D.C. Circuit Holds Navy Chaplains Lack Standing In Establishment Clause Case

In In re Navy Chaplaincy, (DC Cir., Aug. 1, 2008), the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, dismissed on standing grounds an Establishment Clause challenge by a group of non-liturgical Protestant Navy chaplains to the operation of the Navy's retirement system. Plaintiffs claimed that the system operated to favor Catholic chaplains. Plaintiffs, however, did not allege that they suffered any discrimination, but rather that other chaplains did. They claimed taxpayer standing, and standing as persons who have been subjected to the Navy’s "message" of religious preference. The majority said:

Plaintiffs' argument would extend the religious display and prayer cases in a significant and unprecedented manner and eviscerate well-settled standing limitations. Under plaintiffs’ theory, every government action that allegedly violates the Establishment Clause could be re-characterized as a governmental message promoting religion. And therefore everyone who becomes aware of the "message" would have standing to sue.

Judge Rogers dissented, arguing that plaintiffs' membership in the Chaplains Corps gives them sufficient particularized injury to meet the Article III standing requirements. (See prior related posting.)

Westboro Baptist Church Fire Called Hate Crime By Church's Leader

On Saturday morning, according to a report by PageOneQ, a fire broke out at Topeka, Kansas Westboro Baptist Church causing from $10,000 to $30,000 damage. Westboro has gained national notoriety by its activities in picketing military funerals and other events with signs condemning America's tolerance for homosexuality. The Church's pastor, Fred Phelps, sent a hate crime complaint to the Justice Department and other law enforcement agencies on Sunday, charging that the fire was motivated by religious hatred. (WIBW). Meanwhile, in a message posted on You Tube, Phelps said: "This is the latest in a long line of criminal acts perpetrated against us by the mean-spirited citizens of this evil, hellbound nation." (PageOneQ report containing the YouTube clip.)

Florida Court Rejects Challenges To November Ballot Initiatives

In Ford v. Browning, (FL 2nd Cir. Ct., Aug. 4, 2008), a Florida trial court has rejected challenges to two initiatives placed on the November ballot by the state's Taxation and Budget Reform Commission. Initiative 7 proposes repeal of a provision in Florida's Constitution that bans use of public funds to aid any religious or sectarian institution. It also adds language barring exclusion of any person or institution from any public program because of religion. Initiative 9 changes language in Florida's constitution regarding public schools to essentially overrule an earlier state supreme court decision striking down school vouchers. The amendment also requires at least 65% of a district's school funding to be spent on classroom instruction. (See prior posting.)

The court held that the two ballot initiatives were within the authority of the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission since they both involve matters relating to taxation or the budgetary process. It also found that the title and ballot summary for Initiative 9 are not misleading to voters. The Florida Times-Union reports on the decision. Alliance Defense Fund issued a release supporting the court's decision. Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced it would appeal the ruling.

Spanish Lawsuit Seeks To Rehabilitate Reputation of Knights Templar

In Spain, a group claiming to be descended from the legendary Knights Templar has filed suit against the Vatican in an attempt to restore the The Templar's reputation. The Association of the Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ has sued, asking the Vatican to recognize the seizure of assets worth 100 billion Euros by Pope Clement V. Yesterday's London Telegraph reports:

The Templars was a powerful secretive group of warrior monks founded by French knight Hugues de Payens after the First Crusade of 1099 to protect pilgrims en route to Jerusalem. They amassed enormous wealth and helped to finance wars waged by European monarchs, but spectacularly fell from grace after the Muslims reconquered the Holy Land in 1244 and rumours surfaced of their heretic practices. The Knights were accused of denying Jesus, worshipping icons of the devil in secret initiation ceremonies, and practising sodomy....

The legal move by the Spanish group ... follows the unprecedented step by the Vatican towards the rehabilitation of the group when last October it released copies of parchments recording the trials of the Knights between 1307 and 1312.... The Chinon parchment revealed that, contrary to historic belief, Clement V had declared the Templars were not heretics but disbanded the order anyway to maintain peace with their accuser, King Philip IV of France.

Court Says Defendant Did Not Show AA Meetings Were Religious

In State of Ohio v. Turner, (OH Ct. App., Aug. 1, 2008), an Ohio appellate court rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to mandatory attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous. The requirement was part of defendant's sentence for driving while intoxicated. The court held that defendant had not introduced sufficient evidence to prove the religious nature of the AA meetings involved.

Utah-Appointed Trustee For FLDS Is Seeking Control of Canadian School

The Toronto Globe and Mail today reports that Bruce Wisan, the special fiduciary appointed by a Utah state court to oversee the assets of the FLDS Church, is moving to take control of an FLDS school in Canada. Wisan has petitioned the British Columbia Supreme Court for permission to take over the Bountiful Elementary-Secondary School, a private school located outside Creston, B.C. Wisan wants the B.C. court to appoint him as trustee to run the school and take title to its assets in order to obtain an equitable distribution of FLDS assets in Canada. He alleges that the organization that runs the school operates it in trust for the UEP. School directors say school property was not acquired for the UEP trust. There is a split among FLDS members in Canada. Some follow former leader Warren Jeffs, while other are led by Canadian Winston Blackmore. (Background.) Jeffs followers have excluded followers of Blackmore from the school. (See prior related posting.)

South Carolina Legislator Says Lord's Prayer In New Display Law Is "Poison Pill"

Last month the Governor of South Carolina signed a bill permitting schools and local governments to post a Foundation of American Government display comprised of 12 documents, including the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer. (See prior posting.) Yesterday's Augusta (GA) Chronicle carries a column by South Carolina state senator Shane Massey who was one of 12 members of the state Senate to vote against including the Lord's Prayer in the permitted documents. He says that the inclusion of the Lord's Prayer, added through an amendment offered by Sen. Brad Hutto, a Democratic opponent of the entire bill, is a "poison pill" that now makes the law "constitutionally suspect". The amendment, which Republicans found it difficult to vote against, was, Massey says, one of several offered in an attempt to kill the bill by opponents who originally objected to inclusion of the 10 Commandments in it.

Recently Scholarly Articles and New Book of Interest

From SSRN:

• Steven J. Heyman, Hate Speech, Public Discourse, and the First Amendment, (in Extreme Speech and Democracy, Ivan Hare, James Weinstein (eds.), Oxford University Press, Forthcoming).
• Maleiha Malik, Religious Freedom and Multiculturalism: R (Shabina Begum) V Denbigh High School, (King's Law Journal, Vol. 19, No. 2 (July 25, 2008)).

From SmartCILP and elsewhere:

• Adam Grieser, Peter Jacques & Richard Witmer, Reconsidering Religion Policy as Violence: Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association, 10 The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Minority Issues 373-396 (2008).
• Osama Siddique & Zahra Hayat, Unholy Speech and Holy Laws: Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan--Controversial Origins, Design Defects, and Free Speech Implications, 17 Minnesota Journal of International Law 303-385 (2008).
• Lisa M. Holmes, Religious Affiliation, Personal Beliefs, and the President's Framing of Judicial Nominees, 56 Drake Law Review 679-704 (2008).
• Christine L. Nemacheck, Have Faith in Your Nominee? The Role of Candidate Religious Beliefs in Supreme Court Selection Politics, 56 Drake Law Review 706-728 (2008).
• Symposium: Educational Choice: Emerging Legal and Policy Issues, 2008 BYU Law Review 227-592 [full text of all articles].
• Andrew P. Morriss, Bootleggers, Baptists and Televangelists, Regulation, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 26-31, Summer 2008.
• The Spring 2008 issue (Vol. 50, No. 2) of the Journal of Church and State has recently been issued. [Table of Contents].

New Book:

• Herbert London, America’s Secular Challenge-- The Rise of a New National Religion, (Encounter Books, 2008), reviewed by the Washington Times.

McCain Catholic Outreach Spokesman Criticized

The Arizona Republic reported last week that at least three religious groups have called on John McCain to remove Deal W. Hudson from McCain's national Catholic outreach group. In 1994, Hudson resigned a tenured position at Fordham University after he was accused of having sex with a freshman student. A member of McCain's steering committee said that Catholics reject Hudson as a moral arbiter. In 2004, Hudson left George W. Bush's re-election campaign after the Fordham incident was publicized. However the McCain campaign has been resisting the calls for Hudson's ouster.

Israel's Chief Rabbi Backs Off Appointing More Conversion Court Judges

In Israel, the ongoing battle over conversions to Judaism and the staffing of the government's conversion courts continues. Haaretz reports today that Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar has backed off his agreement to appoint more judges to conversion courts. A year ago, a committee headed by Absorption Ministry Director General Erez Halfon recommended the increase in order to ease the backlog of conversions. After delays in approval of the report by the government, finally two weeks ago Amar indicated his agreement and even sent letters to 22 appointees. However the current 25 judges of religious courts filed an objection with the Civil Service Commission, and Amar refused to finally approve the new judges. Critics say the current judges' objections stem from their concern about loss of income. They are paid for each court session they hold. This often leads to their holding more than one court session to approve a conversion. New judges would cut down the number of cases handled by current judges, and would reduce their income.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Hudson v. Dennehy, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56789 (D MA, July 25, 2008), a Massachusetts federal district court awarded a Boston law firm $237,299.25 in attorneys' fees and $13,630.17 in costs in connection with litigation in which the firm successfully vindicated the right of Muslim prisoners in the prison's special management unit to have Halal meals and have access to Friday Ju'mah services through closed circuit television.

In Johnson v. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56978 (SD OH, July 18, 2008), an Ohio federal magistrate judge recommended denial of a temporary restraining order in a Rastafarian inmate's challenge to Ohio prison regulations regarding hair length.

In Hatcher v. Bristol City Sheriff's Office, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57267 (WD VA, July 29, 2008), a Virginia federal district court agreed with prison officials that an inmate could be denied a no-pork diet. the court held that plaintiff "admits that his desire to 'purify' himself so that he can read the Quran has nothing to do with his personal, religious beliefs, but rather, arises from his desire to grow closer to his Shiite father. The descriptions of [his] beliefs in this complaint simply do not demonstrate that a diet including pork substantially burdens his ability to practice those beliefs."

In Sheik v. Wosham, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57295 (ED MO, July 24, 2008), a Missouri federal district court rejected an inmate's complaints about the prison's policy of "referring to him as 'Mark S. Moore a/k/a Sheik Mark Stanton Moore-El,' rather than 'Sheik Mark Stanton Moore-El a/k/a Mark S. Moore'." It also concluded that plaintiff failed to allege any "governmental policy or custom" that resulted in infringement of his right to practice his Ancient Canaanite Moorish religion.

In Hollins v. Gitzelle, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57423 (WD WI, July 22, 2008), a Wisconsin federal district court permitted a Muslim inmate to proceed with claims that he was denied access to Muslim religious services and to Halal food.

In Cartwright v. Meade, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58127 (WD VA, July 31, 2008), a Virginia federal district court upheld prison authorities' seizure of reading materials regarding the Five Percent Nation of Islam. Virginia prison officials had classified the group as a security threat, and its material as gang-related.

The Jackson Hole (WY) Star Tribune (July 30) reported on the settlement of a Native American inmate's lawsuit against the Wyoming State Penitentiary. Andrew Yellowbear Jr. agreed to drop his federal lawsuit after prison authorities agreed that he could possess four eagle feathers for religious purposes. This is a compromise between the 10 feathers that Yellowbear requested, and the one originally allowed by prison authorities.

Court Upholds Arizona Ban on Marijuana Against Religious Freedom Claim

In State of Arizona v. Hardesty, (AZ Ct. App., July 31, 2008), an Arizona appellate court rejected a criminal defendant's claim that Arizona's laws against marijuana possession violate his Free Exercise rights under the U.S. Constitution and Arizona's Free Exercise of Religion Act. Defendant is a practicing member of the Church of Cognizance that believes in unlimited use of marijuana to obtain spiritual enlightenment. The court held that Arizona's marijuana laws are neutral laws of general applicability and therefore survive a 1st Amendment challenge. The court also held that Arizona's uniform ban on marijuana is the least restrictive means for the state to vindicate its compelling interest in protecting health and welfare, so the ban is not precluded by Arizona's Free Exercise of Religion Act.

Turkey's AKP Will Not Push For End To Headscarf Ban

Time reported last week that Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has decided that it will not, at least for now, press for new legislation to end the country's long-standing ban on women wearing Muslim headscarves at universities. The decision was made known by Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek on Thursday, one day after Turkey's Constitutional Court reduced government funding to the AKP-- but did not dissolve the party-- because of its anti-secularist agenda. (See prior posting.)

Catholic Lay Group Condemns KofC For Not Expelling Politicians For Thier Views

The lay organization, Concerned Roman Catholics of America has issued a press release condemning the Knights of Columbus for failing to expel "pro-abortion and pro-homosexual politicians." The group is particularly concerned about a number of members of the Massachusetts legislature and their votes on issues of gay marriage.

Native American Church Member Wants Seized Peyote Returned

James "Flaming Eagle" Mooney is starting a letter-writing campaign to Congress in his attempt to get back from federal authorities some 15,000 peyote buttons that were seized from his Oklevueha Earthwalks church in Benjamin, Utah. (See prior posting.) In 2004, the Utah Supreme Court threw out a prosecution against Mooney, holding that Utah law permits the use of peyote by adherents of the Native American Church, even if they are not members of a federally recognized Indian tribe. (See prior posting). Federal law, however, limits peyote use to members of recognized tribes. Subsequently a federal lawsuit by Mooney seeking damages from the United States and the state of Utah was dismissed on sovereign immunity grounds. Friday's San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City says that in ending the federal lawsuit, Mooney and his wife agreed that they will not possess or use peyote until Mooney qualifies as a member of a federally recognized tribe or a court rules that federal law permits his use of peyote. Mooney is relying on 1991 New Mexico federal district court decision that held limiting peyote use to recognized tribe members is a free exercise and equal protection violation.

Israeli Sanhedrin Condemns China's Repression of Falun Gong

In Israel in 2004, a group of rabbis recreated the Sanhedrin-- the traditional court of 71 rabbis that existed in ancient Israel. (See prior posting.) Canada Free Press reported on Saturday on a decision of the Sanhedrin, handed down on July 15, condemning the killing of Falun Gong adherents by China. The decision (full text) says: "Israeli Falun Gong practitioners, representing Falun Gong practitioners in the People’s Republic of China, lodged a complaint against the Government of the People’s Republic of China before the Sanhedrin sitting as The International Court of Justice, headed by Rabbi Adin Even Yisrael (Steinzalts) in the month of Tamuz 5767 [July 2007]." The opinion concludes:

[I]f the human rights issues are not addressed before the Olympic Games begin, we consider participation in them by athletes and by spectators and political leaders to be an indirect danger to world peace. With respect to other repression which the Government of the People’s Republic of China is alleged to be perpetrating or supporting, such as the Tibet Repression, the Darfur Massacres, the aid China is said to be giving to the development of nuclear weapons by North Korea – all these support the allegations of the Falun Gong practitioners regarding the attitude of the Government of the People’s Republic of China towards human life and the rights of
Nations.

EEOC Complaint: Muslim Woman Not Hired Because of Headscarf

On Thursday, the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced that it had filed a complaint with the EEOC on behalf of a Muslim woman who was denied employment at Abercrombie & Fitch's Kids store. The complaint alleges that the store's district manager told the woman that she could not be hired because her Islamic headscarf "does not fit the Abercrombie image." [Thanks to Dallas Morning News blog for the lead.]

GBLT Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Challenged as Anti-Christian

Earlier this week, the Thomas More Law Center announced that it would represent a group of individuals, businesses and religious organizations who are challenging an anti-discrimination ordinance adopted by Hamtramck, Michigan city council in June. The ordinance prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. (Detroit News.) Hamtramck Citizens Opposing "Special Rights" Discrimination appears particularly bothered by provisions that would protect transgender individuals in using rest rooms. The group has gathered enough signatures so that a proposal to overturn the ordinance will be on November's ballot. Richard Thompson, president of Thomas More Law Center, said: "These ordinances end up being used to bully and prosecute Christians who faithfully practice their religion." However Councilwomen Katrina Stakpoole who supports the ordinance called a rally held at city hall by its opponents a “hate rally."

Florida County Tells Police That Humane Animal Sacrifice Is Protected

In Florida, adherents of Santeria are pleased that Miami-Dade County police officials have included a reminder in their Law Enforcement Handbook that humane killing of animals in religious ceremonies is protected by the U.S. Constitution. McClatchy Newspapers report today that Broward and Palm Beach counties are less tolerant of animal sacrifices by Santeria priests than is Miami-Dade. Lt. Sherry Schlueter, head of the Broward Sheriff''s Office special victims and family crimes unit agrees that animal sacrifices are legal so long as the killing is done humanely.

Beijing's Jewish Community Works With China's Relgious Regulations

Thursday's Forward reports from China on the 1,500-member Jewish community in Beijing and how it deals with China's regulation of religious activities. In the 1970’s, a small group of liberal North American Jews came to Beijing and founded a progressive congregation called Kehillat Beijing. They were later followed by more traditional Jews from Europe and the Soviet Union, and a Chabad rabbi arrived to serve their needs in 2001. Chabad Rabbi Shimon Freundlich says, "We try to fly below the radar." Technically the synagogue is in Freundlich’s home since Chinese regulations prohibit free-standing religious buildings. Government permission is needed to import Hebrew prayer books. Only holders of foreign passports are allowed by Chabad to attend its services or its cultural events. Chabad does not publicly advertise its activities, and Freundlich discourages inquiries about conversion from Chinese citizens. A ritual slaughterer flies in every 3 month to kosher-slaughter beef and chicken. Beijing’s only kosher restaurant, which opened last year, will have plenty of food for Olympic visitors this month.

Was Israeli Law Broken When Obama's Note Was Taken From Western Wall?

An article in yesterday's Slate magazine analyzes whether any laws were broken when a seminary student in Israel took Barack Obama's prayer note from the Western Wall and turned it over to Maariv, an Israeli newspaper. (See prior posting.) The writer concludes that the action violated several aspects of Talmudic law. On the civil law side, one lawyer has called for an investigation of whether the action violated laws protecting sacred sites and guaranteeing personal privacy. Slate comments:

Maariv could make the case that the note isn't part of the Western Wall itself, so the student who took it wasn't desecrating a holy place. The newspaper's lawyers might further argue that a public figure like Obama cannot have reasonably expected privacy at the wall, since he knew it was a public area, and that there was a chance his note would be read and disseminated. (A spokesman for Maariv says that the Obama campaign submitted the note to the newspaper, in which case the senator would indeed have forfeited all legal protection to privacy.)

Indian Police Arrest Kangaroo Court That Executed Husband In Mixed Marriage

The Howrah News Service out of the Indian state of West Bengal reports that police in the village of Lakshmanpur in Berhampore have arrested three men who acted as a kangaroo court and imposed a death sentence on Sailendra Prasad, a non-Muslim man who married a Muslim woman. Prasad hid his true religion when he married Manera Bibi, but disclosed it later on at a time when he was drunk. Prasad's in-laws, upset at his drinking habits, disclosed the unauthorized mixed marriage to the village's self-styled "judge" who then convened the court that imposed and carried out the sentence.

Court Upholds School's Objections To Religious Remarks In Graduation Speech

In Corder v. Lewis Palmer School District No. 38, (D CO, July 30, 2008), a Colorado federal district court upheld the actions of a high school principal who, in 2006, forced a student graduation speaker to apologize for including unauthorized religious material in her 30-second portion of a joint graduation speech by 15 valedictorians. Then-student Erica Corder's intentionally excluded the religious portion of her remarks from a draft submitted in advance to the principal, knowing that they would not be approved. Rejecting Corder's First Amendment claims, the court held that:

the valedictorian speech at the school's graduation was not private speech in a limited public forum but rather school-sponsored speech.... Accordingly, school officials were entitled to regulate the content of the speeches in a reasonable manner.... The graduation ceremony clearly bears the imprimatur of the school, as it was sponsored, organized, and supervised by school officials.

The court also held that a Colorado statute declaring that public school students have the right to freedom of speech was intended to apply only to student publications, and, in any event, would not preclude schools from regulating speech that could violate the Establishment Clause. Finally the court concluded that the principal was justified in requiring Corder to apologize, and that this did not amount to unconstitutional coercion of speech. (See prior related posting.)

Plaintiffs Win In Two Cases Charging Anti-Semitic Harassment In Employment

In Cutler v. Dorn, (NJ Sup. Ct., July 31, 2008), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that under the state's Law Against Discrimination, religious-based harassment that creates a hostile work environment is judged by the same standards as are claims of a sexual or racial harassment. At issue were anti-Semitic statements made by co-workers and supervisors of police patrolman Jason Cutler. The court concluded that sufficient evidence was presented at trial for the jury to conclude that Cutler suffered severe or pervasive harassment.

In another religious discrimination case this week, the New York Times reports that last Monday a federal court jury in New York awarded $735,000 in actual and punitive damages to a former employee of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority who claimed anti-Semitic harassment by his supervisor. Plaintiff Gregory Fishman alleged that he was denied time off for knee surgery, was passed over for promotion, because of his religion. He also claims he was demoted after filing a discrimination complaint. He finally left his job because of the harassment. [Thanks to Steve Sheinberg for the lead.]

11th Circuit Orders Recognition of Christian Fraternity By UF Pending Appeal

In May 2008, a Florida federal district court in Beta Upsilon Chi v. Machen, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42653 (ND FL, May 28, 2008), refused to issue a preliminary injunction against the University of Florida in a lawsuit by Beta Upsilon Chi, a Christian fraternity. BYX challenged the University's refusal to grant it recognition as a student group. The University's action was based on the school's non-discrimination policy that prohibits religious discrimination by registered student organizations. BYX requires its members to believe in Jesus Christ. The district court held that since the University policy allows the fraternity to limit its leadership to professing Christians, merely requiring non-discrimination as to members does not pose a burden on the fraternity's expressive associational rights. It said: "BYX has failed to show that the forced inclusion of a non-Christian in their group meetings or other functions will prevent BYX from encouraging their Christian members in their faith, fostering unity with like-minded Christians, and teaching Christian leadership."

BYX filed an appeal with the 11th Circuit. On Wednesday, according to an AP report, the Court of Appeals granted an injunction (full text) ordering the University to grant recognition to the fraternity while its appeal is pending. A release by Alliance Defense Fund says the a motion for summary judgment is still pending in district court as well. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Leader of Christian Group Demands Removal of Georgia Guidestones Monument

Mark Dice, leader of a Christian group known as The Resistance, is pressing the town of Elberton, Georgia to remove a 19-foot tall granite monument that sets out "ten guidestones" to an age of reason in eight different languages. The Georgia Guidestones Monument is a tourist attraction. A release by the Elberton Chamber of Commerce says that the monument is located on county property and was constructed in 1980 after being commissioned by a man that identified himself only as R.C. Christian. Elberton is the granite capital of the world. According to a WorldNet Daily report earlier this week, Dice argues that the monument contains pagan, New Age and satanic themes. He says: "We have atheists and Satanists getting the Bible’s 10 commandments removed from public property, yet the satanic Georgia Guidestones have stood for decades, and nobody seems to care. Well, we do." [Thanks to Dispatches from the Culture Wars for the lead.]

UPDATE: Comments posted below by Bill Poser support strongly the conclusion that the Guidestones Monument is in fact on private property, and that the press release indicating otherwise is in fact a release by The Resistance, not by the Elberton Chamber of Commerce.

RICO Lawsuit Filed Against Church of Scientology

Today's New York Daily News reports that Scientology critic Peter Letterese has filed a $250 million federal lawsuit under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute against the Church of Scientology and a number of related organizations and individuals. Among those named in the lawsuit is actor Tom Cruise who, it is claimed, helped fund the Church's activities. The suit was filed in the Southern District of Florida on July 15. The 80-page complaint (full text) alleges that behind the apparent religious activities of various Scientology-related organizations is an elaborate criminal syndicate which sought to infringe intellectual property rights to a book by author Leslie Dane. Letterese bought the rights to the book in question from Dane's estate. Earlier this month in Peter Letteresse & Associates, Inc. v. World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, (11th Cir., July 8, 2008), the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a "fair use" defense as to some, but not all, of Scientology's uses of Dane's book.

"Defamation of Religions" Campaign Discussed In Congress, By Magazine

Macleans Magazine last week carried a long article on efforts by the Organization of the Islamic Conference make "defamation of religions" an offense under international law. It says in part:

The trend has rights advocates worried.... Defamation laws traditionally protect individual people from being materially harmed by the dissemination of falsehoods. But "defamation of religions" is not about protecting individual believers from damage to their reputations caused by false statements — but rather about protecting a religion, or some interpretation of it, or the feelings of the followers. While a traditional defence in a defamation lawsuit is that the accused was merely telling the truth, religions by definition present competing claims on the truth, and one person's religious truth is easily another's apostasy. "Truth" is no defence in such cases. The subjective perception of insult is what matters, and what puts the whole approach on a collision course with the human rights regime — especially in countries with an official state religion.

The article builds on testimony offered at a July 11 off-the-record briefing presented by the Congressional Human Rights Caucus Task Force on International Religious Freedom titled "Taboos" on Freedom of Religion and Expression at the United Nations: How Religious Defamation Resolutions are Setting a Dangerous Precedent. (Announcement of briefing.) Among those those making presentations were Becket Fund's Angela Wu, whose Issue Brief on the topic is available online. Earlier this week, Becket Fund issued a press release on the Macleans article.

Democratic Convention Reaching Out To Faith Communities, With Some Objections

The Democratic Party continues its efforts to reach out to faith communities in connection with its upcoming Denver Convention. (See prior posting.) According to a story on the Convention's official website, on July 25, marking one month before the start of the gathering, members of Colorado Ute Indian tribes performed a Native American blessing outside the Pepsi Center where the Convention will be held. The first official event of the Convention will be an interfaith gathering on Sunday, August 24 at the Wells Fargo Theater in downtown Denver. The Secular Coalition for America, however, issued a release expressing dismay at the exclusion of "tens of millions of American voters who are nontheists." It says it has written Convention CEO Leah Daughtry suggesting that the interfaith event will be divisive, and seeking to discuss ways to make the Convention more inclusive. Apparently Daughtry is taking the secularists' concern seriously.

Bulgaria Targets Unregistred Religious Groups

Bulgaria's Law on Religions requires that religious organizations be registered in order to operate in the country. The Sofia News Agency reports today that the Supreme Administrative Prosecutor's Office has asked a court to terminate the activities of five unregistered organizations that are engaging in religious activities under the guise of humanitarian or educational goals.

US Agency Calls For President To Press China On Religious Freedom

Yesterday the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom held a joint press conference with the Congressional Human Rights Caucus at which it called for President Bush to speak out publicly on human rights during his trip to the Beijing Olympics. (Press release). Pointing particularly to repressive measures taken by the Chinese government against Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns as well as against Protestant and Catholic groups in China, USCIRF suggested seven specific high profile steps that President Bush could take while in China.

Meanwhile, the International Campaign for Tibet published an English translation of an official government document that outlines new measures to be taken against Buddhist monasteries and monks in Tibet in the wake of protests against Chinese rule. The document, issued by the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province, calls for measures that are characterized by Tibetans as reminiscent of China's Cultural Revolution. (See prior related posting.)

New Lawsuit Challenges New York's Enforcement of Kosher Inspection Laws

Four months after filing a similar lawsuit (see prior posting), Long Island (NY) kosher butcher Brian Yarmeisch has filed a new federal lawsuit challenging the manner in which New York state enforces its kosher food laws. Yesterday's New York Jewish Week reports that Yarmeisch seeks a preliminary injunction to prevent the state from continuing to enforce portions of its Agriculture and Markets Law. This comes as the state has not yet responded to the March lawsuit. Yarmeisch believes that New York's Kosher Law Protection Act of 2004 merely requires that he post the name of the person who supervises the kosher status of products he sells. However state inspectors have continued to visit his premises to look at whether the prepared food items he sells contain only ingredients that were certified as kosher. At issue are differences between Orthodox and Conservative rabbis over whether items such as vegetables, dairy products and certain wines must actually carry a kosher certification in order to be used.

Turkey's Ruling Party Avoids Dissolution For Anti-Secular Activities In Close Court Decision

Media around the world, including the New York Times and London's Guardian, are reporting on Wednesday's decision by Turkey's Constitutional Court that stopped short of ordering dissolution of the ruling AK (Justice and Development) Party that had been charged with "becoming a focal point of anti-secular activity." (See prior posting.) Instead the court voted to cut the public funding of the AK Party in half, and to issue a "serious warning" to it about its moves-- particularly attempts to permit women to wear the hijab on university campuses-- which are seen as undermining the secular principles on which the country was founded. Tuesday's Wall Street Journal carried a backgrounder on the secular roots created by the country's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The AKP's loss of state funding is expected to be made up by private contributions from supporters.

Today's Zaman gives more detailed information on Wednesday's court decision, and a backgrounder on the closure of political parties in Turkey. At the center of the decision are provisions in Articles 68 and 69 of Turkey's Constitution:

68(4)... The ... activities of political parties shall not be in conflict with the independence of the state, its indivisible integrity..., human rights, the principles of equality and rule of law, sovereignty of the nation, the principles of the democratic and secular republic...

69(7) The decision to dissolve a political party permanently owing to activities violating the provisions of the fourth paragraph of Article 68 may be rendered only when the Constitutional Court determines that the party in question has become a centre for the execution of such activities....

(8) Instead of dissolving them permanently in accordance with the above-mentioned paragraphs, the Constitutional Court may rule the concerned party to be deprived of State aid wholly or in part with respect to intensity of the actions brought before the court.

In Wednesday's decision, 6 of the court's 11 judges voted to dissolve the party, one vote short of the 7 needed for dissolution. Four other judges voted to cut the AKP's state funding. Only Chief Justice Haşim Kılıç voted against imposing any sanctions. In announcing the Court's decision, the Chief Justice urged politicians to amend Turkish law to make it more difficult to bring cases seeking closure of political parties in order to avoid the kind of political crisis that this case has generated.

Chabad Wins On Challenge To Florida City's Zoning Rules

In Chabad of Nova, Inc. v. City of Cooper City, (SD FL, July 29, 2008), a Florida federal district court ruled in favor of an Orthodox Jewish Chabad group on most of its challenges to a Cooper City (FL)'s zoning restrictions imposed on houses of worship. The group was prevented from opening an Outreach Center in an area zoned for business. The court agreed with Chabad that portions of the city's regulations, both before and after they were amended in 2006, violate the Exclusion Provision of RLUIPA (Sec. 2(b)(3)(b)) which bans land use regulations that unreasonably limit religious assemblies in a local community. It also held that the city's prohibition of religious assemblies in Business Districts violates the Equal Protection Clause. Fianlly, the court refused to dismiss Chabad's First Amendment claims. Today's South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporting on the decision says that a trial is scheduled Monday on the issue of damages.

Korean Buddhists Complain About Treatment From Christian President

Today's Korea Times reports that Buddhists in South Korea are complaining that Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, is responsible for disrespectful treatment of Buddhists. Lee, who took office in February 2008, is a Christian. In June, the Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs apologized after it was discovered that a travel information service his ministry provided did not include the location of Buddhist temples. The latest incident came yesterday as police insisted on searching the car of a Buddhist leader at the gate of Jogye Temple in Seoul. The Temple has been under police surveillance since organizers of a protest against US beef sought refuge there to avoid arrest.

Court Rejects Free Exercise Exemption From Law Numbered "666"

A Tennessee appellate court last week rejected a rather unusual free exercise challenge to the state's child support requirements. In Sherrod v. Tennessee Department of Human Services, (TN Ct. App., July 25, 2008), Michael Sherrod, a divorced father, refused to pay child support through the state's Central Child Support Receipting Unit. He argued that he would pay directly to his former wife, or to the court, but that because the central state agency was set up under a federal statute codified at 42 USC Sec. 666, payment through that entity would involve him in transmitting funds to a "Satanic entity" in violation of his religious beliefs. In support of his argument, Sherrod, a Born Again Christian and a Sunday School teacher, cited the Book of Revelation (13:18) where the number 666 is associated with the Mark of the Beast and the end of days. (Background.) The court, however, held that the state's statute is uniformly applicable and facially neutral as to religion. Therefore it is valid so long as it reasonably promotes a legitimate public purpose. The court found that standard to be satisfied.

Establishment Clause Challenge To Mt. Soledad Cross In Federal Hands Is Rejected

Yesterday, yet another decision was handed down in the long-running dispute over the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, California, and the large Cross that is part of the memorial. Trunk v. City of San Diego, (SD CA, July 29, 2008), was a challenge by Jewish War Veterans of America and four individuals who claimed that Congress violated the Establishment Clause when it acquired the Mt. Soledad memorial from the city of San Diego and preserved the memorial with the cross on it after it was acquired. In the case, a California federal district court judge rejected both of these arguments. The court found that Congress' primary purpose in acquiring the memorial was to preserve the site as a veterans' memorial, not to advance or favor a particular religion. It held further that maintaining the site with its cross has primarily a patriotic and nationalistic effect, rather than a religious one. The court rejected plaintiffs' contention that any display containing a Latin cross is inherently religious. Yesterday's San Diego Union-Tribune reported on the decision.

British City Charged With Religious Discrimination Over Internet Filters

In Britain, the National Secular Society is challenging the new Internet usage policy adopted by Birmingham City Council. BBC News reports that the city's new Bluecoat filtering software blocks city employees from viewing websites with content related to witchcraft, Satanism, occult practices, atheistic views, voodoo rituals or mysticism. National Secular Society president Terry Sanderson says the policy violates the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 because it discriminates against atheists and followers of Wicca. Websites dealing with other religious beliefs are accessible to employees. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

UPDATE: According to an Augl 15 release by the national Secular Society, the city of Birmingham says it does not intend to filter out websites dealing with atheism, and a new version of the filtering software it is using apparently allows them to exclude blockage of such sites.

Catholic Anti-War Demonstrators May Not Assert "Necessity" Defense

In United States v. McSweeney, (D MA, July 24, 2008), a federal magistrate judge denied a motion by a group of anti-Iraq War demonstrators that they be permitted to raise a defense of "necessity" in their trial. Defendants, members of the Catholic Worker Movement, entered a Worcester (MA) federal courthouse and, without a permit, dropped to their knees and began to pray for an end to Iraq war. After they finished they were arrested on charges of obstructing entrances, obstructing official business and failing to comply with directions of US Marshals. The court ruled that the criteria necessary to assert a defense of "necessity" are not present in this kind of civil disobedience case. Today's Worcester (MA) Telegram reports on the decision.

Spanish Gay Pride Marchers Charged With Insulting Catholics

Article 525.1 of the Spanish Penal Code prohibits publicly making fun of beliefs or ceremonies of members of any religious confession, or humiliating those who practice any religion. Pink News today reports that in Spain, a pro-family group, HazteOir, has invoked this provision in charges filed against organizers of this year's Madrid Gay Pride celebration. Marchers at the event carried a banner picturing Pope Benedict XVI on fire and calling him "chief of the inquisitors."

Kazakstan Expels Unregistered Foreign Missionaries

Interfax reports today that Kazakhstan's Justice Minister Zagipa Baliyeva told a cabinet meeting today that a large number of foreign missionaries from the United States, Georgia, South Korea and Japan have been expelled from the country. The expulsions followed court findings that the foreigners were working as missionaries without the required registration. Baliyeva particularly mentioned the head of Narconon, an organization connected to the Church of Scientology, who was banned for five years from re-entering the country.

Court Rejects Amish Free Exercise Defense In Building Permit Cases

In Morristown, New York, a Town Court judge has refused to dismiss charges against eight Amish men who built or moved homes without the required permits. Today's Watertown Daily Times reports that the defendants, members of the Swartzentruber Amish sect, argued that requirements for smoke alarms and for engineers to approve building designs violate their religious beliefs that oppose modernization. The court, however, rejected their free exercise claims, writing that "the Amish desire 'not to conform to this world' must be reasonably and rationally tempered with required compliance to regulations imposed by a town and society in which they are citizens." The court also rejected motions to dismiss "in the interest of justice" and arguments that defendants had been denied a speedy trial. (See prior related posting.)

British Court Says Sikh Girl Can Wear Kara To School

In Britain, a High Court judge ruled today that a Sikh teenager should be permitted to wear her "Kara" , a plain steel bracelet that is a symbol of her faith, despite school rules against wearing most jewelry. According to Reuters, the court concluded that the ban on religious and racial discrimination required Aberdare Girls' High School in south Wales to exempt 14-year old Sarika Singh from the school's ban on jewelry (other than wrist watches and ear studs). The school argued that the bracelet could be seen as a "symbol of affluence". (See prior related posting.)

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Fowler v. Crawford, (8th Cir., July 25, 2008), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision by Missouri state prison officials to deny a Native American prisoner's request for a sweat lodge to practice his religious faith. Inmate Clifford Fowler alleged that the denial violated his rights under RLUIPA. The court concluded, however, that the prison had a compelling interest in maintaining order and security, and that other alternative were offered to Fowler. Just because another prison in the state's system operates a sweat lodge without incident does not demonstrate that prohibiting a sweat lodge was the least restrictive means to further the institution's security concerns. (See prior related posting.)

In Hathcock v. Cohen, (11th Cir., July 23, 2008), involved claims by a Muslim prisoner that he was prevented from wearing a Kufi, attending Friday prayer services and eating kosher meals on some days during Ramadan. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held that RLUIPA does not create a private action for damages against prison officials in their individual capacities. The court then rejected plaintiff's First Amendment claims, holding that the requirement to obtain approval for religious attire was reasonable as was the reliance on volunteer chaplains to conduct Jumu'ah services. The temporary failure to receive kosher meals was an oversight that was corrected by prison officials.

In Wolff v. Perkins, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55815 (D NH, July 21, 2008), a New Hampshire federal district court dismissed as moot a prisoner's claim that his rights under RLUIPA were violated when his kosher meal privileges were temporarily revoked because he had violated the requirements of a kosher diet. Revised prison policies bar the food service supervisor from suspending an inmate's kosher diet, and instead refer such inmates to the chaplain for counseling. (See prior related posting.)

In Heleva v. Kramer, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55027 (MD PA, July 16, 2008), a Pennsylvania federal district court rejected an inmate's First Amendment and RLUIPA challenges to a prison rule that packages containing books will be delivered to prisoners only if sent directly from the publisher. Confusion about the source of two religious books shipped to plaintiff resulted in an 8-month delay in his obtaining them. (See prior related posting.)

In Stanko v. Patton, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56269 (D NE, July 24, 2008), a Nebraska federal district court rejected First Amendment claims by a litigious white supremacist prisoner who claimed to be an ordained minister of a non-Christian white supremacist religion known as the Church of the Creator. Plaintiff asserted that he was entitled to a holy meal of fresh fruits and nuts to break his religious fast. The court held that there are legitimate cost and security reasons for refusing the special food items. It concluded: "Hate is not a religion and jails do not have to provide nuts and fresh fruits to satisfy the whims of haters." (See prior related posting.)

Establishment Clause Does Not Prevent Court's Deciding Dispute Over Burials

In Attal v. Taylor, (CA Ct. App., July 25, 2008), a California state appellate court held that the Establishment Clause did not preclude it from settling a complicated dispute between three siblings regarding the burial of their mother and brother.

Sharon Attal petitioned a court to have the body of her mother-- Joan Taylor-- removed from a crypt where it had been interred in 1988, and buried in a Jewish cemetery. Joan was born Jewish, but during most of her life was a practicing Presbyterian, and raised her children as Presbyterians. However in 1989, Joan's daughter Sharon began practicing Judaism. When Sharon's brother Mark died, Joan disregarded his instructions that his body be placed next to their mother's, and instead Joan had Mark buried in a Jewish section of a cemetery. Subsequently, Sharon entered an arrangement with her other brother, Dennis, to move their mother Joan's remains to the Jewish cemetery next to Mark, and to transfer the crypt space for use by Dennis and his wife. The fourth sibling, John, however objected, and the cemetery refused to move Joan's body unless a court order was obtained.

When Sharon petitioned the court to have her mother's body moved, John petitioned the court instead to have Mark's body moved from the Jewish cemetery back to the crypt next to their mother, as Mark had originally requested. The trial court denied Sharon's petition and granted John's. The Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding that it could apply neutral principles to resolve the dispute, without becoming entangled in questions of religious doctrine. While the trial court elicited evidence on whether or not Joan and Mark had been practicing Jews, this was relevant to the neutral inquiry regarding their wishes as to the disposition of their remains.

India Supreme Court Considering Constitutionality of Haj Subsidy

On Monday, India's Supreme Court set for hearing a lawsuit by former BJP member of parliament Praful Goradia challenging the constitutionality of the government subsidy given to Muslims going on Haj. IANS reported that a government affidavit supporting the subsidy argues that the Haj has secular foreign policy and foreign relations elements. It said that friendship with foreign countries, including Arab countries, is an aspect of the country's foreign policy. Indian Muslims on Haj "promote international goodwill and understanding". Goradia, on the other hand, claimed that a subsidy for Muslims, without similar subsidies for Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and Sikhs, is discriminatory. (See prior related posting.)

Lithuania Grants Recognized Status To Seventh-Day Adventists

The Adventist News Network reported yesterday that Lithuania has granted the Seventh-Day Adventist Church's application for state recognized status under its Law on Religious Communities and Associations. The determination, made on July 15, means that the church will be entitled to state subsidies and certain tax exemptions. Also its clergy and theology students will be exempt from military service.

Ukrainian President Wants National Church Separate From Moscow Patriarchate

Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko wants to create a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, ending affiliation with the Russian Orthodox patriarchate in Moscow. Saturday's Washington Post reported that at the start of a prayer service marking the 1,020th anniversary of Ukraine's and Russia's conversion to Christianity, Yushchenko said: "I believe that, as if by the gift of God, as a historical truth and justice, a national self-governing church will be established in Ukraine," and asked visiting leader of the Orthodox Church, Bartholomew I of Constantinople, to approve the idea. Bartholomew's response was non-committal, as he became the first head of the Orthodox Church to visit Ukraine in 350 years. Many fear that if Constantinople supports Ukraine's move, this could lead to a major schism with Moscow. Unlike Ukraine, countries such as Georgia and Bulgaria have their own Orthodox Patriarchs.

UPDATE: On Wednesday, Archbishop Ionafan representing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate strongly criticized President Yushchenko's bid for an independent Ukrainian church. According to Interfax, Ionafan said Yushchenko "abused his authority, violated the constitution and ignored the opinion of hierarchs on the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church."

California Buddhist Temple In Complex Litigation Over Control of Assets

Saturday's Long Beach (CA) Press-Telegram reported on the complicated litigation in a battle between two factions for control of Wat Vipassanaram, a Long Beach Cambodian Buddhist temple. The problems began last January when a dissident group, alleging mistreatment of the wat monks and abuse of authority sought an election to replace the board of the Khmer Buddhist Association that controls the temple. (Press-Telegram, Jan. 25). When the group moved ahead with the election of three new officers, opponents, including the temple's monks, went to court. (Press-Telegram, Feb. 15).

On July 2, a Superior Court judge appointed a receiver to manage the finances of the Khmer Buddhist Association, but the temple leadership refused to turn over assets or records to the receiver. On July 8, Siphann Tith, president of the Khmer Buddhist Association, told the receiver that most of the assets had been donated him to a newly formed organization called "Wat Khmer Vipassaram" and had been put under the supervision of the Church of Revelation, a Gnostic church in Orange. (Press-Telegram, July 15).

On Saturday the Press-Telegram reported that the Church of Revelation filed suit in federal court alleging that the court-appointed receiver, David Pasternak, and ten others attempted to improperly seize the assets that were donated to it by the Buddhist temple. The suit challenges the order of the state Superior Court judge that threatened contempt charges if the temple's assets are not turned over to the receiver. The federal lawsuit argues that the temple's donation of assets to the church is protected under First Amendment's Free Exercise clause. The complaint alleges that by divesting itself of all its assets, the temple's board was following the teachings of its religion's founder, Siddhartha Gautama.

South Dakota High Court Issues 3 Decisions On Inmate's Kosher Food Claim

Last week, the South Dakota Supreme Court issued three separate opinions in the case of convicted murderer Charles Sisney who has been litigating extensively over the kind of kosher meals to which he is entitled while in prison. Sisney v. Best, Inc., (SD Sup. Ct., July 23, 2008), involved claims that the bread Sisney was served was not certified as kosher. The court dismissed Sisney's claims under federal civil rights statutes and the state's deceptive trade practices law. However the court permitted Sisney to proceed with his tort claim of deceit.

In Sisney v. State of South Dakota, (SD Sup. Ct., July 23, 2008), the court held that Sisney was not a third party beneficiary to a contract between the state and a food services supplier under which the supplier was to furnish prison meals-- including those to accommodate religious requirements-- which averaged 2500 to 2700 calories per day.

In Sisney v. Reich, (SD Sup. Ct., July 23, 2008), the court allowed Sisney to move ahead with his claim that he was a third-party beneficiary of a settlement agreement between the Department of Corrections and a former inmate. Under that agreement, DOC agreed to provide a kosher diet to all Jewish inmates who requested it, including prepackaged kosher meals for lunch and dinner. Sunday's Bismarck Tribune reported on the decisions. (See prior related posting.)

New Articles and Book of Interest

From SSRN:

• Mark C. Modak-Truran, Beyond Theocracy and Secularism (Part I): Toward a New Paradigm for Law and Religion, (Mississippi College Law Review 159, 2007-2008).
• Robert C. Blitt, How to Entrench a De Facto State Church in Russia: A Guide in Progress, (Brigham Young University Law Review, July 21, 2008, Forthcoming).
• Mark C. Modak-Truran, Book Review: Michael J. Perry, Toward a Theory of Human Rights: Religion, Law, Courts (2007), (Journal of Religion, Vol. 88, No. 2, p. 257, April 2008).
• Mark C. Modak-Truran, Introduction: Symposium on Religion, Religious Pluralism, and the Rule of Law, (Mississippi College Law Review, Vol. 27, p. 1, 2007-2008).
• Gary J. Simson, Reflections on Free Exercise: Revisiting 'Rourke v. Department of Correctional Services', (Albany Law Review, Vol. 70, p.1425, 2007).
• Asifa Quraishi, Who Says Shari'a Demands the Stoning of Women? A Description of Islamic Law and Constitutionalism, (Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern & Islamic Law, Vol. 1, pp. 163-177, 2008).

Other Recent Articles:

• Joseph Bottum, The Death of Protestant America: A Political Theory of the Protestant Mainline (First Things, Aug./Sept. 2008).
• Jack S. Levey, Why Is This Tenant Different From Other Tenants? Representing A Tenant With A Kosher Business, (Probate and Property, July/Aug. 2008, 38-41).

New Book:

• John Witte, Jr. & Frank S. Alexander (eds.), Christianity and Law: An Introduction, (Cambridge Univ. Press, June 2008).
  

Violence Connected To Religion Sweeps 4 Countries In Unrelated Incidents

Since Friday, in unrelated incidents in four countries around the world, deadly violence with some connection to religious disputes or religious institutions have captured the headlines. In Iraq, in two separate incidents, Shiite pilgrims were killed on their way to ceremonies honoring imam Mussa Kadhim who died 12 centuries ago. On Sunday, gunmen killed 7 pilgrims in Madin, south of Baghdad. Today in Baghdad, bombs killed 25 pilgrims heading toward a shrine, and wounded 70 others. (AFP).

In Turkey today, two bombs exploded in Istanbul killing 17 and wounding 150. While the bombings appeared to be the work of Kurdish separatists retaliating for a crackdown on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), they came just as Turkey's Constitutional Court was preparing for a key hearing in the lawsuit seeking to ban the country's ruling party for undermining the secular nature of the country. (AFP).

In India, a series of coordinated bombings in Ahmedabad on Saturday killed at least 45 people. A group called the "Indian Mujahideen" claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they were in retaliation for a 2002 massacre of Muslims by Hindus in Gujarat. The bombings followed others one day earlier in Bangalore killing one woman. (Reuters-Sun. and Reuters-Mon.).

In the United States yesterday, a man carrying a shotgun in a guitar case entered a Knoxville, Tennessee Unitarian Universalist church and opened fire during the performance of a play by a group of children. He killed two people in the audience and wounded seven others. (New York Times). UPDATE: AP reports that the accused shooter, Jim D. Adkisson, left behind a note indicating that he had targeted the Unitarian church because he was upset with its liberal policies, including its acceptance of gays.

Westboro Baptist Church Loses Tax Appeal

In In re Tax Exemption Application of Westboro Baptist Church, (KS Ct. App., July 25, 2008), the Kansas Court of Appeals agreed with the state's Board of Tax Appeals that a pickup truck used by the Westboro Baptist Church to transport church members and signs for the church's high profile picketing of military funerals and other events is taxable personal property. The signs, in "acrimonious language", express the church's view that "God has punished and will continue to punish the United States because of the country's willingness to condone homosexuality." Kansas law grants a tax exemption to property that is used exclusively for religious purposes. Rejecting Free Exercise and Establishment Clause claims, the court concluded that the church's picketing activities have substantial amounts of political and secular content in addition to expressing religious beliefs, and thus do not qualify for the exemption.

Yesterdays Wichita Eagle , reporting on the decision, said that church officials will appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court even though only about $130 per year in taxes is at issue. Church spokesperson Shirley Phelps-Roper said that the principle of taxing religion is at stake, but that it probably did not really matter because the end of the world will come soon. (See prior related posting.)

UPDATE: In upholding the Board of Tax Appeals, the court did find that BOTA's labelling of signs as nonreligious when church members believed them to be religious was an Establishment Clause violation. However, the court found this to be harmless error.

Poll Says Many British Muslim College Students Hold Islamist Views

Today's London Telegraph and London Times Online report that a YouGov poll for the Centre for Social Cohesion shows a wide cultural gap between Muslim and non-Muslim students at British universities. 40% of Muslim students say Shariah should be introduced into British law for Muslims. 57% agreed that Muslim members of the armed forces should be allowed to opt out of operations in Muslim countries. While 53% of Muslim students say that killing in the name of religion is never justified, 28% said it was acceptable if religion was under attack and 4% said it could be justified to promote or preserve religion. One-third of Muslim students supported the establishment of a world-wide caliphate. Among non-Muslim students, 55% thought that Islam was incompatible with democracy. 40% of Muslim students opposed Muslim men and women associating freely, and 25% of Muslim students said they had little respect for gays. The report titled "Islam on Campus" says the group Hizb ut-Tahrir is responsible for much of the radicalization of Muslim students on British campuses.

Times Magazine Carries Photos of FLDS Ranch

The cover story in today's New York Times Magazine is titled Children of God. It introduces a series of 16 photos and another of 18 photos of FLDS women and children taken on July 17 and 18 by photographer Stephanie Sinclair who was was permitted access to the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado, Texas. In April, Texas authorities, concerned about polygamy and underage marriages, raided the ranch and temporarily took its children into custody. (See prior related posting.)

Muslim Women Sue McDonald's Franchise For Hiring Discrimination

Friday's Detroit News reports that two Muslim women have filed a religious discrimination lawsuit in state court against a Dearborn, Michigan McDonald's restaurant and its manager. The women, who applied for jobs at McDonald's, were told that they would not be able to wear their hijab (Muslim headscarf) while at work because it was too hot in the kitchen for the head coverings. The McDonald's in question is in the midst of many businesses that cater to Dearborn's large Arab-American population, and some of the restaurant's menu items comply with requirements for Halal food. Owners of the franchise say they have a strict policy against discrimination of any kind.

DC Historic Church Refused Request To Permit Demolition

Last year, over the church's objections, the Washington D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board in a unanimous decision (full text) voted to designate D.C. Third Church of Christ, Scientist as an historic landmark. (See prior posting.) Now, according to a Washington Post report on Friday, the Review Board has unanimously voted down the church's request that it be permitted to tear down its building and construct a new one in its place. Church officials say that the concrete building, designed by architect Araldo Cossutta, has an unwelcoming appearance, is dark inside and is expensive to heat and cool. Preservation Board chairman Tersh Boasberg criticized church leaders for failing to try to work out alternatives to demolition. Apparently church officials will now file a lawsuit challenging the Review Board's decision as a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Posting of Anti-Muslim Audio Clip Protected By Fair Use Doctrine

In Savage v. Council on American-Islamic Relations, (ND CA, July 25, 2008), a California federal district court rejected copyright infringement claims brought by radio talk-show host Michael Savage against CAIR. After Savage engaged in a four-minute anti-Muslim, anti-CAIR tirade on air, CAIR posted on its website an audio file of the relevant portion of the broadcast as well as a critique of the remarks. Savage sued, claiming that CAIR "in posting the audio clip on their website, engaged in copyright infringement in an effort to raise money for terrorism and further a terrorist conspiracy." The court held that CAIR's use of the audio clip is protected by the fair use doctrine. Savage also alleged a civil RICO claim against CAIR which the court dismissed on standing, proximate cause and pleading grounds, indicating that CAIR had substantial First Amendment defenses to the claim. However plaintiff was given leave to amend the RICO portion of his complaint. Friday's San Jose (CA) Mercury News reported on the decision.

Clergyman's Pay Dispute With Church Dismissed on First Amendment Grounds

In Jones v. Crestview Southern Baptist Church, (CO Ct. App., July 24, 2008), a Colorado state Court of Appeals dismissed a lawsuit by Baptist pastor Raymond Jones against his church for back pay allegedly due to him. The court held that "one of the issues to be resolved is whether Jones properly performed his duties as a pastor. " Determining this, the court said, would unconstitutionally entangle it in ecclesiastical matters. Similarly, the court said that adjudicating Jones' "equitable claims for unjust enrichment and quantum meruit would require determinations of the value of his services as a Baptist pastor, a matter that is largely ecclesiastical and thus not subject to court inquiry under the First Amendment."

Court Administrator Gets Partial Win In Claim for Retaliation and Discrimination

In Pucci v. Nineteenth District Court, (ED MI, July 10, 2008), a Michigan federal district judge permitted Julie Pucci, the former deputy administrator of a Michigan state court, to proceed with certain of her claims against the court's chief judge, Mark W. Somers. The federal court decision rejected Pucci's claim that the elimination of her postition as deputy administrator was motivated by Somers' religious objections to her live-in relationship with another judge on the court with whom Somers clashed. However the federal court permitted Pucci to move ahead with her First Amendment claim that her termination was in retaliation for her complaints about Somers' preaching religious beliefs from the civil court bench. The Dearborn (MI) Press & Guide reported on the decision in its Sunday edition. (See prior related posting.)

Obama's Note From Western Wall Published By Israeli Paper

When Barack Obama visited Israel during his recent foreign trip, like most visitors to the country he stopped at the Western Wall. Following a traditional custom, Obama left a note containing a personal prayer in one of the crevices in the Wall. Friday's Los Angeles Times reports, however, that in a breach of tradition, a young Orthodox Jewish student searched the Wall once Obama left and found his note. Obama's prayer for protection, wisdom and forgiveness, written on note paper from the King David Hotel, was turned over to the Israeli paper Maariv that then published it. The LA Times article contains a photo of the note.

UPDATE: Maariv's publication of Obama's note sparked outrage, and calls for a boycott of the paper and for a police investigation. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, who supervises the Western Wall, said the unauthorized removal of the note was a sacrilege. However Maariv said that Obama had submitted a copy of his note to media outlets when he left his Jerusalem hotel. (Haaretz). Meanwhile JTA reported on Sunday that the student who removed the note from the Wall went on Israel's Channel 2 television to apologize. Channel 2's religious affairs correspondent took the note and transmitted it to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which in turn placed it back in the Wall. [Thanks to Joel Katz for the lead.]

Reporter Charges Kenneth Copeland Ministries With Financial Improprieties

Associated Press religion writer Eric Gorski today published a long article detailing the business ventures connected with the ministry of TV evangelist Kenneth Copeland. Gorski writes:

Here in the gentle hills of north Texas, televangelist Kenneth Copeland has built a religious empire teaching that God wants his followers to prosper. Over the years, a circle of Copeland's relatives and friends have done just that.... They include the brother-in-law with a lucrative deal to broker Copeland's television time, the son who acquired church-owned land for his ranching business and saw it more than quadruple in value, and board members who together have been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for speaking at church events.

Church officials say no one improperly benefits through ties to Copeland's vast evangelical ministry.... While Copeland insists that his ministry complies with the law, independent tax experts who reviewed information obtained by the AP through interviews, church documents and public records have their doubts. The web of companies and non-profits tied to the televangelist calls the ministry's integrity into question, they say.

Copeland's ministry is one of six being investigated by Sen. Charles Grassley. Copeland has strongly resisted Grassley's inquiries. (See prior posting.)

"Desecration of Eucharist" Charged In Incidents At Two Universities

In the history of the Catholic Church, "desecration of the host" is a form of sacrilege and charges of descration were a pretext for massacres of Jews in the Middle Ages. (Background). Over the last month, charges of desecrating the Eucharist-- in circumstances rather different from the historical precedents-- have come to the fore in two related incidents at universities in two states. As reported by WFTV, this all began at a June 29 Mass on the campus of the University of Central Florida. Student Senator Webster Cook, instead of immediately consuming the Eucharist handed to him as required by Catholic doctrine, took it back to his seat to show to a non-Catholic friend who was curious. Cook says someone tried to physically stop him from doing this. A week later, Cook returned the wafer in a plastic bag after receiving outraged e-mails from Catholics objecting to his desecration of the Eucharist. (WFTV). Then, according to the Orlando Sentinel, on July 17, Student Senate began impeachment proceedings against Cook, based not on his taking the Eucharist, but on his falsely representing himself as a student government officer at the service.

Meanwhile, in early July according to the Washington Times, a University of Minnesota Morris biology professor, Paul Z. Myers, used his blog to support Cook, asking in this post for his readers to send him (Myers) a consecrated Communion wafer for display. Last Thursday in this post, Myers displayed the Communion wafer pierced with a rusty nail tacked to pages torn from the Quran and some pages from Richard Dawkins The God Delusion. This led Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights president Bill Donohue to file a complaint against Myers with the University of Minnesota, asserting that his posting amounted to a bias incident under University rules. (Catholic League July 24 release.) However University Chancellor Jacqueline Johnson said in a letter in response that academic freedom permits faculty "to speak or write as a public citizen without institutional discipline or restraint…." (Catholic League release, July 25).

In yet another development, Prof. Myers appeared on a Houston radio station on July 11 to complain in his own strong language about attacks against him by Catholic League's Donohue. In response to this, a delegate to the upcoming Republican National Convention has asked for the GOP to provide additional security so Catholics can worship without fear of violence. (Catholic Online, July 12). The request came despite the fact that Morris, MN is over 170 miles from Minneapolis- St. Paul. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the original lead on this.]

Los Angeles Sees Rise In Hate Crimes, Including Religiously Motivated Incidents

According to an AP story yesterday, hate crimes rose significantly in Los Angeles County, California last year, even though the overall crime rate dropped. A majority of the hate crimes were racially motivated. However, 105 of the 763 hate crimes reported in 2007 were religiously motivated-- with three-quarters of these directed against Jews. This amounts to a 17% increase in religiously motivated hate crimes for the year. Some 111 hate crimes were based on sexual orientation, mostly directed against gay men. The full text of the 2007 Hate Crime Report compiled by the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission is available online.

RLUIPA Challenge To Zoning Denial For Counselling Center Fails

In Calvary Temple Assembly of God v. City of Marinette, Wisconsin, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55500 (ED WI, July 21, 2008), a Wisconsin federal district court rejected a RLUIPA challenge brought by a church that wanted a special exemption to locate a professional counselling center on land next to its church building. The City of Marinette concluded that the proposed faith-based counselling center would be a "professional office," a use not permitted in areas zoned residential. The court held that it need not decide whether the counselling center would be a "religious exercise" under RLUIPA because, even if it was, the church failed to show that the zoning denial imposed a "substantial burden" on its religious exercise.

Student Activity Fee Policy At Wayne State Challenged

At Wayne State University in Detroit (MI), a registered student group, Students for Life, has filed a federal lawsuit against the university challenging its policy on the spending of student activity fees. According to yesterday's Battle Creek Enquirer, last spring the the Student Council denied the group's request for $4000 to support a week of anti-abortion events because of "spiritual and religious" references, even though the group says it has no specific religious affiliation. Events included having one's picture taken with a model of a fetus. The lawsuit alleges that the funding denial amounts to unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

Suit Challenges Exclusion of Religious Literature From Distribution to Students

Alliance Defense Fund yesterday announced that it had filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Arizona on behalf of the First Baptist Church of Maricopa and its pastor, Jim Johnson, challenging Maricopa County school district's policy on distribution of literature by nonprofit groups. The school, after months of delay, denied Johnson's request that he be allowed to distribute a flyer on one of his church's weekly programs for high school students-- its Awana Journey 24 Club, a weekly Bible study program. School policy permits nonprofit groups to have their literature promoting various events and activities made available to students in schools. However the policy excludes literature from any sectarian organization or literature that promotes a particular religious belief or participation in religion. The complaint (full text) alleges that the denial violates plaintiffs' First and 14th Amendment rights and their rights under Arizona's Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

UPDATE: An ADF release dated Aug. 13 says that Maricopa Unified School District has reversed its position and will now permit the church's flyers to be distributed.

Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearings on Polygamous Sects

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has posted the testimony presented by eight witnesses at yesterday's hearings on Crimes Associated with Polygamy: The Need for a Coordinated State and Federal Response. The hearings, which coincided with Utah's Pioneer Day, received wide coverage in the media. Some of the most extensive coverage appeared in yesterday's Deseret News , in the Salt Lake Tribune and at CNN. Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, who is a convert to Mormonism and the Senator who has led the call for hearings and the creation of a federal task force, told the Senate panel:

We do honor our pioneer ancestors by condemning those who have wrongfully cloaked themselves in the trappings of religion to obscure their true criminal purposes.... I am here to tell you that polygamist communities in the United States are a form of organized crime.... The most obvious crime being committed in these communities is bigamy, child abuse — teen and pre-teen girls are forced to marry older men and bear their children. But the criminal activity that goes on in these places is far broader. Witnesses at this hearing will describe a web of criminal conduct that includes welfare fraud, tax evasion, massive corruption and strong-arm tactics to maintain the status quo.

(See prior related posting.)

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Affirms Invalidation of Ethnic Intimidation Law

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a 2-sentence per curiam order affirming last year's decision by a Pennsylvania appellate court striking down amendments to the state's ethnic intimidation law. The law was amended in 2002 to add sexual orientation and several other categories to its previous coverage of crimes committed because of race, religion or national origin. In Marcavage v. Rendell, (PA Sup. Ct., July 23, 2008) the state Supreme Court agreed that the 2002 amendments violated the state constitution's ban on amending bills during the legislative process to change their original purpose.

The lawsuit challenging the statute was brought by several Christian evangelists, who were members of Repent America. A press release was issued by one of their attorneys, the Foundation for Moral Law. FML head, former Alabama Supreme Court Chef Justice Roy Moore, said: "We are very happy that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled in our favor to stop the Governor and a group of corrupt politicians from sneaking a 'hate crimes' bill through the Pennsylvania legislature. Preaching to homosexuals about the sin of sodomy should not be made a 'thought crime' in Pennsylvania or any other state."

Suburban Seattle Residents Sue To Prevent Church From Hosting Tent City

The Seattle (WA) Times on Wednesday reported on a lawsuit filed earlier this month seeking to prevent religious leaders on suburban Mercer Island from hosting Tent City 4, an encampment for the homeless. The city of Mercer Island granted a temporary use permit for the encampment to set up at the Mercer Island United Methodist Church from August 5 to November 10. Greg Asimakoupoulos, president of the Mercer Island Clergy Association, said: "We don't want to be viewed as the suburb of the city that's blind to the needs of people of metropolitan Seattle." However a group of Mercer Island neighbors, calling themselves the Mercer Island Citizens for Fair Process, are seeking an injunction arguing that Tent City 4 will be a nuisance. They also argue that their rights under the due process clause were violated. A hearing on a temporary restraining order is set for Monday.

UPDATE: On July 28, a King County (WA) judge denied a request for a restraining order to prevent Tent City 4 from coming to Mercer Island. According to the Mercer Island Reporter, Judge Michael J. Fox said that plaintiffs had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits at trial.

11th Circuit Holds Parental Rights Can Trump Child's 1st Amendment Protections

Yesterday in Frazier v. Winn, (11th Cir., July 23, 2008), the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a decision on the clash between parental rights to control the upbringing of their children and a child's own First Amendment rights. While the case focused on free speech issues, it presumably impacts similar Free Exercise clashes. At issue was a facial challenge to Florida's statute that provides a student must be excused from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance upon written request of his or her parent. In the case, the district court had concluded that the statute unconstitutionally "robs the student of the right to make an independent decision on whether to say the pledge."

The Court of Appeals disagreed, saying:

The rights of students and the rights of parents—two different sets of persons whose opinions can often clash—are the subject of a legislative balance in the statute before us. The State, in restricting the student’s freedom of speech, advances the protection of the constitutional rights of parents: an interest which the State may lawfully protect.... Although we accept that the government ordinarily may not compel students to participate in the Pledge... we also recognize that a parent’s right to interfere with the wishes of his child is stronger than a public school official’s right to interfere on behalf of the school’s own interest....

Even if the balance of parental, student, and school rights might favor the rights of a mature high school student in a specific instance, Plaintiff has not persuaded us that the balance favors students in a substantial number of instances—particularly those instances involving elementary and middle school students—relative to the total number of students covered by the statute.... We therefore decline to validate Plaintiff’s facial challenge.

The Court of Appeals also held unconstitutional that the portion of Florida's statute that requires students who are excused from reciting the pledge to nevertheless stand while others recite it. The AP reports on the court's decision. [Thanks to How Appealing for the lead.]