Middle School Sued For Refusing To Let Student Read Bible

The Rutherford Institute announced on Friday that it has filed suit against a Prince George’s County, Maryland school challenging its vice-principal's refusal to permit a student to read a Bible in the cafeteria during the lunch period. The incident took place at Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School. The suit argues that the refusal violates the constitution as well as the school system's own regulations.

Competing Guides Issued For Catholic Voters

The Catholic social justice group Catholics In Alliance for the Common Good last week published Voting for the Common Good: A Practical Guide for Conscientious Catholics. It is described as "an essential tool for Catholics who wish to vote their faith this November". The Washington Post on Saturday reported that the group hopes to distribute at least 1 million of the guides before the November elections. A competing voting guide issued this year by Catholic Answers, Voting Guide For Serious Catholics, says that there are "five issues involving non-negotiable moral values in current politics": abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning and same-sex marriage. In contrast, the guide issued by Catholics In Alliance says that Catholic voters should take into account a broader range of issues. It lists 18 issues that are important to Catholics, including poverty, immigration, the environment, global arms trade, workers' rights, nuclear disarmament and genocide.

Reacting to the new voter guide issued by Catholics In Alliance, Catholic League president Bill Donohue is quoted by LifeSite News as saying: "[It] is a slick attempt to get the abortion albatross off the necks of Catholic Democrats, but it's a failed effort-the noose is still there."

Boston Islamic Society Can Go To Trial On Defamation and Conspiracy Claims

According to the Boston Herald, on Friday a state court judge in Massachusetts rejected First Amendment defenses and ruled that a suit by the Islamic Society of Boston could move ahead to trial. The Islamic Society has sued a group of media defendants, a pro-Israel group The David Project, and terrorism specialist Steven Emerson for conspiracy and defamation. The court rejected the defendants' motion to dismiss as protected speech their stories that linked mosque officials to Islamic extremism and terrorist groups. These statements deterred donors from contributing to the building of a planned mosque in Roxbury. (See prior posting.)

Court Holds RLUIPA Claims Covered By Four-Year Statute of Limitations

In Couch v. Jabe, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68216 (WD VA, Sept. 22, 2006), in what is apparently a case of first impression, a federal district court in Virginia held that claims under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act are covered by the four year statute of limitations in 28 USC 1658. That section provides that "a civil action arising under an Act of Congress enacted after the date of the enactment of this section [December 1, 1990] may not be commenced later than 4 years after the cause of action accrues." In reaching this conclusion, the court relied on a 2004 U.S. Supreme Court decision interpreting Sec. 1658.

The Virginia district court's holding came in a case in which a Sunni Muslim prisoner alleged that for several years during Ramadan he was denied adequate food and nutrition and was denied the Eid Al Fitr meal and prayer service. The court found that a reasonable jury might conclude that receiving only 1000 daily calories would substantially pressure inmates to break their Ramadan fast. It also permitted plaintiff to move ahead with his claims that Eid Al Fitr meals were served and the feast's prayer services were held at the wrong times to meet religious requirements.

Montana Church Loses Challenge To State Campaign Laws

Earlier this week, a Montana federal district court rejected a First Amendment free exercise and free expression challenge by the Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church in East Helena, Montana to an order issued last March by the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices. (See prior posting.) The Associated Press reported yesterday that the court upheld the state's ruling that the church should have reported its support of activities in 2004 to get voters to pass a constitutional ban on gay marriage. The church's activities turned it into an "incidental campaign committee" under state law. The court rejected the church's argument that the state's campaign laws are unconstitutional.

UPDATE: Here is the full opinion in Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church v. Higgins, (D MT, Sept. 26, 2006).

Suit Filed To Get VA Approval Of Wiccan Symbols On Military Headstones

Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of several plaintiffs, asking the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims "to direct the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to respond to long-pending applications to include the Wiccan Pentacle among the emblems of belief that may be engraved on government-issued headstones and markers of deceased veterans." In the complaint in Egbert v. Nicholson (full text), plaintiffs based their request on the Administrative Procedure Act, the First Amendment's free expression and establishment clauses, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. In a press release announcing the filing of the litigation, the ACLU quoted its staff attorney, Aaron Caplan: "The government has no business picking and choosing which personal religious beliefs may be expressed. All veterans, regardless of their religion, deserve to have their faith recognized on an equal basis." (See prior related posting.)

Tennessee School To Reconsider Distribution Of Gideon Bibles

The Lebanon Tennessee Special School District is considering whether to end a long-time practice of permitting the Gideons to drop off Bibles on display tables in the schools once each year for interested fifth graders to take home. The Tennessean reports that the board decided to re-examine its policy after a parent complained that the practice takes away from parents the decision as to what religious literature their children should receive.

Airport Will Accommodate Muslim Cabbies' Objections To Alcohol

The Metropolitan Airports Commission of Minneapolis-St. Paul, in Minnesota, is dealing with a new issue of accommodation of Muslim religious practices. On Thursday, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that some 75% of the 900 taxi drivers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are Somalis, many of whom are Muslim. Observant Muslim cabbies object to transporting passengers carrying alcohol that is openly displayed. So arriving passengers are sometimes refused taxi service when a driver sees them carrying wine or liquor. To deal with the issue, the Airports Commission is proposing to place color-coded lights on taxi roofs to indicate which cabs will accept riders carrying alcohol. Taxi starters at the airport curb will then be able to direct passengers carrying, for example, duty free bags containing alcoholic beverages to cabs that will accept them. [Thanks to Eugene Volokh via Religionlaw for the lead.]

Security At Red Mass Does Not Violate Religious Protesters' Rights

In Mahoney v. United States Marshals Service, (DDC, Sept. 27, 2006), the federal district court for the District of Columbia this week upheld security arrangements imposed by the US Marshals Service on the Red Mass held each year in St. Matthew's Cathedral just before the first Monday opening of the U.S. Supreme Court's session. A Presbyterian minister, a fellow-Christian, and a Christian religious organization had claimed that the restrictions on protesters violated their First Amendment speech rights and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The plaintiffs wished to carry signs supporting the public display of the Ten Commandments. The court found that the challenged security restrictions were narrowly drawn, content neutral time, place and manner regulations, and that they did not impose a substantial burden on plaintiffs' free exercise of religion. Demonstrators had adequate alternative channels available to them. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Many New Articles Of Interest Have Recently Appeared

From American Political Science Association:
Carolyn M. Warner & Manfred W. Wenner, Religion and the Political Organization of Muslims in Europe, (Perspectives on Politics, Sept. 2006).

From SSRN:
Tanya Marie Johnson, The Defense of Marriage Act and the Establishment Clause , (April 21, 2006).

From Bepress:
Jennifer Kreder, Undoing the Native American Graves and Repartriation Act, (September 6, 2006).

Elisabeth D. Reid, The Faith Based and Community Initiative and the Challenge Posed by the Establishment Clause, (September 9, 2006).

Andrew Koppelman, Conscience, Volitional Necessity, and Religious Exemptions, (September 15, 2006).

Kojo Yelpaala, Legal Consciousness and Contractual Obligations, (September 19, 2006).

From SmartCILP:
Adlia Abusharaf, Women in Islamic Communities: The Quest for Gender Justice Research, 28 Human Rights Quarterly 714-728 (2006).

Waheeda Amien, Overcoming the Conflict Between the Right to Freedom of Religion and Women's Rights to Equality: a South African Case Study of Muslim Marriages, 28 Human Rights Quarterly 729-754 (2006).

Nora O'Callaghan, Lessons from Pharaoh and the Hebrew Midwives: Conscientious Objection to State Mandates As a Free Exercise Right, 39 Creighton Law Review 561-639 (2006).

Daniel J. Rosenthal, Charitable Choice Programs and Title VII's Co-religionist Exemption, 39 Creighton Law Review 641-665 (2006).

Panel: The History, Religion, and Philosophy of American Exceptionalism. Articles by Claes G. Ryn, Joseph Boyle, William T. Cavanaugh and Charles J. Reid, Jr. 3 University of St. Thomas Law Journal 211-310 (2005).

Tennessee School Sued Over "Praying Parents" Group

The ACLU of Tennessee filed suit in federal court this week on behalf of the parents of a kindergartener against the Wilson County (TN) Schools and various school officials. The lawsuit challenges Christian meetings and prayer events that are held at Lakeview Elementary School in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. The Tennessean reports today that the challenged activities include a "Praying Parents" group that meets in the school cafeteria during school hours and drops off fliers in classrooms to let children know the group has prayed for them. The Praying Parents group is featured on the school's website. The suit also says that the school observed "National Day of Prayer" by holding a student poster competition and handing out "I prayed" stickers to students.

EEOC Sues On Behalf of Jehovah's Witness Waitress

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against Razzoo's Cajun Cafe in Dallas, Texas, according to yesterday's Dallas Business Journal. The suit grows out of a complaint by a Jehovah's Witness who was employed as a waitress at the restaurant. She requested not to be part of birthday celebrations for customers at the restaurant because her religion forbids such celebrations. She offered to cover other waitresses' tables while they sang for customers, but the restaurant refused to accommodate her and instead fired her from her job.

Hungarian Protests Have Antisemitic Flavor

Today's edition of the Forward reports that the anti-government riots that have shaken the Hungarian capital of Budapest for over a week have used antisemitic terminology and symbols. Among these are the red and white flag of Hungary’s World War II fascists. Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány has been condemned by rioters and their sympathizers in veiled, and sometimes more explicitly, antisemitic language. Gyurcsany is not Jewish.

Religious Polygamists Prevalent In Upscale Utah Subdivisions

A syndicated article from the Chicago Tribune today focuses on the prevalence of polygamy in upscale subdivisions around Salt Lake City, Utah. After US. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid from Nevada, who is a Mormon, wrote Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Sept. 12 to request a federal task force to investigate polygamous sects in the Western U.S. (full text of letter), many polygamists have come forward to defend their religious beliefs in plural marriage. They say it fulfills the mission of all Mormons to be fruitful and multiply and to ascend to the highest reaches of heaven. They decry the fact that the mainstream Mormon church in 1890 abandoned polygamy for what they see as political expediency. Experts estimate that 40,000 people live in polygamous families in the Western U.S., with most of those in Utah.

Vatican Message To U.N. On Religious Freedom

Zenit has published the full text of a Sept. 21 address on Religious Freedom In the Global Village delivered to the United Nations Human Rights Council by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See's permanent observer to the U.N.'s office in Geneva.

Pennsylvania Upholds Father's Right To Teach Religious Belief In Polygamy

Yesterday in Shepp v. Shepp, (PA Sup. Ct., Sept. 27, 2006) (majority opinion, concurrence, dissent) the Pennsylvania Supreme Court refused to order a divorced father to refrain from discussing his religious views that favor polygamy with his daughter whose custody he is sharing. The order was sought by the child's mother who divorced her former husband because of his beliefs in polygamy. The court said:

Based on the record before us, it is clear that the Commonwealth’s interest in promoting compliance with the statute criminalizing bigamy is not an interest of the "highest order" that would supersede the interest of a parent in speaking to a child about a deeply held aspect of his faith.... The state’s compelling interest to protect a child in any given case ... is not triggered unless a court finds that a parent’s speech is causing or will cause harm to a child’s welfare.

However Justice Baer dissenting argued:

It is imperative ... to distinguish matters of free expression from matters of immoral and criminal conduct. Where the former amounts to indoctrination into the latter, constitutional rights begin to yield to society’s interests in regulating such conduct.

The Associated Press reports on the decision.

Wisconsin City Settles RLUIPA Suit

Today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the city of New Berlin, Wisconsin has reached a settlement with SS Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in a long-running zoning dispute. In 2005, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the city's refusal to grant the church's rezoning request violated RLUIPA. This week's settlement requires the city to pay the church $370,000 in damages and will rezone the land to permit the church to build once it applies for a building permit and submits plans. The agreement still needs to be approved by the court.

EEOC Charges Private College With Religious Discrimination

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a private college, the University of Phoenix, alleging that the school favors enrollment counselors who are members of the Mormon Church over other counselors. Yesterday's Arizona Republic reports that the EEOC charged that non-Mormon counselors employed by the University were not given the same leads on new students and were discriminated against in other ways as well.

Religious Clubs Thrive In South Florida Schools

Today's Miami Herald says that religious clubs are thriving in public schools in South Florida. The Christian group, First Priority, has 80 chapters in Broward and Palm Beach counties, supported by local churches. Jewish and Muslim, as well as Christian groups are on Miami-Dade middle and high school campuses. The federal Equal Access Act requires that such groups be treated in the same way as non-religious extracurricular organizations in public secondary schools.

FLDS Jeffs Charges Religious Persecution

Walter Bugden, attorney for Warren Jeffs, the jailed leader of the FLDS Church, says that his client views his prosecution for rape as an accomplice and for sexual conduct with a minor to be religious persecution. The St. George (UT) Spectrum reported on the remarks that were made yesterday after a brief scheduling conference was held in court for Jeffs who is charged in connection with arranging polygamous marriages involving minors.