En Banc Appeal Sought In Boise Homeless Shelter Case

The city of Boise, Idaho has petitioned for en banc review by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals of a recent panel decision holding that the Boise Rescue Mission cannot conduct religious services at the homeless shelter that it operates on city-owned property. (See prior posting.) The panel also found that BRM's men-only policy for its shelter is facially discriminatory and likely violates the Fair Housing Act. Yesterday, KBCI News reported that critics say that the mayor and city council are making the homeless crisis worse by pursuing the appeal. They urge the city to operate a secular shelter for families in order to solve the problem.

Court Grants Churches Exemption From Minnesota Concealed Carry Law

Hennepin County, Minnesota District Judge William Howard on Tuesday issued a permanent injunction permitting churches to ban firearms from their property used for religious purposes, including parking lots and space leased to tenants, without complying with the elaborate notice requirements applicable to commercial establishments under Minnesota' concealed carry firearms law. The permanent injunction extends a temporary injuction issued by another judge last year. The decision says that freedom of conscience and association provisions in the state and U.S. Constitutions exempt churches from the statutory requirement to either post a specifically worded sign or give individual notice to people entering the building in order to exclude firearms. Instead churches can notify individuals of the ban in any way they wish to. This will allow Edina's Community Lutheran Church to continue to bar firearms with signs reading: "Blessed are the peacemakers. Firearms are prohibited in this place of sanctuary" instead of the language required in the statute. Reports by the Associated Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune give details on the decision.

Arrests Made In Religious Worker Visa Scam

USA Today reports on the arrest of 29 immigrants, mostly Pakistanis, who are charged with posing as Muslim religious workers to qualify for special visas to enter the United States. The arrests in a number of eastern U.S. cities are part of an investigation into organizations that posed as religious groups and allegedly filed false visa applications for immigrants under the Religious Worker Program. That program permits religious organizations to sponsor immigrants with specific religious training and experience. Last July, the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services said the Religious Worker Program was "historically considered to have a high fraud rate." This morning's Boston Globe reports that two imams from Boston-area mosques were arrested on charges of involvement with the visa scheme. Local Muslims expressed skepticism about the charges, suggesting that many of the immigrants were probably religious workers who had taken on additional outside employment to supplement their low salary as religious scholars.

Injunction Lets College Christian Group Keep Recognition While Issue Is Litigated

On Monday, a temporary injunction while litigation proceeds was issued by consent of the parties in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship-UW Superior v. The Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, (WD WI, Nov. 13, 2006). The order allows IVCF, while the lawsuit is still in court, to use religious criteria in selecting its leaders, and to impose religious-based rules of conduct on those leaders, without losing the benefits available to recognized student groups. Yesterday the Alliance Defense Fund issued a release discussing this development. (Also see prior posting.)

10th Circuit Hears Arguments In "Seven Aphorisms" Cases

Yesterday, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals heard consolidated oral arguments in five cases in which the Summum church has sued the cities of Duchesne and Pleasant Grove, Utah, claiming that the church should be able to put up a monument containing its Seven Aphorisms next to Ten Commandment monuments in city parks. Summum v. Duchesne City was an appeal of a 2004 Utah federal district court decision (LEXIS) rejecting Summum's requests. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Summum attorney Brian Barnard argued that city officials violated the church's First Amendment rights by favoring one form of speech over another. Subsequently however the city transferred the land on which the 10 Commandments monument stands to a private owner. The city says that now it has no authority to permit Summum to place a display on the property.

The Deseret News reports that a second case under review involved a similar refusal by the City of Pleasant Grove. (See prior posting.) Attorney Barnard said Pleasant Grove has allowed the Boy Scouts to put up a monument to fallen 9/11 firefighters near the Ten Commandments in the city park, but has rejected Summum's request.

New Jersey Teacher Brings Christian Views Into History Class

In Newark, New Jersey, a high school student has taped his history classes to show that teacher David Paszkiewicz, who is also a Baptist preacher, is using class to promote his Christian religious beliefs. Today's Newark Star-Ledger reports that Kearny High School junior Matthew LaClair has complained to school administrators about the class. CD recordings reveal Paszkiewicz telling students that if they do not accept Jesus, they belong in Hell. He has emphasized creationism and dismissed evolution and the "Big Bang" as unscientific. Paszkiewicz also told his students that dinosaurs were on Noah's ark. School Superintendent Robert Mooney said Paszkiewicz is "a wonderful teacher". He said he was aware of the issues raised by LaClair and that corrective action would be taken.

Christian Invocation At Florida City Council Again On Agenda

In Crystal River, Florida, Mayor Ron Kitchen opens every session of city council with an explicitly Christian prayer. Last June, two city council members who wanted to stop the practice and instead begin with merely a moment of silence were outvoted. But now, according to today's St. Petersburg Times, with a change in membership on City Council, the issue is again on the agenda for December's Council meeting.

Washington Think Tank Will Promote Science, Oppose Religion In Public Policy

Today's Washington Post reports that a group of scientists and supporters of church-state separation have announced the creation of a new Washington Office of Public Policy created by the Center For Inquiry Transnational. The office will act as a think tank supporting science-based decision making and humanistic values in U.S. public policy decision making. It will also become involved in litigation on issues of interest to it. At its press conference yesterday, the nonpartisan group was particularly critical of Bush administration policies on stem cell research, global warming, abstinence-only sex education and the teaching of intelligent design. The new office is part of an existing organization whose website describe its purpose as promoting and defending reason, science and freedom of inquiry. It is "interested in providing rational ethical alternatives to the reigning paranormal and religious systems of belief..."

Seminarian Wins Preliminary Injunction Permitting Picketing of Wal-Mart

Yesterday's Shreveport Times reported that on Monday a Louisiana federal district court granted a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of three Natchitoches, LA ordinances against Edwin Crayton, a Christian seminary student who opposes gay marriage on religious grounds. Crayton wished to picket a Wal-Mart store in Natchitoches, believing that Wal-Mart supports gay marriage rights. However he was told that he needed a permit from the mayor and police chief in order to protest on a public sidewalk in front of the store. His lawsuit alleges (full text of complaint) that the city's permit ordinances are unconstitutional because they grant excessive discretion to the mayor and police chief, they are not narrowly tailored to further a legitimate governmental interest, and, in any event, he did not engage in a public gathering or open-air meeting-- the activities covered by the ordinances. The case is Crayton v. City of Natchitoches, Civ. Action No. 06-1946-A (WD LA, Nov. 13, 2006).

Today's 365 Gay reports that other Christian groups have also criticized Wal-Mart's LGBT diversity program, including its definition of an employee's "immediate family" to include a same-sex partner.

Rabbi At Center of RLUIPA Fight Profiled By Paper

Yesterday's Marin (CA) Independent Journal profiles Rabbi Lavey Derby, who is leading Tiburon, California's Congregation Kol Shofar in its RLUIPA battle over a permit for the expansion of the congregation's facilities. (See prior posting.) Rabbi Derby said, "We raised RLUIPA when it became clear the town was not understanding the real issues at stake here. They were good at understanding neighbors, but they weren't understanding the religious institution's stake here." Reflecting on the zoning controversy, Derby said: "I'm learning I'm becoming a more spiritually mature person through this experience."

UPDATE: The Nov. 16 Marin Independent Journal reports that Tiburon's Town Council has unanimously approved a set of compromise recommendations on the expansion of Kol Shofar synagogue.

Heir To Japan's Imperial Throne Presented At Shinto Shrine

The two-month old heir to Japan's imperial throne was presented yesterday at a traditional ceremony in a Shinto shrine on the grounds of the imperial palace. Prince Hisahito is the first male heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne born in 40 years. Reuters and Australia's Herald Sun report on the event.

South Africa's National Assembly Approves Gay Marriage Over Religious Objections

South Africa's National Assembly today approved by a vote of 230-41 (with 3 abstentions) a controversial Civil Unions Bill that would make the country the first in Africa to approve same-sex marriage. The bill permits marriage officials to refuse to perform a same-sex marriage ceremony on religious or personal grounds. (Voice of America).

African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe condemned the action in religious terms. The Mail & Guardian reports that he called the passage of the bill the saddest day in Parliament's history. He said that God considered homosexuality "an abomination". He warned that voting in favor of same-sex marriage was a rejection of God's laws, and said that MPs who did so would face divine wrath. The National Council of Provinces also needs to approve the Bill for it to become effective. Last year, South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled that the 1996 Constitution's prohibition on sexual orientation discrimination guarantees the right of gay men and lesbians to marry. The court gave the government until December 1 to extend marital rights to all same-sex couples.

State Department Drops Vietnam, Adds Uzbekistan, As "Countries of Particular Concern"

Yesterday, the United States Department of State removed Vietnam from its list of "countries of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, according to the Washington Post. The move comes as President George W. Bush is about to leave for Hanoi for a regional summit. John Hanford, the U.S. ambassador at large for religious freedom, said that Vietnam has made significant strides in protecting religious freedom. This is the first time that a country has been removed from the list of those that engage in severe violations of religious freedom. At the same time, the State Department added Uzbekistan to its list.

UPDATE: Here is the transcript of the State Department's press briefing on its submission to Congress of 2006 Designations of Countries of Particular Concern. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital.]

Two Suits Are Filed Seeking VA Approval Of Wiccan Grave Markers

Following on a suit filed by the ACLU in September, yesterday Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced that it has filed two lawsuits seeking U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) approval of the Pentacle as a permissible symbol on memorial markers of Wiccan veterans buried in national cemeteries. The VA has approved symbols of 38 other faiths, but has delayed for years a ruling on requests by families of Wiccan veterans.

In Circle Sanctuary v. Nicholson, (full text of complaint) two widows, along with two Wiccan organizations, are asking a Wisconsin federal district court to rule that the VA is violating the First and Fifth Amendments, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Administrative Procedure Act by refusing to issue any decision on the Pentacle applications and by discriminatorily maintaining a list of government approved religions. The same parties also filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (full text of complaint) challenging the constitutionality of the VA's Emblems of Beliefs Rule that limits the religious emblems that can be placed on grave markers in veterans' cemeteries. The complaint charges that the rule violates the Establishment, Free Exercise, Free Speech and Due Process Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The Associated Press yesterday reported on the cases.

Pakistan Province Again Tries To Enact Hisbah Bill

Yesterday, the Regional Assembly of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) passed the controversial "Hisbah (Hasba)" or "Accountability" Bill creating an Islamic official, called a Mohtasib, to enforce Islamic values and etiquette. The bill also creates a "Hisbah Force", a corps of Islamic morality police, who operate under the direction of the Mohtasib. Spero News yesterday carried an excellent article on the tortuous history of the bill in the NWFP, and on the bill's provisions. Parts of a nearly identical bill passed last July were declared unconstitutional by Pakistan's Supreme Court. However, members of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a coalition of six Islamist parties, passed the bill again, angered over the bombing of an Islamic seminary last month.

Article 23 of the bill gives extensive jurisdiction to the Mohtasib's office. For example, he is to discourage exhibition of extravagance; discourage beggary; discourage employment of under-age children; remove unnecessary delay in discharge of undisputed civil liabilities; prevent cruelty to animals; prevent misuse of loud-speakers and sectarian speeches; discourage un-Islamic and inhuman customs; check indecent behavior in public places including harassment of women; protect rights of minorities and the sanctity of their religious places; eliminate un-Islamic traditions affecting the rights of women, particularly Honor killings; monitor weights and measures; eliminate bribery; advise those found to be disobedient to their parents; and mediate among parties and tribes in matters pertaining to murders and similar crimes.

Spero News reports that Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf is highly unlikely to permit the governor of NWFP to sign the Hisbah Bill.

UPDATE: Pakistan's Federal Information Minister, Mohammad Ali Durrani, said on Tuesday that the NWFP's Hasba (Hisba) bill would again be referred to the country's Supreme Court if it appears to violate constitutional standards. The bill faces particular opposition from Pakistan's Christian community. (Asia News.it).

UPDATE: On Wednesday, a petition was filed with Pakistan's Supreme Court by Maulvi Iqbal Haider, chairman of Awami Himayat Tehrik, asking the court to restrain the NWFP governor from assenting the recently-passed Hasba Bill. (DAWN).

Michigan Supreme Court Hears Argument On Scope of RLUIPA

Yesterday the Michigan Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Greater Bible Way Temple of Jackson v. City of Jackson, a case raising the question of whether a church can invoke the protections of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act when seeking rezoning of property in order to build an assisted living apartment complex. The Associated Press reports that the city of Jackson's attorney, Gerald Fisher, argued that building housing for the general public and charging rent is a commercial, not a religious, enterprise. However the church's attorney, Mark Koerner, argued that providing housing for the disabled and elderly is central to the church's religious mission. (See prior related posting.)

Court In India Holds Reconverted Dalit May Claim Benefits

India's Constitution, in order to break down the traditional caste system in the country, grants special benefits to so-called "Scheduled Castes", i.e. low caste Dalits . Some Hindu Dalits have converted to other faiths. (See prior posting.) Asia News reports yesterday that the Madras High Court has ruled that a Dalit born to Hindu parents who had converted to Christianity is entitled to quota benefits of Scheduled Castes if he reconverts to Hinduism. However, Dalits who remain Christian have no right to participate in these government job (and other) set-asides. (See prior related posting.) The ruling came in the case of R. Shankar, who challenged the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission's rejection of his appointment as a civil judge under the Scheduled Caste quota.

Brits Again Consider Religious Hate Laws In Wake of Griffin Acquittal

Last week in Britain, a jury in Leeds acquitted right-wing British National Party leader Nick Griffin of stirring up racial hatred. (BBC News.) At issue was a speech Griffin delivered in 2004 attacking Islam. Under the law as it existed at that time, stirring up racial hatred was a crime, but stirring up religious hatred was not. Griffin argued that his speech was aimed at Islam, and not at Asians as the government charged. (IC Wales.) Earlier this year, British law was amended to include stirring up religious hatred. However, it was watered down from the original proposal. It requires intentional conduct and merely abusive or insulting remarks are not covered. (See prior posting.) Now however, in the wake of the Griffin acquittal, some members of the government are suggesting that Parliament take another look at strengthening the religious hatred provisions. (BBC News.)

Texas Apache Holy Man Will Challenge Eagle Feather Restrictions

Today's Houston Chronicle reports on the difficulties being faced by Lipan Apache holy man Robert Soto who has been cited for possessing eagle feathers in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Since his tribe is not recognized by the federal government, he cannot legally obtain eagle feathers to use in ceremonies for his two Native American congregations. Fish and Wildlife Service Agents became suspicious when they saw an ad for a March 11 powwow. They showed up and charged Soto and his brother-in-law with illegal possession of golden eagle feathers. Soto's brother-in-law paid a $500 fine for wearing eagle feathers owned by Soto. Soto though plans to challenge the law, claiming that it infringes his religious freedom. Meanwhile he has been relegated to using turkey feathers at powwow ceremonies.

Israel's High Court Tells Prime Minister To Clarify Approach On Reform Conversions

YNet News reports that a 9-judge panel of Israel's High Court of Justice yesterday gave the Prime Minister one month to present a clear consolidated proposal for structuring a committee to examine recognition of non-Orthodox conversions to Judaism in Israel. The case was originally filed by the Israel Religious Action Center of the Reform Jewish movement. In response, the government announced the appointment of a committee headed by Prof. Yaakov Ne'eman to deal with the issue. But Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish said the announcement was vague and not serious, and so she issued yesterday's order.