California Hearings On Bill To Limit Relief For Public Religious Displays

Today the California state Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on SB 1499 which would limit lawsuits challenging the governmental display of religious symbols to ones seeking injunctive relief. Neither damages nor attorneys fees would be available in suits against public agencies and public officials who violate Section 4 of Article I of the California Constitution, if their challenged action consisted only of the public display of a religious symbol on an official seal, on a court house or other government facility, on public land, or on any veterans' memorial or monument. WorldNetDaily today has background on the bill.

Louisiana Senate Passes 10 Commandments Bill

State legislatures roll on with their attempts to restore the display of the Ten Commandments on public property. Yesterday, according to 2theadvocate.com, the Louisiana Senate voted 34-1, and sent on to the House, a bill that would permit display of the Ten Commandments along with other specified historical documents. Under the legislation (SB 476), the Secretary of State’s Archives Division is to prepare copies of the various historical documents quoted in the legislation in a form suitable for framing. The will then be available for a fee to state offices, clerks of court, judges or other local governing authorities.

Some Protestant Churches Oppose Federal Marriage Protection Amendment

The Ontario California Daily Bulletin today focuses on moves by a number of more liberal Protestant denominations to oppose the the proposed Federal Marriage Protection Amendment to the Constitution. That amendment would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. A number of Baptist, Evangelical Lutheran, Episcopalian, and Unitarian churches oppose the amendment, arguing that it favors one religious view of marriage over others, and would codify that religious view in the Constitution.

Call For Implementing Civil Burial Option In Israel

In Israel, activists are calling for the new government to finally implement free civil burial options, in addition to the existing provision of religious burials at government expense. Yivat Solel, legal advisor to the Menucha Nechona (Rest in Peace) organization, writing an op-ed for YNet News says: "Ten years ago, Israel enacted a law requiring the state to provide burial options for all citizens, in accordance with their beliefs-- at no cost. But to date, the only cemetery in the country that has implemented the law is the regional cemetery in Beer Sheva." Solel charges that existing burial societies have impeded implementation of civil options to protect the revenue they now receive from conducting religious ceremonies.

UPDATE: Jerusalem's Mayor Uri Lublianski has announced that Jerusalem will create a cemetery for free burial of secular Israelis, despite opposition from the city's large ultra-Orthodox community. The first secular cemetery to be endorsed by a municipal government, it should be completed by 2007. (Haaretz, May 9.) [Thanks to Dick Schectman for the lead.]

Bank Charged With Unnecessarily Closing Muslim Charity's Account

The Washington Post over the week end reported that Muslim groups are launching a public campaign against Wachovia Corp. to force it to explain why it closed the bank account of a Herndon, Virginia Muslim social service organization. The treasurer of the Foundation for Appropriate and Immediate Temporary Help said she suspects that Wachovia closed its account because it received a donation from a charity run by a Muslim businessman whose home and offices were raided by federal agents. Banks are required to report suspicious financial activity in accounts to federal authorities. The cost of monitoring may lead a bank to decide that it is cheaper to close the account.

First Amendment Religion Casebooks and Texts Available

As the academic year ends, law school faculty may be considering books to use for next year's courses. Increasingly, the major law school publishers are offering casebooks and texts devoted solely to the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment. Here are the ones that are currently available:

Foundation Press:

• Volokh's The Religion Clauses and Related Statutes, Problems, Cases and Policy Arguments (2005).
• Conkle's Constitutional Law: The Religion Clauses (2003).
• Noonan and Gaffney's Religious Freedom: History, Cases Interaction of Religion and Government (2001, with 2005 Supplement).

Aspen

• Michael W. McConnell, John H. Garvey & Thomas C. Berg, Religion and the Constitution (2nd Edition, 2006).

Lexis-Nexis

• Stephen G. Gey, Religion and the State (2001, plus annual supplements).

West

• Ravitch's Law and Religion, A Reader: Concepts, Cases and Theory (2004).
• Berg's The State and Religion in a Nutshell (2nd Edition, 2004).
• Loewy's Religion and the Constitution: Cases and Materials (1999, with 2002 Supplement).

Egyptian Government Appeals Ruling Recognizing Bahai

In Egypt, the Interior Ministry yesterday filed an appeal asking the Supreme Administrative Court to reverse a ruling issued last month by a lower court recognizing the right of Bahais to have their religion acknowledged on official documents, including national identity cards. Reuters reports that the appeal was filed after many in Parliament argued that only religions recognized by Sunni Islam should appear on official government documents. That approach would limit the religions that could appear on official documents to Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The Interior Ministry suggests that adherents of other faiths should merely draw a line through the section of their national identity cards that calls for an indication of the individual's religion.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Decisions

In Sanders v. Zeller, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26425 (ND Iowa, April 28, 2006), an Iowa federal district court rejected a free exercise claim brought by a Muslim inmate who was denied the right to attend one week's Friday Jummah service because of an error in recording of his religious preference on jail records.

In Jordan v. Lynn County Jail, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26358 (ND Iowa, April 20, 2006), an Iowa federal district judge accepted a magistrate's recommendation to deny summary judgment to jail officials on an inmate's claim that he should have been allowed to attend Christian church services even though he also wanted to observe Muslim religious practices.

In Clark v. Levesque, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25917 (D. Conn., March 17, 2006), a Connecticut federal district judge denied a Rastafarian prisoner's claim that his free exercise rights were violated when Connecticut prison officials, experiencing overcrowding at in-state facilities, transferred him to a federal correctional facility in Virginia with a strict grooming policy that disciplined him for refusing to cut his hair and shave. The court also rejected his claim that his treatment upon his return to a Connecticut prison was retaliation against him for practicing his religion.

Persecution Of Protestants Continues In Uzbekistan

Forum 18 last week reported on continued repression of Protestants in Uzbekistan. The report focuses on arrests and other actions taken against Jehovah's Witnesses and other Protestant churches. The Prosecutors Office forced a number of children who attended a Protestant Easter celebration to sign statements that they would no longer attend Christian services or meetings and that they were renouncing their Christian faith. Parents were pressured to sign promises that they would no longer "attract their children to Christianity", and were warned that failing to comply could result in their being deprived of their parental rights.

Librarian Wins On Claim For No Sunday Work

The Alliance Defense Fund announced on Friday that a federal court jury in Kansas City, Missouri has awarded damages for back pay in excess of $53,000 to a librarian formerly employed by the Rolling Hills Consolidated Library System. Librarian Constance Rehm prevailed on her claim against the public library system that it had failed to adequately accommodate her need to abstain from work on Sunday for religious reasons. Rehm was fired for insubordination shortly after she requested a change in her work schedule. (Background.) Rehm's suit was based on Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which applies to both public and private employers.

Competing 10 Commandments-Amendments Days Declared For Today

A number of religious leaders, including religious broadcasters, have formed the Ten Commandments Commission and declared today to be the First Annual Ten Commandments Day. The Commission was formed "to counter the secular agenda and help restore the Ten Commandments and Judeo-Christian values to their rightful place in our society." Radio and television stations around the country today will be broadcasting a special program for the occasion.

Meanwhile, a competing group has declared today to be Ten Amendments Day. Its website says: "On May 7th, a Ten Commandments Day Commission and millions of followers are lobbying to replace the Ten Amendments with the Ten Commandments, replacing our civil rights with their religious preferences. This attempt to align the power of government with the authority of God challenges the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and endangers the rights protected by the other Nine."

FLDS Jeffs Placed On FBI's Most Wanted List

Warren Jeffs, former leader of the FLDS Church, has has joint Usama Bin Laden and others on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, according to CBS/AP. Jeffs, who was the leader of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints based in Utah and Colorado, is wanted on charges of arranging marriages between underage girls and older men, sexual conduct with a minor, and rape as an accomplice. (See prior posting.)

Recent Books and Articles On Church-State Issues

Books:

• Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright has published The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs, (Harper Collins, 2006). This week, Time carries an interview with her about the book.
• David L. Holmes, The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, (Oxford University Press, 2006). The book is reviewed in today's New York Times, along with two others in a review essay titled Keeping the Faith at Arms Length.

Articles from SSRN:

• Ira C. Lupu & Robert W. Tuttle, Federalism and Faith, (forthcoming, Emory Law Journal, Vol. 56, No. 1).
• Larry Alexander & Frederick Schauer, Law's Limited Domain Confronts Morality's Universal Empire, (forthcoming,William and Mary Law Review).
• Matthew L.M. Fletcher, American Indian Religious Freedom Act, and Indian Bill of Rights (forthcoming, Encyclopedia of American Civil Liberties).

From SmartCILP:

• Mark E. Chopko & Michael F. Moses, Freedom To Be a Church: Confronting Challenges To the Right of Church Autonomy, 3 Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy 387-452 (2005).
• Jonathan C. Lipson, When Churches Fail: The Diocesan Debtor Dilemmas, 79 Southern Calif. Law Review 363-454 (2006).

In Jamaica, Outlawed Occult Practices Are Popular

Today's Jamaica Observer has a long article on the ritual of obeah whose practice is widespread on the island of Jamaica even though it has been outlawed for 246 years. Obeah includes a wide range of rituals concerned with divination, healing, ancestral veneration, and manipulating and controlling supernatural forces. The Obeah Act subjects to up to a year in prison "any person who, to effect any fraudulent or unlawful purpose, or for gain, or for the purpose of frightening any person, uses, or pretends to use any occult means, or pretends to possess any supernatural power or knowledge." However at least two pharmacies in downtown Kingston carry carved candles and potions used in the myal branch of obeah.

South African Muslim Challenges Dress Code for Prison Employees

In South Africa, a Muslim prison social worker has been dismissed by the country's Correctional Services department for refusing to remove her headscarf and tuck in her shirt for religious reasons, according to IOL on Friday. Muslim women are required by Sharia to cover their hair and the shape of their bodies. The Muslim Judicial Council plans to challenge the dismissal of Fairouz Adams in the Labour Court, after Adams internal appeals were rejected. The Council argues that enforcing the department's dress code in this manner unconstitutionally infringes on Adams' religious freedom protected by Sec. 15 of the South African Constitution.

Profile Of Native American Prison Spiritual Leader

Friday's Sonora, California Union Democrat carries a profile of Charles "Golden Bear" Freer, who is employed as a Native American spiritual leader by Sierra Conservation Center and 3 other northern California prisons. The article traces how Freer, a Comanche, came to his current position after early battles with depression and alcoholism. Freer says that while spirituality can help ease the pain of prison life, the real need is for half-way houses tailored to the needs of Native American prisoners once they are released.

Church Sues Defrocked Priest For Breach Of Agreement

Court TV yesterday reported on the details of a fascinating lawsuit filed last December by the Catholic Diocese of Toledo, Ohio against a defrocked priest, Chet Warren. After the Diocese concluded that child abuse charges lodged against Warren were credible, it expelled him from his religious order and banned him from any form of religious ministry. However, the Diocese allowed Warren to continue to attend Mass. Also the pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church agreed with Warren that he could visit a separate Eucharistic Chapel that is inside the Church, but only at limited times and under restricted conditions. Parishioners, however, discovered that Warren was violating his agreement by visiting the chapel at hours of his own choosing and while wearing clerical garb. The chapel is close to areas of the church frequented by children. So the Diocese has sued Warren for breach of contract and trespass, asking the court to order Warren to abide by his agreement or else to exclude him totally from any part of Blessed Sacrament church’s premises.

The complaint (full text) also asks for nominal monetary damages. Warren has filed an answer (full text) containing general denials and several affirmative defenses.

Bureau of Prisons Sued Over "Life Connections" Program

The Freedom From Religion Foundation announced yesterday that it has filed suit against the Attorney General, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Office of Management and Budget to challenge the Bureau of Prison’s faith-based Life Connections Program. Three federal taxpayers are also plaintiffs in the suit filed in federal district court in Wisconsin. The FFRF Complaint alleges that the challenged program is "designed to effect personal transformation using the participant's faith commitment." It was created by Bureau Chaplain Kendall Hughes as a faith-based model "based on the premise that inmates should pursue, nurture and commit themselves to religious faith." Life Connections is operating in at least 5 institutions, and the Bureau is now soliciting proposals for a pilot "single-faith" residential re-entry program. (See prior posting.) The lawsuit claims that federal funding of Life Connections violates the Establishment Clause. It also challenges the practice of the Office of Management and Budget in “grading” agencies on the extent to which they have increased funding to faith-based agencies.

On Balkinization last month, Marty Lederman posted the arguments that support FFRF’s claim of unconstitutionality. He concluded: "With all of these constitutional infirmities, it is hard to imagine that the Office of Legal Counsel signed off on this BOP program."

China Reacts To Criticism Of Its Policies On Religious Issues

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on Saturday denounced the recent report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom that names China as one of eleven “countries of particular concern”. Xinhua reports on the Ministry’s reaction. The Ministry says that China protects its citizens’ religious freedom, and that the USCIRF report encourages the practice of the Falungong "cult".

At the same time, China seems to be attempting to patch up its dispute with the Vatican. Reuters reports that the Vatican’s choice, Father Paul Pei Junmin, will be consecrated as a bishop in Shenyang on Sunday morning. Earlier this week, to the dismay of Pope Benedict XVI, China's Church appointed two bishops who had not been approved by the Vatican.

Church Precluded From Asserting Statute of Limitations In Priest Sex Case

Yesterday in Doe v. Archdiocese of Cincinnati, (Ohio Ct. App., May 5, 2006), an Ohio appellate court applied the doctrine of equitable estoppel to preclude the Archdiocese of Cincinnati from invoking the statute of limitations in a suit growing out of a high schooler’s 1965 sexual relations with her priest and the resulting pregnancy. The plaintiff, identified merely as Jane Doe, alleged that various members of the Archdiocese knew about the situation and the Archdiocese paid for her to spend most of her pregnancy at a home for unwed, pregnant teenagers. A nun, who had been one of Doe’s teachers, then pressured Doe to give up the baby for adoption and remain silent about the identity of the child’s father. Among other things, the nun, Sister Mary Patrick, told Doe that her baby would not be baptized, and so not cleansed of original sin, if she did not consent to an adoption.

The court also rejected the Church’s contention that the case would involve it in deciding the legitimacy of Church doctrine on issues such as baptism and sin, in violation of the First Amendment’s free exercise guaranty. The court found Doe’s complaint sufficiently alleged that the Archdiocese’s actions were in fact motivated by a secular purpose—the Church’s interest in not paying child support.

Reporting on the decision today, the Cincinnati Enquirer said that Doe and her daughter were recently reunited after the daughter began searching for her birth mother.