illinois federal district court dismissed statutory and constitutional claims by a Presbyterian church that was refused permission to locate in an area zoned for industrial use. The court held that under RLUIPA, the requirement in Northbrook's zoning code that the church locate somewhere other than an industrial park was not a substantial burden on the church's exercise of religion. It also found that alleged discriminatory treatment of churches was remedied when the village amended its zoning code to exclude business-related organizations that were previously permitted in industrial zones. It also found that the statute of limitations had run on some of the church's constitutional claims.