Religious Land Use Issues Continue To Arise

Religious land use issues continue to make news. Liberty Counsel has announced two interesting suits. In Florida, the group has sued Osceola County to get permission for the Men of Destiny Ministries to operate a faith-based substance abuse program. The county has refused to issue the group a permit to continue to run its program from a single family home that is being used to house 14 men who work during the day and who have Christian meetings 4 evening per week. The county has been levying a fine on the group, and has ordered the 6,300 square foot home it is using to be vacated. (Orlando Sentinel, May 10.)

Meanwhile, in Bedford County, Virginia, Liberty Counsel has written the county on behalf of Raymond Bell, the pastor of The Cowboy Church of Virginia, claiming that the county is violating RLUIPA. The owner of a local farm agreed to permit use of his barn every Thursday night for worship services by the Cowboy Church, but the county has issued a Notice of Violation because the farm is not zoned for use for religious meetings. (Liberty Counsel News Release, May 10.) [Thanks to Rick Duncan via Religionlaw for the lead.]

Finally, in Yavapai County Arizona, the Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing next week on a proposed amendment to the county zoning code to require religious institutions and certain schools to obtain use permits before they construct new buildings. The Board's Planning and Zoning committee has recommended a tightening of current regulations so that there will be notification of surrounding property owners and an administrative review process with public comment before construction begins. Opponents of the amendment argue that religious institutions are constitutionally protected from such regulation. (Verde Arizona Independent, May 10.)

India's Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To Muslim Family Law

In India yesterday the Supreme Court rejected an challenge to the legality of the Muslim personal law on marriage, according to Daily India. The suit asked the Court to order the central government to promulgate a uniform marriage law for all communities, including Muslims. The suit claimed that Muslim marriage and divorce practices denied fundamental rights to Muslim women and contradicted the principles of secularism and national integration. However the Court said that any change is a matter for Parliament, and not for the Court.

Church Gives 10 Commandments Display To Kentucky County

Now that the Kentucky legislature has enacted a law permitting the display in public buildings of the Ten Commandments along with other texts that highlight Kentucky's historic, cultural, political, and general heritage, today's Lexington Herald-Leader reports that religious groups are pushing to have the new law implemented. The Body of Christ Ministries has given the Lexington-Fayette County Urban County Council a set of framed documents, which include the Ten commandments, the Declaration of Independence, the preamble to the Kentucky Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It hopes they will be displayed at the courthouse, county annex or city hall. The group has distributed similar documents to 12 Kentucky counties since 2003. The Lexington-Fayette Council voted 9-1 Tuesday to draft a resolution accepting the display.

Director of Evangelism's Retaliation Suit Dismissed Under Church Autonomy Rule

The Yakima (Washington) Herald Republic reports that yesterday a Washington state trial court judge dismissed a suit accusing the Catholic Diocese of Yakima of forcing Robert Fontana, Diocesan Director of Evangelism, to resign after he questioned the Diocese's application of a new national policy on clergy sexual misconduct. Fontana claimed that he was reprimanded for complaining that Bishop Carlos Sevilla permitted a priest to continue his religious duties even though the priest was being investigated for downloading photographs of nude boys from the Internet. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction over Fontana's claim because of the "ministerial exception". Holding that Fontana's duties should be considered "ministerial", the court said that "a church's right to be unfettered by the state in its choice and control of ministers cannot abide state intervention where the heart of the issue depends on religious justification."

Iranian President Lectures Bush Using Appeal To Religion

On Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a rambling 18-page letter (full text)to President George Bush that contained little in the way of new initiatives to deal with the crisis over Iran's development of nuclear weapons capability. However, as described today by the New York Times, the letter largely used religion to lecture Bush about the errors of his administration's policies around the world. The unusual appeal to George Bush's personal religious beliefs, and the extensive exposition of Islamic teachings, may make this letter one of the more unusual exchanges between international leaders. Here are a few quotations from the lengthy letter:

Can one be a follower of Jesus Christ (PBUH), the great Messenger of God ... But at the same time, ... because of the possibility of the existence of WMDs in one country, it is occupied, around one hundred thousand people killed, its water sources, agriculture and industry destroyed....

Another big question asked by people is why is this regime [Israel] being supported? Is support for this regime in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ (PBUH) or Moses (PBUH) or liberal values? Or are we to understand that allowing the original inhabitants of these lands – inside and outside Palestine – whether they are Christian, Muslim or Jew, to determine their fate, runs contrary to principles of democracy, human rights and the teachings of prophets? If not, why is there so much opposition to a referendum?....

If prophet Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ishmael, Joseph or Jesus Christ (PBUH) were with us today, how would they have judged such behaviour? Will we be given a role to play in the promised world, where justice will become universal and Jesus Christ (PBUH) will be present? Will they even accept us?...

Mr President, According to divine verses, we have all been called upon to worship one God and follow the teachings of divine prophets. "To worship a God which is above all powers in the world and can do all He pleases." ...

We increasingly see that people around the world are flocking towards a main focal point –that is the Almighty God. Undoubtedly through faith in God and the teachings of the prophets, the people will conquer their problems. My question for you is: “Do you not want to join them?”

Mr President, Whether we like it or not, the world is gravitating towards faith in the Almighty and justice and the will of God will prevail over all things.

Apartment Managers Ban Bible Study In Commons Area

Today's Spartanburg (South Carolina) Herald-Journal reports on another instance of a growing problem-- an apartment complex banning residents from using a building's common space for Bible study. (See prior posting.) At Spartanburg's Heritage Court Apartments, appropriately located on "Church Street", the management company in charge of the building told residents that the federal Fair Housing Act requires them to move their Bible study group from the common area into a private apartment. The letter to residents also said that hymns could no longer be played on the piano in the commons area, and no nativity scene could be displayed there at Christmas. William Dudley Gregorie, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's field office director for South Carolina, says that management is wrong in its interpretation of the law. As long as all groups have the same access to the commons area, there is no problem with its use for Bible study.

The management company involved here, One Management, justified its action as a way of preventing potential tenets from feeling that a particular religion is preferred at the apartment complex. One Management owns between 40 and 50 complexes across the Carolinas and Virginia, and manages 12 others.

UPDATE: Wednesday, after South Carolina lawmakers said that One Management has misinterpreted the law, the management company announced they would allow residents to continue their bible study while the company sought advice from the Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination with the United States Department of Justice. (Fox Carolina News.)

Canadian Hutterites Win Challenge To License Photo Requirement

In the Canadian province of Alberta, a group of Hutterites on Monday won their lawsuit challenging the requirement that they must have their photo on their drivers' licenses. (See prior posting.) The Calgary Sun yesterday reported that Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sal LoVecchio held that the requirement violates the religious rights of members of the Hutterite colony who believe that the Second Commandment precludes them from willfully having their picture taken. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects freedom of conscience and religion from infringement by provincial law.

Defense Bill Would Permit Chaplains To Offer Sectarian Prayer

The Wall of Separation blog yesterday reported on language inserted by the House Armed Services Committee into H.R. 5122, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007. The provision will free military chaplains to offer sectarian prayer in most situations. Section 590 of the bill provides:

Each chaplain shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of the chaplain’s own conscience, except as must be limited by military necessity, with any such limitation being imposed in the least restrictive manner feasible.

Current policies of the military and military academies generally call on chaplains to offer non-denominational inclusive prayers when offering invocations at military ceremonies. (See prior postings 1, 2 .) Yesterday's Washington Times, disclosing the language, quoted House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter who said it is "folly" to tell chaplains to "start editing prayers."

Court Holds RFRA Applies To Guantanamo Bay

Yesterday in Rasul v. Rumsfeld, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26665 (D DC, May 8, 2006), the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act applies to detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. It also held that RFRA applies to non-resident aliens, as well as U.S. citizens, and permitted four former Guantanamo detainees (all of whom are British citizens) to proceed with their claim that guards humiliated and harassed them as they tried to practice their religion while in custody. In February, the court had dismissed constitutional and international law claims raised by the same plaintiffs. (See prior posting.)

California Hearings On Bill To Limit Relief For Public Religious Displays

Today the California state Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on SB 1499 which would limit lawsuits challenging the governmental display of religious symbols to ones seeking injunctive relief. Neither damages nor attorneys fees would be available in suits against public agencies and public officials who violate Section 4 of Article I of the California Constitution, if their challenged action consisted only of the public display of a religious symbol on an official seal, on a court house or other government facility, on public land, or on any veterans' memorial or monument. WorldNetDaily today has background on the bill.

Louisiana Senate Passes 10 Commandments Bill

State legislatures roll on with their attempts to restore the display of the Ten Commandments on public property. Yesterday, according to 2theadvocate.com, the Louisiana Senate voted 34-1, and sent on to the House, a bill that would permit display of the Ten Commandments along with other specified historical documents. Under the legislation (SB 476), the Secretary of State’s Archives Division is to prepare copies of the various historical documents quoted in the legislation in a form suitable for framing. The will then be available for a fee to state offices, clerks of court, judges or other local governing authorities.

Some Protestant Churches Oppose Federal Marriage Protection Amendment

The Ontario California Daily Bulletin today focuses on moves by a number of more liberal Protestant denominations to oppose the the proposed Federal Marriage Protection Amendment to the Constitution. That amendment would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. A number of Baptist, Evangelical Lutheran, Episcopalian, and Unitarian churches oppose the amendment, arguing that it favors one religious view of marriage over others, and would codify that religious view in the Constitution.

Call For Implementing Civil Burial Option In Israel

In Israel, activists are calling for the new government to finally implement free civil burial options, in addition to the existing provision of religious burials at government expense. Yivat Solel, legal advisor to the Menucha Nechona (Rest in Peace) organization, writing an op-ed for YNet News says: "Ten years ago, Israel enacted a law requiring the state to provide burial options for all citizens, in accordance with their beliefs-- at no cost. But to date, the only cemetery in the country that has implemented the law is the regional cemetery in Beer Sheva." Solel charges that existing burial societies have impeded implementation of civil options to protect the revenue they now receive from conducting religious ceremonies.

UPDATE: Jerusalem's Mayor Uri Lublianski has announced that Jerusalem will create a cemetery for free burial of secular Israelis, despite opposition from the city's large ultra-Orthodox community. The first secular cemetery to be endorsed by a municipal government, it should be completed by 2007. (Haaretz, May 9.) [Thanks to Dick Schectman for the lead.]

Bank Charged With Unnecessarily Closing Muslim Charity's Account

The Washington Post over the week end reported that Muslim groups are launching a public campaign against Wachovia Corp. to force it to explain why it closed the bank account of a Herndon, Virginia Muslim social service organization. The treasurer of the Foundation for Appropriate and Immediate Temporary Help said she suspects that Wachovia closed its account because it received a donation from a charity run by a Muslim businessman whose home and offices were raided by federal agents. Banks are required to report suspicious financial activity in accounts to federal authorities. The cost of monitoring may lead a bank to decide that it is cheaper to close the account.

First Amendment Religion Casebooks and Texts Available

As the academic year ends, law school faculty may be considering books to use for next year's courses. Increasingly, the major law school publishers are offering casebooks and texts devoted solely to the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment. Here are the ones that are currently available:

Foundation Press:

• Volokh's The Religion Clauses and Related Statutes, Problems, Cases and Policy Arguments (2005).
• Conkle's Constitutional Law: The Religion Clauses (2003).
• Noonan and Gaffney's Religious Freedom: History, Cases Interaction of Religion and Government (2001, with 2005 Supplement).

Aspen

• Michael W. McConnell, John H. Garvey & Thomas C. Berg, Religion and the Constitution (2nd Edition, 2006).

Lexis-Nexis

• Stephen G. Gey, Religion and the State (2001, plus annual supplements).

West

• Ravitch's Law and Religion, A Reader: Concepts, Cases and Theory (2004).
• Berg's The State and Religion in a Nutshell (2nd Edition, 2004).
• Loewy's Religion and the Constitution: Cases and Materials (1999, with 2002 Supplement).

Egyptian Government Appeals Ruling Recognizing Bahai

In Egypt, the Interior Ministry yesterday filed an appeal asking the Supreme Administrative Court to reverse a ruling issued last month by a lower court recognizing the right of Bahais to have their religion acknowledged on official documents, including national identity cards. Reuters reports that the appeal was filed after many in Parliament argued that only religions recognized by Sunni Islam should appear on official government documents. That approach would limit the religions that could appear on official documents to Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The Interior Ministry suggests that adherents of other faiths should merely draw a line through the section of their national identity cards that calls for an indication of the individual's religion.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Decisions

In Sanders v. Zeller, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26425 (ND Iowa, April 28, 2006), an Iowa federal district court rejected a free exercise claim brought by a Muslim inmate who was denied the right to attend one week's Friday Jummah service because of an error in recording of his religious preference on jail records.

In Jordan v. Lynn County Jail, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26358 (ND Iowa, April 20, 2006), an Iowa federal district judge accepted a magistrate's recommendation to deny summary judgment to jail officials on an inmate's claim that he should have been allowed to attend Christian church services even though he also wanted to observe Muslim religious practices.

In Clark v. Levesque, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25917 (D. Conn., March 17, 2006), a Connecticut federal district judge denied a Rastafarian prisoner's claim that his free exercise rights were violated when Connecticut prison officials, experiencing overcrowding at in-state facilities, transferred him to a federal correctional facility in Virginia with a strict grooming policy that disciplined him for refusing to cut his hair and shave. The court also rejected his claim that his treatment upon his return to a Connecticut prison was retaliation against him for practicing his religion.

Persecution Of Protestants Continues In Uzbekistan

Forum 18 last week reported on continued repression of Protestants in Uzbekistan. The report focuses on arrests and other actions taken against Jehovah's Witnesses and other Protestant churches. The Prosecutors Office forced a number of children who attended a Protestant Easter celebration to sign statements that they would no longer attend Christian services or meetings and that they were renouncing their Christian faith. Parents were pressured to sign promises that they would no longer "attract their children to Christianity", and were warned that failing to comply could result in their being deprived of their parental rights.

Librarian Wins On Claim For No Sunday Work

The Alliance Defense Fund announced on Friday that a federal court jury in Kansas City, Missouri has awarded damages for back pay in excess of $53,000 to a librarian formerly employed by the Rolling Hills Consolidated Library System. Librarian Constance Rehm prevailed on her claim against the public library system that it had failed to adequately accommodate her need to abstain from work on Sunday for religious reasons. Rehm was fired for insubordination shortly after she requested a change in her work schedule. (Background.) Rehm's suit was based on Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which applies to both public and private employers.

Competing 10 Commandments-Amendments Days Declared For Today

A number of religious leaders, including religious broadcasters, have formed the Ten Commandments Commission and declared today to be the First Annual Ten Commandments Day. The Commission was formed "to counter the secular agenda and help restore the Ten Commandments and Judeo-Christian values to their rightful place in our society." Radio and television stations around the country today will be broadcasting a special program for the occasion.

Meanwhile, a competing group has declared today to be Ten Amendments Day. Its website says: "On May 7th, a Ten Commandments Day Commission and millions of followers are lobbying to replace the Ten Amendments with the Ten Commandments, replacing our civil rights with their religious preferences. This attempt to align the power of government with the authority of God challenges the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and endangers the rights protected by the other Nine."