Property Owner Fights Zoners Over Planned Cross On Lake Michigan

Friday's Grand Haven (MI) Tribune reports that a St. Joseph, Michigan man is in a battle with city officials over his plans to build an illuminated 30-foot cross on a bluff facing Lake Michigan. Officials consider the land on which the cross is to be built-- located across the street from Ervin Wagner's home-- to be a detached front yard. Accessory structures are prohibited in yards in residential areas. 63-year old Wagner says: "The Lord has been after me to do this for many years." Wagner's proposed cross would be visible from Lake Michigan, and he also wants to install a camera to broadcast the view in streaming video online.

Father Says State Constitution Voids Order That Son Attend Catholic School

In La Grange, Kentucky on Friday a state court judge heard arguments from a divorced father seeking to force his former wife to send their son to a public high school instead of to the Catholic school that he now attends. WLKY News reports that the father, David Ryan, is an atheist and objects to the order originally issued during the divorce providing that his son would continue attending Catholic school. Ryan hinges his argument on Sec. 5 of the Kentucky Constitution that reads: "Nor shall any man be compelled to send his child to any school to which he may be conscientiously opposed."

VT Court Holds Statute of Limitations Had Not Run In Priest Abuse Case

In Burlington, Vermont, Superior Court Judge Matthew Katz has granted plaintiff James Turner's motion for judgment notwithstanding the jury's verdict that the statute of limitations precluded his recovery of damages from the Catholic diocese for negligent supervision of a former priest who had abused Turner. WCAX-TV News reported Friday that the judge held that the statute of limitations did not begin to run until plaintiff had notice that the Diocese had negligently supervised its priests. They could not have discovered this until they received various documents in 2002. The ruling could affect the more than 25 other cases pending against the diocese. The case is Turner v. Roman Catholic Diocese (docket entries).

Litigation Strains Virginia Episcopal Docese

Virtue Online reported on Friday that the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia has taken out a $2 million line of credit and is planning to sell off non-strategic real property in order to finance its litigation with eleven break-away parishes. The lawsuit will decide who owns the parishes' real property. (See prior posting.)

New Russian Textbook Reflects Anti-Catholic Views

Asia News reported yesterday that in Russia, a new textbook titled "Religions In Russia" is filled with factual errors and negative portrayals of Catholicism. Written by Andrei Kulakov, the textbook portrays Catholicism as hostile toward Russia's Orthodox Church. The final edition failed to incorporate suggested changes made by the editors of the Russia Catholic Encyclopedia when they reviewed the chapters in draft form. They found forty serious mistakes, and now urge schools not to adopt the text.

Times Explores Mormon Church and Religious Concerns About Romney

Today's New York Times Magazine features a long article by Noah Feldman titled What Is It About Mormonism?. It traces the development of Mormonism and explores why it creates a problem for presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Here are two excerpts:

In theory, the evangelical political movement says that it is prepared to embrace Jews and even Muslims so long as they share the same common values of the religious right. In the case of a Mormon candidate, though, many evangelicals are not prepared to say that common values are enough. The reason seems to be the view among evangelicals that the substantive theological beliefs of Mormons are so radically different from their own as to constitute not a sect of Christianity but a Christian heresy....

If Mormonism were to keep Romney from the nomination, the Mormon Church hierarchy may through continuing revelation and guidance respond by shifting its theology and practices even further in the direction of mainstream Christianity and thereby minimizing its outlier status in the culture. Voices within the LDS fold have for some time sought to minimize the authority of some of Joseph Smith’s more creative and surprising theological messages, like the teaching that God and Jesus were once men....

Court Dismisses Challenge To Pastor's Use of Church Funds

On Friday, a Nashville, Tennessee judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a dissident faction of the Two Rivers Baptist Church against senior pastor, the Rev. Jerry Sutton seeking Sutton's removal as an officer and director of the large Nashville church and asking for damages. Plaintiffs accused Sutton of misusing church funds. The Tennessean reports that Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman agreed with defendants that how a church decides to spend its money is a religious matter that civil courts may not review. The court, however, did leave in place an earlier order permitting plaintiffs to inspect the church's financial documents. (See prior related posting.)

Primary Ads Urge Voters To Probe Candidates On Church-State Issues

A series of newspaper and television ads have been launched in New Hampshire and South Carolina by First Freedom First asking voters to look at whether candidates in the upcoming primaries are respecting church-state separation and religious freedom. A press release Friday by Americans United reports that the first of the TV ads feature Jack Klugman and James Whitmore urging voters to ask candidates: "Who will decide my end of life care: politicians and religious right leaders, or my doctor and me?", and asking whether the candidate will "protect the right of all Americans to worship...or not." The First Freedom First website lists ten suggested questions that voters should ask candidates in order to find out their views on church-state and religious liberty concerns. First Freedom First is a joint project of Americans United and the Interfaith Alliance Foundation.

Pennsylvania Insists On Licenses for Tranist Vehicles Serving Amish

Last Sunday's Pittsburg Post Gazette carried a story about a crack down by Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission enforcement officers against drivers who provide rides for Amish residents in exchange for compensation, but who have not obtained a $350 PUC paratransit certificate. Amish prohibitions on owning or operating motor vehicles mean they need to hire non-Amish to transport them when they need to travel a significant distance. The PUC regulations require adherence to safety standards and obtaining of commercial insurance in order to qualify for the certificate. In case of an accident, paying passengers would not be covered by non-commercial insurance.

Three Cases Involve Employee Requests For Religious Time Off

In Leonce v. Callahan, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 228 (ND TX, Jan. 3, 2008), a Texas federal magistrate judge granted summary judgement in a Title VII case to a county sheriff's office that refused to accommodate a detention officer's request that he not work on Saturdays because of his Seventh Day Adventist faith. The court found that the county had established that there was no reasonable accommodation that would not have imposed an undue hardship on the county.

In Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority v. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, (MA Sup. Jud. Ct., Jan. 4, 2008), the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that the MBTA had violated the state's prohibition on religious discrimination in employment when it refused to to hire a Seventh Day Adventist as a part-time bus driver because he needed Saturdays off to observe his Sabbath. The court held that the MBTA should have facilitated a voluntary swap of hours by employees. Because the MBTA did nothing to accommodate the applicant, the court said it did not need to decide whether requiring an employer to incur more than de minimis cost to accommodate an employee violates the establishment clause. Today's Boston Globe reported on the decision.

Finally, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports on a religious discrimination lawsuit by a Clarksville, Indiana man against a Value City retail store. The employee left his job after the store refused to assure him that he could always have Wednesday nights and Sundays off to attend church services.

Court Upholds Texas Mandatory Moment of Silence Law

On Tuesday, a Texas federal district court rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to the Texas law that requires public schools to observe a moment of silence each day during which students may “reflect, pray, meditate, or engage in any other silent activity that is not likely to interfere with or distract another student.” In Croft v. Perry, (ND TX, Jan. 2, 2008), most of the court’s 36-page opinion focused on the state’s purpose in enacting the current version of the law. The court concluded: “Although it is a close question, the Court finds legitimate the secular purpose of allowing for all types of thoughtful contemplation and concludes that this purpose is supported by the legislative history and sufficient to withstand the Lemon test. The Court rejects the argument that this purpose is trivial or pretextual.” Today's Houston Chronicle and Dallas News both reported on the decision. (See prior related postings 1, 2.)

Teaching of Evolution, Rejection of Creationism Pressed By US Advisory Groups

Reuters reports that yesterday the U.S. National Academy of Sciences along with the Institute of Medicine issued a book titled Science, Evolution and Creationism. The NAS and IOM are advisory bodies to the U.S. government on issues of science and medicine. The press release on the book says:

Recent advances in science and medicine, along with an abundance of observations and experiments over the past 150 years, have reinforced evolution's role as the central organizing principle of modern biology....

Despite the overwhelming evidence supporting evolution, opponents have repeatedly tried to introduce nonscientific views into public school science classes through the teaching of various forms of creationism or intelligent design.... NAS and IOM strongly maintain that only scientifically based explanations and evidence for the diversity of life should be included in public school science courses. "Teaching creationist ideas in science class confuses students about what constitutes science and what does not," the committee stated."

As SCIENCE, EVOLUTION, AND CREATIONISM makes clear, the evidence for evolution can be fully compatible with religious faith. Science and religion are different ways of understanding the world. Needlessly placing them in opposition reduces the potential of each to contribute to a better future," the book says.

At the same time, according to Science Daily, a coalition of 17 scientific organizations is urging scientists to become more involved in promoting science education, including evolution. An article in the January 2008 FASEB Journal says that introducing creationism and intelligent design in the science classroom undermines the fundamentals of science education.

Evangelicals Crucial To Huckabee's Win In Iowa

An AP analysis shows that support of evangelicals was crucial to Mike Huckabee's win in the Republican Iowa caucuses yesterday. An AP poll revealed that more than 80% of Huckabee's caucus supporters were born again or evangelical Christians, while fewer than half of Mitt Romney's supporters fit that description. Almost two-thirds of Huckabee's supporters said it was very important that their candidate share their religious beliefs. Only 20% of the Romney supporters had that view. Huckabee is a former Southern Baptist minister and has emphasized his Christian beliefs during the campaign.

Women Appointed For First Time To Singapore's Sharia Appeal Board

In Singapore, for the first time three women have been appointed to the 20-member panel whose members hear appeals from the Sharia Court and Registrar of Muslim Marriages. (See Section 55 of the Administration of Muslim Law Act which provides for the Appeal Board.) For 40 years, only men had been appointed to serve on the panel. Earth Times today reports that the new appointments were made by Singapore President SR Nathan on the advice of the Islamic Religious Council.

Suit Challenges Ban On Fortune Telling As Anti-Pagan

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday, a local business that wants to offer fortune telling has filed a federal lawsuit challenging on constitutional grounds a Livingston Parish ordinance that prohibits it. KATC News reports that Gryphon's Nest Gifts Inc. filed suit alleging in part that the ban on "soothsaying, fortune telling, palm reading, clairvoyance, crystal ball gazing, mind reading, card reading and the like for money or other consideration" was an attempt to promote Christianity over paganism. The complaint alleges that the ban "primarily affects pagan leaders and pagan church members who are most likely to support themselves or increase their income by performing divination for consideration." The suit also raises vagueness and free speech claims.

Malaysian Court Delays Funeral After Dispute On Conversion

Malaysian courts are once again involved in a dispute over religious conversion. The AP today reports that Ngiam Tee Kong, a Malaysian Christian, has obtained a temporary order from the Kuala Lumpur High Court after the Federal Territory Islamic Council insisted that his wife be buried in a Muslim funeral. Council officials insisted that Wong Sau Lan, who died on Dec. 30, had converted to Islam before her death. Her husband says she remained a Christian and that the alleged conversion was illegal. Now the body will remain unburied until at least Jan. 18 when the High Court will hold a preliminary hearing.

Free Exercise Claim As To DNA Testing Rejected On Procedural Grounds

In In re My'kavellie E., (OH Ct. App., Dec. 31, 2007), an Ohio appellate court rejected a free exercise claim made by a putative father in a custody suit. Manley E. argued that his religious rights were violated when the trial court ruled that the sole proof of paternity could be DNA testing. Appellant said that submitting to genetic testing would be a de facto denial of paternity that would violate his Islamic beliefs. The appellate court rejected the claim, saying that neither the trial court nor the appellant's trial attorney had knowledge of why Manley E. refused to submit to genetic testing. Nevertheless, the appellate court on other grounds reversed the putative father's dismissal from the custody action.

Utah Governor Held 1996 Meetings On LDS Doctrine and Modern Government

Blog from the Capital today calls attention to an investigative article published earlier this week by the Salt Lake Tribune detailing a series of meetings held in October 1996 by then-Utah Governor Mike Leavitt. Leavitt, a Mormon, is now Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The meetings, held with close staff and advisers in anticipation of his re-election, explored how teachings from the Book of Mormon and the church's Doctrine and Covenants could apply to modern government. Meeting early in the morning at the Governor's Mansion, the group ultimately settled on a series of principles for implementation that are not overtly religious-- free agency, accountability, equality, stewardship, marriage, unity, goodness, heritage, worship, safety and a sense of order. The Tribune article has links to minutes of the five meetings plus links to related documents. After inquiries from the Tribune, Leavitt requested that the documents be removed from public view by the State Archives because of the private nature of participants' comments. However, as reported by a second Tribune article, the State Archives decided on Monday that the documents would remain available to the public.

Court Holds That "Choose Life" Is Not Religious Speech

Children First Foundation v. Martinez, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94944 (ND NY, Dec. 27, 2007) is a challenge to New York state's refusal to approve special picture license plates that include the slogan "Choose Life". In this phase of the litigation, a New York federal district court refused to permit the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles to amend her answer to raise an Establishment Clause defense, finding that religious speech was not involved. The court reasoned:

It may very well be true that those who participate in the abortion debate on the pro-life side are members of religious organizations whose religious beliefs form the basis for their views. However, that does not transform the pro-life stance into one that is religious in nature, nor does it transform the phrase, "Choose Life" into religious speech. Nothing in constitutional jurisprudence supports the conclusion that political speech which is derived from one's ethical or religious beliefs or background transforms it into religious speech. Many religious persons and organizations may be opposed to capital punishment, or perhaps in favor of gun control. Those political issues are not therefore automatically transformed into religious issues simply by virtue of the religious beliefs of their supporters. The same is true for the abortion debate.

New York Court Says Chabad Headquarters May Eject Messianists

JTA and the New York Jewish Week both report on a decision handed down Dec. 27 by a New York trial court in a battle over control of the headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement-- 770 Eastern Parkway in New York's Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. At issue is a dispute within Chabad over whether the Hasidic movement’s grand rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died in 1994, may be referred to publicly as the Messiah. (See prior posting.) The court, in giving the owners of the headquarters building-- Agudas Chasedei Chabad and Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch -- the right to eject from the building a congregation located in its basement, the court gave a victory to those who reject the messianist faction of the Chabad movement. Edward Rudofsky, the attorney representing the messianist faction (organized as Congregation Lubavitch Inc.) said they would appeal the decision. He said: "this is an argument over control over religious congregation and it did not belong in secular court..." The Jewish Week article carries an extensive description of the messianist atmosphere that currently dominates the synagogue.