Court Rejects Challenge To Pledge, Motto, Song

Keplinger v. United States, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34110 (MD Pa., May 3, 2006), is a suit brought by a federal prison inmate alleging that the use of the word "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, on United States currency, and in the song "America the Beautiful" is unconstitutional. He asked the court to order that “God” be removed from the Pledge, the motto on federal currency, and "America the Beautiful" and be replaced with "the true name of Worship 'Yahweh'." Not surprisingly, the court rejected his claim for relief. It held that the wording of "America the Beautiful" is not action taken under color of law. As to the Pledge and Motto, it held that they are not exercises of religion, satisfy the Lemon test, and therefore do not violate the Establishment Clause. Finally, the court held that Keplinger's request that the word Yahweh be substituted for God in the Pledge and Motto undercuts his Establishment Clause claim and is relief that cannot be provided by the Court.

Artist Sues City Over Removal Of Paintings

On Tuesday, attorneys for the Alliance Defense fund filed suit on behalf of Sharon Marolf, an artist, claiming that the Culture & Recreational director of the city of Delta, Colorado violated Marolf's constitutional rights when she removed two of Marolf's paintings from a Delta Fine Arts Association display at the city's Bill Heddles Recreation Center. The paintings were removed when the city received a complaint that the paintings included quotations from the Bible. One was a painting of the artist's granddaughter accompanied by a quote from Psalms. The other displays passages that refer to circles and squares. The suit alleges violations of the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution and of the Colorado Constitution's free speech protections. (Full text of complaint.)

Free Exercise Challenge To Texas Marijuana Law Rejected

In Burton v. State, (Texas Ct. App., May 25, 2006), a Texas Court of Appeals rejected a Free Exercise challenge to the state’s law prohibiting the possession of marijuana. The court relied on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1990 decision in Employment Division v. Smith.

New Jersey Mosque Loses RLUIPA Claim

In Muslim Center of Somerset County, Inc. v. Borough of Somerville Zoning Board of Adjustment, (NJ, May 16, 2006), a New Jersey trial court upheld the denial of a conditional use variance and of site plan approval for a Muslim congregation that wanted to remodel and use a 2-family home for religious services. The court found that the potentially detrimental impact of the proposed use for a large religious institution outweighs the public interest in granting the variance. It rejected the congregation's RLUIPA claim, finding that it filed to show a substantial burden on its exercise of religion. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the information.]

Cert. Denied By U.S. Supreme Court In Boy Scout Case

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied certiorari in Scalise v. Boy Scouts of America (Docket No. 05-1260, May 30, 2006). In the case, the Michigan Court of Appeals had rejected Establishment Clause and equal protection challenges to the use of public school buildings, posting and distribution of literature in schools, and school building visits by the Boy Scouts. John Scalise and his son are non-religious humanists. He claimed that he, and his third grade son, were excluded from the Cub Scouts in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan after they objected to the requirement that they accept the Cub Scout Promise "to do my duty to God and my country." The state court found that the school was merely granting equal access to the Boy Scouts, and that the scouts themselves were not engaged in state action. The Associated Press today reports on the case.

Kansas School Board Defends Its Stance on Evolution

NPR's program All Things Considered yesterday carried a 7+ minute segment on the Kansas School Board and its religiously conservative positions on evolution, sex education and other matters. The audio of the segment is available online. [Thanks to How Appealing for the information.]

Israel's High Court To Get Case On Mikvah Dispute

In April 2005, the Israeli West Bank religious settlement of Elkana, with its 750 families, made international news as the White House took issue with the decision of the Israel Lands Authority to invite tenders for the construction of 50 new homes in the settlement. Those construction plans now appear to have led to a religious dispute that has made its way to Israel's High Court of Justice.

The story, somewhat sketchy on technical details, appeared yesterday in YNet News. Here is what appears to have happened. As part of the new construction in Elkana, authorities also decided to build a new Mikvah -- religious ritual bath. In all Israeli cities, it is the local Religious Council that oversees Mikvah construction and dispenses government financing for such projects. After Elkana's community rabbi approved construction plans, one group in Elkana-- the Chabad movement-- objected, saying that its custom was to build a Mikvah with two immersion pools instead of one. Elkana's Rabbi Yehuda Stern stood fast, saying: "I have ruled according to our custom on the mikveh issue. We are not a Chabad community and my ruling followed the rulings of outstanding rabbis throughout the generations."

Chabad then went to court, and Judge Edna Arbel temporarily halted the Mikvah construction. She suggested that the parties take the matter to respected Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu for determination and accept his ruling. However, the parties failed to reach an agreement and the case has been appealed to the High Court. Chabad claims that the dispute is part of an attempt to force their members to leave Elkana, and that the case is about whether or not Chabad is a legitimate part of Orthodox Judaism. Attorney Motti Mintzer, representative of local religious council, responded with somewhat contradictory statements. He said that no one claims that Chabad is not part of Orthodox Judaism. But he also said: "The local hassidim from Chabad are from a messianic cult and want to force the community to build the mikveh according to their specifications."

Nashville Police Officer Claims Religious Discrimination

In Nashville, Tennessee last week, a police officer who is a Seventh Day Adventist filed suit in federal court accusing the Metro Police Department of religious discrimination. Nashville's City Paper today reports that 27-year police force veteran Diedre Renee Forte alleges that a training video shown to police falsely claimed that "Seventh Day Adventists were cults, due to their relationship with David Koresh." This, she claims, led to growing hostility toward her at work. She says she was told not to talk about God at work, while others were not similarly limited.

Pakistan Supreme Court Grants New Protections To Young Convert

Pakistan's Supreme Court last week began to work out in a more nuanced way issues surrounding the recognition of religious conversions in the wake of reports that young Hindu women were being forcibly converted to Islam. One World South Asia today reports on the case of Neelam Ludhani, a 21-year old Hindu who converted to Islam last month and married Amjad Shahzad. Neelam's father, Misri Ludhani, a Pakistani government official, originally filed suit claiming that his daughter had been abducted and forcibly converted.

By the time the case got to the Supreme Court, however, Misri supported his daughter's claim that her conversion was voluntary. But Misri told the court he was still concerned that his daughter would be abandoned by her new husband who already has one wife and a child. So the Court took unusual action. It ordered that Neelam be allowed to live with her husband, but also required that her husband's family transfer property to Neelam, provide a separate house for her and her husband, and post bond to assure that Neelam would be properly supported in the future. Also local police were to furnish periodic reports on how Neelam was being treated. Finally, ignoring requests by the husband's family that Neelam have no further contact with her parents because they belong to a "non-book" faith, the court ordered that Amjad's family facilitate visits by Neelam to her parents' home in Karachi.

I.A. Rehman, secretary-general of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, praised the court's decision, saying that it took account of the vulnerability of young women in these situations. Indeed, at a conference last week on "Forced Conversion of Women and Minorities Rights in Pakistan", organized by the Minority Rights Commission of Pakistan and reported on today by AsiaNews.it, it was disclosed that forced conversions of women married to Muslims result in the death of between 500 to 600 people a year in Pakistan.

Bush Will Use Memorial Day To Sign "Fallen Heroes" Act

President Bush is expected to use today, Memorial Day, to sign the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act (HR 5037), recently passed by Congress. (CNS News.) The bill bars demonstrators from disrupting military funerals at national cemeteries by banning protests within 150 feet of a road into a cemetery, and within 300 feet of a cemetery entrance if the protest impedes access or egress. The ban covers the hour before and after a funeral. (ABC News report.) The law is directed at activities of Fred Phelps, the head of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, whose group has disrupted a number of military funerals with signs and marches proclaiming that military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan are God's punishment for U.S. toleration of homosexual life styles. Several states have enacted similar bills. (See prior postings 1, 2.)

UPDATE: Here is the White House release on the President's signing of the bill.

Hindus Seek South African Recognition Of Religious Marriages

In South Africa, according to a PTI report, Hindus are seeking amendments to the country's Marriage Act to gain legal recognition of religious marriages that have not been formally registered with the government. This would be consistent with 1998 legislation that granted recognition to African customary marriages that are not registered. Information about that legislation came out in the hearing in Durban's High Court on a petition by a woman who has separated from her husband and who now seeks recognition of her Hindu marriage 18 years ago so she can now get a legal separation that will permit her to marry someone else. (IOL report.) The same issue arises for Muslims, and in another case a Cape Town woman is seeking international judicial assistance after South Africa's Constitutional Court refused to recognize her Muslim marriage entered 28 years ago.

Move In Indian State To Repeal Anti-Conversion Law

Countering moves in the opposite direction elsewhere in the country, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a bill to repeal the Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act, 2002, was introduced by the state's Law Minister. The development is reported today by The Hindu News.

UPDATE: On May 31, Outlook India reported that the repeal bill was passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

Iranian Religious Police Enforce Islamic Dress Code

In Iran last week, Tehran police chief, Morteza Talaei, reported for the first time on the work of the Police Guidance Patrols (religious police) in the Iranian capital. AsiaNews.it reports on the efforts of the new patrols to stop long-standing resistance against the country's Islamic dress code. Talaei said that 7,000 shops have been visited, and 190 were fined for selling non-Islamic clothing and other goods. Also 230 autos were confiscated because women in them were not fully veiled. Also a number of pedestrians-- 119 women and 45 men-- were arrested for violating the dress restrictions.

Two USCIRF Members Reappointed

Preeta D. Bansal and Elizabeth H. Prodromou have been reappointed by Congressional leaders to two-year terms on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, according to a USCIRF release last week. Three Commissioners are selected by the President, two by the President's party in Congress, and four by congressional leaders of the minority party. Bansal, a constitutional lawyer and former chair of the Commission, was appointed by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Prodromou, Associate Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs and Assistant Professor of International Relations at Boston University, was appointed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Trinidad Court Finds "Trinity Cross" Award Discriminatory

The Trinidad & Tobago Express reports on a fascinating opinion issued Friday by the High Court of Justice in Trinidad and Tobago. The decision found that the creation and continued existence of the Trinity Cross as the nation’s highest award amounts to indirect discrimination against Hindus and Muslims. Justice Peter Jamadar wrote that in light of Trinidad & Tobago’s history, the words "Trinity" and "cross" are understood as referring to the blessed trinity and the Christian religion. However, the court dismissed the case without granting relief because the country’s 1976 Constitution has in it a savings clause providing that nothing in the Constitution’s declaration of rights and freedoms shall invalidate legislation existing at the time the Constitution was adopted. So while the Court refused to order the government to create a new symbol to replace the Trinity Cross, Justice Jamadar urged the government to engage in public consultation to consider removing all religious symbolism in the design and naming of national awards.

As debate rages in the United States about the impact of foreign law on the development of U.S. constitutional doctrines, one might wonder whether this case portends a challenge to the U.S. Army’s second highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross, and the comparable Navy Cross and Air Force Cross.

Court Refuses To Dismiss Conspiracy Claims By Anti-Gay Christian Group

In Startzell v. City of Philadelphia, (ED Pa., May 26, 2006), a Pennsylvania federal district court denied a motion to dismiss conspiracy claims in a federal civil rights suit brought by members of Repent America, a Christian evangelical group, against Philly Pride, the organizers of OutFest, a festival designed to celebrate participants' homosexuality. The court found that plaintiffs (who have become known as the "Philadelphia Eleven") adequately alleged claims under 42 USC 1985(3), the federal statute that prohibits conspiracy to deprive any person of equal protection of the laws, as well as claims of conspiracy in violation of 42 USC 1983.

The Philadelphia Eleven claimed that Philly Pride conspired with the city of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia police to prevent them from speaking and carrying signs opposing homosexuality. (Full text of complaint.) Their Christian message was blocked by a private security force known as the Pink Angels who blocked plaintiffs' access to OutFest, shouted so their message could not be heard, and held up pink Styrofoam boards to prevent others from seeing plaintiffs' signs.

In upholding the claim under 42 USC 1985(3), the court found plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged that Philly Pride held a discriminatory animus against them as Christians, and not just against their anti-homosexual viewpoints. The court also held that religious groups are a protected class under Section 1985(3) so that discrimination against them can be labeled "invidious". Repent America has issued a press release welcoming the decision, and WorldNetDaily reports on it, pointing out that further proceedings will be necessary for the court to deterine if the alleged conspiracy in fact existed.

New Books, Journals and Articles

New Books:

• Charles C. Haynes, Sam Chaltain and Susan Glisson, First Freedoms: A Documentary History of First Amendment Rights in America, (Oxford University Press, July 2006). The book is reviewed by the First Amendment Center.
• Nazila Ghanea-Hercock, Alan Stephens & Raphael Walden, Does God Believe in Human Rights?, (Martinus Nijhoff, Nov. 2006).

New Journal:

• Religion & Human Rights (Martinus Nijhoff, 2006: Volume 1)

Articles from SSRN

• Brian Leiter, Why Tolerate Religion?, (May 25, 2006).

Articles from bePress:

• Gregory A. Kalscheur S.J., Christian Scripture and American Scripture: An Instructive Analogy?, (to appear in Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 21).

Law Review Articles (via SmartCILP):

• Cynthia V. Ward, Coercion and Choice Under the Establishment Clause, 39 University of California Davis Law Review 1621-1668 (2006).
• Nakul Krishnakumar & Heath Lynch, Tenth Annual National Juvenile Moot Court Competition Winning Brief, 5 Whittier Journal of Child & Family Advocacy 277-300 (2005).

California House Passes Housing Discrimination Bill

On Thursday, the California Assembly, by a bipartisan vote of 48-31, passed and sent on to the Senate, the Civil Rights Housing Act of 2006 (AB 2800). The bill strengthens and standardizes 17 housing discrimination provisions in California law. The bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, as well as on the basis of a number of other characteristics, according to a press release issued Saturday by Equality California.

Religious Broadcaster Wins Again In Attempt To Buy TV Station

Last July, a California appellate court invalidated a decision by Coast Community College District, which was selling off its Public Television Station, to reject a high bid from the religious Daystar Television Network. The religious broadcaster's bid was rejected in favor of a lower bid from the KOCE Foundation that would keep the station as part of the PBS system. Upon the petition of both parties, the court granted a rehearing, and on Thursday reached the same result that it had before, but for different legal reasons. In Word of God Fellowship, Inc. v. Coast Community College District, (Cal. 4th App. Dist., May 25, 2006), the court found that it was improper for Coast Community College to materially amend a public contract in favor of a private bidder after the bidding is closed and the contract was awarded.

In reporting on the decision today, the Los Angeles Times points out that Coast Community College is also defending a second lawsuit seeking $20 to $30 million in damages brought by Daystar, alleging that the district and board trustees violated Constitutional freedom of religion protections when it refused to sell the station to the Christian broadcaster. Richard Sherman, the attorney for Daystar, said that Daystar would be more willing to settle the second suit if the district offers the station for sale again.

Senate Passes Bill To Honor Dalai Lama With Medal

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent passed S. 2784 calling for the award of a Congressional gold medal to the 14th Dalai Lama in recognition of his contributions to peace, non-violence, human rights, and religious understanding. The bill had broad bipartisan support, with 73 co-sponsors. An identical bill, H.R. 4562, is pending in the House of Representatives. A release on the bill from Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office, one of the bill’s primary sponsors, points out that under Congressional rules, Congressional Gold Medals require the support of at least two-thirds of the Members of both the Senate and House before they can be signed into law by the President.