Montana School District Sued Over Building Sale To Catholic School

In Missoula, Montana yesterday, the organization Good Schools Missoula announced that it had filed suit against the Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS) to challenge the lease and subsequent sale of the former Roosevelt Elementary School to the Loyola Sacred Heart High School Foundation for it to use as a Catholic school. The Missoulian today reported that the suit named MCPS, the foundation, and five individual MCPS trustees as defendants. The complaint alleges that the arrangements violated Art. X, Sec. 6 of the Montana Constitution that prohibits the state from directly or indirectly appropriating funds or making a grant of property to aid any sectarian institution. The suit claims that MCPS set the original lease rate to Loyola Sacred Heart Foundation at a quarter of fair market value, that it allowed the Foundation to extend its five-year lease while considering the sale, that MCPS rushed the sale process in a way that discouraged other bids, that the bid that was accepted was lower than another bid that had been submitted, and that the board had not properly accounted for the funds received in the sale.

9th Circuit Denies Prisoner Claim Regarding Halal Meat

Last week in Watkins v. Shabazz, (9th Cir., May 22, 2006), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court and denied a prisoner's claims under the 1st and 14th Amendments and RLUIPA that his ability to practice his Muslim religion was being infringed. The prisoner, who requested Halal meat, was given a choice by the prison to eat the nutritionally equivalent meat substitute provided by the prison, or to find an outside religious organization to contract with the prison to provide Halal meat. The court agreed with the findings below that these alternatives did not substantially burden the prisoner's practice of his religion andthat he was not discriminated against on the basis of his Muslim faith.

Group Plans 10 Commandments Across From Supreme Court

Today's Washington Post reports that the Christian evangelical group Faith and Action is taking strategic advantage of the fact that its offices are housed right across the street from the U.S. Supreme Court. It plans on Saturday to unveil an 850 pound granite sculpture of the Ten Commandments on its front lawn where it will be visible each day to the Justices as they come and go from the Supreme Court employee parking lot. However Erik Linden, a spokesman for the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, said the group needs a public space permit from his Department before displaying the monument as well as approval from the Historic Preservation Review Board because the townhouse in which the group's offices are located sits in a historic district. Bill Sisolak, chairman of the Historic Preservation Review Board zoning committee said: "It's a large object not in keeping with the historic nature of the neighborhood.... [I]n my opinion it doesn't appear to be in compliance." Faith and Action says it has tried unsuccessfully for five years to get the required permits, and now plans to move ahead without them based on "common law that governs garden displays."

New Repression Of Bahais In Iran Reported

The New York Times reports today that the government of Iran has recently intensified its campaign against the Bahai religious minority in the country. On May 19, authorities in Shiraz arrested and held without charges for six days some 54 Bahais who were involved in a community service project, many of them in their teens and early 20's. More than 70 others have been arrested in the last 18 months. Although the Bahais are the largest religious minority in Iran, they are considered "unprotected infidels". Unlike Jews and Christians, they do not have seats in Iran's Parliament set apart for them. Since December, the government newspaper in Tehran has published more than 30 anti-Bahai articles --even accusing Bahais of sacrificing Muslim children on holy days. (See related prior posting.)

Ohio Supreme Court Refuses To Extend Limitation Period For Clergy Sexual Abuse

Yesterday, the Ohio Supreme Court held in a 5-2 decision that a clergy sexual abuse suit against the Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati was barred by the statute of limitations. In Doe v. Archdiocese of Cincinnati, (Ohio Sup. Ct., May 31, 2006), the court held that a minor who is the victim of sexual abuse has two years from the time that he or she reaches majority to assert claims against the employer of the perpetrator of sexual abuse. So long as the victim, at the time of the abuse, knew the identity of the perpetrator, the priest's employer, and that a battery has occurred, the statutory period for filing suit is not extended. The fact that the plaintiff did not discover until recently that the Archdiocese may have had knowledge of the abuse does not operate to extend the statute. The court said that it is up to the legislature to create changes in the statute of limitations for clergy sexual abuse. The Court issued a release summarizing the decision. Yesterday's Washington Post, reporting on the decision, points out that new Ohio legislation (SB 17) extends the time limit for future victims to 12 years after reaching adulthood.

Disagreement On Need For Permits For Public Preaching In Russia

Forum18 reported yesterday that there is growing disagreement among local officials in Russia on whether, despite the Constitution's protection (Art. 28) of the free dissemination of religious beliefs, the government may require religious groups to obtain permits to preach in public locations such as markets and streets. Most affected so far has been the Council of Churches Baptists whose members refuse on principle to register with the state authorities.

High Schoolers Unite Against KKK Support For Graduation Prayer

As an earlier posting reported, in Shelby County, Kentucky, the school board, after receiving a letter from the ACLU, cancelled planned formal prayers at the school's upcoming graduation. While that stance may have originally been divisive, students now support the decision after a member of the Ku Klux Klan protested the cancellation by demonstrating outside of Shelby County High School. According to today's Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader, Klansman Michael Hibbs generated a counter-protest by 40 Shelby High School seniors. Klansman Hibbs, who used a Hitler salute to answer taunts, said said that he hopes to intimidate Muslim students and others who are against the "Christian principles this country was founded on." He added "These heathens come over here from whatever third-world country they come from and they've got the nerve to tell people how to live. If they want to come here and be free, they can come here and be free. But they aren't going to come here and tell us how to live."

Arshiya Saiyed, the Muslim student who originally objected to the planned prayers said: "Quite a few students have had opinions on what is going on but when it comes down to it, we don't hate each other, we just have different opinions. And here in America we can have that and we can embrace the fact that we are all different."

Splits Developing Among U.S. Religious Right

Today's Guardian carries an interesting story on the splits that are developing among conservative religious political activists in the United States. Some who are criticizing the religious right's partisan tactics, or who are embracing non-traditional issues such as the environment, find themselves the subject of criticism, or even threats.

Federal Court Upholds Pennsylvania Home Schooling Regulation

In Combs v. Homer Center School District, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33871 (WD Pa., May 25, 2006), a Pennsylvania federal district court upheld Pennsylvania’s Act 169 that regulates home schooling of children. In several consolidated cases, parents challenged provisions that require them to document that their children have met requirements on days of attendance and hours of instruction in certain required subjects by submitting a portfolio containing sample work and an annual evaluation of the student’s progress prepared by a school psychologist or certified teacher. The parents argued broadly that according to their religious belief, the civil government lacks jurisdiction to approve or administratively supervise the education they provide. The court granted summary judgment to the school districts, rejecting challenges under Pennsylvania’s Religious Freedom Protection Act, and constitutional challenges based on the free exercise clause and the due process rights of parents to control the education of their children.

Court Rejects Challenge To Pledge, Motto, Song

Keplinger v. United States, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34110 (MD Pa., May 3, 2006), is a suit brought by a federal prison inmate alleging that the use of the word "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, on United States currency, and in the song "America the Beautiful" is unconstitutional. He asked the court to order that “God” be removed from the Pledge, the motto on federal currency, and "America the Beautiful" and be replaced with "the true name of Worship 'Yahweh'." Not surprisingly, the court rejected his claim for relief. It held that the wording of "America the Beautiful" is not action taken under color of law. As to the Pledge and Motto, it held that they are not exercises of religion, satisfy the Lemon test, and therefore do not violate the Establishment Clause. Finally, the court held that Keplinger's request that the word Yahweh be substituted for God in the Pledge and Motto undercuts his Establishment Clause claim and is relief that cannot be provided by the Court.

Artist Sues City Over Removal Of Paintings

On Tuesday, attorneys for the Alliance Defense fund filed suit on behalf of Sharon Marolf, an artist, claiming that the Culture & Recreational director of the city of Delta, Colorado violated Marolf's constitutional rights when she removed two of Marolf's paintings from a Delta Fine Arts Association display at the city's Bill Heddles Recreation Center. The paintings were removed when the city received a complaint that the paintings included quotations from the Bible. One was a painting of the artist's granddaughter accompanied by a quote from Psalms. The other displays passages that refer to circles and squares. The suit alleges violations of the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution and of the Colorado Constitution's free speech protections. (Full text of complaint.)

Free Exercise Challenge To Texas Marijuana Law Rejected

In Burton v. State, (Texas Ct. App., May 25, 2006), a Texas Court of Appeals rejected a Free Exercise challenge to the state’s law prohibiting the possession of marijuana. The court relied on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1990 decision in Employment Division v. Smith.

New Jersey Mosque Loses RLUIPA Claim

In Muslim Center of Somerset County, Inc. v. Borough of Somerville Zoning Board of Adjustment, (NJ, May 16, 2006), a New Jersey trial court upheld the denial of a conditional use variance and of site plan approval for a Muslim congregation that wanted to remodel and use a 2-family home for religious services. The court found that the potentially detrimental impact of the proposed use for a large religious institution outweighs the public interest in granting the variance. It rejected the congregation's RLUIPA claim, finding that it filed to show a substantial burden on its exercise of religion. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the information.]

Cert. Denied By U.S. Supreme Court In Boy Scout Case

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied certiorari in Scalise v. Boy Scouts of America (Docket No. 05-1260, May 30, 2006). In the case, the Michigan Court of Appeals had rejected Establishment Clause and equal protection challenges to the use of public school buildings, posting and distribution of literature in schools, and school building visits by the Boy Scouts. John Scalise and his son are non-religious humanists. He claimed that he, and his third grade son, were excluded from the Cub Scouts in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan after they objected to the requirement that they accept the Cub Scout Promise "to do my duty to God and my country." The state court found that the school was merely granting equal access to the Boy Scouts, and that the scouts themselves were not engaged in state action. The Associated Press today reports on the case.

Kansas School Board Defends Its Stance on Evolution

NPR's program All Things Considered yesterday carried a 7+ minute segment on the Kansas School Board and its religiously conservative positions on evolution, sex education and other matters. The audio of the segment is available online. [Thanks to How Appealing for the information.]

Israel's High Court To Get Case On Mikvah Dispute

In April 2005, the Israeli West Bank religious settlement of Elkana, with its 750 families, made international news as the White House took issue with the decision of the Israel Lands Authority to invite tenders for the construction of 50 new homes in the settlement. Those construction plans now appear to have led to a religious dispute that has made its way to Israel's High Court of Justice.

The story, somewhat sketchy on technical details, appeared yesterday in YNet News. Here is what appears to have happened. As part of the new construction in Elkana, authorities also decided to build a new Mikvah -- religious ritual bath. In all Israeli cities, it is the local Religious Council that oversees Mikvah construction and dispenses government financing for such projects. After Elkana's community rabbi approved construction plans, one group in Elkana-- the Chabad movement-- objected, saying that its custom was to build a Mikvah with two immersion pools instead of one. Elkana's Rabbi Yehuda Stern stood fast, saying: "I have ruled according to our custom on the mikveh issue. We are not a Chabad community and my ruling followed the rulings of outstanding rabbis throughout the generations."

Chabad then went to court, and Judge Edna Arbel temporarily halted the Mikvah construction. She suggested that the parties take the matter to respected Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu for determination and accept his ruling. However, the parties failed to reach an agreement and the case has been appealed to the High Court. Chabad claims that the dispute is part of an attempt to force their members to leave Elkana, and that the case is about whether or not Chabad is a legitimate part of Orthodox Judaism. Attorney Motti Mintzer, representative of local religious council, responded with somewhat contradictory statements. He said that no one claims that Chabad is not part of Orthodox Judaism. But he also said: "The local hassidim from Chabad are from a messianic cult and want to force the community to build the mikveh according to their specifications."

Nashville Police Officer Claims Religious Discrimination

In Nashville, Tennessee last week, a police officer who is a Seventh Day Adventist filed suit in federal court accusing the Metro Police Department of religious discrimination. Nashville's City Paper today reports that 27-year police force veteran Diedre Renee Forte alleges that a training video shown to police falsely claimed that "Seventh Day Adventists were cults, due to their relationship with David Koresh." This, she claims, led to growing hostility toward her at work. She says she was told not to talk about God at work, while others were not similarly limited.

Pakistan Supreme Court Grants New Protections To Young Convert

Pakistan's Supreme Court last week began to work out in a more nuanced way issues surrounding the recognition of religious conversions in the wake of reports that young Hindu women were being forcibly converted to Islam. One World South Asia today reports on the case of Neelam Ludhani, a 21-year old Hindu who converted to Islam last month and married Amjad Shahzad. Neelam's father, Misri Ludhani, a Pakistani government official, originally filed suit claiming that his daughter had been abducted and forcibly converted.

By the time the case got to the Supreme Court, however, Misri supported his daughter's claim that her conversion was voluntary. But Misri told the court he was still concerned that his daughter would be abandoned by her new husband who already has one wife and a child. So the Court took unusual action. It ordered that Neelam be allowed to live with her husband, but also required that her husband's family transfer property to Neelam, provide a separate house for her and her husband, and post bond to assure that Neelam would be properly supported in the future. Also local police were to furnish periodic reports on how Neelam was being treated. Finally, ignoring requests by the husband's family that Neelam have no further contact with her parents because they belong to a "non-book" faith, the court ordered that Amjad's family facilitate visits by Neelam to her parents' home in Karachi.

I.A. Rehman, secretary-general of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, praised the court's decision, saying that it took account of the vulnerability of young women in these situations. Indeed, at a conference last week on "Forced Conversion of Women and Minorities Rights in Pakistan", organized by the Minority Rights Commission of Pakistan and reported on today by AsiaNews.it, it was disclosed that forced conversions of women married to Muslims result in the death of between 500 to 600 people a year in Pakistan.

Bush Will Use Memorial Day To Sign "Fallen Heroes" Act

President Bush is expected to use today, Memorial Day, to sign the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act (HR 5037), recently passed by Congress. (CNS News.) The bill bars demonstrators from disrupting military funerals at national cemeteries by banning protests within 150 feet of a road into a cemetery, and within 300 feet of a cemetery entrance if the protest impedes access or egress. The ban covers the hour before and after a funeral. (ABC News report.) The law is directed at activities of Fred Phelps, the head of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, whose group has disrupted a number of military funerals with signs and marches proclaiming that military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan are God's punishment for U.S. toleration of homosexual life styles. Several states have enacted similar bills. (See prior postings 1, 2.)

UPDATE: Here is the White House release on the President's signing of the bill.

Hindus Seek South African Recognition Of Religious Marriages

In South Africa, according to a PTI report, Hindus are seeking amendments to the country's Marriage Act to gain legal recognition of religious marriages that have not been formally registered with the government. This would be consistent with 1998 legislation that granted recognition to African customary marriages that are not registered. Information about that legislation came out in the hearing in Durban's High Court on a petition by a woman who has separated from her husband and who now seeks recognition of her Hindu marriage 18 years ago so she can now get a legal separation that will permit her to marry someone else. (IOL report.) The same issue arises for Muslims, and in another case a Cape Town woman is seeking international judicial assistance after South Africa's Constitutional Court refused to recognize her Muslim marriage entered 28 years ago.