Air Force Academy Adds Secular Group To Extracurricular Program

The U.S. Air Force Academy has expanded its extracurricular Special Programs In Religious Education by adding a secular organization to the list of groups that participate. Free Thinkers of Colorado Springs hopes to bring prominent scientists, authors and academics to the Academy for weekly discussions. The AP yesterday reported on these developments, indicating that Free Thinkers describes itself as "a haven for people moving away from religious dogma." The Air Force Academy has been criticized for imposing Christian doctrine on its cadets. A lawsuit on those charges is pending.

Baltimore Prayer Garden OK'd Over Preservationist Objections

In Baltimore, Maryland, a housing department hearing officer has upheld the decision of Housing Commissioner Paul Graziano who decided that the Archdiocese of Baltimore can tear down a 100-year hotel building in order to build a prayer garden. WBAL-TV reports today that historic preservationists oppose demolition of the historic building located next to a remodeled church. However, they were unsuccessful in their argument that housing authorities should have made their decision without considering the impact of the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Russian Supreme Court Upholds Order To Tear Down Mosque

On Tuesday, Interfax reported that the Russian Supreme Court has upheld an order by the Sovetsky District Court of Astrakhan that required the local Muslim community to tear down a partially-constructed mosque that was being built without a permit. The Russian Federal Environmental, Technological, and Nuclear Control Service had banned the construction because it was too near a high-voltage power transmission line.

Scholar In Yemen Says Presidential Election Violates Islamic Law

In Yemen, a country that is struggling to have meaningful presidential elections this month, a Muslim cleric, Salafi scholar Abu Al Hassen Al Maribi, says that democratic elections are contrary to the teachings of Islam. He says that under Islamic law, "to compete with the ruler is an illegitimate act". Gulf News today reports that the statement was made during a rally supporting the re-election of current President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Not surprisingly, the campaign of opposition candidate Faisal Bin Shamlan strongly criticized the cleric's ruling, saying: "This is an affront to the constitution which provides for democracy, the multi-party system and peaceful transfer of power. And releasing such fatwas means non-recognition of constitution, laws in effect and elections." Opposition leaders called for the Supreme Committee for Elections and Referendum to ban such fatwas.

Israel To Appoint 10 More Rabbis To Conversion Courts

Yesterday's Jerusalem Post reports that ten new rabbinic judges will shortly be appointed to fill vacant places on the country's Jewish conversion courts. In recent years, rabbis have been slow to approve potential converts, and some say that the current 25 judges have little to do. There is speculation that the new appointments are an attempt to loosen up on standards for approval of converts. However, apparently some of the new judges will specifically serve the haredi (ultra-orthodox) community that has been increasingly critical of the conversion authority as not being strict enough in its screening of converts. The new appointments do not appear likely to solve the biggest problem facing the conversion courts-- screening 280,000 non-Jewish immigrants from the Former Soviet Union who may wish to convert. None of the new judges speak Russian. Rabbinic judges must determine that a potential convert is sincere in his or her desire to convert, before the conversion can be approved. Deciding this through a translator's filtering of testimony is difficult.

Azeri Women Call For Change In Rules On ID Photos

In the largely Shiite Muslim country of Azerbaijan, government regulations prohibit women from wearing a hijab, or religious headscarf, in photos on their identification documents. Now activists at a meeting of the Center for the Protection of Freedom of Conscience and Religion are calling for a change in the rules. Yesterday's Middle East Times says that women who refuse to remove their headscarves for passport and other identification photos lack equal access to jobs, health care, the right to travel and the right to vote.

Chinese Police Bulldoze Unregistered Catholic Church

China's attempts to require registration of places of worship has led to a confrontation on the island of Pingtang in Fujian province in southeast China. About 10,000 Catholics live on the island. They have refused to register with the government because they do not want to be controlled by the Patriotic Association that is trying to create a Catholic church that is not connected to the Vatican. Asia News yesterday reported that on Sept. 1, about 500 Chinese police brought in bulldozers and destroyed an illegal church building that had been completed less than two months ago at a cost of some $50,000. Police also warned that they plan to destroy another church that is being built in Ao Qian village. (See related prior posting.)

Jacksonville Sued Over Day of Faith Program

While they did not succeed in getting a court to ban the event from taking place, the American Atheists is now suing to recover for the city and its schools the $101,000 Jacksonville, Florida spent for its recent Day of Faith anti-violence rally, and to prevent future events of the same kind. The ACLU has also requested records regarding the program. The Florida Times-Union and WAWS Fox30 both report on the developments. The city has had 103 homicides so far this year. Mayor John Peyton promoted A Day of Faith: Arming Our Prayer Warriors to help combat that homicide trend. Some complain that the rally was too religious in nature for the city to have sponsored. The mayor, however, says that all citizens were invited and that secular non-profit organizations were heavily involved in the program as well.

British Lord Proposes Faith Quotas In Religious Schools

In Great Britain last month, during debates in the House of Lords on the Education and Inspections Bill (2006), Lord Baker of Dorking proposed an amendment that would require any new school that has a religious character to set aside 30% of its seats for pupils who do not practice the religion of the school. Independent Catholic News today says that the Catholic Education Service (CES) is strongly opposed to the proposal. Backers of the proposal say it would promote social cohesion, but CES argues that instead it would undermine existing harmonious intergroup relationships.

Pope And Students Discuss Evolution, Sans Intelligent Design

Reuters reported yesterday that Pope Benedict XVI had concluded his annual three day discussion with his former theology doctoral students. This year's topic was evolution. Participants said they spent very little time discussing Intelligent Design and even less talking about Creationism. The Catholic Church does not read the book of Genesis literally. It accepts evolution, but with a role for God's will in creation. Last year, Vienna's Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, one of the speakers this past week end, published a controversial article in the New York Times suggesting that the Church might embrace Intelligent Design. (See prior postings 1, 2 .)

Dutch Justice Minister Refuses To Bar Madonna's Concert

As Madonna's "Confessions" concert tour moves through Europe, Christian groups continue-- unsuccessfully-- to protest her mock crucifixion scene. On Friday, Netherlands' Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner refused requests by the Protestant Reform Party to block her appearance. CBC reported yesterday that Donner told those opposing Madonna's act; "Judgment over whether the event in question constitutes blasphemy is not up to the justice minister, but up to prosecutors and ultimately a judge." (See prior related posting.)

In Ohio State School Board Race, ID Proponent Faces Challenge

Two widely read blogs, the Daily Kos and Dispatches from the Culture Wars this past week have featured an upcoming election contest for Ohio's Board of Education in which a leading advocate of Intelligent Design, currently on the Board, is being challenged. In November, incumbent Deborah Owens Fink faces Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Sawyer of Akron, a former school teacher who has served on education committees in both the state legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives. On his campaign website, Sawyer says, "Ohio's Board of Education spends far too much time and wastes far too much money pursuing fringe issues driven by special interest groups."

California Judge Orders Revision of State Board of Education Textbook Review Rules

IndoLink on Friday reported that in Hindu American Foundation, et al., v. California State Board of Education, a California Superior Court judge gave a partial victory to Hindu parents of California school children. On their behalf, a group of Hindu-American organizations were challenging the procedures used by the State Board of Education in approving revisions on the coverage of Hinduism in sixth grade textbooks. Judge Patrick Marlette held that the review rules used by the State Board of Education were invalid. However, instead of ordering the schools to stop using the textbooks that had been approved, he ordered SBE to correct the defects in its regulatory framework. (See related prior posting.)

UPDATE: On Sept. 6, India-West gave a more complete account of the judge's opinion, making it clear that while the judge had problems with the BOE's procedures, he found that the textbooks themselves were not unfair in their treatment of Hinduism.

Ohio Implements "Civil Registry" As Compromise On Priest Sexual Abuse Claims

This past May, the Ohio legislature passed and the governor signed Senate Bill 17, a compromise with the Catholic Church on how to deal with claims of sexual abuse of minors by priests where the statute of limitations has run. Many had urged the legislature to create a new window in which civil damage actions could be filed. Instead, new Chapter 3797 of the Ohio Revised Code was enacted. It provides for a "civil registry"that the Attorney General is to maintain on the Internet. Where a victim of childhood sexual abuse is precluded from suing for assault and battery because the statute of limitations has run, a civil declaratory judgment action can be brought instead. If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant committed childhood sexual abuse, the court must order the defendant to be listed on the civil registry-- generally for six years, unless there are other offenses. (See LSC Analysis of Bill.)

Recently the Ohio Attorney General's Office approved rules for implementation of SB 17. Last Tuesday, the Toledo Blade reported that the Ohio legislature's Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review took the final step to make those rules effective. On Friday, the blog Dispatches From the Culture Wars launched a tirade against the Ohio law.

A Personal Note In Defense Of A Blog Posting

A little over a week ago, a posting on Religion Clause called attention to the amusing style of Oklahoma federal district Judge Ronald A. White's opinion in a Haskell County, Oklahoma 10 Commandments case. In that posting, I said:

The conclusion of the court-- that the circumstances surrounding the approval and erection of the monument do not demonstrate that the primary purpose or effect of the monument is religious-- is hardly unusual. What is unusual is the literate and amusing opinion written by federal district Judge Ronald A. White. The opinion, whose subheadings are inspired by Dante's Inferno, accomplishes the nearly impossible task of keeping the reader enthralled for 43 pages.

Normally I do not use blog posts for rejoinders to those who have responded to something I have earlier let loose into cyberspace. So when Dr. Bruce Prescott-- whose views I often agree with-- posted an entry on Mainstream Baptist misconstruing my evaluation of Judge White's opinion, I let it pass, assuming that his failure to appreciate the humor in the opinion could be written off to his having been a witness for the losing side in the case. However today, Dr. Prescott's blog post was the text of much of his half-hour commentary on his radio show Religious Talk which was broadcast over Oklahoma City's KREF, streamed over the Internet and archived as an MP3 file on the show's website. So I thought that I should clarify my position.

Dr. Prescott said in his posting and on his radio show:

Friedman might be excused for finding White's decision so entertaining. Reading some legal decisions could easily be prescribed as a cure for acute insomnia. There is a reason, however, why many legal opinions make such dull reading. Justice is far better served by methodical adherence to the rules of logical thought and by impartial application of sound reasoning to legal precedent than it is by the rapturous lyricism and judicial blandishments of misplaced poets.

My point was that Judge White was constrained by Supreme Court precedent which requires the examination of the circumstances surrounding the erection of a 10 Commandments monument to see if those circumstances indicate that the government's primary purpose was a religious one. So, while there was evidence on both sides, it was, in my words, "hardly unusual" that Judge White came out where he did. He was trying to follow somewhat murky Supreme Court precedent. What made the case worthy of note, however, was Judge White's flair in writing the decision.

In other words, a lawyer can admire elegant opinion writing even if he would not necessarily decide the case in the same way. I don't know how I would have decided the case within the confines of Supreme Court precedent since I did not hear all of the evidence. However, I believe that Dr. Prescott's quarrel is with the U.S. Supreme Court. It created the framework in which Judge White had to work. My posting-- perhaps not explicitly enough-- acknowledged that, and went on to examine what an interesting jurist did with the materials he had to work with. To borrow a tack from Judge White: The fault, dear Brutus is not in this decision, but in the precedents.

And, by the way, an editorial in today's Tulsa World, I think, agrees.

Some Iranian Clerics Press For Democracy

Challenging conventional wisdom, a piece in today's Austin Statesman says that influential members of Iran's religious elite believe that the theological underpinnings of Iran's governmental system are no longer valid. While religious councils screen candidates for office in Iran, clerics like Mohammad Ali Abtahi argue that Iran should be democratized. He says: "In Iran, you see two different understandings of Islam, one that masks democracy, human rights and tolerance, another that wants to foster them. We are trying to get the balance back (because) those in power have become blind to justice."

Presbyterian Churches Seeking To Leave Parent Body Have Precedent

Yesterday's Washington Post reported on the growing number of Presbyterian congregations that are trying to break away from the Presbyterian Church (USA) over the issue of ordination of gay clergy. The sticking point in most of these fights is whether the break-away congregation can get title to its church building and other property. Church leaders say that the national body's constitution is clear in providing that local churches hold church property in trust for the denomination.

These kinds of property disputes have a long history in American law and in the Presbyterian Church. An article in last April's issue of The Layman points out that four U.S. Supreme Court cases, beginning with the groundbreaking 1871 decision in Watson v. Jones, involved Presbyterian congregations seeking to become independent or change their affiliations.

New Books and Monographs

Princeton University Press has announced a number of new and forthcoming books of interest:

• Kent Grenawalt, Religion and the Constitution (Vol. I: Free Exercise and Fairness)
• Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, The Impossibility of Religious Freedom
• Michael Walzer (ed.), Law, Politics and Morality In Judaism
• John R. Bowen, Why the French Don't Like Headscarves
  Michael Bonner, Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice

New from Oxford University Press:

• Walter Laquer, The Changing Face of Anti-Semitism From Ancient Times to the Present Day

From Black, Inc.:

• Amanda Lohrey, Quarterly Essay: Voting for Jesus: Christianity and Politics in Australia
• Melanie Landau, Nathan Wolski and Michael Fagenblat, New Under the Sun- Australian Jews on Faith, Politics and Culture

From Matthew Bender:

• The Second Edition of Stephen G. Gey, Religion and the State has recently been published.

Forthcoming from Random House:

• Barry W. Lynn, Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault on Religious Freedom

From Sophia Institute Press:

• David Carlin, Can A Catholic Be A Democrat?

Paper Covers Growth Of Religion In Politics

Today's San Gabriel (CA) Tribune carries an interesting background article on the rise of religion in American politics. It reports that on a recent day, speakers invoked God on the floor of the House of Representatives 182 times

WV School's Replacement For Jesus Painting Continues The Controversy

On Thursday it looked like the dispute over church-state issues in the Harrison County West Virginia's Bridgeport High School was over, as the school board agreed it would not replace the painting of Jesus that had hung in the school but was stolen during litigation challenging its constitutionality. (See prior posting.) However today's Charleston (WV) Gazette-Mail reports that this conclusion was premature. Friday afternoon, students associated with the Christian Freedom Alliance donated to the school something to replace the painting. It is a mirror with a brass plate at the bottom that reads, "To know the will of God is the highest of all wisdoms. The love of Jesus Christ lives in each of us." Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State-- one of the groups that brought the litigation against the school-- said: "In some ways, this is even worse than the picture. This says to a minority student who looks in the mirror, 'by the way, if you know it or not, Jesus is a part of you'." At least one Harrison County School Board member seemed to agree. Wilson Currey said that he felt that the mirror was a way of baiting the groups that had sued.

UPDATE: The Associated Press reports that early Friday evening, three and one-half hours after the mirror was hung at Bridgeport High School, the plaque with the religious inscription on it was removed. Counsel who had negotiated the settlement of the lawsuit advised the move. The school board could become liable for nearly $100,000 for plaintiff's attorneys fees if the terms of the consent order requiring the removal of all religious objects is not carried out. But not all school board members were happy about the superintendent's decision to remove the inscription.

UPDATE 2: The Sept. 4 Pittsburgh Post Gazette carries an excellent piece on the whole controversy, adding some interesting details, such as the fact that the Jesus painting was first hung in the school hallway years ago to hide graffiti, and that administrators at first did not even notice it had been stolen. Also, it reports that the school board may now consider authorizing a comparative religion class and may draft policies on displaying religious items in schools.