As Governor Huckabee Rejected Use of Term "Act of God"

CNS News today, focusing on charges that former Akansas Governor Mike Huckabee injects his religious views excessively into politics, reports on an illustrative incident that occurred in 1997 while Huckabee was governor. He refused to sign a bill passed by the Arkansas legislature to protect homeowners from having their insurance cancelled because the bill referred to natural disasters using the common legal term "act of God". Huckabee said: "I refuse to walk through tornado damage and to say that what destroyed it was God and what built it back was only human beings. I saw God protect a lot of people, save a lot of people. That's an act of God, too." After a week of debate, the Arkansas House finally relented and changed the wording of the bill.

President's Remarks In Africa Reflect His Religious Faith

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that during his current tour of Africa, President Bush often invokes religious allusions in his speeches and statements. The article points out the appeal of this approach to religious voters who, in recent years, have focused increasingly on issues of poverty and disease around the world.

Chief Justice Roberts Speaks To Rabbinical Group

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts spoke before the Rabbinical Assembly, the organization of Conservative rabbis, as he received its Truth and Justice award last week in Washington. Saturday's Jerusalem Post reports that Roberts spoke of connections between Jewish tradition and the American legal structure. He said: "The friezes that surround the Supreme Court's courtroom provide a visible reminder that throughout history, progress in law, which is to say human progress, has been marked by a procession in which religion, morality and personal liberty have traveled together." Some rabbis in attendance were critical of Roberts views on certain issues, including women's reproductive health. The Conservative movement supports a woman's right to choose.

Recent Scholarly Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Daniel Augenstein, A European Culture of Religious Tolerance, (EUI LAW Working Paper No. 2008/4, Jan. 2008).


• Katherine B. Darmer & Robert M. Baird, Introduction to Morality, Justice and the Law, (MORALITY, JUSTICE AND THE LAW: THE CONTINUING DEBATE, Prometheus Books, 2007).


• Wojciech Sadurski, Rights and Moral Reasoning: An Unstated Assumption, (December 2007).


• Robert L. Tsai, Reconsidering Gobitis: Lessons in Presidential Leadership, (Feb. 2008).


• Candidus Dougherty, Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, (Encyclopedia of the United States Supreme Court, 2008).


• Shelley Ross Saxer, Faith in Action: Religious Accessory Uses and Land Use Regulation, (Utah Law Review, Forthcoming).


• Nathan B. Oman, Preaching to the Court House and Judging in the Temple, (Feb. 11, 2008).


• George P. Smith, Of Panjandrums, Pooh Bahs, Parvenus, and Prophets: Law, Religion, and Medical Science, (CUA Columbus School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2008-11).


• Jared Rubin, Printing and Interest Restrictions in Islam & Christianity: An Economic Theory of Inhibitive Law Persistence and Divergence, (January 22, 2008).

From SmartCILP:

• Cindy Skach, From "Just" to "Just Decent"? Constitutional Transformations and the Reordering of the Twenty-First-Century Public Sphere, 67 Maryland Law Review 258-280 (2007).

The Journal of Church and State, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Autumn 2007) has recently been published.

Pope Benedict XVI Will Visit White House In April

Last Friday, the White House announced that Pope Benedict XVI will visit the White House on April 16 as part of his trip to the United States. Discussions between President Bush and the Pope are expected to cover issues of peace in the Middle East, inter-faith understanding, and religious liberty around the world.

Suit Challenges Church Zoning Rules of Illinois Village

The Alliance Defense fund has announced that it filed suit last Thursday against the Village of Hazel Crest, Illinois on behalf of the River of Life Kingdom Ministries challenging the village's zoning rules. The village requires churches to obtain special use permits to locate in residential districts, and requires a variation or text amendment for churches to locate in business districts. Various non-religious uses are permitted on less onerous zoning terms. The federal court complaint (full text) alleges that the discriminatory zoning rules violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act as well as the First and 14th Amendments of the Constitution.

Washington Court Keeps Injunction Against Pharmacy Board Rules

Last November, a Washington federal district court granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of Washington state pharmacy rules requiring pharmacists to fill requests for Plan B emergency contraceptives even if doing so violates the pharmacists' religious beliefs. (See prior posting.) The AP and the Seattle Times report that last Friday the court refused a request by the state that it lift the preliminary injunction as to everyone except the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The court also rejected the state's request to stay further proceedings in the case while the preliminary injunction is appealed. All of this means that enforcement of the state rules is still enjoined and the trial on the request for a permanent injucnction scheduled for October will go ahead.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Litigation

In Figel v. Overton, (6th Cir., Feb. 6, 2008), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a lower court that prison officials could not claim qualified immunity in a case arising after RLUIPA was enacted. Even though the Supreme Court had not yet ruled on its constitutionality, RLUIPA became clearly established law when it was signed. An erroneous 6th Circuit decision on the constitutionality of RLUIPA came after the conduct at issue in the case.

In Salaam v. McKee, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9770 (WD MI, Feb. 11, 2008), a federal district court adopted a magistrate's report rejecting a complaint that prison authorities scheduled Muslim Jumu'ah services at a time that is inappropriate under Islamic law. The magistrate had concluded that the service schedule was motivated by a compelling governmental interest in separating prisoners of different security levels.

In Winford v. Frank, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9907 (ED WI, Feb. 8, 2008), a court rejected free exercise claims by a prisoner who was a Satanist and who was denied access to several requested Satanic religious books. The court found that plaintiff had not shown he was unable to practice Satanism without these publications, and that there were legitimate safety and security reasons for denying him the books.

In Jebril v. Joslin, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10611 (SD TX, Feb. 12, 2008), a Texas federal district court rejected a prisoner's claim that his right to practice his Muslim faith was infringed by authorities' labeling him a terrorist and subjecting him to increased scrutiny. Plaintiff, however, was permitted to move ahead with his claim that requiring that all inmates wear their pants uncuffed infringed his free exercise of religion. The court also permitted him to move ahead with his claim that he was harassed in retaliation for practicing his faith.

Van Wyhe v. Reisch, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10779 (D SD, Feb. 13, 2008), involved a claim by a prisoner that he was denied his rights under the 1st Amendment and RLUIPA when he was taken off a kosher diet for 30 days as a sanction for consuming non-kosher food. A South Dakota federal district court granted summary judgment to defendants on several claims, but permitted plaintiff to move ahead with his claim against some of the defendants under RLUIPA. It held however that plaintiff would be limited to recovering nominal monetary damages.

In Carmony v. County of Sacramento, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11137, February 13, 2008, Decided, (ED CA, Feb. 14, 2008), a California federal magistrate judge rejected an inmate's complaint that his free exercise rights were violated when he was not permitted to attend Bible study classes. The court concluded that plaintiff's religious beliefs were not sincerely held. He testified that he wished to attend to relieve his boredom. Also he was in court at most times when the classes were held.

In Beasley v. Kontek, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10747, (ND OH, Jan. 8, 2008), an Ohio federal district court denied a motion for appointment of counsel and a motion to extend time to file an appellate brief by a prisoner who became an Orthodox Jew while in prison and wanted to wear a beard and sidelocks. In an earlier decision in the case, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96302 (ND OH, Nov. 5, 2007), the court had already held that plaintiff's claim for injunctive relief was moot because of a change in the prison's grooming policy and that plaintiff had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies. (Also see prior related posting.)

Meanwhile, Saturday's New York Times reports on a pending religious freedom lawsuit brought by a Hasidic rabbi serving a sentence for fraud at a federal penitentiary in Otisville, NY. Plaintiff wants the Bureau of Prisons to change its policy on where inmates can pray. He argues that his cell, which contains a toilet, is an unclean place under Jewish law for him to pray. He says that Muslims and Buddhists have similar beliefs. Federal prisoners are not permitted to pray in common spaces, and prison chapels are usually not open enough hours to accommodate prisoners who need to pray several times each day. Prison chaplain authorities say that prayers are banned from common areas because they could be threatening to other prisoners, or could make them feel uncomfortable.

Catholic College Faces Legal Challenges To Its Health Insurance Limits

Catholic Online yesterday reported on the legal battle being waged against Charlotte, North Carolina's Belmont Abbey College after it got its health insurance carrier to drop coverage for voluntary sterilization, abortion, and contraception. The Catholic college explained to faculty and staff that the coverage runs contrary to Catholic teaching. However eight faculty members filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charging the school with religious and gender-based discrimination. The college has hired legal counsel to reply to the complaint. The National Women's Law Center has threatened litigation on behalf of the faculty members. In addition, one faculty member complained to the state's Department of Insurance. However it ruled that the school qualified for the religious employer exemption in state insurance law that otherwise requires coverage for contraceptive drugs. (NC GS 58-3-178). The faculty member has asked the National Women's Law Center to appeal the ruling.

Times Focuses On Movement of Egypt's Youth Toward Islam

Today's New York Times carries a front-page article titled "Dreams Stifled, Egypt's Young Turn To Islamic Fervor". The first in a series of articles examining the lives of youth in the Muslim world, reporter Michael Slackman says the economic pressures that force young people to put off marriage lead to increasing frustration. Without the independence, sexual activity and societal respect that comes from marriage, young people are increasingly turning to religion, and pulling their parents and their governments with them. Islam is becoming the defining identity for these young people. The Times makes available an Arabic translation of the article and has created a special blog devoted to a discussion of the series of articles.

School Delays Student's Religious Valentines

In Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine School District, staff members at Wales Elementary School attracted the attention of local radio talk shows and blogs when they took valentines with religious messages from a student to see if they complied with the school's policy against distributing materials that "seek to market, solicit money, recruit, indoctrinate or convert." Yesterday's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that school officials decided the valentines were permissible because, whiile they endorsed religion, they were private speech. Superintendent Patricia Deklotz said she was sorry that the 5th grader's distribution of cards to her classmates was delayed. The school's current policy was adopted in 2001 after another incident involving religious valentines led to the filing of a federal lawsuit.

NIU Shooter Researched Paper On Religion In Early US Prisons

The Chicago Tribune reported on Saturday that Steve Kazmierczak, the Northern Illinois University gunman who killed 5 students, wounded 16 others and then shot himself, had been honored with a dean's award for his sociology research. (Also see New York Times). He is reported to have written a paper with his advisor Prof. Emeritus Jim Thomas on the role of religion in the formation of early prisons in the United States. The paper may be one delivered by Thomas at the 2006 American Society of Criminology meeting titled "The Roots of Faith-Based Prison Programming: A Revisionist View." The paper is listed on Thomas' website.

Tradtionalist Catholic High School Refuses Female Basketball Referee

The Kansas State High School Activities Association is looking into dropping St. Mary's Academy from the list of schoools that are approved to compete against association members. The AP reported on Wednesday that the move comes after the Academy refused for religious reasons to permit a female referee to officate at a boy's basketball game. The school is operated by the Society of St. Pius X and follows the Traditionalist Catholic teachings of its excommunicated former leader, the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Explaining its views further in its own press release, the Academy said: "Sports for boys are seen as training for the battlefield of life where the boys will need to fight at times through great difficulties. As such, it is more appropriate that it be men who train and direct the boys in these sports programs for only men can teach the boys to be men, just as only women can truly teach girls to be women."

Sarkozy Criticized By Secularists For Revisions In Holocaust Curriculum

According to Saturday's New York Times, French President Nicholas Sarkozy has created a new controversy by revising the way in which French school children will learn about the Holocaust. He wants every French 5th grader to learn and identify with the life story of one of the 11,000 French Jewish children killed by the Nazis. Sarkozy added to the consternation of French secularists who are already upset with his frequent references to God and religion by describing his new Holocaust curriculum in religious terms. (See prior posting.) He called Nazi beliefs in racial superiority "radically incompatible with Judeo-Christian monotheism." Some historians argue that Sarkozy's approach distracts attention from the Vichy government’s collaboration with the Nazis, and that it could also create resentment among ethnic Arabs and Africans whose history is not getting the same treatment.

UPDATE: The AP reported on Monday that France's Education Minister Xavier Darcos suggests softening the potential traumatizing effect on children of Sarkozy's plan by having an entire school class collectively honor an individual Holocaust victim. Darcos will meet with teachers and historians to decide how to best implement Sarkozy's plan.

Obama Campaign Hosts Jewish Fundraiser Last Week In DC

The Forward earlier this week carried a story about a different sort of harnessing of religion by the Barak Obama campaign. Last Saturday, before the Potomac primaries, Jewish backers of Obama hosted a Saturday night fundraiser in a bistro near Washington, DC's DuPont Circle. Walls were covered with Obama posters on which his capaign slogan, "Yes We Can", was translated into Hebrew. The evening began with a Havdalah service to mark the end of the Sabbath. Speakers referred in Jewish religious terms to Obama's concern about social justice issues.

Texas Court Rejects Establishment Clause Challenge To Ban On Murder of Fetus

In Flores v. State of Texas, (TX Ct. Crim. App., Feb. 13, 2008), the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to the Texas law that defines the killing of an unborn fetus as capital murder. Judges Cochran and Johnson filed a concurring opinion. Texas Penal Code Sec. 1.07(a)(26) defines an "individual" as "including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth." Sec. 19.03(a)(8) defines capital murder as including the murder of an "inidvidual" under six years of age. Sec. 19.06 excludes from the ban medical abortions or conduct by the mother.

Defendant Gerardo Flores was convicted of murdering his girlfriend's twin fetuses. He argued that the statute criminalizing the murder of a fetus has a religious purpose. The court, however, held that: "Mere consistency between a statute and religious tenets ... does not render a statute unconstitutional.... While some may indeed view a fetus as a human being out of religious convictions, others may reach the same conclusion through secular reasoning or moral intuition unconnected to religion. Moreover, even those who do not view the fetus itself as a person may still want to protect fetal life simply because it represents potential human life."

Missouri Constitutional Amendment On Religion Debated

Yesterday, the Missouri House of Representatives debated HJR 55, a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would add 300 words spelling out free exercise and establishment clause rights more explicitly. Prime Buzz yesterday reported on the debate. The sponsor of the proposal, Rep. Mike McGhee, said the amendment-- which would go to the voters in November-- would clarify the law by emphasizing the rights of citizens and school children to pray in public. Democrats argued that the proposal was merely an attempt to get more conservatives to the polls in November and urged instead that it be placed on the August primary ballot. That alternative was defeated 85-65 in a party-line vote. Then Rep. Jonas Hughes, a Kansas City Democrat, proposed an amendment stating that the right to acknowledge God in public includes "the Saints or the Virgin Mary." That was defeated 111-38. Further action by the House on the proposed constitutional amendment is expected next Monday.

Third Circuit Hears Arguments In Suit By Anti-Gay Protesters

On Monday, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Startzell v. City of Philadelphia, a civil rights suit brought by members of Repent America (a Christian evangelical group) against Philly Pride, the organizers of OutFest. OutFest is a festival designed to celebrate participants' homosexuality. Plaintiffs claim that Philly Pride conspired with the city of Philadelphia and its police department to prevent them from speaking and carrying signs opposing homosexuality. (See prior posting.) Reporting on the oral arguments, Lancaster Online today says defendants argued that holders of a street festival permit should be able to exclude participants in the same way that parade organizers can.

Texas Archbishop Objects To Catholic College's Invite To Clinton

Democratic Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton spoke to several thousand supporters last night at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, (CBS News) despite objections from San Antonio Archbishop Jose Gomez. (AP Feb. 13). Gomez released a statement (full text) on Tuesday saying that he was neither advised nor consulted before the Catholic university scheduled Clinton. His statement continued:

It is clear that the records of Senator Clinton and some of the other candidates for president on important life issues are not consistent with the teaching of the Catholic Church....

The Catholic bishops of the United States, in their 2004 document "Catholics in Political Life", affirmed that when dealing with political candidates and public office holders, "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

New Jersey Bill Requiring Alternative SAT Testing Dates Advances

Yesterday, the New Jersey Senate Education Committee unanimously approved S. 1023, a bill to require that alternative testing arrangements be made available for students who are unable for religious reasons to take the SAT, LSAT, MCAT and similar college and professional school admissions tests on the regularly scheduled date. The bill requires that the alternative test be equivalent to the original. Politics NJ quotes the bill's sponsor, Sen. Loretta Weinberg, who said: "In the past, there have been reports of the exams administered on the alternate dates being significantly harder than those given on the regularly scheduled dates." The bill now goes to the full Senate for approval.

"In God We Trust" License Plates Proposed In 4 States

Bills authorizing specialty license plates carrying the motto "In God We Trust" have advanced recently in four state legislatures. Earier this week, the Kentucky House Transportation Committee (Lexington Herald Leader), an Illinois House committee (The Southern), and an Oklahoma state Senate committee (AP) approved bills calling for the plates. Last week, the Kansas House Transportation Committee scheduled hearings on a similar bill. (KSNT News).

UPDATE: In Kentucky, two different groups are contending for the revenues from "In God We Trust" specialty plates. Saturday's Lexington Herald-Leader reports that Reclaim Our Culture Kentuckiana (ROCK)-- a non-profit that raises awareness of harm from pornography and the sex trade-- applied to the state Transportation Cabinet in November for creation of the specialty plates. However, six weeks later Rep. Jim Gooch filed House Bill 207 to create the same plate, with money to go to help homeless and needy veterans.

Suits Seek To Validate Pennsylvania Marriages By Clergy Without Churches

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania announced yesterday that it has filed separate lawsuits on behalf of three couples challenging a recent ruling by a York County judge who held invalid marriages performed in Pennsylvania by clergy who do not have a regularly established church or congregation. (See prior posting.) The lawsuits argue that the York County decision misinterpreted 23 Pa. Consol. Stat § 1503(a)(6), "which requires only that a religious officiant be clergy 'of any regularly established church or congregation,' not that the officiant both represent an established 'place of worship' and serve a particular congregation." The lawsuits ask three separate courts to declare that the petitioning couples' marriages are valid. Two of the couples were married by ministers of the Universal Life Church and one couple was married by a Roman Catholilc Jesuit priest who, at the time, was clerking for a federal judge. The ACLU's announcement gives links to the full text of the complaints in each lawsuit. Yesterday's Philadelphia Intelligencer gives additional background on the couples involved in the litigation.

Canadian Sikh Argues For Religious Exemption From Cycle Helmet Law

In a Brampton, Ontario courtroom this week, Baljinder Badesha, a Sikh, contended that he should be granted a religious exemption from the province of Ontario's motorcycle helmet law. (Highway Traffic Act, Sec. 104). Badesha's religious beliefs require that he wear a turban outside his home. Yesterday's Brampton Guardian reports that the Ontario Human Rights Commission is presenting arguments supporting Badesha in his defense against a ticket for violating the helmet law. The Commission says that it is discriminatory to apply the law to Sikhs, and that Ontario should join British Columbia, Manitoba, the U.K. and Northern Ireland in creating a religious exception to the safety rule.

Danish Police Arrest 3 For Plotting To Kill Cartoonist; Drawing Reprinted By Papers

On Tuesday, police in Denmark arrrested three people who allegedly were plotting to kill Kurt Westergaard, one of the cartoonists whose caricature of the Prophet Mohammed was published by a Danish paper in 2005, setting off world-wide reaction. (AFP). Those arrested were a Dane of Moroccan origin and two Tunisian nationals. The Tunisians were to be expelled from the country and the Dane was to be released after questioning. In response to the arrests, over a dozen Danish papers on Wednesday reprinted Westergaard's offensive cartoon-- which depicts the Prophet wearing a bomb-shaped turban with a lit fuse. (AP). The papers said their move was intended to show their support for freedom of speech. A spokesman for Denmark's Islamic Faith Community said that even though this week's reprinting of the cartoon "was like a knife in our hearts," the group would not take steps to exploit the situation.

UPDATE: Several nights of vandalism by youths in Copenhagen has been attributed in part to the reprinting of the controversial cartoon by Danish papers, as well as to other causes such as police harassment. (International Herald Tribune, Feb. 17). Meanwhile, a group of Danish parlimentarians have cancelled their planned trip to Iran this week after Iran insisted that they first apoligize for Danish newspapers' activities. (Australian Broadcasting Corp., Feb. 17.) And on Friday, protests in the Gaza Strip and Pakistan focused on reprinting of the cartoon by Danish papers. (AP, Feb. 16.)

Indiana Democrat May Become Second Muslim Member of Congress

In a special election on March 11, Indiana Democrat Andre Carson may become the second Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress. The AP yesterday reported that Carson is running in Indiana's 7th District to fill out the House term of his grandmother who died last December. Carson converted to Islam over ten years ago and began attending the Nur-Allah Islamic Center, a predominantly African-American Sunni mosque. Carson has served on the Indianapolis City Council and with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. Carson says his faith has not been much of an issue, and to the extent it is, it is more an advantage than a disadvantage. Minnesota's Rep. Rep. Keith Ellison is currently the only Muslim member of Congress.

Canada's Human Rights Commission Investigating Catholic Magazine

According to a release by Zenit on Tuesday, the Canadian Human Rights Commission is investigating the Canadian magazine, Catholic Insight, for publishing articles seen as offensive to gays and lesbians. A complaint filed by Rob Wells, a member of the Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered Pride Center of Edmonton, accuses the magazine of promoting "extreme hatred and contempt" against homosexuals. Catholic Insight editor Father Alphonse de Valk said some of the challenged statemets were from recent Vatican pronouncements. Others were political statements, medical studies, and news reports, a number of which focused on the campaign in Canada to legalize same-sex marriage.

Rights Group Wants Saudis To Commute Death Sentence of Convicted "Witch"

Today's International Herald Tribune reports that Human Rights Watch is calling on Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to stop the execution of Fawza Falih who has been convicted of witchcraft and of performing supernatrual occurrences. (HRW letter.) After the religious police arrested Faliah, she was convicted in April 2006 by a court in the town of Quraiyat on the basis of her coerced confession and statements of witnesses who said she had "bewitched" them. At trial, Falih was unable to cross-examine witnesses against her, and the court did not define "witchcraft". An appellate court in September 2006 said Falih could not be sentenced to death because she had retracted her confession. Nevertheless, the lower court re-sentenced her to death on a "discretionary" basis, for the benefit of "public interest" and to "protect the creed, souls and property of this country." The court cited evidence that a man allegedly became impotent after being bewitched by Falih, and that a divorced woman reportedly returned to her ex-husband during the month predicted by Falih who allegedly cast a spell.

IRS Launches Investigation of Pastor's Huckabee Endorsement

The Internal Revenue Service has begun an investigation of Baptist minister, Rev. Wiley Drake, to determine whether he violated tax code limitations on non-profit organizations when he used the letterhead of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park (CA) to announce his personal endorsement of Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. The AP reported yesterday that last week Drake received a letter from the IRS asking about the press release and about an endorsement on Drake's internet broadcast that originates at the church. The IRS inquiry follows a complaint against Drake filed last year by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. (See prior posting.) That complaint led to a call by Drake for his supporters to institute "Imprecatory Prayer" against two AU leaders.

UPDATE: On Feb. 14, following the institution of the IRS investigation, Rev. Wiley Drake sent his followers an e-mail again calling for Imprecatory Prayer against AU, the ACLU and "others who attack God's people." In a Feb. 15 press release, AU executive director Barry Lynn said: "Trying to turn God into some sort of heavenly hit man is repugnant."

Florida Attorney General Will Create Advisory Group on Muslims

In a press release issued Tuesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced that Florida's attorney general, Bill McCollum, will create a Muslim community advisory group. The move follows complaints about McCollum's showing of the controversial film "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West" to staff throughout the state. At a meeting that included interfaith leaders, McCollum also agreed to offer his staff educational programs on Islam and Muslims.

Ontario Premier Urges Alternatives To Lord's Prayer At Legislative Openings

In Canada, Ontario's Premier Dalton McGuinty has proposed that the provincial legislature end the practice of opening each session withthe Lord's Prayer. Today's Petersborough Examiner reports that McGuinty wants an all-party committee to look at other alternatives that would allow prayer or meditation in other faith traditions to be used as well.

District Court Issues Wide-Ranging Prisoner RLUIPA Opinion

Last week, a federal district court in South Dakota handed down a wide-ranging decision in a prisoner RLUIPA case. (The case raised various other claims as well.) The lawsuit-- in which the Department of Justice had intervened on behalf of the plaintiff prisoner-- raised a broad range of issues, some of which had not beeen decided yet in the Eighth Circuit. In Sisney v. Reisch, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9832 (D SD, Feb. 6, 2008), convicted murderer Charles Sisney, who began practicing Judaism while in prison, sought a number of accommodations to permit him to practice his religious faith.

The court held that RLUIPA does not create a private right of action for damages against state officials in their individual capacities, but that the state's acceptance of federal prisoner funds waived its sovereign immunity so that a prisoner can recover monetary damages in "official capacity" suits against prison officials. However under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, a plaintiff who has not suffered physical injury may recover only nominal compensatory damages and nominal attorneys' fees. The court concluded that RLUIPA is a valid exercise of Congress' power under the Spending Clause of the Constitution.

The court permitted plaintiff to proceed only on his claims for access to a Sukkah; additional time for study of Hebrew, Talmud and Kaballah; and access to a tape player in his cell for religious language studies. Among the remaining issues for trial in these claims is the sincerity of Sisney's religious beliefs.

German Administrative Court Permits Surviellance of Scientology Groups to Continue

In Germany, the North Rhine-Westphalia Higher Administrative Court has upheld a lower court ruling permitting German intelligence agencies to monitor activities of two Church of Scientology organizations. The Canadian Press reported on yesterdays decision. The court's press release (in German) says the court held (in a decision delivered orally from the bench) that Scientology and its members pursue efforts that violate Germany's basic liberal democratic order. (See prior related posting.)

Court Refuses To Reconsider Decision Upholding Anti-Gay T-Shirt Ban

In a decision handed down yesterday, a California federal district court denied a motion to reconsider its earlier decision permitting a school to ban a student's T-shirt which carried anti-gay slogans. This is the latest chapter in the procedurally complex case. (See prior posting.) A school rule banned the T-shirt as hate behavior. In refusing to reconsider its earlier decision, the court in Harper v. Poway Unified School District, (SD CA, Feb. 12, 2008), rejected a claim that the school's actions violated the objecting student's free exercise rights. It held that the school had "properly restricted Harper’s negative speech for the legitimate pedagogical concern of promoting tolerance and respect for differences among students." Yesterday's San Diego Union-Tribune reported on the decision.

Controversy Over British Mosque's Proposed Broadcast of Call To Prayer

Reuters reported yesterday that the Church of England has now been drawn into the controversy brewing in Oxford over a proposal by the Central Oxford Mosque to broadcast the call to prayer (Adhan) over loudspeakers in the mosque's minaret. City council approval is needed before any broadcast can begin. Charlie Cleverly, rector of Oxford's St. Aldate's Anglican church, objected, saying the proposal is "un-English" and might create a Muslim ghetto in the neighborhood around the mosque. Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, also objected to a daily call to prayer from the mosque. The mosque's imam, Munir Chisti , now says he will seek permission to broadcast the the call to prayer only once a week on Friday, instead of five times a day. Oxford's Anglican bishop, John Pritchard, supports the mosque's proposal.

Britain's Muslim Council says that increasingly Muslims are receiving the call to prayer by high-tech alternatives-- a special FM frequency or by a text message on their cell phones.

William & Mary President Resigns After Contract Non-Renewal

Yesterday, Gene R. Nichol , President of the College of William & Mary, announced his immedate resignation after he was informed by the Rector of the Board of Visitors that his contract would not be renewed when it expires in July. In his statement, Nichol attributed the Board of Visitor's action to four controversial sets of decisions he made as president. One of those, he said, involved changing traditions at the College's Wren Chapel:

I altered the way a Christian cross was displayed in a public facility, on a public university campus, in a chapel used regularly for secular College events -- both voluntary and mandatory -- in order to help Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and other religious minorities feel more meaningfully included as members of our broad community. The decision was likely required by any effective notion of separation of church and state. And it was certainly motivated by the desire to extend the College’s welcome more generously to all. We are charged, as state actors, to respect and accommodate all religions, and to endorse none. The decision did no more.

Nichol added: "[T]he Board of Visitors offered both my wife and me substantial economic incentives if we would agree 'not to characterize [the non-renewal decision] as based on ideological grounds' or make any other statement about my departure without their approval. Some members may have intended this as a gesture of generosity to ease my transition. But the stipulation of censorship made it seem like something else entirely. We, of course, rejected the offer."

The Board of Visitor's in a statement, however, said that its decision "was not in any way based on ideology or any single public controversy." It added that "so there is no doubt, the Board will not allow any change in the compromise reached on the placement of the Wren Cross." The Board also announced that Law School Dean W. Taylor Reveley will serve as acting president unitl a successor is found.

Today's Washington Post reports on the resignation. [Thanks to Chip Lupu for the lead.]

Colorado Marriage Amendment Challenged On Establishment Clause Grounds

Suit has been filed in a Colorado state court challenging the provision in Colorado's state contitution defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Yesterday's Daily Camera reports that Kate Burns and Sheila Schroeder filed suit on Monday. They were denied a marriage license last year by the Denver clerk and recorder. The lesbian couple claims that the state constitutional provision, adopted by the voters in 2006, violates the Establishment Clause of the federal constitution because its passage was religiousl motivated. Separately, the couple is scheduled to appear in court his week on trespassing charges growing out of their refusal to leave the clerk's office after their marriage licence was refused.

Custody Cases Increasingly Involve Religious Issues

Today's New York Times reports on the increasing number of custody cases in which religion has become an issue. Judges are reluctant to base decisions on parents' religious preferences. Many states are trying mediation as a way of resolving custody disputes. ABA Family Law Custody Committee chairman William Nelson attributes the increasing number of religious disputes in custody cases to a general growth in conflicts between parents along with the rise of intermarriage and religious conversions.

4th Circuit Finds Employer Adequately Accommodated Religious Observances

In Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Firestone Fibers & Textiles Co., (4th Cir., Feb. 11, 2008), the U.S. 4th Circuit court of Appeals, this week held that Title VII of the 1964 civil Rights Act only requires reasonable accommodation of an employee's religious practices, and not total elimination of the conflict between the religious practice and the work requirement. It held that an employer's pre-existing attendance policies, accompanied by certain other arrangements, reasonably accommodated an employee who was a member of the Living Church of God who wanted time off for Sabbath observance and religious holidays. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Archbishop of Canterbury Explains His Views On Sharia and British Law

After British Prime Minister Gordon Brown asked Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to clarify a lecture he gave last week about the relation of Islamic law to British civil law, Williams attempted to explain his remarks in a speech (full text) to the General Synod of the Church of England. (Ekklesia). He said in part yesterday:

The lecture was written as an opening contribution to a series on Islam and English Law.... [I]t posed the question to the legal establishment of whether attempts to accommodate aspects of Islamic law would create an area where the law of the land doesn't run.... I concluded that nothing should be recognised which had that effect. We are not talking about parallel jurisdictions; and I tried to make clear that there could be no 'blank cheques' in this regard, in particular as regards ... the status and liberties of women. The law of the land still guarantees for all the basic components of human dignity.

So the question remains of whether certain additional choices could and should be made available under the law of the United Kingdom for resolving disputes and regulating transactions.... If ... this were thought to be a useful direction in which to move, there would be plenty of work still to be done, with the greatest care, on what would and would not be possible and appropriate areas for such co-operation.

Today's London Times surveys reaction to Williams' latest statements.

Today Is Darwin Day

Today-- Charles Darwin's 199th birthday-- is "Darwin Day," sponsored by the Institute for Humanist Studies. In a press release, IHS says that the day promotes understanding of evolution and the scientific method. Massimo Pigliucci, professor of evolutionary biology at the State University of New York-Stony Brook, uses Darwin Day to teach about science "so people aren't just hearing about science from their local preacher." Churches around the country celebrated "Evolution Weekend" last Saturday and Sunday. The weekend is designed to discuss the compatibility of science and religion. Sunday's Times Union reported on planned events in Albany (NY).

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Look To Restrict Valentine's Day Celebrations

Saudi Arabia's religious police often clamp down before Valentine's Day-- seeing it as a day that encourages men and women to have relationships outside of wedlock. This year, according to Reuters, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has ordered Riyadh florists and gift shop owners to remove red roses and any other items colored scarlet. The color is seen as symbolizing love. Meanwhile, in Kuwait the head of National Assembly Committee Monitoring Negative Alien Practices wants to go further. Yesterday's Kuwait Times reports that MP Waleed Al-Tabtabae wants various government ministries to take steps to completely ban Valentine celebrations because they are in conflict with the traditions and values of Kuwaiti society. Islamist MP Jamaan Al-Harbash says Valentine's Day conflicts with the values and teachings of Islam. [Thanks to Matthew Caplan for the lead.]

New Website Suggests Jesus For 2008 White House Bid

In the latest intrusion of religion into the 2008 presidential contest, former newspaper reporter Stephen Heffner has created the web site "Jesus in 2008". As reported in Sunday's District Chronicles, visitors to the site may register as delegates. This entitles them to suggest practical Platform planks that Jesus might favor today, as well as to suggest appropriate vice presidential nominees to run on the ticket with Jesus.

Putin's Role In Reviving Orthodox Church Is Examined

Today's Moscow Times carries a long article on Russian President Vladimir Putin's role in the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church. The article is part of a series on Putin's legacy as his presidential term draws to a close. Here is an excerpt:

Under Putin, government officials have become more pious --at least outwardly --and have deepened their contacts with the church hierarchy, according to both supporters and critics of the church..... The apparent rise of clerical influence has alarmed secular critics, who charge that it threatens the separation of church and state mandated in Russia's 1993 Constitution. "Soon the church will be represented in all the places where there used to be cells of the Soviet Communist Party," said Vitaly Ginzburg, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and outspoken critic of the church. "It wants to be everywhere." Yet at the same time, Putin has restrained some of the church's more controversial initiatives, such as an effort to add an Orthodoxy class to the nationwide school curriculum....

Damages, Staff Training, Imposed in Church in England Discrimination Case

In Britain last July, an Employment Tribunal in Cardiff found the Bishop of Hereford violated Britain's Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations when he blocked the appointment of John Reaney as a Church youth official. (See prior posting.) Last Friday, in a final ruling, the tribunal ordered the Bishop to pay Reaney damages of £47,345 , and said the diocese staff should receive equal opportunity training. (London Times.) [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Rep. Tom Lantos, Human Rights Advocate, Dies

California Rep. Tom Lantos, a strong human rights proponent and the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, died today at the age of 80 after a brief struggle with esophageal cancer. The Washington Post profiles his 14 terms in the House of Representatives. Eulogizing him, President Bush today said: "Tom was a living reminder that we must never turn a blind eye to the suffering of the innocent at the hands of evil men. I appreciate his vision in co-founding the Human Rights Caucus." Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, said: "We have lost one of our best champions of religious freedom."

Florida Board Will Vote On Requirement To Teach Evolution

Today's Orlando Sentinel reports that Florida's State Board of Education will vote on new science standards on Feb. 19. For the first time, they will explicitly require the teaching of evolution in Florida's public schools. This is part of a broader reform to improve the deficient science curriculum in the state's schools. Currently less than half of high school students are proficient on the science section of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. However, particularly in northern Florida, parents are objecting, threatening to boycott state tests or move their children to private schools. Some state legislators are suggesting a new law that would require that evolution be taught as only a theory. A final public hearing on the science standards will be held today at 10:00 a.m. It will be webcast at the Florida Department of Education website. (See prior related posting.)

President Speaks At National Prayer Breakfast

Last Thursday, President Bush attended the 56th annual National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel. In his remarks (full text) he said:

Every President since Dwight Eisenhower has attended the National Prayer Breakfast -- and I am really proud to carry on that tradition. It's an important tradition, and I'm confident Presidents who follow me will do the same. The people in this room come from many different walks of faith. Yet we share one clear conviction: We believe that the Almighty hears our prayers -- and answers those who seek Him. That's what we believe; otherwise, why come? Through the miracle of prayer, we believe he listens -- if we listen to his voice and seek our presence -- his presence in our lives, our hearts will change. And in so doing, in seeking God, we grow in ways that we could never imagine.

Voice of America reported that the keynote speaker at the breakfast was Ward Brehm, head of the U.S. African Development Foundation, a federal agency that assists small businesses in Africa. The National Prayer Breakfast is advertised as non-denominational, though it is sponsored each year by The Fellowship Foundation, a Christian outreach group.

Pope Strains Interfaith Relations In Revised Tridentine Rite Prayer For Jews

Increasingly good Catholic-Jewish relations were strained a bit last week as the Vatican released a reformulated version of a Good Friday prayer for the conversion of Jews for the 1962 Roman Missal (the Tridentine rite). The Roman Missal-- a Latin version of the Mass-- is used only by a small number of Catholics world-wide. However last July Pope Benedict authorized somewhat wider use of the Tridentine rite. The new version of the prayer (full text) removes prior references to the "blindness" of the Jews, as well as a call for God to "remove the veil from their hearts". However the new version still calls for God to enlghten the hearts of the Jews so they will recognize Jesus. Catholic News Service and Reuters last week reported that Jewish leaders continued to be troubled by the prayer. The more generally used 1970 Roman Missal, revised after the Second Vatican Council, contains a Good Friday prayer that is much less offensive to Jews. It merely prays that "the people you first made your own may arrive at the fullness of redemption."

Recent Articles and Books of Interest

From SSRN:

• Benjamin L. Berger, Moral Judgment, Criminal Law and the Constitutional Protection of Religion, (Supreme Court Law Review, Vol. 41, No. 2, 2008).


• Ira C. Lupu & Robert W. Tuttle, The Cross at College: Accommodation and Acknowledgment of Religion at Public Universities , (William & Mary Bill of Rights, Vol. 16, 2008).


• Frederick Mark Gedicks, Three Questions About Hybrid Rights and Religious Groups, (Yale Law Journal Pocket Part, Vol. 117, Forthcoming).

From SmartCILP:

• Patrick McKinley Brennan, The Contributions of Catholics to the Socio-Political Order, 56 Catholic University Law Review 1221-1235 (2007).


• Charles P. Kindregan, Jr., Religion, Polygamy, and Non-Traditional Families: Disparate Views On the Evolution of Marriage In History and In the Debate Over Same-Sex Unions, 41 Suffolk University Law Review 19-48 (2007).


• Samuel J. Levine, Reflections On Responsibilities In the Public Square, Through a Perspective of Jewish Tradition: A Brief Biblical Survey, 56 Catholic University Law Review 1203-1219 (2007).


• Gregory P. Magarian, The Jurisprudence of Colliding First Amendment Interests: From the Dead End of Neutrality to the Open Road of Participation-Enhancing Review, [Abstract], 83 Notre Dame Law Review 185-264 (2007).

The Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. XXIII, No. 1 (2007-08) has recently been published. It includes articles on Evangelicals and Politics, on the 60th Anniversary of the Everson Decision, and the AALS Jewish Law Section Papers.

Recent Books:

• Amy Sullivan, The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats Are Closing the God Gap, (Scribner, Feb. 2008), (Reviewed by New York Times).
  
• E. J. Dionne Jr., Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right, (Princeton University Press, Jan. 2008), (Reviewed by New York Times).
  
• Stephen Paine, A Crisis in America: An Urgent Message to My Fellow Americans, (Outskirts Press, Jan. 2008), (Review by Publisher).

In Lithuania, Pre-Lent Carnival Has Anti-Jewish Overtones

Last week, the Forward reported on pre-Lenten "Carnival" in Vilnius, Lithuania. Known as "Uzgavenes" in Lithuanian, participants in the annual festivities masquarade "eiti zydukais", i.e. they "go as Jews". This often means masks with grotesque features, beards and visible ear locks, accompanied by stereotypical peddling and speech patterns. Some participants dress as farm animals or monsters. Others dress as Roma. Not only is there a parade, but afterwards children often engage in Halloween-like trick or treating. Last year, the executive director of the Jewish Community of Lithuania opened his door to to be faced with two children dressed in horns and tails, reciting a song (that rhymes in Lithuanian) that translates as: "We’re the little Lithuanian Jews/We want blintzes and coffee...." Lithuania was a leading center of Jewish religious scholarship before World War II, but most of the country's Jewish population was wiped out in the Holocaust. Today's small Jewish community in the country has been hesitant to speak out on the Carnival issue in order to avoid conflict with their neighbors.

District Court Nominee's Religious Views Generate Opposition

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the nomination of attorney Richard H. Honaker to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming. Americans United is urging the committee to reject the nomination because of Honaker's extreme views on religious liberty. (Press release, Feb. 7). In a Jan. 31 letter (full text), AU says:

Mr. Honaker rejects the well-settled principle of neutrality in Establishment Clause cases.... He chastises the "nation’s highest court ... [for] hav[ing] moved radically away from a Christian base, toward a secular base in which man, not God, is the creator of values, of rights, of law, and of justice." He further criticizes the Supreme Court because it "no longer talks about America as a Christian nation or about the Christian underpinnings of the law."... [S]uch statements imply that he will not look to the United States Constitution and federal statutes to resolve cases but instead will look to his understanding of God’s law.

... Honaker has shown a bias against non-Judeo-Christian faiths in his public speeches.... He argued that the Islamic faith should not have been recognized by the President in his inaugural address, as Islam has "played no role" in American freedoms.... Freedom, according to Honaker, is not only unattainable for non-Christian societies, but non-Christians in a democratic society may be a threat to that free society.

On Friday, the Billings (MT) Gazette reported that a number of groups also oppose Honaker's nomination because of his anti-abortion views. Honaker is past president of the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association and of the Wyoming State Bar.

Court Rejects Challenge To Tennessee Charitable Solicitations Act

In Free the Fathers, Inc. v. State of Tennessee, (TN Ct. App., Feb. 7, 2008), a Tennessee appellate court rejected a number of constitutional challenges to the state's Solicitation of Charitable Funds Act raised by a non-profit organization devoted to freeing Roman Catholic priests jailed in foreign countries. An enforcement action was filed against the group after it failed to apply for an exemption as a religious institution. The court rejected claims that the law acts as a prior restraint, that it vests overly broad discretion in the Secretary of State, and that the Secretary of State exceeded its statutory authority in creating an exemption process. The court also rejected 14th Amendment and commerce clause challenges to the statute, as well as a challenge under the free exercise clause of the Tennessee Constitution.

Suit Challenges Literature Distribution Ban On Behalf of Evangelist

The Alliance Defense Fund announced on Friday that it had filed suit in federal district court challenging an ordinance of Kewaskum, Wisconsin that prohibits the distribution of literature on public or private property, except to individuals willing to accept handbills. The complaint in Foht v. Village of Kewaskum, (D WI, filed 2/8/2008), alleges that the ordinance acts as a prior restraint in preventing traveling evangelist Michael Foht from leaving religious information at homes and on cars. An AP story on Friday reports on the lawsuit.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Decisions

In Patel v. United States Bureau of Prisons, (8th Cir., Feb. 4, 2008), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Muslim inmate's free exercise, RFRA and RLUIPA claims. It held that the dietary accommodations offered to him were sufficient, and therefore his religious exercise was not substantially burdened. The court also rejected plaintiff's equal protection and establishment clause claims.

In Furnace v. Sullivan, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9187 (ND CA, Jan. 9, 2008), a California federal district court permitted an inmate to proceed with his First Amendment, RLUIPA and equal protection claims that correctional officers denied him a breakfast tray meeting his religious dietary requirements, and when he objected, they sprayed him with pepper spray.

In Shaw v. Frank, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7422 (ED WI, Jan. 31, 2008), a Wisconsin federal district court held that denying an inmate the right to use his religious name does not substantially burden his practice of religion. As to another claim-- that he was forced to engage in a sexual offender treatment program that violated his religious beliefs-- the court found that plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies. (See prior related posting.)

In Shidler v. Moore, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8872 (ND IN, Feb. 4, 2008), an Indiana federal district court permitted a Muslim prisoner to proceed with a claim under RLUIPA that he was denied prayer oil, but not with a claim that he was denied non-allegenic prayer oil. He was also permitted to proceed with a claim under RLUIPA, but not under the First Amendment, that he was denied communal worship. Authorities believed he was a Christian who wished to attend Muslim services. It said: "Though preventing an inmate from engaging in communal worship with a different faith group doesn't violate the First Amendment, RLUIPA is different." A number of other claims were also rejected, including claims he was denied participation in Ramadan activities, that he was inaccurately classified as a Christian, and that he was not permitted to use his religious name on his mail.

In West v. Overbo, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8515 (ED WI, Feb. 5, 2008), a Wisconsin federal district court rejected a claim by a Muslim prisoner that his First Amendment rights were violated when prison authorities limited his Eid-ul-Fitr feast meal to merely the regular institutional meal plus an extra desert.

Oregon Court Orders Game Times Changed To Accommodate Sabbath Observers

The Oregonian reports that on Friday, an Oregon state Circuit Court judge issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Oregon School Activities Association to modify the starting times of certain games in the Class 3A state basketball tournament to accommodate the religious beliefs of players from the Portland Adventist Academy. Currently some games are scheduled between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday (Feb. 29 to March 1), the time when Adventists observe their Sabbath. Judge Henry Kantor ruled that the OSAA had not shown that moving the game time would cause undue hardship if one of the Adventist Academy teams advances to that point in the tournament.

UPDATE: The Oregonian reported on Tuesday that the OSAA executive board has voted to appeal the court's decision.

Indonesian Christian Group Sues Magazine For Blasphemy

Sunday's Jakarta Post reports that Indonesia's Alliance of Christian Students and Youths (AMPK) has filed a lawsuit charging Tempo magazine with blasphemy. A lawsuit was filed after a Feb. 4 special edition of the magazine featured a cover depicting the late president Suharto having dinner with his six children in the same poses as figures in Leonardo Da Vinci's painting, The Last Supper. The magazine has apologized, but AMPK wants copies of the magazine withdrawn. It also wants the apology run in three successive editions, in the Koran Tempo newspaper and on Tempo's website. Catholic leaders, however, said the public should not blow the incident out of proportion. It also appears from the magazine's website that it has met many of AMPK's demands. Apparently it has changed the cover, has placed its apology online and will run it in Koran Tempo.

Egypt's High Court Says ID Papers Can Reflect Conversion Back To Christianity

On Saturday, according to Reuters, Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court held that twelve individuals who had converted to Islam and then back to Christianity were entitled to have their birth certificates and government identity papers reflect that they are Christian. The ruling reversed a lower court decision that had rejected the applications for new identity documents because the conversion back to Christianity violated Islam's ban on apostasy. (See prior posting.) However, under Saturday's ruling, the individuals' previous conversion to Islam will also be noted on their papers. About 450 similar cases brought by Christian Copts are pending in Egyptian courts.

US Agency Holds Hearings On Anti-Semitism In US and Europe

On Thursday, the U.S. Helsinki Commission held the second of two hearings on "Taking Stock: Combating Anti-Semitism in the OSCE Region". Transcripts of the Jan. 29 hearing and the Feb. 7 hearing are available online. The press release announcing the hearings billed them as: "a two-part series that will review U.S. government and civil society efforts to combat anti-Semitism in North America and Europe."

Turkish Parliamentary Vote Approves End To University Headscarf Ban

The Turkish Daily News reports that after 13 hours of heated debate yesterday, Turkey's Parliament passed a constitutional amendment that will permit Muslim women to wear headscaves at universities. (See prior posting.) By a vote of 404 to 92, the legislators approved an amendment to Article 42 of the Constitution that will provide that no one can be deprived of their right to a higher education. A final Parliamentary vote on the Constitutional provisions is expected tomorrow. In today's New York Times, Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman discusses the controversy in Turkey, placing it in the context of proposed broader constitutional liberalization in the country.

UPDATE: On Saturday, Turkey's Parliament gave its final approval to the constitutional amendment permitting women students to wear Muslim headscarves at universities. The vote was 411-103. President Gul is expected to sign the amendment quickly. However a law governing the supervisory body for higher education must also be amended before the headscarf ban is finally lifted. (The Age, Feb. 10).

Romney Campaign Said To Revive Anti-Mormon Views

Today's Wall Street Journal carries a front-page article concluding that Mitt Romney's now-ended campaign for the presidency "exposed a surprisingly virulent strain of anti-Mormonism that had been largely hidden to the general public." The article points in particular to statements made in December by political commentator and actor Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. on the "McLaughlin Group" television talk show. Of particular concern has been O'Donnell statement that: "Romney comes from a religion founded by a criminal who was anti-American, pro-slavery, and a rapist. And he comes from that lineage and says, 'I respect this religion fully.'" Here is the full transcript of that McLauglin Group broadcast.

9th Circuit Hears Arguments In Tax Dispute Over Tuition Deductions

Today's New York Sun reports on last Monday's oral arguments before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Sklar v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue. An Orthodox Jewish couple is claiming that they should have been permitted to deduct for tax purposes the amount by which the tuition they paid to Orthodox Jewish schools exceeded the market value of the secular component of the education their children received. They base their claim on a closing agreement that the IRS reached with the Church of Scientology in 1993 to settle disputed tax liabilities. The agreement allowed Scientologists to deduct 80% of the fees paid for religious training and services, at least through the year 1999. The Sklars argue that it is a violation of the First Amendment for the IRS to give special benefits only to Scientology. The IRS agreement with Scientolgy has been made avaialble only through publication of it by the Wall Street Journal in 1997 (full text). An audio recording audio recording of the oral argument before the 9th Circuit is available from the court's website. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Josh Gerstein for the lead.]

Bill Introduced In Congress To Permit Church Super Bowl Parties

As previously reported, the National Football League again this year told churches that the copyright law limited their ability to host Super Bowl parties in auditoriums larger than 2000 square feet if the bowl game was shown on TV screens larger than 55 inches. This creates problems for churches that wish to offer an alcohol-free family-friendly alternative for watching the game. So this week, Sen. Arlen Specter introduced S.2591, a bill to permit churches to display televised professional football contests free of copyright concerns, so long as no direct charge is made for viewing the game, no money is received by the church during the broadcast, and the game is not further retransmitted by the church. Yesterday's Christian Post reports that Rep. Heath Shuler plans to introduce a similar bill in the House of Representatives.

Archbishop of Canterbury Suggests Role for Sharia In British Legal System

In Britain, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams has provoked a firestorm of controversy by suggesting that British law should give some level of recognition to Sharia. Williams delivered the foundation lecture in the Temple Festival Series at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday. The title of the series is "Islam in English Law". The Anglican Communion News Service reprints the full text of Rowan's talk titled Civil and Religious Law in England: A Religious Perspective. It notes that Rowan "will look at what space can be allowed alongside the secular law of the land for the legal provisions of faith groups." Rowan also was interviewed by the BBC (full text). He told interviewer Christopher Landau that "there is a place for finding what would be a constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law as we already do with some kinds of aspects of other religious law."

The Guardian, the AP and Ekklesia all report on the widespread criticism that followed Rowan's talk. A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "The prime minister believes British law should apply in this country, based on British values." A more stinging criticism by Ekklesia argues that "the Church of England, recognising the untenability of privileges it still claims as an Established Church, is now seeking to create a broader 'multi-faith establishment' where 'the same problems will be replicated across a wider and more complex arena.'"

Simon Barrow on the blog Our Kingdom, however writes of Rowan's proposal: "It’s not quite such an outlandish suggestion as the headlines and knee-jerk reactions of politicians who haven’t read his nuanced speech might make you think, but I still think it’s heading in precisely the wrong direction – though thankfully, without a prayer."

In Property Dispute, Court Finds Assemblies of God Is Hierarchical Church

In Leach v. Johnson, (Macomb Co. MI Cir. Ct, Jan. 25, 2008), a Michigan trial court held that the Assemblies of God is an hierarchical religious organization. Based upon this, the court concluded that the decision of the parent body to assert control over the property of the Gospel Lighthouse Church in Warren, Michigan is binding upon the courts. The parent body found that Gospel Lighthouse Church had defected from the Church's tenets of faith, and was therefore required to transfer its property to the District Council. Under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, the court may not review the correctness of the parent body's decision. The court's decision followed a remand of the case last year by the Michigan Court of Appeals. (See prior posting.)

Two ADF Suits Settled; Student Religious Groups Prevail

Settlement has been reached in two separate lawsuits that were filed by the Alliance Defense Fund challenging restrictions imposed on student religious groups. In one case, Georgia's Savannah State University has agreed to allow the Christian student group "Commissioned II Love" to return to campus. (Feb. 1 Release). Suit was filed after the University claimed the group violated university rules by badgering members of fraternities and sororities to accept Jesus, and by activities at a retreat where current members, imitating Jesus, would wash the feet of new members. (See prior posting).

In a second unrelated case, a Vermont school district has agreed to furnish the Youth Alive religious club with an advisor, a minimal budget and recognition in the school district’s list of activities. Yesterday's Addison County (VT) Independent reports that under the settlement, nearly finalized, Middlebury Union High School will grant Youth Alive essentially the same benefits as other co-curricular clubs. A lawsuit filed last October charged the school district with violations of the Equal Access Act as well as the 1st and 14th Amendments. (See prior posting.)

Denial of Variance For Church Sign Upheld Under RLUIPA

In Trinity Assembly of God of Baltimore City, Inc. v. People's Counsel, (MD Ct. Spec. App., Feb. 6, 2008), a Maryland appellate court upheld Baltimore City's denial of a zoning variance for a large sign that a church proposed to erect near an expressway. The center part of the sign would carry electronically changeable messages. Rejecting the church's RLUIPA challenge to the zoning denial, the court said:

[T]he Church has not been denied any use of a sign as a means of evangelism, but only the non-conforming use of a sign that cannot be as large and eye-catching as the Church might desire. Denial of its variance request burdens the Church’s religious exercise, but not substantially, so as to make any use of a sign for uplift and recruitment "effectively impracticable" or to compel the congregants to "violate [their religious] beliefs.” The Board properly interpreted the “substantial burden” standard in RLUIPA; and, on the record before it, did not err in concluding that the Church did not meet that standard.

Reporting on the decision, yesterday's Baltimore Sun said that opponents of the sign were concerned about visual clutter and distraction of motorists. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Real ID Photo Requirement Creates Problems For Religious Objectors

CNet News yesterday reported on the problem created for a number of religious groups by new drivers' license and identification card standards imposed by the federal Real ID Act. New regulations (full text) being phased in require states to have a full facial digital photo of the licensed driver on each license. 37 CFR Sec. 37.17 also provides that veils, scarves or headdresses must not obscure any facial features and not generate shadow. Beginning May 11, 2008, federal agencies will only accept drivers' licenses and identity cards from states that have been determined to be in compliance with the new federal regulations. A number of states presently allow religious exemptions from photo requirements for groups such as some Amish or Old Order Mennonites who object to being photographed, and for others who insist for religious reasons on keeping their faces veiled. The new federal regulations have no religious exeptions. The National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom has met twice with Homeland Security officials to talk about a compromise-- such as using fingerprints instead of photos-- but so far there has been little progress.

First Orthodox Jewish Member of New Hampshire Legislature Profiled

Today's Concord Monitor carries an interesting profile of New Hampshire state representative Jason Bedrick, the first Orthodox Jew elected to the New Hampshire legislature. Growing up as a non-observant Jew who attended a Catholic high school, Bedrick became religiously observant in college. One of his most complicated challenges has been campaigning while following the religious mandate that prevents him from shaking hands with women. Bedrick's main legislative issue is school choice, and he has endorsed Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, for president.

Dutch Government Cited By EC For Anti-Discrimination Exception

Last week, the European Commission notified eleven member states that they have failed to fully implement the EU's rules prohibiting discrimination in employment. (Press release.) Yesterday Radio Netherlands reported on the problem the EC found with the Dutch antidiscrimination law. The law allows religiously sponsored educational instituitons to refuse employment to teachers whose lifestyle conflicts with the principles of a school. In practice, this means that Christian schools can refuse to hire gays and lesbians. The government has two months to respond to the EC's complaint, after which it could be referred to the European Court.

Website Tracks References To Faith By Presidential Contenders

Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs has created a web page titled Faith 2008. It tracks references to faith and religion in the statements of the candidates of both parties in the 2008 race for U.S. President. Quotes can be sorted by candidate, topic area or date.

Israel Creates New State Conversion Authority

In Israel, according to yesterday's Jerusalem Post, the Ministerial Committee on Immigration, Absorption and the Diaspora has approved creating a new State Conversion Authority to speed up the conversion process for some 150,000 immigrants who would like to become Jews. These are individuals who came to Israel as family members of Jews, but who are not Jewish by halachic (Jewish law) standards. In a related step, ten new salaried rabbinic judges were added to the 22 already serving in conversion courts. However, the Cabinet has not yet implemented another recommendation-- that 50 volunteer rabbinic judges also be added. The new judges would be appointed by Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who would select judges who would be more lenient in approving conversions. The current conversion court judges have often been criticized for insisting on too stringent a level of religious observance from conversion candidates. The appointment of the additional judges has been delayed over concern about the legality of using unpaid government officials.

Petition For En Banc Rehearing Filed In Curry v. Hensinger

A petition for en banc rehearing (full text) has been filed with the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Curry v. Hensinger. In the case, a 3-judge panel last month upheld a school principal's decision barring a fifth-grader from selling candy canes with religious material attached as part of a classroom project to learn about marketing. (See prior posting.) In a release announcing the filing of the petition, the Alliance Defense Fund argued that the panel decision was an "astonishing departure from fundamental First Amendment principles."

Pakistan Plans Non-Muslim Worship Facilities In Prisons

Asia News reported yesterday that Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, Ansar Burney, toured several of his country's prisons and announced a number of reforms. Among them were plans to construct places of worship for non-Muslims inside Pakistan's correctional facilities. Before the project can begin, Pakistan's finance minnister must approve funding for it.

British Court Refuses Temporary Relief For Sikh Teenager Seeking To Wear Bangle

In Britain, London's High Court has refused to grant temporary relief to a Sikh school girl who wishes to be able to wear a religious wrist bangle to school, in violation of the school's rule against wearing jewelry other than a wrist watch and plain earnings. (See prior posting.) Yesterday's Daily Mail reports that lawyers for Sarika Watkins-Singh argued that she should be permitted to wear her Kara bangle on her wrist under a long-sleeved jumper until there is a final ruling in her challenge to the school's dress code. Lawyers for Aberdare Girls School in south Wales said that even a temporary exception to its dress code would cause disruption, and the judge agreed.

Kansas Supreme Court Temporarily Quashes Subpoenas In Abortion Probe

In Wichita, Kansas, an unusual voter-initiated grand jury is investigating whether abortion provider George Tiller violated Kansas law by performing late-term abortions. (See prior posting.) Yesterday, the Kansas Supreme court issued a temporary order (full text) quashing subpoenas for medical records of 2000 women who have sought late-term abortions at the Women's Health Care Services clinic. The court said that petitioners have raised significant isssues of patient privacy, as well as issues of a judge's role in grand jury proceedings and a grand jury's authority to issue subpoenas. Today's Wichita Eagle reports that while the subpoenaed records were to have the women's names removed from them, Tiller's lawyers argued that this does not assure patient privacy. Apparently in an earlier investigation, former state Attorney General Phil Kline was able to cross-reference information in redacted medical files with a guest roster at a motel near the Tiller's clinic to find patients' names.

UK's Charity Guidelines Published; Religious Groups Lose Public Benefit Presumption

In Britain today, the Charity Commission-- the regulatory body governing charities in England and Wales-- issued lengthy guidelines interpreting the requirement in the Charities Act of 2006 that all charities must establish that they are created for "public benefit". (Press release.) The full text of the Guidance, Charities and Public Benefit, along with three other documents explaining an analyzing the Guidance are available at the Commission's website. The new policies go into effect April 1, 2008. Previously there was a presumption that charities devoted to advancing education or religion or relieving poverty met the public benefit requirement. As required by the Charities Act, under the new Guidelines this presumption is removed and every organization wishing to be recognized as a charity must demonstrate explicitly that its aims are for the public benefit. Of particular interest to religious groups is this exceprt from the Guidelines (Part D.6.) :

Our approach to decisions about what is charitable, and what is or is not for the public benefit, will be influenced by what is relevant and appropriate for current social and economic conditions....

This does not mean that we would regard anything that is seen as ‘old’ or ‘old-fashioned’ as necessarily ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’, nor does it just mean recognising as charitable things that are popular today. For example, it is not within the Charity Commission’s remit to look into traditional, long-held religious beliefs or to seek to modernise them.

(See prior related posting.)

Minnesota Court Says Concealed-Carry Law Cannot Be Enforced Against Churches

Yesterday in Edina Community Lutheran Church v. State of Minnesota, (MN Ct. App., Feb. 5, 2008), a Minnesota state appellate court upheld the objections of two churches to enforcement against them of the Minnesota Citizens' Personal Protection Act of 2005. The law requires that before a church can refuse entry to someone carrying a firearm, it must post a specific sign at each entrance or personally inform each person that guns are prohibited. The law also prevents churches from banning guns in their parking lots and from prohibiting tenants from carrying guns on church property. The churches argued that the law's requirements interfere with the churches' belief in welcoming visitors, and prevent churches from limiting tenants' use to those consistent with the churches' commitment to nonviolence.

Invoking the state constitution's freedom of conscience clause, the court held broadly that these requirements burden a church's exercise of religious belief. It concluded that the state failed to show a compelling interest in enforcing the provisions against churches. It also held that the trial court's grant of an injunction against enforcement of the law did not violate the Establishment Clause of the state and federal constitutions. Finally the court conluded that the state's carry-concealed law is not a "land use regulation" covered by RLUIPA. Yesterday's Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on the decision. (See prior relataed posting.)

Omaha Rejects Street Sign Honoring Madalyn Murray O'Hair

The Omaha (NE) City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to reject a request to put up a commemorative street sign to honor Madalyn Murray O'Hair, founder of American Athiests. O'Hair was the plaintiff in Murray v. Curlett, the 1963 Supreme Court case (decided together with Abington School District v. Schempp) that struck down prayer and Bible reading in public schools. Yesterday's Omaha World Herald reports that Raymond Zbylut had asked Council to erect the sign to honor O'Hair's work to protect civil rights. O'Hair is not from Omaha. Explaining the Council vote, Councilman Jim Vokal said: "Most people in Omaha believe in God, and naming a street after this individual didn't match the community." [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

In Spain, Church Is At Odds With PSOE Party As Elections Appoach

CNS News and the World Socialist Web Site today both report on the growing tensions in Spain between the Catholic Church and the country's ruling Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), as the country's March 9 elections approach. The Catholic Bishops have been attacking the PSOE's policies on abortion and same-sex marriage, as well as the government's dealings with the Basque separatist group ETA. Under Church pressure the PSOE has removed from its platform a call for extending aboirtion rights. Meanwhile, on January 30, the Spanish Bishops Conference issued a statement declaring that although: "Catholics may support and join different parties, it is also true that not all [electoral] programmes are equally compatible with the faith and Christian demands in life."