Caesar wears a different suit. He has great media handlers. He bullies religion while he claims to respect it. He talks piously about the law and equality and tolerance and fairness. But he still confuses himself with God –and he still violates the rights of Catholic believers and institutions by intruding himself where he has no right to be....Earlier this week, Chaput published an article in the Italian newspaper Il Foglio criticizing Notre Dame University's award of an honorary degree to President Obama last Spring.
It's one of the great ironies of the moment that tiny Belmont Abbey would have the courage to challenge Caesar over its right to be faithfully Catholic in its policies, while so many other American Catholics seem eager to give Caesar honors.
Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Catholic Archbishop Speaks Out On Government's Relationship With Catholics
Hate Crimes Bill Included In Defense Authorization Conference Report Passed By House
According to a release from the Senate Armed Services Committee, the hate crime provisions will (1) prohibit hate crimes based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person; (2) provide support for the criminal investigation and prosecution of hate crimes by State, local, and tribal law enforcement officials; and (3) prohibit attacks on United States service members based on their military service.
Yesterday's Los Angeles Times reports that 131 of the 146 "No" votes were from Republicans who object to the hate crimes legislation, despite language designed to protect religious speech and association. Conservative Christians have argued that the bill could be used to prosecute pastors for anti-gay sermons that are later connected to violence against gays. Here are the provisions in the Conference Report intended to deal with this issue (at pp. 1366-69):
SEC. 4710. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.ADL issued a press release welcoming the House action and said the next step is training for law enforcement personnel and prosecutors about the new law. The Family Research Council issued a statement criticizing the legislation, calling it a "thought-crimes bill" and charging that it gives special rights based solely on sexual behavior.
For purposes of construing this division and the amendments made by this division the following shall apply:
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this division shall be construed to allow a court, in any criminal trial for an offense described under this division or an amendment made by this division, in the absence of a stipulation by the parties, to admit evidence of speech, beliefs, association, group membership, or expressive conduct unless that evidence is relevant and admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence. Nothing in this division is intended to affect the existing rules of evidence.
(2) VIOLENT ACTS.—This division applies to violent acts motivated by actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of a victim.
(3) CONSTRUCTION AND APPLICATION.—Nothing in this division, or an amendment made by this division, shall be construed or applied in a manner that infringes any rights under the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Nor shall anything in this division, or an amendment made by this division, be construed or applied in a manner that substantially burdens a person’s exercise of religion (regardless of whether compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief), speech, expression, or association, unless the Government demonstrates that application of the burden to the person is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest, if such exercise of religion, speech, expression, or association was not intended to—
(A) plan or prepare for an act of physical violence; or
(B) incite an imminent act of physical violence against another.
(4) FREE EXPRESSION.—Nothing in this division shall be construed to allow prosecution based solely upon an individual’s expression of racial, religious, political, or other beliefs or solely upon an individual’s membership in a group advocating or espousing such beliefs.
(5) FIRST AMENDMENT.—Nothing in this division, or an amendment made by this division, shall be construed to diminish any rights under the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
(6) CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS.—Nothing in this division shall be construed to prohibit any constitutionally protected speech, expressive conduct or activities (regardless of whether compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief), including the exercise of religion protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States and peaceful picketing or demonstration. The Constitution of the United States does not protect speech, conduct or activities consisting of planning for, conspiring to commit, or committing an act of violence.
SEC. 4711. GUIDELINES FOR HATE-CRIMES OFFENSES.
Section 249(a) of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 4707 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
"(4) GUIDELINES.—All prosecutions conducted by the United States under this section shall be undertaken pursuant to guidelines issued by the Attorney General, or the designee of the Attorney General, to be included in the United States Attorneys’ Manual that shall establish neutral and objective criteria for determining whether a crime was committed because of the actual or perceived status of any person."
Human Rights Lawyer In Egypt Sues To Stop "Hesba" Proponent
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Brown v. Lindsay, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91126 (MD PA, Oct. 1, 2009), a Pennsylvania federal district court dismissed a challenge by a Muslim inmate to the temporary removal from the sheves of the prison chapel's library for security reasons of certain books. Plaintiff had since been transferred to a different facility and the Bureau of Prisons has rejected the Standardized Chapel Library Project policy responsible for the removal of the books. (See prior related posting.)
In Hamilton v. Smith, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91039 (ND NY, Sept. 30, 2009), a New York federal district court rejected an inmate's complaint that his free exercise rights and his rights under RLUIPA were violated when the prison refused to provide him meals that met both his religious tenets and his medical needs for a low-sodium, low-cholesterol diet. The magistrate's recommendation is at 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91032 (Jan. 13, 2009).
In Fetzer v. McDonough, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91063 (ND FL, Sept. 29, 2009), a Florida federal district court accepted a magistrate's recommendations (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91074 (June 26, 2009)) and rejected an inmate's free exercise, equal protection and due process challenges to the Florida Department of Corrections discontinuance of its Jewish Dietary Accommodation Program.
In Bey v. Caruso, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90314 (ED MI, Sept. 30, 2009), a Michigan federal district court rejected a magistrate's evidentiary ruling (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90323 (Feb. 27, 2009)) and held that material questions of fact remained for trial in a suit by an inmate, a member of the Moorish Science Temple of America, who wanted prison officials to use his religious name in prison documents.
In Smith v. Stoley, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91142 (WD MI, Sept. 30, 2009), a Michigan federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendations (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91456 (July 21, 2009)) and dismissed claims by a Wiccan prisoner who wanted to possess a number of items for religious rituals, such as a knife, a crystal ball, candles, incense and a senser, and wanted to cover his cell window in order to perform certain Wiccan rituals naked.
In Crump v. McBurney, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90693 (WD MI, Sept. 30, 2009) a Michigan federal district court adopted the recommendations of a magistrate judge (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91403 (June 11, 2009)) and rejected a RLUIPA claim by a prisoner who was wrongly removed from the prison's kosher food program for 39 days. Under prison rules, inmates could be suspended from the program if they purchased non-kosher food from the prison commissary. A guard had claimed that cough drops ordered by the inmate violated this restriction, but was later overruled when the warden ruled that these were personal care items, not food.
Philadelphia Couple Charged In Faith Healing Death of 2-Year Old Son
Wisconsin Parents Sentenced In Daughter's Faith-Healing Death
Court Says Diocesan Assets Belong To ECUSA Loyalists
Court Rejects RLUIPA and Other Challenges To Refusal To Rezone
Court Rejects Free Exercise Challenge To Financial Aid Form
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Supreme Court Hears Arguments In War Memorial Cross Case [Revised]
Court Rejects Murder Appeal Challenging Prosecutor's Wearing Of Cross
New 10 Commandments Case In Ohio Village
Wisconsin Court Refuses To Expand Tax Exemption of Parsonages
Senate Confirms Thomas Perez As Assistant AG For Civil Rights
Arizona Hotel Sued For Religious Discrimination In Employment
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Supreme Court Denies Review In Several Religion-Related Cases
Choose Life Illinois, Inc. v. White (Docket No. 08-1283). In the case, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the refusal of the Illinois Secretary of State to issue a special "Choose Life" license plate after proponents obtained the requisite number of signatures requesting it. (See prior posting.)
Frazier v. Smith, (Docket No. 08-1351). In the case, the 11th Circuit upheld the constitutionality of a Florida statute requiring schools to excuse a student from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance only upon written request of the student's parent, regardless of the student's desires. (See prior posting.)
Rector of St. James Parish v. Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles (Docket No. 08-1579). In the case, the California Supreme Court held that building and property of the St. James Parish in Newport Beach belongs to the Episcopal Church, not the parish, once the parish broke away and affiliated with the more conservative Anglican Church of Uganda. (See prior posting.)
Arkansas Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Inc., v. New Direction Praise and Worship Center, Inc. (Docket No. 08-1352). The Arkansas Supreme Court's January 2009 opinion in the case applied neutral principles of law to find that church property belonged to a break-away congregation.
O'Bryan v. Holy See (Docket No. 08-1384). The 6th Circuit decision below dealt with when the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act allowed civil suits against the Vatican in U.S. courts. (See prior posting.)
Sklar v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (08-9180). In the case, U.S. 9th rejected a claim by parents that they should be able to deduct for income tax purposes a portion of the tuition and fees paid to their children's Orthodox Jewish day schools. (See prior posting.)
Katz v. Mabus (Docket No. 08-1434). The 3rd Circuit's opinion below rejected religious discrimination claims by plaintiff, a civilian employee, against the U.S. Navy.
St. John's United Church of Christ v. FAA (Docket No. 08-1447). In the opinion below, the D.C Circuit denied standing to various religious communities to bring a RFRA challenge to the relocation of a cemetery that was necessary to complete expansion of Chicago's O'Hare airport.
Also, in Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp. v. New York Times (Docket No. 09-246), the full court denied 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. (See prior posting.)
[Thanks to SCOTUS Blog and Josh Gerstein at Politico for some of the leads.]
TSA Says Sukkot Items OK On Planes
Observant Jewish travelers may carry four plants – a palm branch, myrtle twigs, willow twigs, and a citron – in airports and through security checkpoints. These plants are religious articles and may be carried either separately or as a bundle. Jewish travelers may be observed in prayer, shaking the bundle of plants in six directions. The workforce should note that TSA’s screening procedures do not prohibit the carrying of such agricultural items through the airport or security checkpoints, or on airplanes.
Top Egyptian Cleric Will Ban Niqab At al-Azhar
Tennessee ACLU Issues New Guide On Religion In Schools
Saudi King Removes Cleric Who Challenged New University's Liberalized Policies
Monday, October 05, 2009
UN Human Rights Council Passes Compromise Resolution On Freedom of Expression
CNS News reports on the varying interpretations of and reactions to the compromise language:Reaffirms ... the right of everyone to hold opinions without interference, as well as the right to freedom of expression, including ... the intrinsically linked rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion....
Also expresses its concern that incidents of racial and religious intolerance, discrimination and related violence, as well as of negative racial and religious stereotyping continue to rise around the world, and condemns, in this context, any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, and urges States to take effective measures, consistent with their obligations under international human rights law, to address and combat such incidents
Speaking on behalf of the European Union, French representative Jean-Baptiste Mattei said the language about stereotyping referred to the stereotyping of individuals, not religions, ideologies or abstract values. Human rights laws do not and should not protect belief systems, he said, stressing that the E.U. continued to reject the concept of defamation of religion.Some however had a less sanguine view of the compromise language, such as this article from The Weekly Standard, and this somewhat less strident but still negative reaction from Eugene Volokh.
But Pakistan’s Zamir Akram, speaking for the OIC, used the terms "negative stereotyping" and "defamation of religions" interchangeably, and said the phenomenon affected not only individuals but also religions and belief systems.
Article 19, a free speech organization, called the vote on the resolution a breakthrough, given the tensions that have marked discussions on the issue at the U.N.’s human rights bodies. Executive director Agnes Callamard noted in particular the omission of the term "defamation of religion," although she said "religious stereotyping" was a vague concept that suggested that religions and religious ideas and symbols, rather than religious adherents, may be protected by international human rights law.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a leading opponent of the religious "defamation" push, said the resolution passed Friday was a step in the right direction but still contained problematic language. "This resolution will be seen as a victory if it is the death knell for the concept of 'defamation of religions,'" said advocacy officer L. Bennett Graham. "But if it continues to provide international cover for overbroad anti-blasphemy laws around the world, it will only exacerbate the problem."
Christian Conservatives Opposing Feldblum's Nomination To EEOC
Saudi Religious Police Will Add Human Rights Unit
Military Critic Sues Former Chaplain Alleging Threats
American Evangelist Turned Away From Britain Over Visa Problem
Recent Articles, Book and Video of Interest
- C. Scott Pryor, Principled Pluralism and Contract Remedies, (McGeorge Law Review, Vol. 40, No. 3, 2009).
- Lyman P. Q. Johnson, Counter-Narrative in Corporate Law: Saints and Sinners, Apostles and Epistles, (Michigan State Law Review, Forthcoming).
- Dana Brakman Reiser, Charity Law’s Essentials, (Brooklyn Law School, Legal Studies Paper No. 167, Sept. 28, 2009).
- Nehaluddin Ahmad, The Modern Concept of Secularism and Islamic Jurisprudence: A Comparative Analysis, 15 Annual Survey Of International & Comparative Law 75-105 (2009).
- Paul Horwitz, Demographics and Distrust: the Eleventh Circuit on Graduation Prayer in Adler v. Duval County, 63 University of Miami Law Review 835-892 (2009).
- Symposium: Constitutionalism and Secularism in an Age of Religious Revival: The Challenge of Global and Local Fundamentalisms, 30 Cardozo Law Review 2331- 2896 (June 2009).
Recent Book:
- Steven H. Shiffrin, The Religious Left and Church-State Relations, (Princeton Univ. Press, 2009).
- Citizens United Productions, Rediscovering God in America II: Our Heritage, (2009), reviewed in CNS News.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Native Hawaiian Cultural Practitioners Challenge Land Management Plan
Missouri Creates New Faith-Based Partnership For Disaster Relief
Bald Eagle Case Transferred To Tribal Court
Brooklyn Judge Criticizes Orthodox Jewish Community's Views On Child Abusers
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Watson v. Wakefield, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88395 (SD TX, Sept. 25, 2009), a Texas federal district court allowed two Muslim inmates to move ahead with his claim under RLUIPA that his rights were violated when he was barred for six months from attending Muslim services because during a scheduled prayer service he called for the resignation of his unit’s inmate Islamic coordinator. The court concluded that defendants had not shown for purposes of summary judgment that exclusion was the least restrictive means of promoting prison safety and security after a single incident of disruption. The court did however dismiss plaintiff’s First Amendment free exercise claim.
Vega v. Lantz, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88550 (D CT, Sept. 25, 2009), involved free exercise and equal protection complaints, as well as a claim under RLUIPA, alleging a lengthy series of restrictions on a Muslim inmate’s right to practice his religion. A Connecticut federal magistrate judge rejected plaintiff’s complaint that he was denied halal meat and 5-times per day congregate prayer, as well as complaints about several other alleged infringements. The court however permitted plaintiff to move ahead with claims that Friday Jumah services are frequently cancelled, that the Qu’ran was mishandled, that his request to be circumcised for religious reasons was refused, that he was not allowed to purchase a toothstick, and that prayer oils sold in the commissary did not comply with Islamic requirements. The court also held that damages are not available under RLUIPA in claims against officials in their individual capacities.
In Decker v. Hogan, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89048 (ND NY, Sept. 28, 2009), a New York federal district court permitted an atheist civil detainee who was placed in a sexual offender treatment program to move ahead with his First Amendment claim that portions of the program are based on Zen Buddhism and Christianity. The court, however refused to issue a preliminary injunction because plaintiff had not shown a substantial likelihood of success on the merits.
In Lewis v. Foster, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88652 (D DE, Sept. 25, 2009), a Delaware federal district court rejected a claim by a former inmate that while he was incarcerated he was denied access to a razor to shave his head. He claimed that his Hebrew Israelite religion required him to shave his head for an indeterminate time after he came in contact with a dead body, namely his stillborn child.
In Lee v. Gurney, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88883 (ED VA, Sept. 25, 2009), a Virginia federal district court rejected a Sunni Muslim inmate’s First Amendment and Equal Protection contentions, but permitted him to move ahead with his claim under RLUIPA complaining about a ban on group prayer in the prison recreation yard. The court concluded that authorities had not shown for summary judgment purposes that they used the least restrictive means to further a compelling interest in imposing the ban.
In Ramsey v. Goord, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88859 (WD NY, Aug. 19, 2009), a New York federal magistrate judge refused to grant defendants’ motion for summary judgment on a series of related claims by an inmate who declared himself to be Jewish who was temporarily removed from the prison’s kosher food program without any chance to challenge the claimed reasons for his removal. He was charged with giving some of his kosher food to another inmate when it appears that this was done by an inmate porter of the food trays rather than plaintiff. Plaintiff was also allowed to move ahead with his claim that his removal from the program was in retaliation for his providing a statement helping another Jewish inmate in his charges against a prison staff member.
In Ellis v. United States, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89392 (WD PA, Sept. 28, 2009), a Pennsylvania federal district court dismissed a Muslim federal inmate’s negligence claim stemming from the omission of his name from the call-out sheet for the 2006 Eid celebration as well as his free exercise claim based on the denial of Halal meat for the 2006 Eid celebration. The court also adopted a number of recommendations made in the case by a federal magistrate judge (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90035 (June 2, 2009)) including permitting plaintiff to move ahead with a RFRA claim that his name was omitted for 3 months from the call-out list for Jumu’ah services, an equal protection claim regarding denial of Halal meat for the Eid service, and a retaliation claim. The court agreed to deny a RFRA claim relating to plaintiff’s ability to purchase prayer oil and omission of Halal meat from the Eid service.
In Katz v. McGrew, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89599 (D HI, Sept. 23, 2009), a Hawaii federal district court dismissed without prejudice a claim by a Jewish prisoner seeking a transfer from Hawaii to a mainland federal prison where he could eat and pray in a Sukkah during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The court said that case should have been brought as a civil rights claim, and not as a habeas corpus claim.
In Mayo v. Norris, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89831 (ED AK, Sept. 17, 2009), and Arkansas federal magistrate judge recommended dismissing as frivolous a claim by an inmate who said he is a Disciple of Christ that he requires a one-person cell so he can be separate from those who do not obey the doctrines of Jesus.
In Boles v. Neet, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91474 (D CO, Sept. 29, 2009), a Colorado federal district court accepted a federal magistrate’s recommendations (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90019 (March 13, 2009) and dismissed a complaint by an Orthodox Jewish prisoner that he was not permitted to wear his yarmulke and talit katan while being transported off prison premises for cataract surgery. (The case was on remand from the 10th Circuit. See prior posting.)
Friday, October 02, 2009
Court Says "Ministeral Exception" Does Not Apply To Suits Under Trafficking Victims Protection Act
the standards that govern what constitutes trafficking and forced labor do not depend on the interpretation of religious doctrine; rather they are secular standards that guarantee that employers cannot deprive employees of fundamental human rights. Thus, unlike analyzing suits brought under federal and state employment laws, exploring the ills that the TVPA is meant to combat -- namely, trafficking and forced labor -- does not require courts to unduly interfere with the internal affairs of religious organizations or get involved in the selection or retention of ministers. Furthermore, a suit under the TVPA is not analogous to a suit under federal and state employment laws, because it is not brought in response to an adverse employment action...
Alabama High Court Says Morality Can Still Justify Commercial Regulation
Court Rejects Protesters' Attempts To Use Chalk Art In Anti-Roe Demonstration
European Court Faults Russia For Refusing To Register 2 Scientolgy Churches
The court noted that member states differed as to whether Scientology should be categorized as a religion. Therefore the court said it would defer to authorities of the country in question as to that issue. Russian officials held that the two churches were religious organizations. It went on to conclude that Russia's "15-year rule" violated the ECHR because it impacts only newly-formed churches that are not part of a strictly hierarchical church structure, and there is no justification for this difference in treatment. A ECHR press release summarized the decision.
Israel Prison Authority Says Prisoners Can Sleep In Sukkah
Washington's Red Mass Is Sunday As Supreme Court Opens Its Term
Barry Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, says that Washington's Red Mass was begun after several Supreme Court decisions were handed down that troubled the Church. The Mass is sponsored by the John Carroll Society, a lay Catholic group of legal professionals. Jane Roberts, wife of the chief justice, is an officer of the Society. Currently six of the Justices on the Court are Catholic. Justices of other faiths are invited to the Mass as well, and some, like Justice Breyer (who is Jewish), attend. However Justice Ginsburg, has stopped going because of the subject matter of the sermons. Church officials deny using the Mass to lobby the Court. Last year, 5 Justices attended. (See prior posting.)
New Hampshire Federal Court Rejects Challenge To Pledge of Allegiance
the Pledge of Allegiance is not a religious prayer, nor is it a "nonsectarian prayer" .... and its recitation in schools does not constitute a "religious exercise." The Pledge does not thank God. It does not ask God for a blessing, or for guidance. It does not address God in any way.... Rather, the Pledge, in content and function, is a civic patriotic statement.... Peer or social pressure to participate in a school exercise not of a religious character does not implicate the Establishment Clause, and as a civic or patriotic exercise, the statute is clear in making participation completely voluntary....
The words "under God" undeniably come from the vocabulary of religion, or, at the least, reflect a theistic orientation, but no more so than the benign deism reflected in the national trust in God declared on our currency, or in ceremonial intercessions to "save this Honorable Court" .... It may well be that some, perhaps many, people required to employ U.S. currency, or socially pressured to stand during civic ceremonies, feel offended by what seems to them an imposition of theistic doctrine. But the Constitution prohibits the government from establishing a religion, or coercing one to support or participate in religion, a religious exercise, or prayer. It does not mandate that government refrain from all civic, cultural, and historic references to a God.....When Congress added the words "under God," to the Pledge in 1954, its actual intent probably had far more to do with politics than religion — more to do with currying favor with the electorate than with an Almighty. (God, if God exists, is probably not so easily fooled.) In the intervening half century since the words were added, rote repetition has, as Justice Brennan observed, removed any significant religious content embodied in the words, if there ever was significant religious (as opposed to political) content embodied in those words. Today, the words remain religious words, but plainly fall comfortably within the category of historic artifacts — reflecting a benign or ceremonial civic deism that presents no threat to the fundamental values protected by the Establishment Clause.
Lodi City Council Changes Policy, But Keeps Prayer
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Parties Settle In Lesbian's Suit Against California Clinic
NY Jewish Schools Get No Child Left Behind Tutors For First Time
Many Pakistani Mosques and Madressahs Face Shut Off Of Electricity
Texas State Fair Is Not State Actor In Barring Religious Literature Distribution
Israeli Court Says Chinese Pressured University On Falun Gong Exhibit
Court Rejects Tony Alamo's Free Exercise Defense In Suit By Former Followers
Alamo states that the beatings alleged in the Complaint were merely spankings, which are required by the Bible. Thus, he argues that his alleged conduct in ordering these beatings is protected by the First Amendment’s free exercise clause.... The principle of religious liberty does not give one the liberty to physically attack others.... While an individual’s beliefs that he can beat and falsely imprison Plaintiffs and intentionally inflict emotional distress upon them is protected by the First Amendment, acting on these beliefs is reasonably prohibited by Arkansas law.The Pine Bluff (AR) Commercial reported on the decision yesterday.
Christian Group Sues Challenging Maine's Interpretation of Its Charitable Licensing Law
10 MRS Sec. 8003(5) allows the agency to impose a civil penalty of up to $1500 for each violation of law. Apparently the state, as a condition to granting a renewal of CAN's license as a charitable organization, also required it to admit both that the Governor did not give his consent and that CAN's "correspondence contained an inflammatory anti-Muslim message." Yesterday, Liberty Counsel announced that CAN had filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Maine challenging an interpretation of the state statute that prohibits any mention of the Governor in a charitable solicitation without consent. The suit also claims that CAN's free speech was infringed by "censoring" of its anti-Muslim message.
UPDATE: Here is the full text of the complaint in Christian Action Network v. State of Maine, (D ME, filed 9/28/2009). The Bangor Daily News has more coverage and a link to the text of CAN's mailing.
2nd Circuit: Ministerial Exception Bars Rabbi's Suit Against Her Former Temple
review of Freidlander’s claims ... would require scrutiny of whether she should have ... read more extensively from the Torah at certain services, prepared students for their Bar or Bat Mitzvah more adequately, performed certain pastoral services ... or followed the Temple’s funeral service policies. A reviewing court would also be required to assess whether any failures rose to the level of "gross misconduct or willful neglect of duty".... [S]uch review would involve impermissible judicial inquiry into religious matters.[Thanks to Y.Y. Landa for the lead.]
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Prosecutors Seek To Offer Unusual Religious Analysis In Competency Trial
Amicus Brief Raises Opposition To UN Convention
High School Cheerleaders Cannot Carry Religious Banners On Field
An attorney for the Christian Law Association has been advising those upset with the school's ruling on at least two alternative routes, according to Chattanoogan.com. Barbara J. Weller says that while the students may not continue to put Bible verses on the banners they have been making officially for the games, they can make other banners with Bible verses on them, as long as they make the banners at home and bring them to the games on their own, without the school's approval, permission or participation. She also says that the school should not be able to prohibit banners that merely used the words, "Power, Love, Self Discipline" without reference to the Bible verse that includes them.
UPDATE: At an Oct. 13 meeting, the Catoosa County School Board upheld the superintendent's ruling. (ABP).
Supporters of Sectarian Prayer Threaten Billboards Exposing Council Votes
Court Rejects Copyright Suit Claiming Infringement In Use of Judas Iscariot Trial
The trials depicted in the two works are dramatically different in substance, setting, plot, theme, language, and the overall thrust and feel of the works. Stripped of unprotectible elements—such as the biblical characters and biblical story—the works are not substantially similar.Courthouse News Service reported on the decision yesterday.
German Court Says School Must Provide Prayer Space For Muslim Student
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
New York Appellate Court Voids Church Election of New Pastor and Trustees
Plaintiffs, who objected to Williams as pastor, sued challenging the validity of the 2006 meeting. The appellate court agreed with their challenge, finding that defendants failed to prove who were church members entitled to vote at the meeting. The court declared that the two remaining original trustees were the only valid trustees. It went on to enjoin Williams and his supporters from exercising any authority or control over church property. [Thanks to Y.Y. Landa for the lead.]
Court Rejects Interlocutory Appeal In Minnesota Charter School Case
British Jewish Schools Implement New Admissions Criteria Ordered By Court
Monday, September 28, 2009
Christian Group Creates "Adopt a Liberal" Initiative
Pray earnestly and intensely for them! Pray that the Lord would move upon them and cause them to be the kind of leaders who will encourage others to lead "a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence." We encourage you to seek the Lord's guidance on how to pray for your liberal(s), always allowing Him to temper your prayer with His love and mercy....
Please pray daily for the liberal(s) of your choice, so each can become a good influence on our Nation's culture. Prayer is powerful! It allows God to change the minds of those for whom we are praying. In fact, we fully expect that many of our adoptees will "graduate" from this prayer program with vivid testimonies of God having changed their lives and worldviews!
Woman's Caning Sentence Upheld On Appeal In Malaysia
Victoria Government Agrees To Broad Religious Exemptions In Discrimination Law
2010 National Religious Moot Court Announced
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Recent Articles and Books of Interest
- Jeffrey M. Lipshaw, Can There Be a Religion of Reason? A Response to Leiter's Circular Conception of Religious Belief, (Suffolk University Law School Research Paper Series, Sept. 27, 2009).
- Mostapha Benhenda, Liberal Democracy and Political Islam: The Search for Common Ground, Politics, Philosophy & Economics, Forthcoming).
- Umar Aimhanosi Oseni, Towards the Effective Legal Regulation of Waqf in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects, (September 25, 2009).
From SmartCILP:
- Stephen M. Johnson, Is Religion the Environment's Last Best Hope? Targeting Change in Individual Behavior Through Personal Norm Activation, 24 Journal of Environmental Law & Litigation 119-164 (2009).
- Chad G. Marzen, The Role of Custom in Canon, Jewish, and Islamic Law: Supplemented, Superseded, or Supplanted by Written Law?, 35 Ohio Northern University Law Review 813-827 (2009).
- Anne Orford, Jurisdiction Without Territory: From the Holy Roman Empire to the Responsibility to Protect, 30 Michigan Journal of International Law 981-1015 (2009).
- Nicholas C. Rigano, Fraudulent Conveyance Law: Destroying Free Exercise Rights at a Church Near You, 17 American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 165-187 (2009).
Recent Books:
- Anne Marie Lofaso, Religion in the Public Schools: A Road Map for Avoiding Lawsuits and Respecting Parents' Legal Rights (Americans United for Separation of Church & State, 2009), reviewed on AU's website. [Link is to full text of book.]
- David Nash (ed.), Blasphemy in Britain and America 1800-1930, (4 vols.) (Pickering & Chatto Publishers, forthcoming April 2010).
China Issues New Report on Its Ethnic Policy-- Claims Religious Freedom
Freedom of religious belief in China means that every citizen has the freedom to believe or not to believe in any religion," said the white paper issued by the Information office of the State Council.... [A]ll normal religious activities, including those of ethnic minorities, are protected by law.... Venues for religious activities are found all over China, basically satisfying the needs of religious believers.... [T]he Chinese government also helps religious groups build seminaries to train clergymen of ethnic minorities, subsidizes the repairs of some religious venues in minority areas, and gives allowances to poor religious believers of ethnic minorities, according to the white paper.The White Paper comes in the wake of a letter earlier this month (full text) from two members of the U.S. House of Representatives to Jon Huntsman, the new U.S. ambassador to China, raising concerns about reported plans by China to take new steps against "house churches" leading up to the Oct. 1 marking of the 60th anniversary of Communist Party rule in China. (Christian Post, Sept. 10.)