Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Monday, February 27, 2006
International Court Hearing Begins On Genocide Charges Against Serbia
US Agency Says Iran Is Increasing Repression of Religious Minorities
Crosses Along Highways Are Proliferating, Professor Says
Sunday, February 26, 2006
9th Circuit Permits Sikh Prisoner's Claim To Go Forward
2006 Christmas In Schools Controversies Begin
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Utah Judge Removed By State Supreme Court For Polygamy
IRS Report On Improper Non-Profit Political Activity
Today's New York Times also covers the report and Commr. Everson's speech about it yesterday in Cleveland. The full text of the report and materials released along with it are online. Here is a summary of the alleged and determined violations from the Executive Summary:
[Thanks to Blog From the Capital for the lead.]
- Charities, including churches, distributing diverse printed materials that encouraged their members to vote for a preferred candidate (24 alleged; 9 determined)
- Religious leaders using the pulpit to endorse or oppose a particular candidate (19 alleged; 12 determined)
- Charities, including churches, criticizing or supporting a candidate on their website or through links to another website (15 alleged; 7 determined)
- Charities, including churches, disseminating improper voter guides or candidate ratings (14 alleged; 4 determined)
- Charities, including churches, placing signs on their property that show they support a particular candidate (12 alleged; 9 determined)
- Charities, including churches, giving improperly preferential treatment to certain candidates by permitting them to speak at functions (11 alleged; 9 determined), and
- Charities, including churches, making cash contributions to a candidateÂs political campaign (7 alleged; 5 determined).
Recent Publications On Church-State Issues
Robert W. Gurry, The Jury Is Out: The Urgent Need For A New Approach In Deciding When Religion-Based Peremptory Strikes Violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments, 18 Regent Univ. Law Review 91-128 (2005-2006).
Symposium: Bankruptcy in the Religious Non-Profit Context, 29 Seton Hall Legislative Journal 341-557 (2005):
- Boozang, Kathleen M., Introduction - Bankruptcy In the Religious Non-Profit Context.
- Skeel, David A., Jr., "Sovereignty" Issues and the Church Bankruptcy Cases.
- Cafardi, Nicholas P., The Availability of Parish Assets for Diocesan Debts: A Canonical Analysis.
- Wells, Catharine Pierce, Who Owns the Local Church? A Pressing Issue For Dioceses In Bankruptcy.
- DiPietro, Melanie, The Relevance of Canon Law In a Bankruptcy Proceeding.
- Sargent, Mark A., The Diocese After Chapter 11.
- Carmella, Angela C., Constitutional Arguments In Church Bankruptcies: Why Judicial Discourse About Religion Matters.
- Brody, Evelyn, The Charity In Bankruptcy and Ghosts of Donors Past, Present, and Future.
- Davitt, Christina M., Student Article: Whose Steeple Is It? Defining the Limits of the Debtor's Estate In the Religious Bankruptcy Context.
Jury Award For Denying Religious Burial To Stillborn Fetus Upheld
Prisoner Free Exercise Decisions Newly Released
In Young v. Medden, (ED Pa., Feb. 23, 2006), a wide-ranging lawsuit against prison officials, a Pennsylvania federal district court permitted a prisoner to proceed with various claims alleging violation of his free exercise rights and of RLUIPA. Willie Young, a believer in African Traditional Spirituality claimed that officials at two different prisons interfered with his ability to practice his religion.
In McElyea v. Schriro, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6765 (D. Ariz., Feb. 13, 2006), an Arizona federal district court judge dismissed a Jewish prisoner's religious exercise claims, finding that the prisoner's "multiple frivolous motions and filings are malicious and vexatious and based on complaints which are designed to harass and antagonize the Defendants". His complaints centered primarily on his ability to observe certain rules regarding the Sabbath and kosher food, and on his objection to the prison's permitting persons to attend Jewish services who are not Jewish according to Orthodox Jewish religious law.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Conservative Ohio Board Member Defends Removing Intelligent Design
I believe in God the creator. I believe in freedom. I believe in America, and the state of Ohio, and the Republican Party, fiscal conservatism, fairness and honesty. These values guided me last week to lead the Ohio Board of Education to remove creationism from our state's Science Standards and Model Curriculum.
You may ask: Why would being a creationist make me want to remove "critical analysis"/"intelligent design" creationism from the standards? It's simple, really: It is deeply unfair to the children of this state to mislead them about the nature of science. The future of Ohio's prosperity depends on a well-educated workforce that understands science. The future of religious freedom in this country depends on the electorate understanding that modern science is not a threat to faith....Our board had to decide whether to waste millions of taxpayer dollars to hear a federal judge tell them the same thing Judge Jones told the Dover, Pa., board. We chose to stand up for kids, for the state of Ohio, for freedom of religion, and for the integrity of science. The public trusts us to uphold first-class standards and to protect democracy and religious freedom. So, we set aside our differences and did the right thing for Ohio and Ohio's children.
Israel Supreme Court Appoints Mediator In Dispute Over Museum Construction
Convicted Sex Offender Raises Religious Objections To Electronic Monitoring
Hindu Board Calls For Murder Of Controversial Artist
Those who are endangering religion and nation, should be eliminated for everyone's good. Anyone who kills Hussain for making obscene paintings of goddess Sarswati and Bharat Mata, the Danish cartoonist, those in the German company printing pictures of Ram and Krishna on tissue paper and the French filmmaker desecrating Lord Shiva will be given Rs 51 crore in cash.Hussain has apologized and withdrawn the picture from auction.
HHS Settles With ACLU In Challenge To Funding Of Abstinence Program
Non-Buddhists Object To New Broadcast Services In Bhutan
Thursday, February 23, 2006
O Centro Impacts Peyote Charges In Utah
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the O Centro case, Mooney now says he will seek to have the court throw out his agreement with prosecutors and confirm his right to use peyote in religious ceremonies. Mooney says that while he fights his agreement, members of his church should be free to resume their ceremonies without his participation. However U.S. District Attorney Criminal Division Chief Richard Lambert took the position that federal law still requires anyone who uses peyote for religious purposes to be a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe. "Congress has spoken on this," Lambert said, pointing out that unlike hoasca, which is unregulated, Congress has specifically regulated peyote. He said that anyone using peyote who is not a member of a federally recognized tribe, including members of Mooney's church, is still breaking the law.