Religion Clause

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Cuba Will Now Permit Group Christian Services Inside Prisons

AP reported yesterday that Cuba's Communist government has relaxed tensions with religious groups by extending opportunities for prison inmates to worship. Authorities have agreed they will allow inmates to attend Roman Catholic Mass and Protestant services inside prisons. Previously inmates could only pray personally, and could meet individually with religious advisers. Now the group services will be able to make use of hymnals, Bibles and crosses. Authorities are considering as a next step extending the new rules to Jewish and Santeria inmates. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

New Poll Compares Conservative and Progressive Religious Activists

Public Religion Research yesterday released a 40-page report titled Faithful, Engaged, and Divergent: A Comparative Portrait of Conservative and Progressive Religious Activists in the 2008 Election and Beyond. Religion Dispatches accurately describes the study (based on extensive polling) as revealing few surprises. For example, the study concludes:

In terms of future public engagement, both conservative and progressive activists strongly emphasized the importance of being publicly visible and politically active. Conservative activists were more likely to emphasize the importance of prayer, whereas progressive activists were more likely to emphasize the importance of civility, pluralism, and social justice.

Christian Citizenship Applicant Protests Vaccination Requirement

Yesterday's Christian Post reports on Simone Davis, a 17-year old British citizen, who has been living with her grandmother in Florida since 2000. Now she is attempting to obtain U.S. citizenship, but objects on religious and moral grounds to the requirement that applicants for permanent residence show they have received a list of vaccinations, including Gardasil that protects against cervical cancer from sexually transmitted viruses. Simone and her grandmother (who teaches at a Christian school) applied for a waiver of the requirement, but were refused. Simone says that her Christian beliefs prohibit premarital sex, so she does not need the vaccine. Simone's grandmother says they cannot afford to appeal the waiver denial. Simone has been accepted to Pensacola Christian College in Florida for next year, but cannot attend unless she is a U.S. citizen.

City's Settlement of RLUIPA Lawsuit Leaves Challenged Ordinance In Effect

The city of Bellmead, Texas (under prodding from a federal judge as trial approached) is close to settling a RLUIPA lawsuit brought against it by the Church of the Open Door which was refused zoning permission to move its halfway house for released prisoners into a former nursing home building it had purchased. According to yesterday's Waco (TX) Tribune-Herald, a month after the church bought the former nursing home property for its House Where Jesus Shines ministry, the city passed a zoning law prohibiting halfway-house facilities within 1000 feet of any residence, school or public park. Under the settlement, which still has to be formally approved by City Council, the city will pay the Church damages of $550,000, but the zoning law will remain into effect and the Church will need to find a different location if it still wants to expand its operations. $250,000 of the settlement will be paid by the city's insurer. The city said its main concern is that the ordinance remain in effect.

EEOC Sues On Behalf of Jehovah's Witness Fired For Refusing Halloween Participation

Yesterday's Charleston Regional Business Journal reports that the EEOC has filed a religious discrimination lawsuit against the former owner of an ambulance company that was based in Orangeburg, South Carolina. The EEOC alleges that in 2006 the company fired a Jehovah's Witness employee who refused on religious grounds to represent the company at a local Halloween carnival. The lawsuit seeks back pay, damages, reinstatement and an injunction against future discriminatory practices.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

10 Commandments on City Hall Property Is Problematic

A new molded concrete depiction of the Ten Commandments has gone up on the city-owned Veterans Plaza next to the city building in Baker, Louisiana. According to the Baton Rouge (LA)Advocate last week, both this monument and an identical one nearby on the grounds of the Baker First Baptist Church face the Baker High School campus across the street. The monument on city property, as well as installation costs, were paid for personally by former city councilman A.T. Furr. Mayor Harold Rideau did not consult with the city attorney first, and city council never formally approved the installation. Instead it was approved informally "by word of mouth." Rideau said: "We’re a Christian-based community." Former councilman Furr says the monument is constitutionally acceptable because it is in a park that pays tribute to veterans, but City Attorney Ron Hall says that if it was put up with knowledge of city officials, it is probably illegal. [Thanks to Bob Ritter for the lead.]

Teens Sue After Ejection From Stadium For Refusing To Stand During "God Bless America"

The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger last week reported on a federal lawsuit filed by three high school students against Thomas Cetna, owner of the minor league baseball team, the Newark Bears. The students claim that Cetna cursed them and had security officers eject them from the stadium when they refused to stand during the 7th inning stretch while "God Bless America" was being sung. Plaintiffs argue that Cetna's actions violated their Constitutional rights, as well as their rights under federal and state statutes barring discrimination in public accommodations. The suit was filed on behalf of the students by the father of one of them who is an attorney.

Proposed Landmark Law Would Protect Church Slated For Closing

The Cleveland, Ohio Catholic Diocese has ordered fifty churches to close by next Summer as part of a downsizing plan. However the city of Lakewood is about to pass an ordinance to limit the impact of the closing on historic and ornate St. James Church. Yesterday's Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the city of Lakewood is about to enact an historic landmark law that will ban tearing down or gutting the interior of buildings designated as historic or cultural landmarks. The city will then move quickly to give St. James that designation.

3rd Circuit Hears Oral Arguments On School Holiday Concert Policy

The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday heard oral arguments in Stratechuk v. Board of Education, South Orange Maplewood School District. In the case, a New Jersey federal district court upheld a school board's holiday music policy that barred inclusion of religious holiday music in school holiday concerts. (See prior posting.) The New York Times, reporting on yesterday's arguments, quoted attorney Robert Muise who represented those challenging the school's policy. He thinks the 3rd Circuit panel is not sympathetic to the challenge.

Goa Rejects Christian Requests For Burial Grounds

In the Indian state of Goa, Christian leaders are criticizing a statement made by the mayor of the Corporation of City of Panjim. Today's Times of India reports that in rejecting applications of various religious groups for burial grounds in the city, Mayor Carolina Po declared: "The corporators feel that people who have converted to other religious sects should ask those people who led them to convert to provide them with burial grounds also." Christian pastors argue that all citizens should have the right to be buried.

Advocacy Group Launching Campaign To Encourage Religious Speech On Public Campuses

Arizona Republic's Livewire Blog reported yesterday that Alliance Defense Fund is using a $9.2 million anonymous donation as the catalyst to launch its $20 million "University Project." The Project is a legal campaign to get public colleges and universities to encourage religious speech on campuses.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Paper Reports On Parallel Orthodox Jewish Social Service System

Saturday's Asbury Park (NJ) Press reports on the parallel system of social services maintained by the large Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood, New Jersey:

With their own judicial order, ambulance brigade, civilian patrol, school system and political force, Orthodox Jews here live, in large part, in a parallel society, with dual public services mirroring those municipal bodies that officially govern. When they collide, controversy is often sparked.

[Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

Religious Homeless Shelter and Treatment Program Not Limited By Fair Housing Act

In Intermountain Fair Housing Council v. Boise Rescue Mission Ministries, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82459 (D ID, Sept. 10, 2009), an Idaho federal district court held that the homeless shelter component of the Boise Rescue Mission is not a "dwelling" and therefore is not subject to the religious anti-discrimination provisions of the federal Fair Housing Act. It also held that both in the homeless shelter and in the Rescue Mission's second component-- a residential recovery program for individuals with drug or alcohol dependency-- the Religious Freedom Restoration Act bars application of the Fair Housing Act to prohibit the Rescue Mission's religious activities or religious favoritism of certain participants. Plaintiffs in the case challenged preferential treatment of homeless shelter residents who participated in the shelter's religious programs, and and also complained of required participation in Christian religious activities for those in the New Life Discipleship/Recovery Program. Expanding on its RFRA holding, the court wrote:

The court ... finds the following to be core ecclesiastical matters with which the government may not interfere: a religious organization's teaching, preaching, and proselytizing to individuals on its own property; a religious organization's preferential treatment of guests on its property who attend religious services; a religious organization's limiting participation in a residential addiction recovery program to individuals who are or who wish to be of the same faith; and a religious organization's imposing requirements that guests and residents on its property attend and/or participate in religious services and activities.

Suit Challenging Star of David In US Supreme Court Dismissed As Frivolous

In Smith v. Roberts, (IN Ct. App., Sept. 8, 2009), an Indiana state Court of Appeals rather easily dismissed as frivolous an unusual lawsuit filed by an Indiana resident against U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts. According to the court, plaintiff's "complaint alleges there is a Star of David carved into the Supreme Court building and 'alleges that Roberts has acted negligently in his officials [sic] duties by allowing and continuely [sic] establishing, advocating, and advancing the Jewish religion in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution of America [sic].'" The Indiana appellate court said that plaintiff had essentially conceded that relief was not available under either the Federal or Indiana Tort Claims Acts, the statutes he had invoked. At any rate, the court said, it could not grant relief against the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Court Blocks Release of Names of Referendum Petition Signers

In Washington state, a group called Protect Marriage Washington obtained enough signatures on petitions to place Referendum-71 on this fall's ballot. The Secretary of State certified the referendum earlier this month. It seeks to overturn SB 5688, Washington's recently-enacted domestic partnership law. Two groups supporting gay rights, Whosigned.org and KnowThyNeighbor.org sought copies of the referendum petitions under Washington's Public Records Act, intending to post on the Internet the name and address of every petition signer, apparently with the intent to get gay rights supporters to contact the signers to complain. In John Doe #1 v. Reed, (WD WA, Sept. 10, 2009), a Washington federal district court granted a preliminary injunction against any public release of documents showing the names and contact information of individuals who signed petitions. The court concluded:

Plaintiffs have established that it is likely that supporting the referral of a referendum is protected political speech, which includes the component of the right to speak anonymously.... In light of the State’s own verification process and the State’s own case law, at this time the Court is not persuaded that full public disclosure of referendum petitions is necessary as "an important check on the integrity of the referendum election process." ... Therefore, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have established that it is likely that the Public Records Act is not narrowly tailored to achieve the compelling governmental interest of preserving the integrity of the referendum process.

AP reported on the decision on Friday. According to Friday's Seattle Times, Washington's Attorney General will appeal the decision to the 9th Circuit.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Searles v. Werholtz, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79719 (D KS, Sept. 2, 2009), a Kansas federal district court granted a prison food service provider's motion for summary judgment, finding that plaintiff had not produced evidence he was denied a properly prepared kosher diet.

In Sosa v. Lantz, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79677 (D CT, Sept. 2, 2009), a Connecticut federal district court, finding little likelihood of success on the merits, refused to grant a preliminary injunction to an inmate who alleged that authorities forced him "to participate and support the Muslim religion" by assigning him to a cell with a Muslim prisoner who prayed aloud five times each day.

In Henderson v. Kennell, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80752 (CD IL, Sept. 4, 2009), an Illinois federal district court rejected an inmate's claim that his free exercise rights were violated when the prison chaplain refused to permit him to change his religion from Christianity to Al-Islam, after previously changing it from Al-Islam to Christian. the court held that the prison: "has obvious reasons for preventing inmates from switching religions frequently and without following the specified rules. Correctional facilities have limited resources and must be able to plan on the number of inmates who may participate in religious services and holidays as well as those which require a specific religious diet."

In Collins v. Sisto, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81318 (ED CA, Sept. 8, 2009), a federal magistrate judge permitted plaintiff to move ahead with his claim that his First Amendment rights were violated when prison authorities refused to provide him, as a Muslim, with kosher instead of vegetarian meals. However the court held that defendants had qualified immunity as to the same claim under RLUIPA because at the time it was not clearly established that RLUIPA guaranteed this right.

In Mouton v. Gold, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81928 (ED OK, Sept. 9, 2009), an Oklahoma federal district court held that jail officials did not violate plaintiff's free exercise rights when they refused to provide him a copy of the Qur'an that he wanted not because he was a Muslim, but simply because he had a general interest in reading it.

In Thornton v. Hill, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81651 (WD OK, May 27, 2009), an Oklahoma federal magistrate judge allowed a pre-trial detainee to move ahead with his complaint that authorities confiscated two Bibles and other Christian literature from his cell.

In Slice v. Ferriter, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81934 (D MT, May 27, 2009), a prisoner complained she was required to participate in a faith-based "Therapeutic Community" program. A Montana federal magistrate judge recommended that the claim be dismissed because plaintiff had already lost her challenge on the same matter before the Montana Human Rights Bureau and had failed to appeal that decision.

British Court Allows Appeal of Order Barring Church's Anti-Gay Ad

In Belfast, Northern Ireland, the Sandown Free Presbyterian Church has been granted permission by a High Court judge to appeal a ruling against it issued in April by the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority. According to yesterday's Belfast Telegraph the court concluded that ASA order may have infringed the church's rights to religious belief and freedom of expression. At issue is an ad taken out by the church in the Belfast News Letter objecting to last year's gay pride parade. It was captioned: "The Word of God Against Sodomy." ASA ruled that the ad should not appear again in its current form because it violated a provision of Britain's advertising code that bars ads likely to cause serious or widespread offence on the basis of sexual orientation. The court, however, urged both sides to seek a compromise, saying: "It would seem there's not a great deal of change required in the wording and tone, perhaps, in order to meet the objections made by the ASA."

India's Supreme Court Orders Reconsideration of Decision on School's No-Beards Policy

On Friday, a two-judge panel of India's Supreme Court ordered reconsideration of a decision on enforcement of a Catholic schools' grooming policy that was handed down by a different panel of the Court in March (see prior posting). At issue is a Muslim student's challenge to his dismissal from Nirmala Convent Higher Secondary School because he refused to shave his beard. According to yesterday's The Hindu, the new decision stayed the school's order dismissing Mohammad Salim, saying that the order "needs to be reviewed afresh as the core issue of a Muslim's right to sport a beard as guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution [right to practise and profess one’s religion] was violated by the school." The Court's earlier oral decision was controversial because of comments by Justice Markandey Katju who said: "We don't want to have Taliban in the country."

Moves Seek Return of 17-Year Old Convert To Ohio

Extensive press attention has been given to the case of 17-year old Rifqa Bary who last month fled her home near Columbus, Ohio after converting from Islam to Christianity. A Florida court ordered that Rifqa remain in temporary foster care with the Christian family with whom she has been placed while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates her allegations that her father threatened to kill her because of her conversion. (See prior posting.) Now, however, it appears that Ohio authorities would like Rifqa returned to their jurisdiction. A spokesperson for Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said on Friday that the Governor believes the case should be handled by Ohio authorities. (AP) In what appears the first step toward obtaining Rifqa's return to Ohio, her parents filed a complaint in court in Columbus, Ohio charging Rifqa with being incorrigible. (UPI). The complaint says that Rifqa cut school and disappeared from home before fleeing by bus to Florida.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Lame Duck Hardliners In Indonesian Province Press For Strict Sharia Criminal Code

From the Brisbane Times, ABC News and the Jakarta Post this week we piece together the following story. In Indonesia's province of Aceh in 2005, separatist rebels and the government signed a peace accord after 29 years of conflict. (Background.) Four years earlier, the government had granted broad elements of autonomy to the province which proceeded to adopt a code partially enforcing Islamic law. This past April, however, the secular Partai Aceh (the former independence fighters) won elections and will take control of the legislative council in a few weeks. It wants to repeal portions of the province's Islamic code, which has been enforced with less rigor in recent years. However religious fundamentalists are attempting to get the lame duck legislature to enact a new jinayat, or strict Islamic criminal law, before they finally leave office. Apparently a vote will be held in the legislative council on Monday.

The jinayat covers consumption of alcohol, gambling and rape. However the greatest attention has been given to its punishments for adultery. Unmarried couples would receive 100 lashes with a cane, while married adulterers would be stoned to death. Now though opposition is growing to the death penalty for married adulterers from government officials. The new law would also punish those who give assistance to others violating the sharia law on adultery, such as beauty salons, motels or hotels.

Dawkins, Armstrong Debate Evolution and God In the Wall Street Journal

Under the caption Man vs. God, today's Wall Street Journal publishes a lengthy and interesting exchange between biologist Richard Dawkins and religious historian Karen Armstrong on evolution and the existence of God. Here is an excerpt from Dawkins article:

Making the universe is the one thing no intelligence, however superhuman, could do, because an intelligence is complex—statistically improbable —and therefore had to emerge, by gradual degrees, from simpler beginnings: from a lifeless universe—the miracle-free zone that is physics....

Where does that leave God? The kindest thing to say is that it leaves him with nothing to do, and no achievements that might attract our praise, our worship or our fear. Evolution is God's redundancy notice, his pink slip. But we have to go further. A complex creative intelligence with nothing to do is not just redundant. A divine designer is all but ruled out by the consideration that he must at least as complex as the entities he was wheeled out to explain. God is not dead. He was never alive in the first place.

Here is an excerpt from Armstrong's response:

Most cultures believed that there were two recognized ways of arriving at truth. The Greeks called them mythos and logos. Both were essential and neither was superior to the other; they were not in conflict but complementary, each with its own sphere of competence. Logos ("reason") was the pragmatic mode of thought that enabled us to function effectively in the world and had, therefore, to correspond accurately to external reality. But it could not assuage human grief or find ultimate meaning in life's struggle. For that people turned to mythos, stories that made no pretensions to historical accuracy but should rather be seen as an early form of psychology; if translated into ritual or ethical action, a good myth showed you how to cope with mortality, discover an inner source of strength, and endure pain and sorrow with serenity.

In the ancient world, a cosmology was not regarded as factual but was primarily therapeutic; it was recited when people needed an infusion of that mysterious power that had—somehow—brought something out of primal nothingness: at a sickbed, a coronation or during a political crisis..... The Genesis creation hymn, written during the Israelites' exile in Babylonia in the 6th century BC, was a gentle polemic against Babylonian religion. Its vision of an ordered universe where everything had its place was probably consoling to a displaced people....

Religion was not supposed to provide explanations that lay within the competence of reason but to help us live creatively with realities for which there are no easy solutions and find an interior haven of peace; today, however, many have opted for unsustainable certainty instead. But can we respond religiously to evolutionary theory? Can we use it to recover a more authentic notion of God?

8th Circuit Says No Damage Claims Against States Under RLUIPA Prisoner Provisions

The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has joined the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Circuits in holding that while RLUIPA's prisoner provisions are an appropriate use of Congress' spending power, states do not waive their sovereign immunity from damage claims under the Act by accepting federal prison funds. The 11th Circuit has taken the opposite position. In Van Wyhe v. Reisch, (8th Cir., Sept. 10, 2009), the court also held that the Civil Rights Remedies Equalization Act of 1986 (42 USC Sec. 2000d-7) which provides for the waiver of sovereign immunity by states for claims under any "Federal statute prohibiting discrimination by recipients of Federal financial assistance" does not apply to the institutionalized persons section of RLUIPA. The case involved claims by a Jewish inmate in the South Dakota State Penitentiary who wanted time and facilities to study Hebrew and who wanted to eat his meals outside in a sukkah during the Jewish holiday of Sukkkot.

In an amusing confusion of Hebrew terms, in denying plaintiff's request for an injunction giving him additional group study time to learn Hebrew, the court said: "his religion considers learning Hebrew to be a 'mikvah,' or 'good deed'." The court, of course meant "mitzvah". A "mikvah" is a ritual immersion pool. (See prior related posting.)

Friday, September 11, 2009

Suit Challenges Brooklyn Housing Project As Favoring Hasidic Residents of Area

The Brooklyn Paper reported yesterday on a state court lawsuit filed in New York by a coalition of forty excluded community groups in North Brooklyn claiming religious and racially discriminatory impacts from a proposed Broadway Triangle rezoning plan. The plan calls for converting 31 acres of former industrial land in East Williamsburg into a mixed-income community with much of the area reserved for below-market-rate housing. Two non-profit groups-- United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizen Council-- were given no-bid contracts to develop the area.

There is a long history of tension between the Hispanic and Hasidic communities in the area. Plaintiffs claim that the Williamsburg Hasidic community has been the beneficiary of racial quotas despite federal court orders calling for an end to discriminatory practices. The waiting list for low-income housing is 90% Hispanic and African-American, while almost 50% of the 2,000 public housing units in the area are occupied by Hasidic Jews. (See prior related posting.) According to the New York Daily News, the lawsuit charges, among other things, that limiting buildings in the rezoned area to 8-stories favors Orthodox Jews who cannot ride elevators on the Sabbath, while taller buildings would create more housing. The rezoning project however does have support from both Catholic and Hasidic groups and from some politicians. The rezoning still has to be approved by the City Planning Commission. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead.]

House Resolution Marks Today's Anniversary of 9-11

The House of Representatives on Wednesday marked today's anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by passing H. Res. 722 by a vote of 416-yes; 0-no; 18-not voting. The Resolution mourns and remembers those killed on that day. It also: "asserts, in the strongest possible terms, that the fight against terrorism is not a war on any nation, any people, or any faith," and "calls on all Americans to renew their devotion to the universal ideals that make the Nation great: freedom, pluralism, equality, and the rule of law."

CNN reports on other major events that will take place today to mark the anniversary-- memorial services in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania and a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. (the time the first hijacked plane hit the World Trade Center) led by President Obama, Michelle Obama and White House staff on the South Lawn of the White House

Appeal To Utah Supreme Court Filed By FLDS In Trust Reformation Case

Yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune reports that five members of the FLDS Church, including two of its bishops, have asked the Utah Supreme Court to review a trial court ruling that refused to permit them to intervene in proceedings brought by Utah's Attorney General to reform the United Effort Plan trust. The trust holds lands of church members in Hildale, Utah; Colorado City, Ariz., and Bountiful, British Columbia. In In the Matter of the United Effort Plan Trust, trial court Judge Denise Lindberg held that potential beneficiaries of charitable trusts do not have a legally cognizable interest that permits them to assert claims. (See prior posting.) The petition for review, filed last month, argues that church members have an interest in the matter distinct from the public at large represented by the attorneys general of Utah and Arizona.

Ramdadan Brings Arrests For Eating In Egypt; Ridicule of Bachelors In Nigeria

For the first time this year, Egypt's Ministry of Interior has begun arresting those caught eating or drinking in public during Ramadan. Al Arabiya reported Wednesday that in the governorate of Aswan, 150 Egyptians were charged with the misdemeanor of publicly breaking the fast. Many others were arrested in the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada where the governor ordered all restaurants closed during the day. Human rights groups criticized the arrests. One lawyer also said that the ban on eating "in public" might not cover those eating in a restaurant or cafe, since they are a closed place not seen by everyone.

Meanwhile Al Arabiya yesterday reported on a rather unusual Ramadan activity in Nigeria that apparently has received official sanction. The country's mainly-Muslim city of Kano each Ramadan holds a carnival title "kamun gwauro" (meaning "bachelor catch" in the local Hausa language). The hereditary Nalako (bachelors' hunter), wearing amulets, an animal skin, woven shirt and cap wanders around the city with a noose looking for unmarried men. Bachelors who are found are paraded around with singing and drumming and are forced to dance and sing a "bachelor song" to embarrass them into taking a wife.

Admissions Criteria of British Jewish School Bend After Court Decision

Yesterday's London Jewish Chronicle reports that for the first time London's Jewish Free School has admitted a student who was not considered Jewish under Orthodox religious law as interpreted by the Office of Britain's Chief Rabbi. The student's mother was converted to Judaism by a rabbi from one of the non-Orthodox movements in Judaism. Earlier this year, Britain's Court of Appeal ruled that the school's traditional admission criteria amounted to unlawful racial discrimination, and said that publicly supported Jewish schools could favor Jewish students only if they base their selections on a student's faith, and not his or her ethnicity. (See prior posting.) The case is being appealed. (See prior posting.) Apparently the decision to admit this student was made after the student's parents appealed to an independent panel of the Brent Council, which is the school’s local authority. Unless the Court of Appeal decision is overturned, beginning next year Jewish schools will have to rewrite their admissions policies. Britain's United Synagogue says that parents who will need certificates of synagogue attendance for their children to show their Jewish faith should register at their local synagogue by next week. [Thanks to Rabbi Michael Simon for the lead.]

Chabad Group Sues Connecticut Town Over Zoning Refusal

Yesterday's Litchfield County (CT) Times reports that a RLUIPA lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Connecticut on Wednesday by Chabad Lubavitch of Litchfield County and its rabbi, Joseph Eisenbach, challenging the refusal by the town of Litchfield to allow Chabad to restore and add onto a Victorian house on the edge of the town's Historic District. Chabad wants to use the building as a synagogue, community center and classrooms. The proposed 21,000 square foot renovation would also contain living quarters for the rabbi, his family and guests, a mikveh, kitchens, offices and a swimming pool. (See prior posting.) The Historic District Commission says the size of the building would have overwhelmed the town's central historic district. But the lawsuit says that the zoning denial was motivated in large part by anti-Hasidic animus as reflected in a number of public statements by officials. The Hartford Courant says: "The lawsuit raises the specter of one of the most scenic villages in this wealthy state being accused of using its strict architectural standards to help it violate a group's right to practice its religion."

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Britain Appoints First Jewish Civilian Chaplain For Military Forces

Britain's Ministry of Defence announced Tuesday that Rabbi Arnold Saunders has been appointed the first Jewish Civilian Chaplain to the British military. He will be responsible for serving Jewish personnel in all three branches of the military services. The Ministry says that some 130 Jewish personnel currently serve in the British armed forces, while other reports put the number at around 200. The British military in recent years has appointed only Christian chaplains as part of the regular Chaplains' corps, though the Jewish community has appointed an honorary chaplain and Jewish chaplains serve in the Territorial Army (the reserves). In 2005, the military appointed civilian chaplains to serve Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh members of the armed forces. (Background). YNet News has more on Rabbi Saunders appointment. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig & State in Israel) for the lead.]

Plea Deal Entered In Charges of Importation of Monkey Parts

Yesterday's Staten Island (NY) Advance reports that a plea deal in federal court in New York brings to a conclusion the 3-year old case against Liberian native Mamie Manneh who had been charged with importing parts of endangered African primates without the permit required by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and failing to disclose to border officials the true nature of the product she was importing. In a decision last year, the court rejected Manneh's free exercise defense to the charges, concluding that her religious claims were not sincere. (See prior posting.) On Tuesday, Manneh pled guilty to smuggling illegal monkey parts ("bushmeat") into the U.S. Manneh has been on parole since last October in an unrelated case in which she was convicted of running over her husband's girlfriend in a parking lot.

Suit Challenges Mississippi's Use of Religious Themes In Abstinence Teen Summits

The ACLU of Mississippi yesterday announced that it has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to end religious messages that are part of state-sponsored and state-funded "abstinence-only-until-marriage" programs. The complaint (full text) in Robinson v. Thompson, (SD MI, filed 9/9/2009), alleges that an annual teen summit held by the state to promote National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month has featured Christian prayer, religious themes and overtly Christian comments as part of speakers' presentations. For example, this year's Summit featured a lengthy presentation about the Ten Commandments from Adams County (MS) Court Judge John N. Hudson. The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment that these practices violate the Establishment Clause, an injunction and a return to the federal government of any federal funds used to pay for the annual teen summits.

Finland Convicts City Council Member for Anti-Islam Blog Posting

A trial court in Helsinki, Finland has convicted Jussi Halla-aho, a member of Helsinki's City Council, of violating the sanctity of religion through an anti-Islamic posting on his blog last June. Today's Helsingin Sanomat reports that the court fined Halla-aho 330 Euros. The posting at issue claimed that Islam sanctifies pedophilia and that the Prophet Muhammad was a pedophile because he had an underage wife. The court however acquitted Halla-aho of another charge of incitement against an ethnic group, finding that an anti-Somali posting was an attempt at satire. Halla-aho-- who commented on his sentence and repeated his statements on an Internet bulletin board-- plans to appeal.

Muslim Prayer Rally Planned For D.C.; Some Christians Object

A New Jersey mosque is organizing a national prayer rally in Washington, DC on Sept. 25. Hassen Abdellah, president of Dar-ul-Islam mosque, expects 50,000, mostly Muslims, from around the country to attend the event on Capitol Hill whose focus will be a Friday prayer service at 1:00 p.m. Organizers though have a permit for access to the West Front of the Capital for the full day. Reporting last week on the planned event, the Newark Star-Ledger says that the event is not political. Abdellah says: "This is not a protest. Never has the Islamic community prayed on Capitol Hill for the soul of America. We're Americans. We need to change the face of Islam so people don't feel every Muslim believes America is 'the great Satan,' because we love America."

Apparently some Christians are objecting to the planned Muslim rally. Charisma Magazine yesterday reported on an e-mail circulating virally on the Internet from Mosy Madugba, head of Spiritual Life Outreach in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, calling for Christians to use prayer to oppose Islam's growing influence in the U.S. He ask Christians to fast from midnight on Sept. 25 until the Muslim prayer event ends at 7:00 p.m. His letter says in part: "It is warfare time. Do not joke with this. If Christians fail to frustrate this game plan in the spirit, you will regret the outcome."

Poll On Views of Religious Similarities and Religious Discrimination Released

The Pew Forum yesterday released a poll of Americans' views of religious similarities and differences. 65% of those surveyed say that Islam is either very different or somewhat different from their own religion. 58% of those surveyed view Muslims as being subject to much discrimination. 45% say Islam is no more likely than other religions to encourage violence, and 45% say they personally know someone who is Muslim. The full survey also asks about perceptions of various other religious traditions. 19% of all those surveyed, and 24% of white Protestant evangelicals, say that they think of themselves as part of a religious minority. A Time Magazine article discusses the poll results.

City Council Substitutes Pledge of Allegiance For Prayer

The Freedom from Religion Foundation continues to write to city councils around the country objecting to their opening their sessions with sectarian prayers, and the cities continue to respond in various ways. In Tehachapi, California on Tuesday, City Council opened its meeting with recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance instead of the usual prayer. KERO News reports that the change was implemented after a letter from FFRF charged that "prayers currently given during the Council meeting impermissibly advance Christianity." Council member Ed Grimes said, "First and foremost, we need to protect the city from litigation..." Conservative candidate for state assembly, Ken Mettler, however charged FFRF with relying on intimidation: "they like to bully some of the smaller cities, but they've picked on the wrong small city.... [W]e like our heritage, and they're messing with the wrong folks here."

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Maryland Town Will Buy Land In Religious Bias Settlement

Today's Frederick (MD) News-Post reports that the town of Walkersville, Maryland has agreed in general on a settlement in a lawsuit against it brought by the owners of land that the Ahmadiyya Movement of Islam had hoped to buy to construct a mosque. In the lawsuit the seller alleged that his sale of the land was blocked by government officials and private citizens in concerted actions motivated by anti-Muslim hostility. A March 2009 federal court decision allowed plaintiff to proceed with most of his claims. (See prior posting.) Under the settlement-- which has not yet been reduced to writing or signed-- the city will purchase the land from owner David Moxley for $4.7 million. At the Walkersville town council meeting tonight, an ordinance will be introduced to appropriate the funds, and a public hearing on the settlement is scheduled for Sept. 23.

USCIRF Faces Some Opposition In Congress

The Washington Post yesterday reports that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom could disappear in 2011 when its current authorization sunsets. Earlier this year the Commission survived attempts to cut its funding as some in Congress think other approaches to international religious freedom would be more productive. Some sources say there is friction among Commission members. USCIRF however also has its defenders and its new chairman, Leonard Leo has been making the agency's case to influential members of Congress.

Lawsuit Seeks To Halt Baptist Group's National Election

In Washington, D.C. yesterday, Rev. Henry J. Lyons of Tampa, Florida filed a lawsuit attempting to enjoin Thursday's scheduled election for president of the National Baptist Convention USA-- the oldest and largest predominantly Black religious denomination in the U.S. The election is being held in connection with the Convention's Annual Session in Memphis. AP reported yesterday on the move by Lyons who was forced out as president of the denomination in 1999 after he was charged with stealing for personal use some $4 million of the church group's funds. He was convicted and served nearly 5 years in prison. An earlier AP story has more background on Lyon's run for office. Lyons' lawsuit claims that the denomination's new bylaws governing who can vote in the election violate its constitution.

UPDATE: AP reports that at a hearing on Wednesday, D.C. Superior Court Judge Jeanette J. Clark denied Lyons motions for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. This allows the election to proceed as scheduled on Thursday. The judge concluded there is no conflict between the Convention's bylaws and constitution, and that Lyons waited until the "last minute" to raise issues regarding election procedures.

UPDATE2: Press of Atlantic City reports that Delegates at the annual meeting of the National Baptist Convention USA on Thursday elected Rev. Julius R. Scruggs as president, defeating Rev. Henry Lyons, by a vote of 4,108 to 924.

California Legislature Orders More Police Training On Dealing With Sikh Kirpan

Last week, the California legislature passed and sent to the Governor for his signature AB 504 mandating additional training materials for law enforcement officers on how to deal with Sikhs carrying kirpans. Yesterday's Oakland Tribune says that Sikhs have been arrested for wearing the kirpan-- a ceremonial dagger-- by officers who approach them in a disrespectful way and assume they have been involved in a crime. The bill requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to develop training material on recognizing and interacting with Sikhs possessing articles of faith. The updated training material is to include "the alternatives to arrest and detention that have been successfully used by law enforcement officers when contacting a Sikh carrying a kirpan with a benign intent and in accordance with an integral part of his or her recognized religious practice." Around 100,000 Sikhs live in the San Francisco Bay area.

Arizona Supreme Court Rejects Free Exercise Defense To Marijuana Charges

In State of Arizona v. Hardesty, (AZ Sup. Ct. Sept. 8, 2009), the Arizona Supreme Court rejected an atempt by a member of the Church of Cognizance to raise a defense under Arizona's Free Exercise of Religion Act to prosecution for possession of marijuana. Marijuana is a sacrament of the church, and defendant claimed an unlimited religious right to use it anywhere in any quantity. The court held that the state's total ban on marijuana is the least restrictive means to carry out its compelling interest in protecting health, its interest in protecting against the threat to safety that arises from marijuana trafficking and its interest in preventing driving while under the influence of drugs. AP yesterday reported on the decision.

9th Circuit: It Was OK To Ban Ave Maria From High School Graduation Ceremony

In a 2-1 decision yesterday in Nurre v. Whitehead, (9th Cir., Sept. 8, 2009), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that school officials did not violate a student's free speech rights when they barred her from performing an instrumental version of Ave Maria at her Everett, Washington high school's graduation ceremony. Responding Judge Smith's dissent, the majority in an opinion written by Judge Tallman said:

... [W]e do not seek to remove all religious musical work from a school ensemble's repertoire. Nor do we intend to substantially limit when such music may be played. We agree ... that religious pieces form the backbone of the musical arts. To ignore such a fact would be to dismiss centuries of music history. Instead, we confine our analysis to the narrow conclusion that when there is a captive audience at a graduation ceremony, which spans a finite amount of time, and during which the demand for equal time is so great that comparable non-religious musical works might not be presented, it is reasonable for a school official to prohibit the performance of an obviously religious piece.

Bay City News yesterday reported on the decision.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Magistrate Says Remove "Five Percenters" From Prison "Security Threat Group" List

The Nation of Gods and Earths / Five Percenters (NGE) -- an offshoot group of the Nation of Islam -- is classified by many prison systems as a Security Threat Group (STG). (Background.) Last month in Hardaway v. Haggerty, (ED MI, Aug. 17, 2009), a Michigan federal magistrate judge recommended that the STG designation be removed from the group. Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen said that the crucial issue in the case is whether NGE is a "religion" or merely a "secular gang." Finding on the basis of competing expert testimony that NGE fits the definition of a religion, he went on to apply the struct scrutiny test of RLUIPA to the burden placed on NGE adherents by the designation and by the concomitant prison ban on all the group's publications. Finding that the STG designation was based on the group's racialist ideology which is religious in nature, he concluded that "outlawing the entire religion and imposing a total ban on the group’s publications does not further an otherwise compelling state interest in prison security." AP today reported on the decision.

Defiant Sudanese Journalist Sentenced For Wearing Pants

In Khartoum, Sudan yesterday the high profile trial of a defiant woman journalist who is challenging the country' sharia-based laws relating to dress requirements resumed. (See prior posting.) The Los Angeles Times reports that journalist Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein was convicted of public indecency for wearing pants at an outdoor cafe. At her trial Hussein wore the same pants. After the conviction, the judge, instead of sentencing defendant to the expected 40 lashes, merely imposed a fine of $200. Hussein however refused to pay and was then sentenced to a month in jail. When she was charged, Hussein worked for the United Nations. Wanting to make a public issue of Sudan's laws, she resigned so that her case would not be dismissed on immunity grounds. She also sent e-mail invitations to journalists and diplomats asking that they attend her sentencing. Not surprisingly, Hussein's lawyer says that the conviction will be appealed to Sudan's Supreme Court.

Kentucky High School Team's Trip To Revival Raises Parental Concerns

In Breckinridge County, Kentucky, some Breckinridge County High School parents are upset about a bus trip for the football team organized last month by Coach Scott Mooney. USA Today yesterday reported that the trip to Franklin Crossroads Baptist Church included a revival at which 8 or 9 of the 20 players attending were baptized. Superintendent Janet Meeks, also a member of the church, defended the trip as voluntary. She was there and viewed the baptisms without raising any objections. A public school bus was used to transport the team to church, but another coach used personal funds to pay for gas. The church's pastor, the Rev. Ron Davis, said that he requires minors to obtain their parents' consent to be baptized. He said though that sometime high schoolers look older than they are.

New Religious Education Law Being Drafted In Kyrgyzstan

Forum 18 yesterday reported on the draft text of a new Law on Religious Education and Educational Institutions that is being drafted by Kyrgyzstan's State Agency for Religious Affairs (SARA). Kanybek Osmonaliev, had of SARA, says a new law is needed in order to reduce the number of Islamic educational institutions and to require them to offer a proper balance of religious and secular subjects. The proposed law would require all religious education institutions to register with the SARA and be licensed and accredited by the Education Ministry. SARA recommends that 30% of courses be required to be secular. Religious education will be permitted only in full-time institutions, and educational requirements are imposed for those who teach religious courses. Government approval will be required before adults may go abroad for religious training, and minors will be barred from studying religion abroad.

Dress Code Loosened For Women Lawyers In Gaza

In Gaza, the Supreme Justice Council last week announced that, contrary to a pronouncement in July, female lawyers will not be required to wear traditional Islamic dress when appearing in court. YNet News reported Sunday that in a press release the Council said: "female lawyers are asked only to appear in modest dress from now on." Apparently the reversal was in response to widespread criticism of an earlier pronouncement requiring Muslim head scarfs which was issued not by the full Council, but by Supreme Court chief justice Abdul-Raouf Halabi personally. (YNet News, July 26).

Meanwhile last week Human Rights Watch criticized the Islamic dress code that has been imposed on school girls in Gaza. HRW's press release stated: "... since the school year opened in late August, schools have been turning away female students for not wearing a headscarf or traditional gown, on the basis of new unofficial orders to schools from Hamas authorities.... Previously, the uniform typically required for female public school students was a long denim skirt and shirt. The new orders appear to have been issued without any legal basis."

Monday, September 07, 2009

Bishops' Labor Day Statement Highlights Unionization Principles For Catholic Health Agencies

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued its Labor Day 2009 statement, The Value of Work; The Dignity of the Human Person. The statement highlights an elaborate agreement reached in June on unionization of workers at Catholic health care facilities. More than ten years of discussions between two major unions, Catholic health care agencies and the Bishops Conference led to the report: Respecting the Just Rights of Workers: Guidance and Options for Catholic Health Care and Unions. Here is an excerpt from The Foreword to the document:

This document reflects and applies longstanding principles of Catholic teaching. It encourages civil dialogue between unions and employers focusing on how the workers’ right to decide will be respected. Under the agreement, management agrees not to use traditional anti-union tactics or outside firms that specialize in such tactics and unions agree to refrain from publicly attacking Catholic health care organizations.

Separately, on the Labor Day theme, here are brief "Historical Highlights of the Religion-Labor Movement" reprinted from the Interfaith Worker Justice website.

Connecticut Diocese Plea to Stay Release of Abuse Records Referred To Full Supreme Court

As previously reported, the Bridgeport, Connecticut Roman Catholic Diocese has been trying to obtain a stay of an order issued in May by the Connecticut Supreme Court requiring release of some 12,600 pages of documents filed in 23 cases alleging sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy. The documents, under seal since the cases were settled in 2001, are being sought by 4 newspapers. Planning to ask the U.S. Supreme Court for review, the Diocese petitioned Justice Ginsburg to grant a stay of the Connecticut order pending filing and disposition of a writ of certiorari. She refused. Then, in an unusual move, the Diocese submitted a request to Justice Scalia to grant the stay. Now it appears that Justice Scalia thinks the entire Court should decide whether or not a stay should be granted. The Supreme Court's docket entry in Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation v. New York Times indicates that on Sept. 2, Justice Scalia distributed the refiled application for a stay for consideration by the Justices at their Sept. 29 conference.

Minnesota Senator's State Fair Joke Misfires

Op Ed News reported on an awkward lack of religious sensitivity by Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar yesterday during CNN correspondent John King's interview with her at the Minnesota State Fair. (Transcript). As King bantered about items the Republicans were handing out at the Fair, Klobuchar replied: "I have for you chocolate covered bacon, one of our fair delicacies. I'd like you to eat it on the air." King adamantly refused, but joked, "at least this is not on a stick." King converted to Judaism last year (report from Soup Cans) in advance of marrying Dana Bash who is also a CNN correspondent.

Sunday, September 06, 2009

South African Lawsuit Challenges Halal Certification Organization

Today's Johannesburg Times reports on a lawsuit that has been filed in South Africa in the High Court in Johannesburg by the Muslim organization "Scholars of Truth." The group seeks to stop the South African National Halal Association (Sanha) from continuing to act as a certifier of Halal chickens. Scholars of Truth, which criticizes Sanha for being a commercial, profit-making business, says that allegations of dishonesty and fraud have been made against Sanha. Sanha has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, saying that it should be left to the conscience of individual Muslims whether or not they wish to rely on Sanha's certification. Sanha also argues that plaintiffs lack standing to bring their challenge. Sanha's website says that Sanha is a non-profit organization whose fees merely cover costs. However Islamic scholar Mufti Afzal Hoosen Elias argues that no fees at all should be charged for Halal certification.

In India, Suit Threatened Over Compulsory Hindu Prayer In Schools

The education minister of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh last month ordered that beginning Sept. 5, all students in schools that participate in the state-run lunch program must recite the "bhojan mantra" before their mid-day meals. IANS reports today that a group of socio-cultural organizations will file suit in the Madhya Pradesh high court asking that the court order an end to the practice. In a memorandum submitted to the state's governor, the groups argue that the new order divides students and teachers on the basis of religion. Muslim and Christian groups object to introduction of the Hindu practice. [corrected]

UPDATE: An earlier article from Thaindian News gives more background as well as setting out the specific bhojan mantra that is prescribed (different from the one to which I earlier linked). This posting comment from "Erp" sets out more detail.

Large Churches Face Zoning Hurdles

Today's Baltimore Sun carries an interesting analysis of zoning opposition to building of mega-churches (and similarly large synagogues and mosques). Dave Travis, a consultant who tracks these trends says: "There's still a general impression that most churches are small: The white frame church down there on the corner, the little brick building that has a hundred people. Just the fact that you've got a church with a couple thousand people seems abnormal to lots of people." Some large churches are instead pursuing a multi-site strategy.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Houseknecht v. Doe, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77950 (ED PA, Aug. 28, 2009), a Pennsylvania federal district court rejected an inmate's complaint that his rights under the Free Exercise Clause and RLUIPA were infringed when, because he was placed in protective custody, he was denied access to formal worship services and formal Bible study classes. He was instead permitted to meet with a chaplain. The court allowed plaintiff additional discovery on his retaliation claim.

In Sumahit v. Parker, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78973 (ED CA, Sept. 3, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge recommended rejection of a prisoner's free exercise claim, finding that he had not described how restrictions on his access to Native American religious services burdened his ability to practice his religion.

In Johnson v. Sisto, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78943 (ED CA, Sept. 2, 2009), a Rastafarian prisoner complained that he was denied access to a vegan diet as required by his Rastafarian faith. A California federal magistrate judge recommended that most of his claims be dismissed because the defendants he sued lacked authority to provide him with a religious diet unless he obtained a religious diet card through the chaplain. However the magistrate recommended that plaintiff be permitted to proceed on his claim that on one occasion, when he was entitled to it, he was denied a religious diet meal.

In Jackson v. Verdini, (MA App. Ct., Aug. 21, 2009), a Massachusetts state appeals court affirmed (with a minor modification) a lower court's holding that the Department of Corrections provide an additional Imam to perform weekly Jum'ah services and that female officers be prohibited from touching the genital or anal areas of any male Muslim inmates except in emergency situations.

In Sandeford v. Plummer, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79571 (ND CA, Sept. 1, 2009), a California federal district court allowed plaintiff to move ahead with free exercise and equal protection challenges. Plaintiff alleged that jail staff failed to grant his request for an "Islamic Diet," access to Islamic religious services, and permission to wear a Kufi cap.

In Kaiser v. Shipman, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79413 (ND FL, Aug. 4, 2009), a Florida federal magistrate judge recommended dismissal of Free Exercise and RLUIPA claims by an inmate who was not permitted to keep in his personal possession tarot cars, an alter cloth and runes to practice his faith,which prison authorities classified as Wiccan.

In Price v. Caruso, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79199 (ED MI, July 16, 2009), a Michigan federal magistrate judge recommended that a Jewish prisoner's monetary damage claim under RLUIPA be dismissed on sovereign immunity grounds, even though factual issues remained as to whether RLUIPA was violated by a ban on Jewish prisoners traveling between prison complexes to hold Sabbath services (in order to obtain 10 persons for a minyan).

In Burns v. Smith, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79525 (WD LA, July 16, 2009), a Louisiana federal magistrate judge refused to dismiss free exercise and RLUIPA claims by a pre-trial detainee challenging a detention center's apparent policy of withholding church services to detainees or inmates placed in lockdown for medical reasons.

In Muhammad v. McNeil, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79409 (ND FL, July 6, 2009), a Florida federal magistrate judge recommended dismissal of two claims brought by a Muslim prisoner. Plaintiff sought a strict Halal diet that also took account of his medical needs for a meat-based low-residue diet. He also sought, for religious reasons, access to a dentist (at his family's expense) to remove 16 gold crowns installed in his youth which he says now violate his religious beliefs.

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Christian Groups Are Proselytizing Dearborn, Michigan's Muslims

Today's Detroit Free Press reports that at least eight Christian groups from across the United States have organized proselytization campaigns aimed at Dearborn, Michigan's large Islamic population. The efforts have already resulted in various lawsuits (see prior postings 1, 2), assertions that opponents of the efforts are stifling free speech, and debates about how Islam can co-exist with Christianity in the West. One Christian group spent at least $67,000 on its activities in Dearborn this summer. Some of the Christian-Muslim encounters have become confrontational. Commenting on the increased activity, Eric Haven, executive pastor at Woodside Bible Church in Troy, Michigan said: "For years, Christians have sent missionaries around the world to proclaim the gospel of Christ. In this day and age, the world is coming to America. ... So, it's a great opportunity."

Louisiana Governor's State-Paid Trips To Churches Raise Controversy

Controversy between Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and his critics has been escalating since an article in the New Orleans Advocate a week ago disclosed that at least 15 times this year Jindal used his state helicopter to attend church services around the state. Jindal says he also uses the occasssions to talk with local officials. (Last year, Americans United criticized similar visits by Jindal.) Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, but also pastor of a Baptist Church in Monroe, Louisiana, this week wrote Jindal complaining about the taxpayer-funded trips. (Full text of letter.) He wrote in part: "For the sake of religion, please do not politicize houses of worship in Louisiana and rob those of us who minister there of the credibility that allows our faith to be a healing force in our state and across our land."

ABP reports that a Jindal spokesperson reacted to Gaddy's letter by saying : [The Interfaith Alliance] opposes putting crosses up in honor of fallen policemen, has attacked the National Day of Prayer and advocates for same-sex marriage, so it's not surprising that they are attacking the governor for accepting invitations to speak at Louisiana churches." [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Wisconsin County Seeks Compromise To Avoid Liability Over Monument

In Chippewa County, Wisconsin, officials are scrambling to come up with an acceptable compromise over feared church-state challenges to a monument that was put up on the grounds of the County Building. As reported by KBJR-TV, Business North and Chippewa Valley Newspapers, a private committee came up with plans for a monument to Chippewa County Deputy Jason Zunker who was struck and killed in January 2008 while directing traffic. The 3-panel monument includes a lengthy quote from Deputy Zunker exhorting individual to accept Jesus. The County Building and Grounds Committee approved the monument without knowing what would be on it and without further oversight. Last month the county told the memorial committee to remove the center panel of the monument containing the religious language. On Thursday, however, the county offered a compromise that would leave the panel up if the Jason Zunker Memorial Committee would accept liability in case a lawsuit was filed. One report says that under the compromise, the Memorial Committee would be responsible for all litigation; another says that the county would defend at trial but the Memorial Committee would be responsible for any appeal. Whichever it is, the Memorial Committee has until Oct. 1 to decide whether to accept the compromise.

White House Visitor Logs Will Now Be Routinely Released; Lawsuits Settled

ABC News reported yesterday that the Justice Department has settled several Freedom of Information Act lawsuits brought by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). All the suits seek release of logs identifying visitors to the White House and the Vice President's Residence. One of the suits sought records of visits of nine prominent conservative Christian leaders to the Bush White House and Vice President Cheney's residence. (See prior posting.) Other of the lawsuits sought records from the Obama administration. On Thursday, the Justice Department released a letter (full text) summarizing the settlement agreement under which it will release the requested records. In addition, the White House will change its policy for the future and will release the names of White House visitors and the officials with whom they met. Release will be made monthly online, with a 3 to 4 month reporting delay and with certain redactions for national security and privacy purposes. Yesterday CREW issued a statement announcing the settlement.

3rd Circuit Tells BIA: Reconsider Whether Iran May Torture Christian Convert

In Ghaziaskar v. Attorney General for the United States, (3d Cir., Sept. 3, 2009), the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, while upholding a portion of the Board of Immigration Appeal's determinations, remanded to BIA the claim by an Iranian immigrant that if he were deported to Iran it is more likely than not that he would face torture. If he can show that, he would be entitled to have his deportation delayed under the Convention Against Torture. Part of Ghaziaskar's claim was that his conversion to Christianity could subject him to torture. The Immigration Judge questioned Ghaziaskar's credibility, but the 3rd Circuit said that the judge failed to consider the practices of Christian churches in Iran. He also failed to consider current conditions in Iran. The Legal Intelligencer reports on the decision.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Italian Prime Minister In Historic Feud With The Vatican

Today's Brisbane (Australia) Times reports from Italy on what it calls an historic and potentially disastrous schism between Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Vatican. It all began when the Italian daily la Repubblica began repeatedly to ask Berlusconi to explain his relationships with several young women, including an aspiring teen model from Naples. Berlusconi responded by filing a libel suit against la Repubblica, and threatened to sue several other newspaper. European media sharply criticized Berlusconi's attack on the press, and so did the Vatican by cancelling the annual dinner traditionally shared with the Prime Minister after the Perdonanza Mass, a centuries-old service for the forgiveness of sin. Berlusconi responded by cancelling his attendance at the Mass in the earthquake-torn town of L'Aquila. However he also began a counter attack using a newspaper owned by his brother to attack the editor of Avvenire, Italy's main Catholic newspaper.

The Berlusconi paper called Catholic editor, Dino Boffo, a homosexual and claimed he was being sued by the wife of a man he was in a relationship with. Boffo was supported by a public statement from the Vatican, but on Thursday, after issuing a detailed rebuttal and explanation of the allegations, Boffo resigned. He charged his opponents with ''media butchery.'' Brisbane's Times says: "The rift between Mr Berlusconi's administration and the Vatican is now being read as the most serious battle between church and state since World War II."

Iowa School District Unveils Revised Religious Liberty Draft Policy

After withdrawing its original draft policy on religious liberty in schools (see prior posting), Spencer, Iowa school officials today unveiled a new draft (full text). It provides in part:

Teachers shall prepare and teach lessons throughout the year and throughout the curriculum that:
Approach religion as academic, not devotional
Strive for student awareness of religions, not acceptance of religions
Study about religion, but do not practice religion in the classroom
Expose students to diversity of religious views, not impose any particular view
Educate about a variety of religions, not promote or denigrate religion
Inform students about various beliefs, not conform students to any particular belief
Demonstrate the impact of economic, social, political and cultural effects of religion throughout history
Are age appropriate

The Spencer Daily Reporter covers these developments.

Obama Issues Proclamation On Remembrance of 9-11 Victims

President Obama yesterday issued a Proclamation (full text) declaring Sept. 4-6 as National Days of Prayer and Remembrance 2009. The Proclamation focuses on the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as well as on members of the armed forces "who work every day to keep our Nation safe from terrorism and other threats to our security." The Proclamation requests: "that the people of the United States, each in their own way, honor the victims of September 11, 2001, and their families through prayer, memorial services, the ringing of bells, and evening candlelight remembrance vigils."

Controversy Persists Over Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate's 20-Year Old Thesis

A controversy has been developing in Virginia this week over the masters' thesis written twenty years ago by now Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert F. McDonnell. (Washington Post 8/30.) The 93-page thesis titled The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of the Decade was written while McDonnell was a student at what is now Regent University, founded by Pat Robertson. The Washington Post described the thesis:

McDonnell described working women as "detrimental" to the traditional family. He criticized a U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing contraception for unmarried couples and decried the "purging" of religion from schools. He advocated character education programs in public schools to teach "traditional Judeo-Christian values," and he criticized federal tax credits for child care expenditures because they encouraged women to enter the workforce.

In this week's Atlantic, Wendy Kaminer examines whether or not the thesis is relevant to today's campaign given McDonnell's statements that some of his views expressed in the thesis have changed. Kaminer says she still has questions. For example, she writes: "Reading McDonnell's thesis, which relies on slogans, political talking points, and declarations of faith more than argument, I also wonder if he's developed his capacity for nuanced, rational thought." [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Opinion Issued In Case Ordering Parochial School Student Into Public School Band

A Pennsylvania federal district court has now issued a detailed written opinion explaining the temporary restraining order it issued last week (see prior posting) requiring the the Burrell (PA) High School to permit a student who transferred to a parochial school to remain in the high school band. In Trefelner v. Burrell School District, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78785 (WD PA, Sept. 2, 2009), the court held that the free exercise rights of Alexander Trefelner, an eighth grade saxophone player, were infringed by the school's policy. The policy, by permitting exceptions for home-schooled students and students attending charter schools, favors secular over religious motivations. The policy is not a neutral policy of general applicability. The reasons advanced for allowing home and charter schooled students to participate apply equally to parochial school students.

Jury Rejects Dance Teacher's Religious Discrimination Claim

In San Diego, California yesterday, a state court jury rejected a former public school dance teacher's religious discrimination lawsuit against the Lemon Grove (CA) School District. According to 10News, Kathy Villalobos claimed the school district fired her for playing dance music containing religious lyrics. However the jury believed the school board that argued Villalobos was fired for missing and cancelling classes. School officials said Villalobos was merely told that if she was going to use religious music, it should be from a wide variety of religions. Villalobos says she plans to appeal the decision.

Groups Urge Change In Senate Bill To Permit Head Coverings In Drivers License Photos

Yesterday more than a dozen religious advocacy and interfaith groups sent a letter (full text) to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee urging them to support an amendment to S. 1261, the PASS ID Act, that is pending in the Senate. The bill pressures states to issue drivers licences and identification cards that contain a digital photograph and other security features. The letter urges that specific language be added to the bill to protect the right of individuals to wear religious head coverings without removal or modification in driver's license and other identification photos. The letter explains: "Our request relates specifically to turbans, yarmulkes, hijabs, and other religious headcoverings; it does not relate to items that conceal the face." Even though language currently in the proposed bill calls for the Department of Homeland Security to issue regulations that include protections for constitutional rights and civil liberties of applicants for licenses and ID cards, apparently DHS does not believe that the language allows them to require states to permit head coverings to be worn in license photos.

Court Enforces Biblically Based Arbitration Agreement

In Easterly v. Heritage Christian Schools., Inc., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76269 (SD IN, Aug. 26, 2009), an Indiana federal district court enforced a Biblically-based arbitration agreement between a high school English teacher and the Christian school at which she was employed for some 20 years before she was forced from her job. The contract required teacher Dorothy Easterly to "to resolve differences with others (parents, fellow-workers, Administration) by following the biblical pattern of Matthew 18:15-17," and if that failed to submit any controversy to mediation and binding arbitration conducted under the "Rules of Procedure for Christian Conciliation." The court rejected Easterly's claim that the arbitration agreement was vague, that it deprived her of her ability to vindicate rights protected by disability and age discrimination statutes, and that the procedures were procedurally inadequate. [Thanks to Michael Francisco for the lead.]

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Canadian Tribunal Says Internet Hate Speech Law Is Unconstitutional

In a 107-page opinion handed down yesterday, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) held that Canada's Internet hate speech law is unconstitutional. The CHRT is an adjudicative body that hears discrimination charges referred to it by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. In Warman v. Lemire, (CHRT, Sept. 2, 2009), an opinion by Tribunal member Athanasios Hadjis held that amendments adding monetary penalties to the hate speech law since a 1990 Canadian Supreme Court decision upholding it now make the statute's infringement of free expression disproportionate to the law's objectives. The opinion reasons:

The Supreme Court held in Taylor that despite not requiring any proof of intent to discriminate, s. 13(1) only minimally impairs freedom of expression principally because the Act’s purpose is to prevent discrimination (as well as compensating and protecting the victim), rather than punish moral blameworthiness. ...S. 13(1) has, since the 1998 amendments, lost the exclusively compensatory and preventative features that characterized it in the eyes of the majority in Taylor. Following the Court's reasoning, it can therefore no longer be concluded that the provision still minimally impairs the Charter guaranteed freedom of expression.

Canadian Press reports on the decision. The Ottawa Citizen says that an appeal to the Federal Court of Canada is likely because two other previous Tribunal decisions found the statute constitutional. [Thanks to PewSitter for the lead.]

Religious Peyote Exemption Does Not Invalidate Federal Drug Laws

In United States v. Valazquez, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77946 (WD OK, Aug. 31, 2009), a defendant facing federal drug charges argued that the federal controlled substances laws are unconstitutional because of the exemption they grant to the Native American Church for the use of peyote. Relying on several previously decided cases, the court held that the exemption does not violate the Establishment Clause. It also rejected a 5th Amendment equal protection challenge because defendant did not show that he was similarly situated. His possession of methamphetamine was not related to his religious beliefs or practices.

Churches Sue To Prevent Noise Ordinance From Limiting Their Carillon Bells

Three churches in Phoenix, Arizona yesterday filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Phoenix challenging its noise ordinance that has been applied to limit ringing of carillon bells by local churches. The complaint (full text) in St. Mark Roman Catholic Parish Phoenix v. City of Phoenix, (D AZ, filed 9/2/2009), alleges that the noise ordinance is unconstitutionally vague. It also claims that application of the ordinance to churches violates their free speech rights and their right to free exercise of religion under both the federal and Arizona constitutions and Arizona statutory law. A release by Alliance Defense fund announcing the lawsuit criticized the ordinance for exempting ice cream trucks but not churches. Earlier this year, the clergyman of one of the plaintiff churches in this case was convicted of violating the noise ordinance and given a suspended jail sentence along with 3 years' probation. (See prior posting.)

Dutch Prosecutors Will Move Against Anti-Jewish Cartoon

According to Dutch News yesterday, the Dutch public prosecution department has announced that it will file charges against the Arab European League for a cartoon it has posted on its website. The cartoon depicts two men in business suits discussing how to increase the numbers killed in the Holocaust. Prosecutors say the cartoon 'insults Jews because of their race and/or religion." It suggests that Jews themselves invented the idea that 6 million were killed during World War II. The cartoon was an old one that had been taken off the group's website three years ago. However it was posted again after Dutch prosecutors refused to prosecute the TV program Nova and Dutch politician Geert Wilders over republication of cartoons insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Prosecutors say those cartoons did not violate Dutch law because they targeted Muhammad, not Muslims in general. The Dutch Supreme Court drew this distinction in a case decided earlier this year. (See prior posting.) AEL does not think any of the cartoon should be subject to prosecution.

Canadian Court Rejects Challenge To Quebec's New Religious Survey Courses

In the Canadian province of Quebec, a trial court judge has rejected a challenge by Christian parents to the mandatory new course in grades 1 through 11 in Quebec schools that teaches about a broad range of world religions. The Ethics and Religious Culture course covers Christianity, Judaism, aboriginal spirituality, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. (See prior posting.) It replaces parents' choice of one of three separate courses that focused on Catholic or Protestant thought, or moral instruction. Yesterday's National Post reports on the decision by a Drummondville Superior Court. Justice Jean-Guy Dubois wrote that "the court does not see how the ... course limits the plaintiff's freedom of conscience and of religion for the children when it provides an overall presentation of various religions without obliging the children to adhere to them." During the trial, one mother testified that it was confusing for her son to learn about Islam while he was still forming his own Catholic spirituality.