Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
PBS Feature On Religion and Politics In Ohio
Friday, April 28, 2006
Foundation Labeled As Terrorist Claims Free Exercise Infringement
Defendant Charges Police Insensitivity To Religious Garb
Byrd Introduces School Prayer Amendment
Nothing in this Constitution, including any amendment to this Constitution, shall be construed to prohibit voluntary prayer or require prayer in public school, or to prohibit voluntary prayer or require prayer at a public school extracurricular activity.The Charleston Daily Mail reports that this is the eighth time in 43 years that Byrd has introduced the proposal. The Daily Mail also says that it has learned from Byrd's office that Byrd has talked about his amendment and the original intent of the drafters of the First Amendment with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The full text of Byrd's expansive speech introducing the amendment is available from his website.
In Minsk, Passover Seder Deemed Unfit For Children To See
Michigan House Passes Conscience Bill For HMOs and Insurers
British Court Rejects Claim Of Burial Benefits Discrimination
2nd Circuit Upholds Church's Right To Shelter Homeless Outside
Pakistan Charges Foreign Papers, Internet Firms With Blasphemy, Capital Offense
Reform Rabbinical Leader Speaks At Liberty University
Today's Forward has an excellent article on the talk that was given at as part of a Wednesday morning prayer service that is mandatory for students and faculty at the University.It is understandable, perhaps, that we may feel victimized and under attack and look for quick fixes. And so we hear calls, sometimes from evangelicals and sometimes from others, for prayer in the schools and lowering the wall of church-state separation. But let us beware of simple answers. As a Jew, I don't like it when other Jews find an anti-Semite under every bed; I don't believe that Judaism is seriously imperiled, and I don't think that Christianity is under siege either. Neither do I want to ask the government to solve our problems by imposing its will. Government coercion generates resentment, not godliness, and it is never a good idea to put the government in charge of our thinking.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Maine Supreme Court Upholds Vouchers Limited To Non-Sectarian Schools
Coast Guard Relents On Merchant Marine Photo Rule
California Sentencing Judge's Reference To Religion OK'd
House Committee Defeats Duplicative Anti-Discrimination Amendment To Telecom Bill
Churches Moving To Retail and Commercial Space
Florida House Votes Property Tax Exemption For Holy Land Experience
Government and Human Rights Groups Urge Tadic To Reject Serbia's New Religion Law
On Wednesday, the U.S. Helsinki Commission issued a statement criticizing the law's "ambiguous registration requirements, limitations on naming rights, ill-defined state deregistration powers, speech limitations, improper public disclosure requirements, and undue deference to registration decisions of other EU countries." The statement also criticized provisions that would require many minority religious communities now registered to re-register with authorities.
Finally, according to B92 News, a letter signed by nine human rights organizations in Serbia said that the bill brings Serbia's secular character into question. The letter says the new law is contradictory to human rights guarantees in the country's constitution. It charges that the law moves Serbia back toward medieval times and away from modern Europe.
UPDATE: Despite these pleas, Makfax reported Thursday afternoon that Serbia's President Boris Tadic signed the Church and Religious Communities Act into law.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
ACLU Questions Louisiana Mayor's Bible Study Class
Joe Cook, Louisiana ACLU executive director, argued that the sessions advance Christianity over other religions, and said that some city employees may feel pressured to attend. City Attorney David Cressy, however, argued that the classes are permissible because they are a private function, primarily for individuals who work at City Hall.
Challenges To Kentucky Funding For Religious Colleges Filed
Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher says that two of his top advisers differ on the constitutionality of the funding. His chief of staff believes it is unconstitutional. However, his general counsel takes the position that the state's Constitutional ban (Sec. 189) on using tax money to support sectarian schools applies only to elementary and secondary schools and not to colleges.