Clinton-Obama Debate Includes Discussion of Anti-Semitism

The debate between Sens. Clinton and Obama in Cleveland last night (full transcript) for the first time focused on the issue of anti-Semitism (beginning here in the transcript). Moderator Tim Russert asked Sen. Obama whether he accepts the recently announced endorsement by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan who once called Judaism a "gutter religion". In a lengthy exchange, Obama said: "I have been very clear in my denunciation of Minister Farrakhan's anti-Semitic comments." Obama pointed to strong support from the Jewish community and added that "what I want to do is rebuild what I consider to be a historic relationship between the African-American community and the Jewish community." Sen. Clinton responded that Obama should not just "denounce" Farrakhan's remarks, but should "reject" his support, citing a parallel situation in her 2000 campaign for the Senate. Obama responded: "There's no formal offer of help from Minister Farrakhan that would involve me rejecting it. But if the word 'reject' Senator Clinton feels is stronger than the word 'denounce,' then I'm happy to concede the point, and I would reject and denounce."

Israeli Court Imposes Fine For Violating Law On Sabbath Employment

In Israel, according to a report in today's Haaretz, a Beersheva Regional Labor Court has fined a store owner for employing Jewish employees on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. The owner of the store "Melekh HaJungle" had argued that he had no way of knowing the employees' religion since it did not appear on their identity cards. He said most of the store's employees are of Russian descent which makes it difficult to determine their religion.

EU Criticizes Iran's Proposed Penal Code Provisions On Religion

Reuters reports today that the European Union has called on Iran to drop provisions in its proposed Penal Code that would impose the death penalty for apostasy, heresy and witchcraft. In a statement, EU's presidency said that the proposed law violates Iran's obligations under international human rights conventions. (See prior related posting.)

White House Issues Report on Faith-Based Initiative

Yesterday, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives issued a comprehensive report titled The Quiet Revolution: The President's Faith-Based and Community Initiative: A Seven-Year Progress Report. Here is a link to the Fact Sheet on the report. Here are links to other portions of the Report: Letter From President Bush; Executive Summary ; Chapter 1: A Determined Attack On Need; Chapter 2: Transforming Government; Chapter 3: Strengthening the Private Sector; Chapter 4: Measurement Matters; Chapter 5: Taking Root Across America ; The President's Faith-Based and Community Initiative in 50 States: A Report to the Nation's Governors. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Iowa Ends Controversial Faith-Based Prison Program

Iowa officials have notified Prison Fellowship Ministires that its faith-based InnerChange program will be ended in Iowa prisons in mid-March. Sunday's Des Moines Register reported that under the state's contract with the program, the state can teminiate it if enrollment falls belaow 60 inmates. That will happen when 27 prisoners graduate from the program on March 14. Last year the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the program could no longer be run on government funding. Since then it has been funded privately, but the state ended new enrollments by prisoners in the program.

Australian Sikhs Protest Two Incidents

Sikhs in Australia are expresseing concern over discrimination after two unrelated incidents, according to today's Daily India. In one case a Sikh family has filed a complaint with Queensland's Anti-Discrimination Commission saying that the exclusive Ormiston College had refused to admit their 12-year old son because his long hair and turban would violate the school's uniform policy. (Brisbane Times). In the other case, Brisbane airport security officials required 13 Sikhs to remove their turbans and a Muslim woman to remove her face veil.

Court Rejects Free Exercise Challenge To Abortion Picketing Law

In Brown v. City of Pittsburgh, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13463 (WD PA, Feb. 22, 2008), a Pennsylvania federal district court refused to grant a preliminary injunction against enforcing Pittsburgh's ordinance limiting picketing, demonstations and handbilling near abortion clinics. Among the arguments rejected by the court was the claim that the ordinance infringes the free exercise rights and the rights under the Pennsylvania Religious Freedom Act of plaintiff who wishes to engage in sidewalk counseling and leafleting near three reproductive health clinics.

Watchdog Group Challenges Congressional Earmarks On Establishment Clause Grounds

Yesterday, Americans United sent a letter (full text) to the Attorney General and to three other cabinet secretaries calling attention to a number of Congressional earmarks for fiscal year 2008 that raise church-state concerns. According to AU's press release, the letter identifies ten grants to religious groups that appear to violate the Establishment Clause and 16 others that merit further investigation.

Women in Turkey Test New University Headscarf Rules

In Turkey, yesterday was the first day of classes since the country's president, Abdullah Gul, signed into law a constitutional amendment permitting the wearing of headscarves at universities. However, the administration had ordered that only headscarves tied in a bow under the chin could be worn. Yesterday's Washington Post reported on the experience of women students testing whether universities would comply with the new rules. BBC News reported that some univerisities were refusing to permit headscarves as Turkey's main opposition party says it will ask the Constitutional Court to invalidate the new provisions. (See prior related posting.)

Michigan City To Consider New Invocation Guidelines

City Council in Port Huron, Michigan today plans to consider a written policy that would permit the invocation at its meetings to be led only by a minister from a recognized church in the community. Sunday's Port Huron Times Herald reported that the proposal was initiated after Khalil "Casey" Chaudry, an atheist, was refused permission to lead the invocation on the grounds that he wanted to use the time for a protest. Chaudry then used public speaking time to suggest that Council's unwritten policies be formalized. The proposed new policy will also limit any individual minister to three invocations per year, and will call for inviting ministers from all churches in the yellow pages to deliver the opening prayer. Also the invocation will be removed from the formal agenda and will instead be offered before the meeting is called to order. Finallly the mayor will no longer tell those wishing to participate to stand and bow their heads. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Pakistan Blocks YouTube Access Over Anti-Islamic Content

Monday's Guardian reports that Pakistan's Telecommunications Authority has blocked Internet access to YouTube because of anti-Islamic film clips posted on the site. Apparently the move was triggered by the posting of a trailer for an upcoming film by Dutch politician Geert Wilders. (See prior posting.) The government said it is also blocking access to websites carrying objectionable Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

UPDATE: Technical errors in blocking access to YouTube led to a loss of access for up to two hours on Sunday to the wesite for two-thirds of the world's Internet users-- particularly those in Asia. CBN News reported on Monday that the unintended extension of the ban outside of Pakistan resulted from an international data carrier in Hong Kong routing traffic to YouTube through Pakistan.

Recent Prisoner Free Excercise Cases

In Smith v. Kyler, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12586 (MD PA, Feb. 20, 2008), a Pennsylvania federal district court rejected the claims of a Rastafarian prisoner that his free exercise and equal protection rights, as well as his rights under RLUIPA, were violated by authorities' refusal to provide weekly group prayer services led by a Rastafarian prayer leader.

In Lane-El v. Indiana Department of Corrections, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13192 (SD IN, Feb. 20, 2008), an Indiana federal district court rejected plaintiffs' claims that their free exercise and equal protection rights, as well as their rights under the Indiana constitution, were violated when the Assistant Superintendent at Pendleton Correctional Instituiton temporarily suspended religious activities of the Moorish Science Temple of America. The suspension was ordered so that officials could investigate claims that inmates were being charged money to have their names placed on the list of those who could attend Moorish Science services.

In Odom v. Dixion, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11748, (WD NY, Feb. 15, 2008), a New York federal magistrate judge dismissed, for failure to demonstrate proof, claims by a prisoner that his constitutional rights were violated by the denial of properly prepared kosher meals.

In Scott v. High Desert State Prison, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12170, (ED CA, February 6, 2008), a California federal magistrate judge dismissed, with leave to amend, a prisoner's RLUIPA complaint that was too vague for the court to determine whether or not it was frivolous. Plaintiff, a member of the House of Yahweh, alleged that religious vendors were not approved and prison chaplains were ordered to deprive him of his right to religious activities.

In Bridgewater v. Scribner, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12264 (ED CA, Feb. 6, 2008), a California federal magistrate judge permitted a Muslim prisoner to continue with his claim that his free exercise rights were violated when was prevented from attending a festival to commemorate one of the five holy pillars of Islam. However, plaintiff was required to file an amended complaint if he wished to proceed as to certain of the defendants.

Public Officials Criticize NC Schools' Requirement For Speakers

The Wake County, North Carolina schools have irritated a number of public officials by instituting a new policy requiring all guest speakers at schools to sign a form promising they will not denigrating any culture, race, gender, national origin or religion, that they will provide accurate information, and acknowledging that appropriate attire, language and behavior are required. The new policy was implemented after problems with an invited speaker last year at Raleigh's Enloe High School who called Islam a religion of violence. Today's Raleigh News Observer and Myrtle Beach Sun News report that Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison and Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly say it is insulting to ask public officials to sign this kind of statement before they are permitted to speak.

Bulgarian Government Proposes New Religion Courses In Schools

In Bulgaria, the Ministry of Education has proposed introducing new courses in religion in the country's schools. AFP reported yesterday that the proposed courses would cover the basic history and beliefs of the world's different religions. Courses would be mandatory in elementary schools and would be electives for students in secondary schools. Education Miniser Daniel Valtchev said that the proposal would be implemented only if there is "aminimum of consensus". Yesterday's Sofia Echo reports on the mixed reactions of various religious leaders in the country. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

9-11 Families Argue Free Exercise In Claim For Access To Debris

A hearing was held on Friday in federal district court in New York City in a suit by family members of 9-11 victims who want to be able to sift through 1.8 million tons of landfill debris at Fresh Kills landfill to search for human remains that may still be there in the Ground Zero material that was dumped at the landfill. Today's New York Times reports that, among other things, the families argued that their free exercise of religion is infringed by their being denied the right to give their loved ones a proper burial. Federal Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein suggested that victims' families should instead settle for a memorial at the landfill site.

Report Says Anti-Semitism At UC Irvine Is Real

Yesterday's Los Angeles Jewish Journal reported on last week's release of a Task Force Report on Anti-Semitism at the University of California Irvine (full text of Report). The Task Force, formed by the Hillel Foundation of Orange County, was set up in December 2006. It has created its own blog to report on developments in its investigation. The 34-page report concluded:

The acts of anti-Semitism are real and well documented. Jewish students have been harassed. Hate speech has been unrelenting. For one week each year, UCI, a Public University has been turned into a vehicle to promote historical distortions, partially through the use of hateful anti-Semitic symbolisms, while the administration has remained silent or when pressed, issued generalizations about hate speech that does not name the hate speakers. This leads to the impression that there is equivalent hate speech from the Jewish students when there is not. Furthermore, such hate speech and gross distortions have an effect on non-Jewish students as well. These students can easily be led to accept the anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist conclusions portrayed by the Muslim Student Union and the invited hate speakers.

A press release by the Task Force further outlines its conclusions and recommendations. Students agree that the situation today is less volatile that it was two years ago.

University Student Senate Prayer Questioned

A controversy over a new variation on legislative prayer is brewing at Texas A&M University. The Battalion, the student newpaper, has carried a series of letters debating the practice of opening Student Senate meetings with a prayer (as well as a pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag and the Texas flag). An article by a graduate student published last Tuesday objects to the practice. Responses to the article were published on Wednesday and today.

Muslim Student Groups Debate Membership Restrictions

Yesterday's New York Times reports on the debate in Muslim student organizations at colleges and universities over memership restrictions. At issue is how strictly they enforce gender separation at their events or require members to adhere to strict practices required by Islamic law. Organizations at private colleges tend to be more liberal, but those at state colleges tend to attract Muslim students from local families who are conservative and want their children to remain closer to home. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Italian Judge Sentenced For Refusing To Work While Crucifix Is In His Courtroom

In a long-running legal proceeding, Italian Judge Luigi Tosti yesterday was sentenced to one year in prison for refusing to hear cases in his courtroom so long as a crucifix remains on display on the wall. AFP reported on the court's decision. Tosti, who is Jewish, says that courtrooms in Italy should be religiously neutral-- despite a 1926 Justice Ministry directive requiring crosses to be displayed. (See prior posting.)

Texas Sect Leader Released After Bond Is Reduced

In Baird, Texas, 73-year old House of Yahweh founder Yisrayl Bill Hawkins was released from jail on Wednesday after State District Judge John Wilson Weeks reduced his bond from $10 million to $100,000.The AP reports that Hawkins is charged on four counts of promoting bigamy among members of his religious sect.

Amish Fined For Refusing To Put Reflectors or Lights On Buggies

In Mayfield, Kentucky yesterday, Graves County District Judge Deborah Crooks found three Amish men guilty of failing to put flashing lights or reflective orange triangles on their horse-drawn buggies. The AP reports that the defendants were convicted despite their contention that the state's requirements for slow-moving vehicles conflict with their religious beliefs. Each defendant was fined $20 plus court costs.

NY Archdiocese Campaigns Against Reproductive Health Law

The Catholic Archdiocese of New York has launched a campaign to oppose Governor Eliot Spitzer proposed Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act. The Act would create a fundamental right for women to choose or refuse contraception or abortion (before viability or for health reasons). Supporters of the law say it is designed to assure that abortion remains legal in New York even should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade. Opponents say it goes further than that. A report by Catholic News Agency yesterday says that Catholics are particularly concerned about a provision barring the state from discriminating against abortion rights in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information. The Archdiocese is concerned about the impact of that provision on granting of licenses to Catholic agencies. It would like an explicit exemption in the law for institutions owned or operated by religious organizations. The bill's sponsors say an existing "conscience clause" in state law would protect Catholic hospitals and agencies.

Native Hawaiian Group Sues Army Over Access To Religious Sites

In Hawaii, a group representing Native Hawaiians filed suit yesterday against the U.S. Army to enforce compliance with a 2001 settlement that was supposed to open up over 100 sacred religious sites on the Makua Military Reservation on Oahu. ENS and the Honolulu Advertiser report on the federal lawsuit filed by Earthjustice (press release) on behalf of Malama Makua. The suit alleges that in 2005 the Army cut off access to all but one of the over a dozen cultural sites that had originally been opened, citing concerns about unexploded ordnance. The lawsuit asks the court to order the Army to move more quickly to implement the 2001 settlement that arose out of a challenge to the failure to prepare an environmental impact statement. Sparky Rodrigues, Malama Makua president, said: "To connect with our ancestors, 'aumakua [family gods] and akua [gods], we have to be able to walk up to cultural sites, oli [chant] and present ho'okupu [offerings]." The Army says it provided access to two more sites on Feb. 10 after making sure they were cleared of unexploded shells.

NFL Reverses Position on Church Super Bowl Parties

Today's Washington Post reports that the NFL has reversed its prior stand and will no longer object to churches hosting Super Bowl parties featuring large-screen TVs. Earlier, the League said that these showing violated federal copyright law. (See prior posting.) However, in a Feb. 19 letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that starting next year, the league will not object to "live showings -- regardless of screen size -- of the Super Bowl" by religious organizations as long as the showings are free and are on premises that the church uses on a "routine and customary" basis. Sen Arlen Specter had already introduced legislation that would have changed the copyright law to permit churches to show televised football games. (See prior posting.)

Jordan Expels A Number Of Foreign Evangelical Christians

The Jerusalem Post and Earth Times yesterday reported that Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh for the first time has officially acknowledged that Jordan has expelled a number of foreign evangelical Christians who enterd the country under the "pretext" of carrying out charitable work, but instead engaged in preaching activities. Jordan's Council of Churches, however, issued a statement supporting the government and criticizing the foregn missonaries. It said in part: "It is puzzling that certain small groups with a few hundred members and which are foreign to Christians in Jordan and to the history of Muslim-Christian relations, permit themselves to speak in the name of Christians and act as protectors of Christianity as if it were in danger." Jordanian law requires government approval of religious activities, whether by Christians or Muslims.

School Board Debates Religious Absence Procedure

In Lynchburg, Virginia, the City School Board is debating a suggestion by its attorney for a "simplified" process to be used to request an excused absence for a student on religious grounds. Tuesday's Lynchburg News & Advance reports that the proposal would require a written statement explaining how religious beliefs conflict with the child's attendance, signed by both parents, and by the child if he or she is older than 14. In addition parents would be required to submit a written statement from "a friend and/or member of the clergy corroborating" religious beliefs. Finally both the parents and the child, if older than 14, would be required to sign a "Statement of Belief" form. School board member Darin Gerdes said the proposed simplification of the exemption proces is "a lawsuit waiting to happen". The Board has asked its attorney to revise the proposal before the Board's March 4 meeting. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Turkish Parliament Passes Bill Returning Properties To Religious Foundations

On Wednesday, Turkey's Parliament by a vote of 242-72 approved a law to allow foundations belonging to the Christian and Jewish communities to reclaim property seized by the government around 1974, so long as it is still owned by the government and has not been transfered to third parties. The International Herald Tribune reports that the law was enacted in response to pressure from the European Union. The law also allows Muslim foundations to receive aid from foreign countries. A similar foundations bill was approved in November 2006, but it was vetoed by then Turkish president Ahmet Necdet Sezer. (See prior posting.) This time, President Abdullah Gul is expected to sign the measure.

Supreme Court Denies Review In Two Cases of Interest

The U.S. Supreme Court denied review yesterday (order list) in two cases of interest. It denied certiorari in Archdiocese of Washington v. Moersen, (Case No. 07-323). The Maryland court of Appeals below had held that a Catholic church organist could pursue a Title VII employment discrimination claim, finding that his job position was not covered by the "ministerial exception" to Title VII. (See prior posting.)

The Court also denied a petition for a writ of mandamus and/or prohibition in In re Westboro Baptist Church, Inc., (Case No. 07-626). The unusual petition to the Court was filed by the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church and its leaders. They were seeking to overturn a $10.9 million federal jury verdict awarded to the father of a deceased Marine whose funeral was picketed by Westboro members. (See prior posting.) Apparently the damage award has not deterred Westboro members. Yesterday's Arlington Heights (IL) Daily Herald reported that three members of the church showed up to picket two different funerals for victims of last week's shooting at Northern Illinois University. [Thanks to Steve Sheinberg for the lead.]

Florida Adopts New Science Standards Calling For Teaching of Evolution

The Florida State Board of Education yesterday, by a vote of 4-3, adopted new standards for the teaching of science which, for the first time, explicitly refer to evolution, instead of to vaguer terms such as "change over time". (South Florida Sun Sentinel; Miami Herald). Board member Donna Callaway was unable to muster a second for her motion to add an "academic freedom" provision that would have given teachers the explicit permission to engage students in a critical analysis of the evidence on evolution. (NCSE release.) The new standards say evolution is "the fundamental concept underlying all of biology and is supported by multiple forms of scientific evidence." However, in a concession to religious proponents, the phrase "the scientific theory of" was added before references to evolution, big bang, plate tectonics, cells, atoms, and electromagnetism. The phrase "the law of" was added before mentions of gravity, universal gravitation, conservation of energy and conservation of mass. (Summary of adopted changes.) Brandon Haught, communications director for Florida Citizens for Science, praised the new standards, even with the changes, saying: "They're light years ahead of what's been used in the state." (See prior related posting.)

British Tribunal Rules Church Organist Is Protected By Employment Rights Act

Today's London Times reports that an employment tribunal in the North of England has held that a church organist is an "employee" protected from unfair dismissal by the Employement Rights Act of 1996. A tribunal order prohibits identifying the organist or the church involved in the case. The status of organists employed by the Church of England has been unclear. Mark Mansell, a British employment law attorney, said: "there is a movement away from treating people who work for the Church as people with a calling and towards treating them as a member of staff." A hearing will now be held on whether the dismissal of the eminent organist and choirmaster who filed the lawsuit was for a permissible reason.

Students' Rights To Wear Religious Attire Debated In Mauritius

The right of students to wear religious attire has now become an issue in the African island nation of Mauritius. L'express today reports on the case of a 15-year old Muslim student who was expelled several weeks ago from Eastern College in Flacq for wearing her "tious" (traditional trousers) under her school uniform. Yesterday the country's Muslim Women’s Council held a press conference to protest the school's action.

Saudi Religious Police Defend Arrest of Businesswoman

In Saudi Arabia, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has posted an unusal statement on the Internet defending the arrest of a U.S. businesswoman living with her husband in Saudi Arabia. Today's London Times reports that the woman, identified only as Yara, is a managing partner in a finance company in Riyadh. She was arrested earlier this month as she was having coffee with a male colleague (a Syrian financial analyst) at a Starbucks. She claims she was strip searched and made to place her fingerprints on a confession in Arabic that she could not understand. (Muslim News, Feb. 10.) These allegations are denied by the religious police.

In their posting, the religious police said: "It's not allowed for any woman to travel alone and sit with a strange man and talk and laugh and drink coffee together like they are married. All of these are against the law.... First, for a woman to work with men is against the law and against religion. Second, the family sections at coffee shops and restaurants are meant for families and close relatives." The religious police say they will sue two newspaper columnists who defended Yara. The Mutaween say the columnists are spreading lies that give the wrong idea of Saudi Arabia.

Oklahoma City Settles Suit Over Christmas Decorations Policy

City Council in Oklahoma City voted yesterday to approve a settlement in a lawsuit that was filed last year by two city employees who challenged the city's policy on religious Christmas decorations in work areas and its policy on use of the employee break room for reading the Bible. (See prior posting.) Under the settlement, according to yesterday's Oklahoman, the city will clarify its rules on religious decorations, the city manager will make a public statement, and the city will pay plaintiffs' attorneys fees.

Belarus Decree Imposes New Limits On Foreign Religious Workers

Forum 18 today reports that in Belarus, the Council of Ministers last month issued a new decree (full text in Russian) giving the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs complete discretion to refuse-- without giving reasons-- a visa for the travel of invited foreign religious workers to the country. The decree creates a more detailed application procedure for visits, and permits the government to shorten the time for which a worker is invited to that necessary for achieving the purpose of the visit. The Religion Law already allows only registered religious associations to invite workers. The new rules will have their greatest impact on the Catholic and Jewish communities in Belarus. Meanwhile, a petition with over 50,000 signatures is about to be presented to officials asking for liberalization of the country's 2002 Law on Religion.

As Castro Resigns, His Relationship With Catholic Church Is Profiled

As Cuban leader Fidel Castro last night announced that he is retiring, Catholic News Service reviews his "often stormy relationship" with Cuba's Catholic Church. Catholics initially supported the Jesuit-educated Castro's revolution. However in the 1960's, Castro nationalized 350 Catholic schools and expelled 136 priests. Churches were limited to holding religious services on church property and social action projects were banned. Cubans were discouraged from attending church and those who did were discriminated against in state and university employment. In the 1970's, though, Castro cultivated relationships with non-Cuban Marxist Catholic intellectuals. In the late 1990's Castro's relations with the Church improved as Castro met with Pope John Paul in the Vatican and the Pope visited Cuba.

Battle Over Charitable Choice Language Looming In Senate

Today's Washington Times reports that a behind-the-scenes battle is shaping up over the charitable choice provisions in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Act. Groups that are part of the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination want language removed that allows religious groups receiving funds under the Act to limit their hiring to members of their own faith. A coalition of religious groups is attempting to have the language retained in the reauthorization so they can continue to favor members of their own faith when hiring for federally-funded substance abuse programs. (SAMHSA Charitable Choice Regulations.) The charitable choice language was first placed in SAMHSA near the end of the Clinton administration. Some say that removing the language from SAMHSA would be a first step toward eliminating similar provisions from various other federal programs as well.

Hudsonville, MI Resident Wants God Removed From City's Website

Hudsonville, Michigan's official website sets out the following as part of city government's Mission Statement: "The City Commission and Administration of the City of Hudsonville strive to serve God through the strengthening of family and community life and are committed to excellence in providing quality municipal services." According to an AP story yesterday, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, acting on behalf of a Hudsonville resident, has asked the city to remove the reference to God. The city's mayor has no comment until he talks with the city's lawyers.

UPDATE: WZZM13 reported on Feb. 25 that Hudsonville Mayor Don VanDoeselaar said that the city will not change its mission statement. He said that the city is on solid legal ground. [Thanks to Steve Sheinberg for the lead.]

Honolulu Drops Land Use Charges Against Church

In Honolulu, Hawaii, The Ark Christian Center has reached an agreement with the city and county that will result in dismissal of a citation against the church. A press release by the Alliance Defense Fund explained that officials threatened to enforce a zoning rule against the church without citing other nonreligious groups that were also in violation. At issue is a provision prohibiting "meeting facilities" from locating within 1,000 feet of one another in light industrial zones. ADF attorneys represented the church in the negotiations that led to the agreement permitting The Ark to finish out its current lease.

Church of England Faces New Pressures Toward Disestablishment

The influential British magazine, The Economist, last week called for disestablishing the Church of England. In an editorial titled Sever Them, it says in part:

England has an established church whose authority has been intertwined with the state's for five centuries.... The queen is its head; Parliament approves its prayer book; and only last year did the prime minister relinquish the right to select its bishops, 25 of whom sit in the House of Lords.... It makes no sense in a pluralistic society to give one church special status. Nor does it make sense, in a largely secular country, to give special status to all faiths. The point of democracies is that the public arena is open to all groups—religious, humanist or football fans. The quality of the argument, not the quality of the access to power, is what matters. And citizens, not theocrats, choose.... Disestablishing the Church of England does not mean that it has no public role to play.... Let religion compete in the marketplace for ideas, not seek shelter behind special privileges.

Spero News carries an article commenting upon The Economist editorial. Meanwhile Sunday's London Telegraph reported that senior bishops in the Church of England fear that last year's decision (referred to by The Economist) giving the General Synod of the Church more power in selecting bishops could lead to disestablishment. Prime Minister Gordon Brown agreed to give up the government's role in the selection of bishops. Traditionally the Prime Minister would choose between two names presented to him by the Church's Crown Nominations Commission. A recent a survey of the General Synod found that 63% of its members think disestablishment will come within a generation.

Israel's Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Will Return To Supreme Rabbinical Court

In the complicated religious politics in Israel, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger next month will end his voluntary suspension and return as a member of the country's Supreme Rabbinical Court and as a member of the committee that appoints religious court judges. Metzger is in line to become president of the Supreme Rabbinical Court in six weeks. Metzger had stepped down in the wake of charges that he improperly accepted free stays at a Jerusalem hotel. Haaretz today reports that the Justice Ministry's appointments committee approved Metzger's return, ignoring advice to the contrary from Attorney General Menachem Mazuz and Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann.

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.)