Today's London Mail reports on the decision.Ms Ladele was employed in a public job and was working for a public authority; she was being required to perform a purely secular task, which was being treated as part of her job; Ms Ladele's refusal to perform that task involved discriminating against gay people in the course of that job; she was being asked to perform the task because of Islington's Dignity for All policy, whose laudable aim was to avoid, or at least minimise, discrimination both among Islington's employees, and as between Islington (and its employees) and those in the community they served; Ms Ladele's refusal was causing offence to at least two of her gay colleagues; Ms Ladele's objection was based on her view of marriage, which was not a core part of her religion; and Islington's requirement in no way prevented her from worshipping as she wished....
Ms Ladele's proper and genuine desire to have her religious views relating to marriage respected should not be permitted to override Islington's concern to ensure that all its registrars manifest equal respect for the homosexual community as for the heterosexual community
Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
UK Court of Appeal: No Discrimination In Requring Official To Register Civil Partnerships
Rifqa Bary's Parents Want Ohio Social Services To Screen Daughter's Christmas Cards
DC Circuit Hears Oral Arguments In Challege To Inaugural Oath and Prayers
At the hearing, the DC Circuit opened with its usual cry: "God save the United States and this honorable court." Plaintiffs' emergency motion asking the court to eliminate the cry before arguments in this case was denied last week. (See prior posting.) In response, apparently Michael Newdow (and Bob Ritter of the American Humanists) absented themselves from the courtroom during the cry. (Comment by Bob Ritter.)
Florida Court Says No-Aid Claim Against Faith-Based Treatment Program Can Proceed
Vietnam President Visits Pope; Church Order Seeks Return of Land
D.C. Council Votes Final Passage of Gay Marriage Bill
Lawsuits Challenge Brooklyn Diocese Over Election Calls
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Evangelist Oral Roberts Dies
Arkansas Court Allows Freethinkers Display Next To Capitol's Creche
Federal Executive Branch Employees Get Half Day Off On Christmas Eve
Senate Committee Approves Feldblum For EEOC
Dutch Court Says Public Transport Company Can Ban Employees From Wearing Religious Necklace
Final Decision Denies Attorney Fees and Court Costs To High School Teacher
Egyptian Court Reverses Al-Ahzar Ban On Niqab
Unenforceable North Carolina Provision Barring Atheists From Office Is Focus of Attention [Corrected]
Nevertheless, former Asheville NAACP President H.K. Edgerton, who is a Southern Heritage activist, has suggested that he might sue Bothwell. This news account and others (such as AP) then suggest that such a suit might tie Bothwell up in litigation for years:
But the federal protections don't necessarily spare atheist public officials from spending years defending themselves in court. Avowed atheist Herb Silverman won an eight-year court battle in 1997, when South Carolina's highest court granted him the right to be appointed as a notary despite the state's law.Overlooked in this suggestion is the fact that Bothwell is in office, while the 1997 case, Silverman v. Campbell, involved a plaintiff who had been denied appointment to office and had to sue to obtain the appointment. The Silverman case specifically held that Art. VI, Sec. 2 of the South Carolina Constitution, a comparable provision requiring a belief in God to hold office, violates the U.S. Constitution.
NOTE: The original version of this posting inaccurately conflated North Carolina and South Carolina.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Rahm Emmanuel Lights National Menorah On Sunday
Russian Museum At Odds With Orthodox Church Over Loan of 14th Century Icon
India's Parliament Given Proposal To End "Bigamy Through Conversion To Islam"
Recent Articles of Interest
- Ellen P. Aprill, The Ballot, the Bimah, and the Tax Code, (CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly, Forthcoming).
- Jose Antonio Seoane, The Boundaries of the Medical Conscientious Objection - About the Refusal of a Blood Transfusion by a Jehovah’s Witness, (InDret, Vol. 4, 2009).
- Lyman P. Q. Johnson, Re-Enchanting the Corporation, William & Mary Business Law Review, Forthcoming).
- Frederick Schauer, Social Epistemology, Holocaust Denial, and the Post-Millian Calculus, (Regulating Hate Speech: Context, Content, and Remedies, Michael Herz & Peter Molnar, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2010).
- Stephen G. Gilles, Roe's Life-or-Health Exception: Self-Defense or Relative-Safety?,(Notre Dame Law Review, Forthcoming).
From SmartCILP and elsewhere:
- Symposium. International Protection of Religious Freedom: National Implementation. Articles by Zhuo Xinping, Denise Meyerson, Gennadiy Druzenko, Evaldo Xavier Gomes, Guillermo Garc¡a-Montufar Sarmiento, Daniel Alegre Porras, Sergio Gonzalez Sandoval, Octavio Lo Prete and Jorge Precht Pizarro. 2009 BYU Law Review 513-704.
- Symposium: Law and Religion. Lecture by Cardinal Roger Mahony. Articles by Robert J. Delahunty, Chad Marzen, Kevin Pybas and Lael Daniel Weinberger. 86 University of Detroit Mercy Law Review 603-766 (2009).
- Margo Schlanger & Giovanna Shay, Preserving the Rule of Law in America's Jails and Prisons: The Case for Amending the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 11 Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law 1 (2008).
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Desimone v. Bartow, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 26687 (7th Cir., Dec. 8, 2009), the 7th Circuit rejected an inmate's free exercise and RLUIPA claims, finding that he did not establish a substantial burden on his free exercise of religion. Plaintiff complained that authorities had confiscated his encoded journals that he believed allowed him to maintain a separate realm of thought to conform to the teachings of Yahwism.
In Allen v. Passaic County Jail, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113560 (ED PA, Dec. 4, 2009), a Pennsylvania federal district court refused to dismiss a former inmate's claim that his free exercise rights were violated when, because of jail overcrowding, he was unable to attend religious services.
In Hamilton v. Hernandez, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113140 (ND CA, Nov. 19, 2009), a California federal district court dismissed an inmate's claims that prison authorities interfered with his practice of his House of Yahweh religion by placing him in a cell with an inmate that did not observe the same religion, by on occasion refusing to release him from his cell to attend Sabbath services, by interfering with House of Yahweh Sabbath services, by failing to provide him a religious diet, and by her infringements and retaliatory action.
In Stewart v. Klein, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113040 (D AZ, Nov. 19, 2009), an Arizona federal district court refused to overturn a jury's verdict rejecting an inmate's claim that his free exercise of religion was substantially burdened by receiving meals containing meat and egg products. and that defendant, the kitchen manager, should have corrected the problem.
In Garrison v. Michigan Department of Corrections, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114719 (ED MI, Dec. 9, 2009), a Michigan federal district court accepted most of a federal magistrate judge's recommendations (2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114640, Oct. 16, 2009), and dismissed objections to various restrictions imposed by prison officials on plaintiffs' Native American Traditional Spiritual Ways religious ceremonies.
Chirstian Leaders Broadly Oppose Uganda's Proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Regardless of the diverse theological views of our religious traditions regarding the morality of homosexuality, in our churches, communities and families, we seek to embrace our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters as God's children worthy of respect and love.
Subsequently two other influential leaders came out with statements against the legislation-- Pastor Rick Warren (USA Today report; Warren' statement (12/10)) and Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams (Ekklesia 12/12.)
Bloomberg News (12/9) reports that a revised version of the bill will drop the death penalty (imposed for "Aggravated Homosexuality") and life imprisonment for gays-- provisions that had particularly generated religious opposition. The revised bill reportedly will also encourage counseling to encourage changes in sexual orientation.Developments On Vatican Treaties With Israel, Brazil
Meanwhile the Concordat between the Holy See and Brazil signed last year entered into force on Thursday with a formal ratification ceremony in the Vatican. Zenit reports that that the agreement (full text) provides for religious education in public schools; provides tax exemptions for religious institutions; recognizes ecclesiastical decisions on issues of marriage; and recognizes ecclesiastical academic titles.
Catholic Bishops Say Clergy Exemptions In Britain's Proposed Equality Bill Are Too Narrow
The bishops say that many priests do not spend 51% of their time in these two activities. Instead they may be involved for much of their time in pastoral work, private prayer and study or administration and building maintenance. They say the bill may well make it unlawful for the Church to require that a Catholic priest be male, unmarried or not in a same-sex civil partnership, since no priest would be able to demonstrate that he spends most of his time leading worship or explaining doctrine. Last week the House of Commons defeated a proposed amendment that would have allowed religious organizations to hire only people whose conduct was consistent with the Bible's teachings. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Dutch Muslim Lawyer Cleared of Contempt For Refusing To Stand, Wearing Hat
ACLU Challenges Illinois' Increase In Lobbyist Registration Fees, Including Church Exemption
Friday, December 11, 2009
Hanukkah Greetings, Party Plans From the White House
Hanukkah is not only a time to celebrate the faith and customs of the Jewish people, but for people of all faiths to celebrate the common aspirations we share.The White House also released a Hebrew translation of the President's statement. Hanukkah begins at sundown today and is celebrated for eight days.
Meanwhile the New York Times yesterday reported on the kerfuffle surrounding plans for this year's White House Hanukkah party. Rumors began circulating, first in the Israeli press and then in the U.S., that President Obama had cut the number of invitees from the Bush administration's 800 down to 400. Apparently the reality is that the Bush White House invited 600 to its last Hanukkah party, while Obama is inviting 550. Eyebrows were also raised over the invitations sent out by the White House. They invited their recipients to "a holiday reception" on Dec. 16, without mentioning Hanukkah. Meanwhile, the Forward last week carried an interesting history of Hanukkah (or its absence) at the White House through various presidencies.
Defamation Counterclaims By Charter School Against ACLU Dismissed
Opening Grounds To Displays Gives County Problems On How To Choose
Hanukkah Begins Tonight; Chabad Public Menorah Displays Grow
Lawsuit Charges Indiana Lawyer Assistance Program With Religious Bias
Describing the underlyinig facts on the ArchAngel Institute's website, Brown commented that he"was remanded from the Indiana Board of Law Examiners into the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program on January 25, 2008 (the Feast day of St. Paul) and subjected to that agency’s machinations until they remanded him back to the Indiana Board of Law Examiners on January 22, 2009 (the anniversary of Roe v. Wade)." A column in yesterday's Ft. Wayne (IN) News-Sentinel examines the case.
Group Complains About City's Favoritism of Salvation Army
Suit Challenges Refusal To Permit Solstice Display at State Capitol
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Obama Accepts Nobel Peace Prize With Speech Focusing on "Just War"
Over time, as codes of law sought to control violence within groups, so did philosophers, clerics and statesmen seek to regulate the destructive power of war. The concept of a "just war" emerged, suggesting that war is justified only when it meets certain preconditions: if it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the forced used is proportional; and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence.
For most of history, this concept of just war was rarely observed. The capacity of human beings to think up new ways to kill one another proved inexhaustible, as did our capacity to exempt from mercy those who look different or pray to a different God. Wars between armies gave way to wars between nations — total wars in which the distinction between combatant and civilian became blurred. In the span of 30 years, such carnage would twice engulf this continent. And while it is hard to conceive of a cause more just than the defeat of the Third Reich and the Axis powers, World War II was a conflict in which the total number of civilians who died exceeded the number of soldiers who perished.
In the wake of such destruction, and with the advent of the nuclear age, it became clear to victor and vanquished alike that the world needed institutions to prevent another World War.
...
As the world grows smaller, you might think it would be easier for human beings to recognize how similar we are, to understand that we all basically want the same things, that we all hope for the chance to live out our lives with some measure of happiness and fulfillment for ourselves and our families.
And yet, given the dizzying pace of globalization, and the cultural leveling of modernity, it should come as no surprise that people fear the loss of what they cherish about their particular identities — their race, their tribe and, perhaps most powerfully, their religion. In some places, this fear has led to conflict. At times, it even feels like we are moving backwards. We see it in the Middle East, as the conflict between Arabs and Jews seems to harden. We see it in nations that are torn asunder by tribal lines.
Most dangerously, we see it in the way that religion is used to justify the murder of innocents by those who have distorted and defiled the great religion of Islam, and who attacked my country from Afghanistan. These extremists are not the first to kill in the name of God; the cruelties of the Crusades are amply recorded. But they remind us that no Holy War can ever be a just war. For if you truly believe that you are carrying out divine will, then there is no need for restraint — no need to spare the pregnant mother, or the medic, or even a person of ones own faith. Such a warped view of religion is not just incompatible with the concept of peace, but the purpose of faith — for the one rule that lies at the heart of every major religion is that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
Adhering to this law of love has always been the core struggle of human nature. We are fallible. We make mistakes, and fall victim to the temptations of pride, and power, and sometimes evil. Even those of us with the best intentions will at times fail to right the wrongs before us.
Court Rejects Free Exercise Challenge To New Mexico Cock Fighting Ban
Resolution To Protect Sanctity of Christmas Introduced Into House
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—Rep. Brown's press release explaining the resolution says in part:
(1) recognizes the importance of the symbols and traditions of Christmas;
(2) strongly disapproves of attempts to ban references to Christmas; and
(3) expresses support for the use of these symbols and traditions by those who celebrate Christmas.
I am troubled by the growing sentiment that the phrase 'Merry Christmas' is not appropriate and I am worried that attempts to celebrate a 'politically correct' holiday season may cause the loss of some of the traditions sacred to this widely celebrated holiday.The Resolution has 17 co-sponsors.
I recognize that there are many religions that celebrate a variety of holidays this month and in accordance with the First Amendment, I believe it is important to preserve the right for everyone to worship as they believe....
We must not forget that the true meaning of Christmas is to celebrate of the birth of Christ and I will continue to work to protect the sanctity of this great holiday.
UPDATE: On Dec. 10, Rep. Brown criticized President and Mrs. Obama for sending out White House holiday cards that say "Season's Greetings" and do not specifically mention Christmas. (Fox News.) [Thanks to God and Country blog for the lead.]
9th Circuit Hears Latest Appeal In Mt. Soledad Cross Case
Mormon Senator Orin Hatch Composes New Hanukkah Song
Today Is Human Rights Day-- 61st Anniversary of UN Declaration
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.The theme of Human Rights Day 2009 is non-discrimination. Article 2 of the Declaration provides:
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a statement yesterday expanding on the concept of non-discrimination. After discussing discrimination against women and racial and ethnic minorities, Navi Palli continued:
Discrimination based on religion or belief can be equally destructive. In certain countries, members of certain groups are restricted in how they can exercise their religion or belief and deprived of their fundamental rights. In extreme cases such conditions may lead to sectarian violence, killing and conflict. Stereotyping can lead to stigmatization and isolationism.
British Court Rejects Criminal Charges Against Christian Hotel Owners
Questioning of Expert Witness About Religion Found To Be Harmless Error
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
California Woman Pushing Initiative To Require Christmas Carols In Schools
Oman Authorities Investigating Religious Text Message Scam
Canadian Street Preacher Acquitted of Noise and Other Charges
Cert. Filed In School's Ban of Student Musical Performance At Graduation
Israel's Justice Minister Creates Controversy With Comments on Religious Law
Russia's Supreme Court Agrees Jehovah's Witness Publications Are "Extremist"
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Newdow Asks DC Circuit To Eliminate Opening Cry Before His Case Is Heard
Appearances are also critical for the judges themselves.... In other words, "federal judges must maintain the appearance of impartiality."... Although perhaps not as flagrant a violation of the Establishment Clause as those violations which underlie this litigation ... the religious opening cry is definitely of a similar species. Inasmuch as the Panel, at this stage of the proceedings, must assume the merits in Plaintiffs' favor, ... the appearance of impartiality is certainly questionable at best when the judges risk independently inflicting what may be yet one more "concrete and particular" injury to the First Amendment rights of those seeking their protection.[Thanks to Bob Ritter for the lead.]
UPDATE: On Wednesday (12/9), in a one sentence order, a 3-judge panel rejected Newdow's request. (Blog of the Legal Times.) [Thanks to Joel Sogol via Religionlaw for the lead.]
Court Dismisses Suit Over Firing, Invokes Ministerial Exception
For the purposes of the ministerial exception, it matters only that the allegations require an inquiry into the church's reasons for the termination. Though the plaintiff does not allege that he was terminated for reasons of religious doctrine, for example, the defendant may be required to assert reasons of religious doctrine as a defense.
10th Circuit Refuses To Bar Deportation of Mormon To Colombia
In This Year's Christmas Wars, More Cities Eliminate Religious Displays
Kenyan Leader Says Noise Regulations Will Be Amended To Assure Right to Worship
UPDATE: Kenya's Daily Nation (12/9) reports that Environment Minister John Michuki has promised to make certain that the new noise rules will be implemented. Apparently contradicting the statement by Prime Minister Odinga, Michuki said that no one will be exempted because Kenya is a secular state which is not governed by the rules of religion, but the national Constitution and statutes.
Obama's Talks With Turkey's Erdogan Included Religious Freedom Issues
I complimented the Prime Minister for the steps that he's taken, often very difficult steps, in reintegrating religious minorities and ethnic minorities within Turkey into the democratic and political process, and indicated to him that we want to be as supportive as possible in further steps that he can take, for example, assuring the continuation of the Halki Seminary and addressing the vital needs of continuing the ecumenical patriarchy within Turkey.
8 Rastafariains Mark Decade In Segregation For Refusing to Cut Their Hair
Monday, December 07, 2009
Supreme Court Grants Review In Hastings Christian Legal Society Case
UN Climate Summit Will Not Have Christmas Trees
Vallejo, CA Mayor Reflects Clash Between Christian and Gay Residents
New Vote To Overturn Minaret Ban Being Considered In Switzerland
Recent Articles of Interest-- They Abound This Week
- Ali Khan, Anti-Islamic Torture , (Global Dialogue, Vol. 12, 2010).
- Robert Luther, 'Unity Through Division': Religious Liberty and the Virtue of Pluralism in the Context of Legislative Prayer Controversies, (Creighton Law Review, Vol. 43, No. 1, 2009).
- David Nimmer, In the Shadow of the Emperor: The Hatam Sofer’s Copyright Rulings, (The Torah u-Madda Journal, 2009).
- David Nimmer, Rabbi Banet’s Charming Snake, (Ḥakirah, the Flatbush Journal of Jewish Law and Thought, pp. 69-108, 2009).
- Nathan B. Oman, 'The Living Oracles': Legal Interpretation and Mormon Thought, (Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 42, No. 2, 2009).
- James T. Koebel, Colorado Christian University v. Weaver: The Tenth Circuit's Improper Redefinition of 'Excessive Entanglement', (Catholic University Law Review, Vol. 58, No. 4, 2009).
- Nicholas Hatzis, Neutrality, Proselytism and Religious Minorities at the European Court of Human Rights and the U.S. Supreme Court, (Harvard International Law Journal Online, Vol. 49, p. 120, 2009).
- Justin S. Murray, Exposing the Underground Establishment Clause in the Supreme Court’s Abortion Cases, (November 14, 2009).
From FindLaw:
- Vicram David Amar & Alan Brownstein, Is Monitoring Moslem Religious Services Without Particularized Suspicion Constitutional?, (Dec. 4, 2009).
From SmartCILP:
- Robert F. Gotcher, Invective, Irony, Sarcasm and Other Negative Tropes in Pro-life Rhetoric, 3 University of St. Thomas Journal of Law & Public Policy 26-45 (2009).
- Joshua Dunn, Almost Persuaded: Statutory Protections for Students' Religious Rights, 38 Journal of Law & Education 627-636 (2009).
- Miriam Galston, Theocracy in America: Should Core First Amendment Values Be Permanent?, 37 Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 65 (2009).
- Oliver A. Houck, From Sacred Places: The Nikko Taro and the Taj Mahal, 31 University of Hawaii Law Review 369-422 (2009).
- Kenneth Lasson, Bloodstains on a "Code of Honor": The Murderous Marginalization of Women in the Islamic World, 30 Women's Rights Law Reporter 407-441 (2009).
- Matthew Lewis Sutton, Life is Beautiful: The Theological Aesthetic Argument for Life, 3 University of St. Thomas Journal of Law & Public Policy 15-25 (2009).
- Kevin H. Theriot, Prince or Pauper? Religious Proselytizing and the First Amendment, 3 University of St. Thomas Journal of Law & Public Policy 46-70 (2009).
- Martin Guggenheim, Texas Polygamy and Child Welfare, 46 Houston Law Review 759-816 (2009).
- Michael Newsom, Pan-Protestantism and Proselytizing: Minority Religions in a Protestant Empire, 15 Widener Law Review 1-91 (2009).
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Survey Released On Prejudice In Europe
- 50.4% of the Europeans agree that "there are too many immigrants" in their country....
- 24.5% agree that "Jews have too much influence in [country]"....
- 54.4% of the Europeans believe that "the Islam is a religion of intolerance."
- 31.3% agree that "there is a natural hierarchy between black and white people".
- 60.2% say that "women should take their role as wives and mothers more seriously."
- 42.6% say that homosexuality is "immoral".
British Cardinal Rejects Seat In House of Lords
Another Approach To Public Holiday Displays-- "Only In America"
Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases
In Grayson v. Evans, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111953 (SD IL, Dec. 1, 2009), an Illinois federal district court permitted an inmate to proceed with his claim that his free exercise rights were violated when he was sent to segregation for refusing to cut his hair. He claims that his African Hebrew-Israelite religion requires him to grow his hair long.
In Williams v. Sampson, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111589 (ED CA, Nov. 13, 2009), a California federal magistrate judge concluded that an inmate's claims that prison officials failed to set up a religious program for Muslim prisoners were too vague to state an equal protection or free exercise claim.
In Lawson v. Florida Department, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111747 (ND FL, Nov. 3, 2009), a Florida federal magistrate judge found that plaintiff had misrepresented facts to the Court and pursued a frivolous, malicious claim in asserting that his free exercise rights were being burdened by prison officials. Plaintiff's claim was based on his assertions that he was an Orthodox Jew, while extensive evidence was presented that he consistently violated Jewish religious practices. As a Rule 11 sanction, the court recommended the lawsuit be dismissed, it be deemed a "strike" and its findings be sent to the Department of Corrections for other possible sanctions.
In Matter of Rossi v. Lape, (Sup. Ct. NY, Oct. 15, 2009), a New York trial court dismissed a Rastafarian prisoner's complaint alleging that some of his requests relating to the practice of his religion were rejected. The requests involved using the gymnasium as consecrated ground, preparation of food and availability of certain regalia for a Rastafarian event, and creation of an organization to raise funds for Rastafarian items.
In Zaahir v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, (KY Ct. App., Dec. 4, 2009), a Kentucky appellate court held in a 2-1 decision that appellant's free exercise rights do not require court and prison officials to change their records to reflect his religious name change.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Teachers Testify, Complaining About Consent Decree Banning Religion In Schools
Thursday's Pensacola News Journal reports on the testimony of third-grade teacher, Vicki Kirsch, who said: "My Christian beliefs are under attack and ... I wasn't able to do the things that I could do before the consent decree." She recounted that she is afraid to say, "God bless you," to a fellow teacher, and in not sure if she can let students talk about their baptisms in speeches to classes. She also complained she had to remove a cross from a personal area of her class room. A release from Liberty Counsel describes the testimony of two other witnesses:
Michelle Winkler broke down on the witness stand when she described how a coworker sought comfort from her after losing her two-year-old child. The two hid behind a closet door to pray, for fear they would be seen and held in contempt of the court order. Denise Gibson, an elementary teacher for 20 years, testified the order forces her to tell parents she cannot respond if they talk about church or their faith. She may not even respond to an email from a parent if it contains a Scripture verse or "God bless you." Instead, the District requires her to open a separate email to respond rather than hit "reply," in order to eliminate any trace of religious language.On Friday, federal district judge Casey Rodgers ordered counsel for both sides to submit their closing arguments in writing. (Pensacola News Journal).
Tajik Authorities Say Baptists Must Register Before Gathering To Worship
7th Circuit: Sheriff Unconstitutionally Endorsed Christian Speakers
We do not suggest ... that religiously affiliated groups are always constitutionally barred from working with or speaking to government employees. Rather, we limit our analysis to the facts of this case, where an authority figure invited a Christian organization that engaged in religious proselytizing to speak on numerous occasions at mandatory government employee meetings. A reasonable observer would have been well aware that the Sheriff did not extend such privileges lightly. Most other organizations that received similar access shared a common attribute: the Sheriff had expressed an interest in partnering with them. Indeed, it would be difficult to interpret the Sheriff’s actions as anything other than endorsement.(See prior related posting.) Yesterday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on the decision.
Canadian Court Says Pastor's Anti-Gay Letter Was Protected Speech
5th Circuit Hears Arguments In Native American School Boy's Hair Style Case
Friday, December 04, 2009
'Tis The Season For Battles Over Holiday Displays On Public Property
According to an editorial in the Desert Valley (NV) Times, some residents of Mesquite, Nevada boycotted the mayor's tree lighting ceremony on Tuesday because a notice of the event she sent out referred to it as a "holiday tree." The event included a prayer by a Presbyterian pastor, a plea from the mayor to remember the message that accompanied the birth of Jesus Christ, and City Council singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Mayor Susan Holecheck said she had to use the term "holiday tree" because of the potential for lawsuits from the ACLU and others.
Today's Santa Cruz (CA) Sentinel reports that according to Santa Cruz city officials, for years they have been issuing the wrong kind of permit to Chabad Rabbi Yochanan Friedman who puts up a menorah in downtown Santa Cruz. Officials say the permit he should be issued requires him to furnish round-the-clock security for the menorah. This would cost around $5000. This follows a campaign by atheists in the city to have the menorah removed from public property, though city officials say that did not influence their action. The city will continue to have a community tree downtown, with lights but no ornaments, and says security is not required for that. Also Mai Dao-Horton, who began the petition to have the menorah removed, says the tree is permissible because the city has "done a conscientious job of de-Christianizing it." [Thanks to Scott Mange for this lead.]
UPDATE: JWeekly (12/10) reports that an agreement has been worked out to for Chabad to provide insurance and daytime monitoring, and to go ahead with a display for 8 days and nights on that basis.
UPDATE2: Mai Dao-Horton has e-mailed me saying that the statement attributed to her by the Santa Cruz Sentinal was in fact made by Sonya Newlyn. She says she was misquoted twice in the Sentinel article.
In Ashland, Oregon, dozens of parents are upset after Bellview Elementary School Principal Michelle Zundel removed a holiday tree when a family complained that it is a religious symbol. According to today's Southern Oregon Mail Tribune, the principal also created new guidelines for school displays that effectively bar holiday trees, Santa Claus figures and dreidels, that courts generally classify as secular. However, under the new guidelines, wreaths, candles, candy canes, snowflakes and snowmen are permitted. Organizers of the "giving tree program" said they were not trying to promote Christianity, but were merely trying to help needy students and spread holiday cheer with the tree. Zundel said that with compulsory attendance, schools need to be more sensitive than the law requires. UPDATE: KGW News reported on Dec. 10 that a compromise has been reached in Ashland. The original tree will be replaced by a holiday display including three trees, snow and gifts for needy children.