Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
7th Circuit Rejects RLUIPA Challenge To Forced Feeding
Alaska Supreme Court Decides Church Property Dispute
City's Public Access Channel Pulls Religious-Political Videos
Illinois Bishops Issue Statement On Conscience and Voting
Catholics should always vote for that person most committed to being a public servant dedicated to the common good. ...[A]ny candidate who supports a public policy where part of humanity (such as the pre-born, the elderly, the handicapped, or the sick) is excluded from the protection of law and treated as if they were non-persons is gravely deficient in his or her view of the requirements of a just society.
Too often, the choice of candidates for elected office falls short of a vision of the common good as rich and full as Catholic social teaching. This may be discouraging, so we call on Catholics who understand and accept the Church’s teaching to become more engaged in political life.... In Illinois, we make up almost one-third of the population.... For Catholics, voting ought not to be seen as just an option or a privilege but a duty. By voting with an informed conscience, a renewed "Catholic vote" could become a political force for justice....
Monday, October 16, 2006
Cert. Denied In Scouts' Suit Against Berkeley Non-Discrimination Policy
Ballot Measure On Alcohol Sales Raises Church-State Issues
Cert. Petition Filed In Polygamy Case
New Zealand Will Penalize Excessive Political Activity By Churches
Sunnis In Iraq Want Separate Islamic State
UPDATE: The full text of the statement published this morning indicates that the Mujahideen Shura Council actually declared the establishment of an Islamic state in parts of Iraq. (Kavkaz Center).
Recent Articles Of Interest
Johnny Rex Buckles, The Constitutionality of the Monkey Wrench: Exploring the Case for Intelligent Design, forthcoming in Oklahoma Law Review, Vol. 59, 2006.
From SmartCILP:
Richard W. Garnett, Religion, Division, and the First Amendment, 94 Georgetown Law Journal 1667-1724 (2006).
Marianna Moss, How Are Reasonable Children Coerced? The Difficulty of Applying the Establishment Clause to Minors, 10 UC Davis Journal of Juvenile Law & Policy 379-428 (2006).
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Interesting Employment Discrimination Cases From Britain
Meanwhile, in London, a Catholic chef who was fired for refusing to work on Sunday won his claim for employment discrimination before an employment tribunal, according to a report today in This Is Local London.
But a Muslim teaching assistant at Headfield Church of England Junior School in West Yorkshire was removed by the Kirklees local educational council after she refused to remove her veil during lessons aimed at helping bilingual students improve their communication skills. Pupils-- many from families of Pakistani or Indian origin who are still learning to speak English--were finding it difficult to understand the teacher when she was wearing her veil. A report from the Times, carried today by The Peninsula, says that leading Muslims have backed the council's removal of Aishah Azmi, the bilingual support teacher. The teacher has taken the case to an employment tribunal.
Battles Over Christmas Displays Beginning
Meanwhile in Berkley, Michigan, a group of residents, hearing that the city was considering possibly ending its 65 year tradition of displaying a nativity scene on city property, have formed a new group called "Stop the ACLU Tyranny". Michigan’s Hometown Life reporting last Friday on the developments quoted one member of the new group who describes the ACLU's position against the religious displays as "religious bigotry". (See prior posting.)
"Untouchables" Convert To Protest Anti-Conversion Laws
Egypt Censors Book Discussing Controversial Muslim Changes
Hawaii Court Rejects Student's Religious Objections To TB Test
Former White House Aide Charges Hypocritical Attitude Toward Evangelicals
[Kuo] says some of the nation’s most prominent evangelical leaders were known in the office of presidential political strategist Karl Rove as "the nuts."Conservative Christian leaders questioned the timing of the book’s publication. (Washington Post). At his press briefing on Friday, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow emphasized that the White House has not seen the book, so it cannot respond to it. However, he said so far as there is an insinuation that the administration takes faith-based groups lightly, that is false. And he said that Carl Rove has denied the book’s report that he referred to evangelical leaders as "nuts".
"National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as 'ridiculous,' 'out of control,' and just plain 'goofy,'" Kuo writes.
More seriously, Kuo alleges that then-White House political affairs director Ken Mehlman knowingly participated in a scheme to use the office, and taxpayer funds, to mount ostensibly "nonpartisan" events that were, in reality, designed with the intent of mobilizing religious voters in 20 targeted races.