Role of Religion In Connecticut Senate Race

Today's Hartford (CN) Courant discusses the role of religion in the high profile Senate race between Democratic nominee Ned Lamont and current Senator Joseph Lieberman who is running as an Independent after losing in the Democratic primary. A column by Mark Silk, director of the Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life, reports that in the primary, Lieberman carried the Catholic and Jewish vote. However Lamont carried the Protestant vote and won by a 3-1 margin among those who have no religious affiliation and by a 2-1 margin among adherents of non-Judeo-Christian faiths. Lieberman, who is Jewish, received 61% of the Jewish vote in the primary. Many Jews, however, are strong supporters of church-state separation and object to Lieberman's strong emphasis on religion in his campaign.

Archbishop of Cantebury In China

A Reuters article in today's Washington Post reports on the two-week visit on the Archbishop of Cantebury Rowan Williams to China. He has talked with government officials on issues of concern such as the environment, an aging society, censorship and the death penalty. On Sunday he held a service in Beijing and encouraged Chinese Christian leaders and intellectuals to play a role in discussions on China's public policy issues.

UPDATE: As the Archbishop of Cantebury ended his trip to China, Tuesday's London Times reports that human rights activists charge Williams did not press Chinese officials strongly enough on issues of religious freedom.

California City Will Settle Lawsuit By Christian Dance Group

The city of Chula Vista, California has agreed to settle a suit filed last year on behalf of the Jesus Christ Dancers-- a group of six girls who were excluded from performing last year in the city's Holiday Festival even though a Hawaiian prayer dance group was allowed to perform. Subsequently the mayor apologized to the Christian dance group and City Council agreed to permit religious expression at future Holiday Festivals. (See prior posting.) A federal court hearing on the settlement will be held Tuesday. Yesterday's San Diego Union Tribune reports that the settlement provides for the city to pay $31,000 in damages, and to furnish training to police officers and managers on First Amendment rights, particularly the rights of religious persons to express their faith in the public square.

Developments In RLUIPA Land Use Cases

There have been developments in two RLUIPA land use cases. The first is reported by today's Orange County (CA) Register. In Santa Ana, California, a federal district court granted the Quan Am Buddhist Temple of Garden Grove a temporary restraining order to permit it to hold worship services in several suites in an office building that it purchased almost two years ago. Several applications to build a Temple on the site have been rejected. (See prior posting.) Garden Grove’s City Manager says that his main concern has been to preserve valuable office space for the city. The judge’s order prohibits anyone from staying overnight or cooking over an open flame in the office building, and the Temple must bring all its rooms up to code within 30 days. UPDATE: The full decsion in Vietnamese Buddhism Study Temple in America v. City of Garden Grove, which granted a preliminary injunction (not a TRO) is now available at 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81635 (CD CA, Oct. 20, 2006).

Meanwhile, according to today's South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Hollywood, Florida, neighbors of a Chabad Lubavitch synagogue have appealed a federal district court ruling that precluded them from challenging the settlement of a religious discrimination lawsuit brought by Chabad against the city. (See prior posting.) The neighbors argue that the settlement created a zoning change to which they should have been able to object.

Recent Articles of Interest In Law and Religion

From NELLCO:
David A. Skeel, Jr., The Unbearable Lightness of Christian Legal Scholarship, (Aug. 2, 2006).

From SSRN:
Kathleen Boozang, Divining a Patient's Religious Beliefs in Treatment Termination Decision-Making, (Sept. 28, 2006).

Alan E. Brownstein, Taking Free Exercise Rights Seriously, (Sept. 21, 2006).

From SmartCILP:
Jim Wedeking, Quaker State: Pennsylvania's Guide to Reducing the Friction for Religious Outsiders Under the Establishment Clause. 2 New York University Journal of Law & Liberty 28-85 (2006).

Wisconsin Diocese Charged With Election Violations

Wisconsin election law requires any group that spends over $25 to support or oppose a state referendum to register with the State Elections Board. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC) has sent a memo to the State Elections Board charging that the Catholic Diocese of Madison violated this provision when Bishop Robert Morlino passed out a flier to all parishioners urging them to support a November 7 constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. Channel 3000 today reports Morlino's response: "a law that tells me I should have recourse to the state or commission in order to teach the truth of Christ about marriage in my own churches is an obstacle to our own free expression of religion." WDC has also issued a release on the matter.

Evangelist's Tax Evasion Trial Continues

Today's Pensacola (FL) News Journal reports on the ongoing tax evasion trial in federal district court of Pensacola evangelist Kent Hovind. At Hovind's Creation Science Evangelism Ministry, which includes Dinosaur Adventure Land, Hovind has failed to withhold federal income, social security and medicaid taxes, taking the position that he and his employees work for God, are paid by God and therefore aren't subject to taxation. Yesterday, Rebekah Horton, senior vice president of Pensacola Christian College testified for the prosecution saying that tax evasion is against the Scriptures. Pensacola Christian College, concerned about its students who worked for Hovind, apparently brought the situation to the attention of the IRS.

Times Series On Religious Exemptions Continues, As Does Comment On It

The New York Times today ran a fifth installment of its series on the benefits religious organizations receive from regulatory and tax exemptions. (See prior posting.) Today's installment, titled Ministry's Medial Program Is Not Regulated, focuses on exemptions of medical bill-sharing ministries from state insurance laws. One such group, the Christian Care Ministry, is facing a hearing next week on a complaint by the Kentucky Office of Insurance that the organization should in fact have to register as an insurance company.

The Times series has led to an unusual amount of editorial comment, both pro and con. The Times itself ran an editorial last Monday that argued "the wall between church and state is being replaced by a platform that raises religious organizations to a higher legal plane than their secular counterparts." However, yesterday the Weekly Standard carried an article by John DiIulio, Jr., first director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, strongly critical of the New York Times series. [Thanks to Steven H. Sholk for the lead to the Weekly Standard.]

Chicago Suburb Sued Over Design Of Vehicle Stickers

In the Chicago suburb of Burbank, Illinois, Nichole Schultz filed suit this week because the city is requiring her to display a sticker on her automobile that she says endorses Christianity. The sticker depicts a soldier with a rifle, kneeling before a grave marked a cross. City officials say the cross is a generic symbol, while Shultz argues that the city is forcing her to Christianize her car. Today's Chicago Tribune reports that Schultz-- who apparently is an atheist-- is not asking the city to change the sticker, but instead is seeking an exemption from the requirement to display it. Earlier attempts to reach an out-of-court solution with the city failed. Now however the city says that Schultz could cover or cut out the cross on the sticker.

New York High Court Upholds Women's Health Act Under New State Constitutional Test

Yesterday in Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany v. Serio, NY Ct. App., Oct. 19, 2006), New York's highest court upheld a provision in the state's Women's Health and Wellness Act (WHWA) that requires faith-based organization to include contraceptive coverage for women in any prescription plan that they offer employees. (See prior posting.) The statute includes an exemption for most churches and religious schools where contraception is contrary to the institution's religious tenets. However, the exemption does not cover religiously affiliated social service agencies or hospitals. In this case, a group of ten faith-based social service agencies claimed that the law requires them to violate their religious beliefs by supporting conduct they believe to be sinful. However the court rejected both federal and state constitutional challenges to the law.

The court held that a First Amendment free exercise challenge failed under the Smith test, since this was a neutral law of general applicability. The fact that it exempts a narrow group of religious institutions from its coverage does not make it non-neutral. The more important part of the decision was the court's creation of a new test for free exercise of religion claims under Art. I, Sec. 3 of the New York constitution-- a test that is more protective of religion than the U.S. Supreme Court's Smith decision, but less protective than a "strict scrutiny" rule.

The court held that when general legislation creates an incidental burden on the free exercise of religion, "substantial deference is due the Legislature, and ... the party claiming an exemption bears the burden of showing that the challenged legislation, as applied to that party, is an unreasonable interference with religious freedom." In the court's view, plaintiffs here failed to show that the WHWA imposed an unreasonable interference. The state has a substantial interest in providing women with health care and institutions could ultimately avoid violating their religious principles by not offering prescription drug coverage at all. The court said that it would be a more difficult case if these institutions only hired employees who shared their views on the sinfulness of contraception.

Today's New York Law Journal carries an extensive analysis of the case.

Canadian Marriage Commissioner Appeals Gay-Marriage Requirement

LifeSite News yesterday reported on a case pending in a Manitoba (Canada) Court of Queen's Bench brought by a former provincial marriage commissioner who was forced to surrender his license after he refused to perform same-sex marriages. After the legalization of same-sex unions in Canada in 2004, Manitoba adopted a policy requiring commissioners to perform them. However Ken Kisilowsky says that the policy violates his evangelical Christian beliefs. Clergy are not required to perform same-sex marriage, but others who hold licenses as marriage commissioners are. After the Manitoba Human Rights Commission rejected his religious discrimination claim, he filed the pending appeal. A number of marriage commissioners in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and British Columbia have resigned over similar requirements. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

Missouri School Board Asked To Reinstitute "Christmas" Break

In Strafford, Missouri, supported by 30 people in attendance at the meeting, Dee Wampler last week asked the Strafford School District to change the name of "Winter Break" to "Christmas Break". The Springfield, Missouri News Leader reported today that Wampler told the board: "I'm not here today to say this is a religious thing. I'm saying this is our history, our national tradition, that we should recognize." However, others clearly thought it was a religious issue. Dennis Gromer, husband of a Strafford teacher and a local said, "This is a chance for us as Christians to make a stand on what we say that we stand for." No action will be taken until the Board discusses next year's calendar at its January meeting.

IRS Complaint Filed Against Church For Pastor's Political Endorsement

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against a Brooklyn Park, Minnesota church alleging that the church violated the terms of its tax exempt status when its minister personally endorsed a Congressional candidate from the pulpit last Saturday night. Yesterday the Associated Press reported that Rev. Mac Hammond of the Living Word Christian Center says that he misunderstood IRS guidelines, and says that this will not happen again. Speaking at the church, Republican candidate Michele Bachmann said that God had called on her to run for Congress. Videos of Bachmann's speech at the church can be viewed on YouTube.

New York Court of Claims Lacks Jurisdiction Over RLUIPA Cases

In a decision handed down two months ago, the New York State Court of Claims held that it lacks jurisdiction over a damage claim brought under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act alleging that a state prisoner's right to religious freedom was violated. In Gill v. State of New York, (NY Ct. Cl., Aug. 28, 2006), the court held that while state courts have concurrent jurisdiction with federal courts to adjudicate RLUIPA claims, New York law has not given jurisdiction in such cases to the Court of Claims. The court also held that damages from the state are not available for a violation of the New York constitution's protection of free exercise of religion, and that the state Supreme Courts, and not the Court of Claims, have jurisdiction over violations of New York's Correction Law, Sec. 610, that protects the free exercise of religion by prison inmates.

European Court OKs Turkish School's Required Photo Without Headscarf

On Monday, the European Court of Human Rights rejected an attack on regulations promulgated by Turkey's Higher Education Council, according to a report in Zaman. After losing in Turkey's administrative courts and State Council, Emine Arac, a student at the Marmara University Theology Faculty, appealed to the European Court claiming that her school required her to submit a picture of herself without her headscarf when she registered for classes. However the court held that the requirement does not violate the protections for religion and expression, or infringe the right to an education, guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.

Christian Agency Entitled To Hire On Basis of Religion Under Title VII

In Jackson v. Light of Life Ministries, Inc., 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75265 (WD PA, Oct. 16, 2006), a Pennsylvania federal district court rejected a Title VII religious discrimination claim that was brought by a part-time program aide at a Christian social service agency that provided food, shelter and outreach to the homeless. Raymond Jackson, a Jehovah's Witness, claimed that he was not hired full-time because of his religion, and then was fired in retaliation for filing an EEOC complaint. The court found that Light of Life was clearly a religious organization entitled to hire on the basis of religion under Title VII, and that the exemption applied even though Jackson's job did not require him to engage in religious counseling or religious activities.

Politician Promises Restoring Of Land To Bulgarian Orthodox Church

In Bulgaria, popular nationalist politician Volen Siderov, chairman of the National Union Attack party, recently met with the acting head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Bishop Kiril, promising legislation to restore properties of the Church that were nationalized in 1945. The Sofia Weekly reported on Tuesday that Siderov and the Bishop have also discussed introducing religious studies in schools, and proposals to make the Orthodox Church Bulgaria's official religion.

DC Circuit Upholds Terrorist Designation Of Jewish Website

On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upheld the Secretary of State's decision to designate Kahane Chai as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and to designate its website, Kahane.org, as an alias of the organization. In Kahane Chai v. Department of State, (DC Cir., Oct. 17, 2006), among other things, the court rejected claims by Kahane.org that the government had discriminated against it on religious grounds because websites of other Foreign Terrorist Organizations were not targeted. Jurist yesterday reported on the decision.

Muslim Scholars Write Pope On His Regensburg Speech

Earlier this week, 38 Muslim scholars from 20 countries-- some of the who are also government officials-- sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI criticizing the interpretation of Islam in the Pope's recent speech at the University of Regensburg, in Germany. A report by the Catholic News Services points out that one focus of the scholars' letter was on the Pope's remarks about the concept of jihad. The letter also said to the Pope: "We share your desire for frank and sincere dialogue, and recognize its importance in an increasingly interconnected world. Upon this sincere and frank dialogue we hope to continue to build peaceful and friendly relationships based upon mutual respect, justice, and what is common in essence in our shared Abrahamic tradition." The full text of the letter, and the list of its signers, has been published by Independent Catholic News.

Air Force Changes Chaplain Guidelines As Mandated By Congress

As a previous posting notes, last month, a Conference Committee report on the Defense Authorization Act called for both the Air Force and the Navy to repeal their recent regulations governing the activity of chaplains and reinstate policies from earlier rules. Now Jews On First reports that on October 2, three days after Congress passed and the President signed the Defense Appropriations Act, the Air Force issued new guidelines for chaplains. The new rules appear to implement the mandate to reinstate policies from the Air Force's 1999 guidelines. The guidelines now provide that the Chaplain Service "requires awareness of, and sensitivity to, the diverse religious needs of Air Force members". They define the Chaplain Service's Global Ministry as one that is sensitive to the "religiously pluralistic environment" in which it operates, and state that "chaplains adhere to the requirements of their endorsing religious organizations while providing for the spiritual and religious needs of all Air Force members, their families, and other authorized personnel".

However, according to the same report by Jews On First, Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, charges that "Air Force leadership went about issuing these [new] guidelines in a subversive manner, without engaging in an open dialogue about the proper role of religion and chaplains within the Air Force."