Last-Ditch Attempt To Save Mt. Soledad Cross

After a federal judge last week took new action to require the removal of the large cross from on top of California's Mt. Soledad, California Representative Duncan Hunter has written President Bush, asking him to exercise the federal power of eminent domain to turn the land under the cross into a national park. Orders by a federal judge to remove the cross rely on provisions in the California constitution. Supporters think that federal law is less restrictive. The developments are reported in today's San Diego Union Tribune.

UPDATE: Sunday's San Diego Union Tribune profiles Jim McElroy, lawyer for the plaintiff in the Mt. Soledad cross case. McElroy has received a good number of nasty, and even threatening, e-mails and phone calls from outraged defenders of the cross.

US Civil Rights Commission Investigating California Campus Anti-Semitism

Today's Los Angeles times reports that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is for the first time conducting an investigation of anti-Semitism on a college campus. It is focusing on the University of California Irvine. Renewed concerns have arisen on campus as the school's Muslim Student Union has scheduled a program for next week titled "Holocaust in the Holy Land". Jewish leaders are not asking university officials to cancel the program, but do want them to condemn the use of the term "Holocaust" in its title. Chancellor Michael V. Drake issued a more generic statement on Tuesday, merely calling on students "to show appreciation for one another, for people of diverse opinions, backgrounds and cultures and for ideas that may be different from their own." Last month, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission made a number of recommendations to counter campus anti-Semitism. (See prior posting.)

Role of Christianity In Air Force, Academy, Continues To Provoke Interest

The controversy over the role of religion in the Air Force and at the U.S. Air Force Academy continues to spur interest.

Jeremy Gunn, director of the ACLU's program on religious freedom spoke at the Air Force Academy Thursday, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. Gunn told Air Force cadets and faculty that the alleged war on Christians in America is a myth driven by politics. In fact, he said, religion has never enjoyed a time of greater freedom. Philosophy Professor Col. James Cook, who invited Gunn to speak, said the debate over the role of faith in the military has led the school to seek out a variety of opinions without taking sides.

Meanwhile, today's edition of the Forward profiles Air Force Academy alumnus Mikey Weinstein who has led opposition to federal legislation to permit military chaplains to offer sectarian prayers. Weinstein is suing the Air Force Academy over anti-Jewish slurs and coercion experienced by his sons while they were students there. The suit also challenges the Air Force's revised guidelines for chaplains. (See prior postings 1, 2, 3 .) Weinstein, a lawyer who worked for the Reagan White House and once served as Ross Perot's general counsel, has formed the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to call attention to religious coercion in the military. Weinstein strongly criticized the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish organizations for their positions on church-state issues in the military and their refusal to file amicus briefs in his lawsuit.

And the blog Jews On First this week carries a report about another issue exposed by Mikey Weinstein. Air Force Maj. General Jack J. Catton Jr. has used his military e-mail account to urge 200 of his Air Force Academy classmates to support a Colorado Republican congressional candidate, Retired Air Force General Bentley Rayburn. The Air Force general wrote: "We are certainly in need of Christian men with integrity and military experience in Congress." He attached a message to the e-mail from candidate Rayburn, who, referring to Congressional debates on religious intimidation at the Air Force Academy said: "For those of us who are Christians, there is that whole other side of the coin that recognizes that we need more Christian influence in Congress."

Wal-Mart Pharmacist Convicted For Religious Tirade To Customers

WBAY-TV reports that in LaCrosse, Wisconsin yesterday, former Wal-Mart pharmacist Neil Noesen was convicted by a jury on charges of obstruction, but acquitted on disorderly conduct charges. All the charges grow out of a disturbance he caused last July while working briefly at the Wal-Mart in Onalaska, Wisconsin. Noesen insisted on telling customers about his religious objections as a Catholic to the dispensing of birth control prescriptions. When he refused police orders to leave the store, he was taken out in a wheel chair. This is Noesen's fourth conviction on charges relating to his objections to dispensing contraceptive prescriptions and devices.

Pat Robertson Uses 700 Club To Attack "Americans United"

ABP News reports that controversial Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson yesterday used his 700 Club television show to launch an attack on Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United For Separation of Church and State. Robertson said, "Barry Lynn is so extreme, he has said that if a church is burning down, the city shouldn’t bring the fire department and trucks to spray water on the church because that violates separation of church and state." AU officials deny that this is Lynn's position. Robertson went on to claim that the ACLU had taken over Americans United, and described the ACLU in these terms: "The goal of the ACLU is to strip all religion from the public square. Why? Because the goal of the Communist Party was to weaken America, and they thought that they could weaken America if they took faith out of our public life. That's where it all came from, ladies and gentlemen." In a release by Americans United in response to the attack said "Robertson is not just factually wrong, but increasingly shrill and paranoid."

Chinese Christian Activists Meet With President Bush

Reuters and the Associated Press report that yesterday President George W. Bush met at the White House with Chinese Christian dissidents Yu Jie (an author), Li Baiguang (a legal scholar) and Wang Yi (a law professor and blogger). All three are active in China's underground Protestant church movement. The Chinese activists are attempting to use China's own constitution to liberalize its treatment of religion. The White House visitors said that they joined in prayer with Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice before their meeting ended. The meeting was briefly mentioned in yesterday's press briefing aboard Air Force One.

Jury Convicts Priest In 1980 Murder Of Nun

In Toledo, Ohio today, a jury after deliberating for a total of 6 hours and 25 minutes convicted Catholic priest Gerald Robinson of the ritualistic murder 26 years ago of a nun, Sister Margaret Ann Pahl. (See prior postings 1, 2, 3 .) Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Osowik immediately sentenced Robinson to 15 years to life in prison. The Toledo Blade reports that defense attorneys plan an appeal.

Immediately after the verdict, Toledo Catholic Diocese Bishop Leonard Blair issued a statement saying, "Let us hope that the conclusion of the trial will bring some measure of healing for all those affected by the case as well as for our local church." He emphasized that Robinson is a retired priest who "continues to be barred from any public ministry." Local church officials expect that the Vatican will take some kind of additional action against Robinson.

WTOL News has a good summary of events leading up to the trial.

Israel's High Court Upholds Draft Exemptions For Yeshiva Students

Haaretz reports that in an 8-1 decision today, Israel's High Court of Justice rejected a challenge to the country's "Tal Law" which generally provides exemptions from military service for Orthodox Jewish yeshiva students engaged in Torah study. The Jerusalem Post, also reporting on the decision, describes how the law operates:. A student gets at least four years of guaranteed military deferment for yeshiva study. Then he may take one year off without being drafted to join the army, work or learn a trade. If the student then decides not to return to yeshiva, he performs a truncated period of military service and annual reserve duty.

While upholding the law, the High Court's majority criticized it as causing "serious harm to the human dignity of the majority who are obligated to do national service". Chief Justice Aharon Barak's decision said, however, that the problem needs to be solved by national consensus, not by a court ruling. The opinion suggested that if changes are not made, in the future the Court might find the law unconstitutional.

Graduation Prayer Initiative Launched

Liberty Counsel is distributing a Legal Memorandum On Graduation Prayers In Public Schools which suggests rather narrow interpretations of court prcedents banning prayer at graduation ceremonies. It says that public colleges and universities may invite clergy to deliver prayers at graduation ceremonies. In public middle, junior high and high schools, student or outside speakers chosen on neutral criteria can offer prayers, or make religious comments, if genuinely done on their own initiative. It also says that churches may sponsor baccalaureate services. Here is one interesting excerpt from the memo:

In [one] school, the valedictorian sneezed after giving the valedictory address. The students responded in unison, “God bless you.” Although this is a humorous way of acknowledging God during a ceremony, the Constitution does not require students to resort to such tactics in order to acknowledge God. When student speakers enter the podium during a graduation ceremony, they do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of expression, just like they do not shed this right when they enter the schoolhouse gate.

Last week, Liberty Counsel also announced that it was launching the "Friend or Foe Graduation Prayer Campaign" in cooperation with Dr. Jerry Falwell, the Founder and Chancellor of Liberty University. It will educate, and where necessary file suit, to vindicate speakers' right to deliver prayers or make religious comments at graduation ceremonies.

School Board Has Second Thoughts On Religious Literature Policy

After last month's approval of the first reading of policy permitting non-school-related "books and periodicals" including religious literature to be made available to high school students, the Brunswick (North Carolina) County Board of Education last week voted to table the measure. Yesterday's Brunswick Beacon reports that the decision was taken after the board met with legal counsel who told them that the proposed policy does not conform with the only court decision that permits religious material to be distributed. The board was apparently also concerned by the inquiries it was already receiving about distributing materials under the policy. Unitarian Universalists, Jehovah's Witnesses and Buddhists have already made inquiries, as has a group interested in distributing books on pagan religions.

Montreal School Accommodates Muslim Students Over Some Objections

In the Canadian province of Quebec, Montreal school officials have accommodated the religious needs of three Muslim high school girls by allowing them to take the required swimming test in physical education alone in the school's pool, shielded from the view of any men. The Toronto Star today reports that decision, opposed by the school's parent-teacher council, has created some controversy about the place of religion in Quebec's public institutions. However school officials say that the move is required by the Constitution and rulings of Canada's Supreme Court. Several Toronto public schools already set aside all-girls swim periods each week, as do other public pools in Jewish, Muslim and Sikh areas of Montreal.

Religious Land Use Issues Continue To Arise

Religious land use issues continue to make news. Liberty Counsel has announced two interesting suits. In Florida, the group has sued Osceola County to get permission for the Men of Destiny Ministries to operate a faith-based substance abuse program. The county has refused to issue the group a permit to continue to run its program from a single family home that is being used to house 14 men who work during the day and who have Christian meetings 4 evening per week. The county has been levying a fine on the group, and has ordered the 6,300 square foot home it is using to be vacated. (Orlando Sentinel, May 10.)

Meanwhile, in Bedford County, Virginia, Liberty Counsel has written the county on behalf of Raymond Bell, the pastor of The Cowboy Church of Virginia, claiming that the county is violating RLUIPA. The owner of a local farm agreed to permit use of his barn every Thursday night for worship services by the Cowboy Church, but the county has issued a Notice of Violation because the farm is not zoned for use for religious meetings. (Liberty Counsel News Release, May 10.) [Thanks to Rick Duncan via Religionlaw for the lead.]

Finally, in Yavapai County Arizona, the Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing next week on a proposed amendment to the county zoning code to require religious institutions and certain schools to obtain use permits before they construct new buildings. The Board's Planning and Zoning committee has recommended a tightening of current regulations so that there will be notification of surrounding property owners and an administrative review process with public comment before construction begins. Opponents of the amendment argue that religious institutions are constitutionally protected from such regulation. (Verde Arizona Independent, May 10.)

India's Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To Muslim Family Law

In India yesterday the Supreme Court rejected an challenge to the legality of the Muslim personal law on marriage, according to Daily India. The suit asked the Court to order the central government to promulgate a uniform marriage law for all communities, including Muslims. The suit claimed that Muslim marriage and divorce practices denied fundamental rights to Muslim women and contradicted the principles of secularism and national integration. However the Court said that any change is a matter for Parliament, and not for the Court.

Church Gives 10 Commandments Display To Kentucky County

Now that the Kentucky legislature has enacted a law permitting the display in public buildings of the Ten Commandments along with other texts that highlight Kentucky's historic, cultural, political, and general heritage, today's Lexington Herald-Leader reports that religious groups are pushing to have the new law implemented. The Body of Christ Ministries has given the Lexington-Fayette County Urban County Council a set of framed documents, which include the Ten commandments, the Declaration of Independence, the preamble to the Kentucky Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It hopes they will be displayed at the courthouse, county annex or city hall. The group has distributed similar documents to 12 Kentucky counties since 2003. The Lexington-Fayette Council voted 9-1 Tuesday to draft a resolution accepting the display.

Director of Evangelism's Retaliation Suit Dismissed Under Church Autonomy Rule

The Yakima (Washington) Herald Republic reports that yesterday a Washington state trial court judge dismissed a suit accusing the Catholic Diocese of Yakima of forcing Robert Fontana, Diocesan Director of Evangelism, to resign after he questioned the Diocese's application of a new national policy on clergy sexual misconduct. Fontana claimed that he was reprimanded for complaining that Bishop Carlos Sevilla permitted a priest to continue his religious duties even though the priest was being investigated for downloading photographs of nude boys from the Internet. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction over Fontana's claim because of the "ministerial exception". Holding that Fontana's duties should be considered "ministerial", the court said that "a church's right to be unfettered by the state in its choice and control of ministers cannot abide state intervention where the heart of the issue depends on religious justification."

Iranian President Lectures Bush Using Appeal To Religion

On Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a rambling 18-page letter (full text)to President George Bush that contained little in the way of new initiatives to deal with the crisis over Iran's development of nuclear weapons capability. However, as described today by the New York Times, the letter largely used religion to lecture Bush about the errors of his administration's policies around the world. The unusual appeal to George Bush's personal religious beliefs, and the extensive exposition of Islamic teachings, may make this letter one of the more unusual exchanges between international leaders. Here are a few quotations from the lengthy letter:

Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the great Messenger of God ... But at the same time, ... because of the possibility of the existence of WMDs in one country, it is occupied, around one hundred thousand people killed, its water sources, agriculture and industry destroyed....

Another big question asked by people is why is this regime [Israel] being supported? Is support for this regime in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH) or Moses (PBUH) or liberal values? Or are we to understand that allowing the original inhabitants of these lands – inside and outside Palestine – whether they are Christian, Muslim or Jew, to determine their fate, runs contrary to principles of democracy, human rights and the teachings of prophets? If not, why is there so much opposition to a referendum?....

If prophet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph or Jesus Christ (PBUH) were with us today, how would they have judged such behaviour? Will we be given a role to play in the promised world, where justice will become universal and Jesus Christ (PBUH) will be present? Will they even accept us?...

Mr President, According to divine verses, we have all been called upon to worship one God and follow the teachings of divine prophets. "To worship a God which is above all powers in the world and can do all He pleases." ...

We increasingly see that people around the world are flocking towards a main focal point –that is the Almighty God. Undoubtedly through faith in God and the teachings of the prophets, the people will conquer their problems. My question for you is: “Do you not want to join them?”

Mr President, Whether we like it or not, the world is gravitating towards faith in the Almighty and justice and the will of God will prevail over all things.

Apartment Managers Ban Bible Study In Commons Area

Today's Spartanburg (South Carolina) Herald-Journal reports on another instance of a growing problem-- an apartment complex banning residents from using a building's common space for Bible study. (See prior posting.) At Spartanburg's Heritage Court Apartments, appropriately located on "Church Street", the management company in charge of the building told residents that the federal Fair Housing Act requires them to move their Bible study group from the common area into a private apartment. The letter to residents also said that hymns could no longer be played on the piano in the commons area, and no nativity scene could be displayed there at Christmas. William Dudley Gregorie, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's field office director for South Carolina, says that management is wrong in its interpretation of the law. As long as all groups have the same access to the commons area, there is no problem with its use for Bible study.

The management company involved here, One Management, justified its action as a way of preventing potential tenets from feeling that a particular religion is preferred at the apartment complex. One Management owns between 40 and 50 complexes across the Carolinas and Virginia, and manages 12 others.

UPDATE: Wednesday, after South Carolina lawmakers said that One Management has misinterpreted the law, the management company announced they would allow residents to continue their bible study while the company sought advice from the Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination with the United States Department of Justice. (Fox Carolina News.)

Canadian Hutterites Win Challenge To License Photo Requirement

In the Canadian province of Alberta, a group of Hutterites on Monday won their lawsuit challenging the requirement that they must have their photo on their drivers' licenses. (See prior posting.) The Calgary Sun yesterday reported that Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sal LoVecchio held that the requirement violates the religious rights of members of the Hutterite colony who believe that the Second Commandment precludes them from willfully having their picture taken. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects freedom of conscience and religion from infringement by provincial law.

Defense Bill Would Permit Chaplains To Offer Sectarian Prayer

The Wall of Separation blog yesterday reported on language inserted by the House Armed Services Committee into H.R. 5122, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007. The provision will free military chaplains to offer sectarian prayer in most situations. Section 590 of the bill provides:

Each chaplain shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of the chaplain’s own conscience, except as must be limited by military necessity, with any such limitation being imposed in the least restrictive manner feasible.

Current policies of the military and military academies generally call on chaplains to offer non-denominational inclusive prayers when offering invocations at military ceremonies. (See prior postings 1, 2 .) Yesterday's Washington Times, disclosing the language, quoted House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter who said it is "folly" to tell chaplains to "start editing prayers."

Court Holds RFRA Applies To Guantanamo Bay

Yesterday in Rasul v. Rumsfeld, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26665 (D DC, May 8, 2006), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act applies to detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. It also held that RFRA applies to non-resident aliens, as well as U.S. citizens, and permitted four former Guantanamo detainees (all of whom are British citizens) to proceed with their claim that guards humiliated and harassed them as they tried to practice their religion while in custody. In February, the court had dismissed constitutional and international law claims raised by the same plaintiffs. (See prior posting.)