Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Bridgeport Diocese Releases Priest Sexual Abuse Records
Church Challenge To Zoning Enforcement Not Barred By Claim Preclusion
FLDS Church Asks Court To Replace Special Fiduciary
British Tribunal Says Counselor Can Be Fired For Refusing To Counsel Gay Couples
New York Senate Defeats Same-Sex Marriage Bill; DC Bill Moves Ahead
Meanwhile, Washington, D.C.'s city council, by a vote of 11-2, gave tentative approval on Tuesday to the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009. The Washington Times reports that a final Council vote is scheduled for December 15 on the bill that would authorize same-sex marriage in the District. Then Congress would have 30 days to review the law and disapprove it. (See prior related posting.)
5th Circuit OK's School Rules on Student Distribution of Materials
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Arkansas Appellate Court Upholds Removal of Children From Alamo Compound
National Mock Trial Championship Changes Rules To Allow Religious Accommodation
Appellate Court Upholds Refusal To Order Divorced Father To Take Childern To Church
German High Court Says Berlin Went Too Far In Sunday Store Openings
Swiss Peoples Party Looking Toward More Restrictions On Muslims
Ohio Social Worker Files Case-Management Plan for Rifqa Bary
Jewish Group Withdraws Trademark Suit Against Gas Chain After Settlement
Suit Charges Airport Service Company With Religious Discrimination
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Chelsea Clinton's Engagement Is Commentary on Interfaith Relations In the U.S.
Renaming of "Christmas Parade" Is Short-Lived
Settlement Reached In Street Preachers' Challenge of Town's Noise Ordinance
Several Jewish Groups Working To Get Rid of Stupak Amendment In Health Care Bill
The director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Rabbi David Saperstein, said that in pushing for the stricter abortion measure, religious conservatives are using the opposite argument from their case for allowing government-subsidized school vouchers to be used for religious schools. Conservatives argue that the voucher case does not constitute government endorsement of religion because a mother or father is making the choice of where to spend the money.
But in pushing for the adoption of Stupak, proponents are saying that if the government gives an individual money for health insurance, the government is then endorsing abortion if the recipient uses her insurance to pay for such a procedure.
Reactions To Sunday's Swiss Vote Banning Minarets
Settlement Restores Prisoner's Right To Preach
Monday, November 30, 2009
Cert. Denied In Case Of Valedictorian's Religious Graduation Speech
New Draft Kenya Constitution Guarantees Church-State Separation, But Recognizes Kadhis Courts
(1) State and religion shall be separate.The current draft (Chap. 13, Sec. 208) contains a controversial provision that would recognize Muslim civil courts (Kadhis courts). Muslim courts are now recognized in Kenya by an act of Parliament, but this would give them constitutional protection. Afrique en Ligne reported yesterday that the powerful Anglican Church of Kenya has called for an amendment to remove recognition of Kadhis courts from the constitution, calling the inclusion of the provision a contradiction of equality of all religions. The Church would leave Kadhis court recognition to statute. The Anglican Church also called on the drafters to clearly define the right of Kenyans to propagate religion and the right of individuals to convert to another religion. (See prior related posting.)
(2) There shall be no State religion.
(3) The State shall treat all religions equally.
Brazil's Supreme Court Orders Limited Accommodation For Saturday Entrance Exam
Recent Articles and Books of Interest
From SSRN:
- George Letsas, Is There a Right Not to be Offended in One’s Religious Beliefs?, (June 1, 2009).
- Richard M. Esenberg, Must God Be Dead or Irrelevant: Drawing a Circle that Lets Me In , (William & Mary Bill of Rights, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2009).
- John M. Kang, Appeal to Heaven: On the Religious Origins of the Constitutional Right of Revolution, (William & Mary Bill of Rights, Vol. 18, pp. 281-326, 2009).
- Elizabeth Rose Schiltz, Dueling Vocations: Managing the Tensions between Our Private and Public Callings, (Women, Sex, and the Church, Erika Bachiochi, ed., Pauline Books & Media, 2010).
- Yuval Sinai, Arbitration as an Ideal Judicial Procedure, (December 19, 2008).
- Paul T. Babie, Looking East to the Concept of Property — A Review Essay of Witte and Alexander, Christianity and Law: An Introduction, (Adelaide Law Review, Forthcoming).
Recent and Forthcoming Books:
- Knox Thames, International Religious Freedom Advocacy: A Guide to Organizations, Law, and NGOs, (Baylor Univ. Press, Aug. 2009).
- Randall Balmer, The Making of Evangelicalism From Revivalism to Politics and Beyond, (Baylor Univ. Press, Feb. 2010).
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Egypt Reportedly Covering Up Anti-Copt Violence In Town of Farshoot
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Kuperman v. Warden, New Hampshire State Prison, (D NH, Nov. 20, 2009), a New Hampshire federal district court dismissed on mootness and collateral estoppel grounds a Jewish prisoner's complaint over rules that automatically suspended his kosher meal privileges for a single violation in which he purchased or consumed non-kosher food. The prison has subsequently modified its rules giving prisoners more leeway before suspending access to a religious diet. The Concord Monitor reported on the decision. (See prior related posting.)
In Elliott v. Sims, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108365 (SD OH, Nov. 4, 2009), an Ohio federal district court permitted inmates from separate prisons to bring a single action challenging prison authorities' refusal to permit them to abstain from work on Sundays violates their religious exercise rights under RLUIPA.
Atkins v. Christiansen, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108503 (WD MI, Nov. 20, 2009), involves a claim for an injunction and damages by an inmate who alleges that he was wrongly designated as a member of a Security Threat Group because he attended Nation of Islam religious services. A Michigan federal district court, accepting a magistrate's recommendations in part (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108545, July 13, 2009) held that plaintiff's official capacity monetary relief claims are barred by the 11th Amendment; certain of the claims were time barred; that summary judgment would be premature as to qualified immunity; and that a claim for monetary damages may be asserted in individual capacity claims under RLUIPA.
In Chalif v. Artus, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109813 (ND NY, Nov. 24, 2009), a New York federal district court accepted the recommendations of a magistrate judge (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109814, Oct. 15, 2009) and dismissed claims by an inmate that he was prevented from practicing his religion (Church of Jesus Christ Christian), that his religious materials were wrongfully seized, and that other inmates are allowed to practice supremacist religions, but he was not.
Swiss Voters Approve Ban On Minarets
UPDATE: The London Telegraph has more detailed vote results: 57.5% in favor (1.534 million people), 42.5% against (1.135 million people), with 22 of the 26 cantons in support of the initiative.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
House of Yahweh Leader Avoids Polygamy Charges
IRS Releases 2006 Data On Income of Non-Profits
Italian Paper Says Berlusconi Diverted Secular Funds To Catholic Church
Kentucky High Court Says Barring Reference To Jesus Was Harmless Error
In Fiji, Government's Attempt To Co-Opt Religious Leadership Backfires
However Vulaono's New Methodist Church , and his campaign against crime that was funded by the Fiji police department, got out of hand. Vulaono was drawing 20,000 people at his rallies and had established 70 churches. Police officers were required to attend New Methodist crusades where they were forced to dance in their police uniforms. A new law-and-order campaign ordered couples not to embrace in public, and sometimes forced prostitutes to jump off a bridge 6 meters into an ocean inlet. Some were forced to attend Vulaono's crusades. Fijian courts were pressuring women who were victims of domestic violence to reconcile with their husbands. Eventually this anti-crime crusade by the New Methodists became too embarrassing for the regime, and the Attorney General put a halt to it. Fiji's chief censor sent a letter to media editors telling them to stop broadcasting the New Methodists' paid programming, because the group had become a security risk.
Jury Says Religious Order Not Liable For Molestation By Teacher
Friday, November 27, 2009
Alternative Proposal For South Carolina "I Believe" Plates Is Filed
Canadian Court Says Property of Break-Away Anglican Parishes Belongs To Diocese
The court went on to hold that the Bishop lacked authority to replace parish trustees. However trustees elected by each break-away parish must carry out their duties in accordance with the rules of the Anglican Church in Canada-- something that the elected trustees are unlikely to want to do. Finally the court held that $2.2 million from the bequest of a former member to the building fund of one of the parishes involved should, consistent with the donor's intent, go to the building needs of the parish now affiliated with ANiC. Applying the cy pres doctrine, the court said that the donor intended the funds to benefit the parish that serves the Chinese community in British Columbia. Yesterday's Anglican Journal reported on the decision.
Agreement Reached With Abuse Claimants In Alaska Diocese Bankruptcy
Church Wins Settlement In Challenge of School Flyer Distribution Policy
Irish Government Releases Report On Catholic Archdiocese Handling of Abuse Complaints
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Human Rights Group Protests Saudi Death Sentence For TV Host Charged With Witchcraft
President Issues Proclamation Declaring Thanksgiving Day 2009
Today, we recall President George Washington, who proclaimed our first national day of public thanksgiving to be observed "by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God," and President Abraham Lincoln, who established our annual Thanksgiving Day to help mend a fractured Nation in the midst of civil war. We also recognize the contributions of Native Americans, who helped the early colonists survive their first harsh winter and continue to strengthen our Nation....Yesterday, in another Thanksgiving tradition, the President announced the "Pardoning of the National Turkey." Later he and his family were to deliver two other turkeys to a D.C. organization that fees the needy.
I encourage all the people of the United States to come together, whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place where family, friends and neighbors may gather, with gratitude for all we have received in the past year; to express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own; and to share our bounty with others.
Rabbis Offer Torah Scrolls As Collateral For Rubashkin's Release on Bail
Meanwhile, last week, at the government's motion, the 72 still-pending immigration-related charges against Rubashkin were dismissed without prejudice. The government concluded that the sentence on the fraud charges is likely to be substantially longer than any sentence for immigration law violations. Some of the fraud charges involved making false statements about harboring illegal aliens. The dismissal conserves prosecutorial resources and lessens inconvenience to witnesses. (Iowa Independent, 11/19). Rubashkin and others still face state charges of violating child labor laws.
"Jews for Jesus" Sue Over Right To Leaflet At Labor Day Festival
Obama Sends Greetings To Hajj Pilgrims As Eid-ul-Adha Approaches
Michelle and I would like to send our best wishes to all those performing Hajj this year, and to Muslims in America and around the world who are celebrating Eid-ul-Adha. The rituals of Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha both serve as reminders of the shared Abrahamic roots of three of the world’s major religions.His statement also pointed to U.S. Saudi Arabian cooperation in preventing the spread of the H1N1 virus during Hajj ceremonies. The President's statement was also made available in Arabic, Persian, Dari, Urdu, Pashto, Russian and French translations.
During Hajj, the world’s largest and most diverse gathering, three million Muslims from all walks of life – including thousands of American Muslims – will stand in prayer on Mount Arafat. The following day, Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid-ul-Adha and distribute food to the less fortunate to commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son out of obedience to God.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Brooklyn Neighbors Object To Loud Recorded Church Bells
Court Rejects Attempt To Block Demolition of Catholic Church Building
Town Decides To Remove Creche Rather Than Permit Atheist and Other Messages
UPDATE: The Dec. 4 Harrisburg Patriot-News reports that the Nativity scene has found a new home in front of Central Presbyterian Church, just across the street from the Memorial Square Fountain.
India's Parliament Disturbed Over Commission Report on 1992 Mosque Destruction
3rd Circuit OK's Ban On Religious Holiday Songs At School Concerts
Certainly, those of us who were educated in the public schools remember holiday celebrations replete with Christmas carols, and possibly even Chanukah songs, to which no objection had been raised. Since then, the governing principles have been examined and defined with more particularity. Many decisions about how to best create an inclusive environment in public schools, such as those at issue here, are left to the sound discretion of the school authorities.The court also rejected plaintiff's claim that the school was unconstitutionally restricting students' access to ideas. Yesterday's Newark Star-Ledger reported on the decision. (See prior related posting.)
Lawsuit Challenges Museum's Cancellation of Pro-Intelligent Design Film
UPDATE: Here is the full text of the complaint in American Freedom Alliance v. California Science Center, (Cal. Super. Ct., filed 11/19/2009). [Thanks to Willaim Becker.]
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
White House State Dinner Accommodates Hindu Vegetarianism
Suit Challenges School's Censorship of Anti-Islam T-Shirts
Some students were told they could not wear the T-shirts at all. Others were only required to cover the message on the back, but not the Christian message on the front. The ACLU says the issue is whether, under the First Amendment, school officials can permit positive messages about faith, religion or other matters, while banning negative messages about those subjects. School officials say they can bar messages that are disruptive to the learning environment, substantially interfere with maintaining discipline at school, or which infringe other students' rights.
Estate of Deceased FLDS Leader Seeks Return of UEP Trust
Iran's Largest Paper Shut Down For Publishing Photo of Baha'i Temple
UPDATE: An Iranian news agency says that courts have lifted the ban on Hamshahri one day after it was imposed. (Fresno Bee, 11/24.)
State Department Official Testifies On Religious Freedom In Middle East
We recognize that there are many significant challenges to religious freedom and tolerance in the Middle East and South Asia. Throughout the region religious minorities do not enjoy equal access to education, employment, healthcare, and legal recourse. In some places, blasphemy and apostasy laws inhibit the social contributions of minorities and exacerbate inter-religious tension. In many Muslim-majority countries, minority Muslim sects are marginalized and members of the majority sect are not free to challenge official religious opinions. I want to emphasize that religious freedom is not just a concern for religious minorities; majority communities need space to self-critique and adapt to changing conditions over time.Reporting on the hearing, the Pakistan Christian Post yesterday said that questions asked of Posner during the hearing demonstrated that the U.S. has not seriously pressured its allies Saudi Arabia and Egypt to comply with international human rights law.
Hannah Rosenthal To Be Named State Department's Special Envoy On Anti-Semitism
Iraq Gives Added Payment To Mixed Sunni-Shiite Couples Marrying
Monday, November 23, 2009
FBI Releases 2008 U.S. Hate Crimes Data
UPDATE: The ADL on Monday issued a press release reacting to the new data and calling for "a coordinated campaign to prevent, deter, and respond effectively to criminal violence motivated by bigotry and prejudice." The ADL has also compiled charts giving additional data: (1) 10 year comparison of number of hate crimes; (2) number of law enforcement agencies reporting, by state; (3) hate crimes data since 1992 from 50 largest cities; and (4) state-by-state incident reports 1991-2008.
Suit Challenges Policy of Opening College Events With Prayer
3. For years, the trustees, the chancellor, and the president of Saddleback College have routinely held official prayer at numerous events for college students and faculty, including scholarship ceremonies, graduations, and the Chancellor’s Opening Sessions.[Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]
4. The college communities are religiously diverse, and the official prayers deeply offend many students, faculty, and staff. For some, the official prayers are insulting to their deeply held religious beliefs, or even offensive to God. For some, the official prayers make them feel like outsiders because they do not belong to the District’s preferred faith community. And for some, the official prayers represent the District’s attempt to impose that preferred faith on them.
5. For years, therefore, college students, faculty, and staff, as well as scholarship donors, community members, and others have publicly objected to the District’s prayer practice, requesting that a moment of silence or some other, less divisive practice be adopted instead. But rather than respecting the beliefs of its faculty and students, the trustees, the chancellor, and Saddleback College’s president have responded by expanding the prayer practice, by making the prayers ever more religious and divisive, and by publicly attacking members of minority faiths and nonbelievers for not sharing the District’s preferred faith. Plaintiffs therefore have no choice but to seek provisional relief and a permanent injunction to stop the prayer.
White House Marks Sikh Holiday For First Time
Recent Articles Of Interest
- Israel Zvi Gilat, 'Conquest by War' in Jewish Law: The Beautiful Woman Case, (November 17, 2009).
- John Mikhail, Dilemmas of Cultural Legality: A Comment on Roger Cotterrell's 'The Struggle for Law' and a Criticism of the House of Lords' Opinions in Begum, (International Journal of Law in Context, Vol. 4, pp. 385-393, 2009).
- Norman T. Deutsch, May Religious Worship Be Excluded from a Limited Public Forum? Commentary on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision in Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries v. Glover, (University of Hawaii Law Review, Vol. 31, No. 29, 2008).
- Lael Daniel Weinberger, Religion Undefined: Competing Frameworks for Understanding 'Religion' in the Establishment Clause, (University of Detroit Mercy Law Review, Vol. 86, No. 4, 2009).
From SmartCILP and elsewhere:
- Robert A. Kahn, The Danish Cartoon Controversy and the Rhetoric of Libertarian Regret, 16 University of Miami International & Comparative Law Review 151-181 (2009).
- Richard Falk, Responsible Scholarship in "Dark Times", 7 UCLA Journal of Islamic & Near Eastern Law 1-16 (2008-2009).
- Umar F. Abd-Allah, Living Islam with Purpose, 7 UCLA Journal of Islamic & Near Eastern Law 17-66 (2008-2009).
- Mohamed Abdel Dayem & Fatima Ayub, In the Path of Allah: Evolving Interpretations of Jihad and Its Modern Challenges, 7 UCLA Journal of Islamic & Near Eastern Law 67-120 (2008-2009).
- Nicholas May, Holy Rebellion: Religious Assembly Laws in Antebellum South Carolina and Virginia, 49 American Journal of Legal History 237-256 (2007).
- Susan Weiss, The Tort of Get Refusal, (Conversations, The Journal of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, Issue 5, 2009).
Norwegian Univeristy Debates Use of Gym For Muslim Prayers
Recent Prisoner Free Excercise Cases
In Pressley v. Madison, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107231 (ND GA, Nov. 17, 2009), a Georgia federal district judge permitted a Muslim plaintiff to move ahead with her complaint that she was not permitted to wear her hijab covering her head while temporarily transferred for two days from prison to a county jail. The suit asks for an injunction to prohibit Barrow County Jail from depriving Muslim women of their hijabs and also seeks several million dollars in damages.
In Williams v. Cate, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107920 (ED CA, Nov. 10, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge allowed a prisoner who was a member of the House of Yahweh faith to proceed against some of the defendants named in his lawsuit for alleged violations of the free exercise and equal protection clauses, as well as RLUIPA. The lawsuit alleged refusals to accommodate plaintiff's religious dietary requirements, failure to hold House of Yahweh religious services and discrimination in funding from the religious services budget.
In Morris v. Woodford, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107612 (ND CA, Nov. 18, 2009), a California federal district court held that a prisoner had stated a cognizable claim under the 1st Amendment and RLUIPA. His complaint alleged denial and confiscation of his Qu'ran and other Islamic study and prayer materials.
In Lynch v. Huffman, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107476 (SD IN, Nov. 17, 2009), an Indiana federal district court dismissed an inmate's claim that his free exercise rights were violated when his request to see a chaplain was ignored while he was in administrative segregation for two months. He did not allege this imposed a substantial burden on his religious exercise. Moreover the claim was now moot.
European Commission Tells Britian Its Exemption For Church Employees Is Too Broad
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Religious Scholar Becomes Effective Regime Opponent In Iran
Maldives Considering Ban On Public Worship By Non-Muslims
Suit Challenges Closing of 50 Churches By Cleveland Catholic Diocese
Last month McGrath was named in a restraining order preventing her and other protesters from taking over a church in Akron scheduled for closure. The Diocese has now worked out a compromise under which protesters can remain in a Church until midnight on the day of its last Mass.
Regulatory Issues Abound In New York Hasidic Village
The most controversial immediate issue is the planned construction of a large kosher poultry slaughterhouse on city land abutting on homes just outside of New Square. The slaughterhouse project has received a $1.62 million grant of state development funds, even though it has not received approval from local planning departments. A smaller slaughterhouse constructed ten years ago already cause various sorts of problems for its neighbors.There has also been a history of non-compliance with state fire codes in the dense housing developments in New Square. The problems are complicated by the insularity of the Hasidic community, whose first language is Yiddish, and its political clout growing out of its ability to get the community to vote as a block for favored candidates. Earlier this month, 100% of New Square's 2075 votes went to one of the two candidates running to head Ramapo's government. The opposing candidate had expressed concern about the slaughterhouse project.
Rhode Island Bishop Tells Patrick Kennedy Not to Receive Communion
UPDATE: Former New York governor, Mario Cuomo, reacting to Church pressure on Patrick Kennedy, warned that if Church leaders pressure Catholic politicians to follow Church teaching in their political roles, this may well lead to people being hesitant to vote for Catholics. According to AP on Sunday, Cuomo said in part: "The American people need no course in philosophy or political science or church history to know that God should not be made into a celestial party chairman."
UPDATE2: Bishop Thomas J. Tobin issued a statement (11/22) in response to Rep. Kennedy's remarks. He says he wrote Kennedy in Feb. 2007 asking that he refrain from receiving Holy Communion in light of his consistent actions in opposition to Church teachings. The letter said that Tobin was writing Kennedy "personally and confidentially as a pastor addressing a member of his flock." Tobin says he is disappointed that Kennedy has now made this public.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
2nd Circuit Says EEOC Can Subpoena Company's Nationwide Records
9th Circuit Won't Enjoin Church Sign Regulations, But Remands For Further Consideration
New York High Court OK's State Employee Benefits To Same-Sex Spouses
IRS Schedules Hearing On Changes For Authorizing Church Tax Examinations
Indiana Christian TV Station Produces Program on Faith and the Law
Ohio Supreme Court: Regional Church Offices Are Not Tax Exempt
The dissenters argued that the headquarters were exempt as property used exclusively for a charitable purpose because it plays an integral role in the public worship and outreach programs of local churches.
Friday, November 20, 2009
New Catholic, Evangelical Declaration Reaffirms Pro-Life, Traditional Marriage Agenda
Today's New York Times reporting on the Declaration says that the document, written by Prison Fellowship founder Charles Colson, "is an effort to rejuvenate the political alliance of conservative Catholics and evangelicals that dominated the religious debate during the [Bush] administration.... They want to signal to the Obama administration and to Congress that they are still a formidable force that will not compromise on abortion, stem-cell research or gay marriage." [Thanks to Ira "Chip" Lupu for the lead.]While the whole scope of Christian moral concern, including a special concern for the poor and vulnerable, claims our attention, we are especially troubled that in our nation today the lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are severely threatened; that the institution of marriage, already buffeted by promiscuity, infidelity and divorce, is in jeopardy of being redefined to accommodate fashionable ideologies; that freedom of religion and the rights of conscience are gravely jeopardized by those who would use the instruments of coercion to compel persons of faith to compromise their deepest convictions.
.... We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right—and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation—to speak and act in defense of these truths.... Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.