Romney's Mormonism Remains A Factor In His Presidential Bid

The McClatchy Newspapers yesterday examined how Protestant conservatives in the Republican Party are reacting to presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's Mormon religious beliefs. Some voters remain concerned about now-rejected beliefs of the Mormon Church-- its advocacy of polygamy and its belief that Blacks were cursed. Others are concerned about Mormonism's present-day beliefs, such as its openness to modern-day prophecies and its belief that the church president is "the mouthpiece of God." Some conservatives worry that Romney is too liberal, citing his support of equal rights for gays and lesbians in his unsuccessful 1994 bid for the U.S. Senate. A report by CNS News last week focused on the concern over whether Romney has been consistent in his conservative views on homosexuality and abortion.

Satirical Attack On Intelligent Design Becomes Popular

Yesterday's Toronto Star carries an article on a satirical challenge to supporters of Intelligent Design which has caught on. Bobby Henderson, a 26-year-old physics graduate from Oregon State University, in 2005 wrote that the earth and all living things were created by a Supreme Being, the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Last March he published a book, The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, (Villard, 2006), and he has launched a website that includes his "Open Letter to Kansas School Board" requesting that his theory be taught as an alternative version of Intelligent Design. Apparently the site gets 30,000 unique visits per day. The FSM movement has its own subculture of "Pastafarians". Some proponents of Intelligent Design, however, do not completely appreciate the humor. Last month, the Discovery Institute's website attacked FSM as mocking those who hold Judeo-Christian religion beliefs, saying that FSM is reportedly endorsed by 50 Darwinist academics.

Faith-Based Welfare Poses Discrimination Issues In Britain

Britain is now struggling with issues similar to those in the U.S. on the offering of social services by faith-based organizations. Britain's National Secular Society reports today that it has asked Parliament's Human Rights Committee to recommend clarifying the Human Rights Act, Sec. 6, to ensure that when a public body delegates social service functions to a private organization, protections against discrimination based on religious belief or sexual orientation still apply. Both Labour and Conservatives in Britain are promoting faith-based welfare programs.

French Appeals Court Says Pork Soup To Homeless Is Discriminatory

MWC yesterday reported that a ban by Paris police on the serving of pork soup to the homeless has now been upheld by France's highest administrative court, the Conseil d'Etat. A lower court had overturned the police determination that the right wing soup kitchens were discriminating against Muslims and Jews. (See prior posting.) However the French interior ministry successfully appealed. The appeals court confirmed the police ban on Friday, holding that it did not infringe freedom of expression. Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe praised the decision.

Indiana House Speaker Has Not Decided About Opening Prayer

Last year, an Indiana federal court ruled that the Indiana House of Representatives had violated the Establishment Clause by opening its sessions with specifically sectarian prayers. (See prior posting.) After the ruling, House members gathered in the back of the House Chamber before the sessions began to offer prayers, rather than switching to non-sectarian prayers from the podium. The state Senate, even though it was not a party to the litigation, switched to a moment of silence at the opening of their sessions. The Indianapolis Star reports that as of Friday, current House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer had not decided whether, when the new session opens tomorrow, the House will have an official invocation as has been the tradition for 189 years. He says that whatever he does will be consistent with the court's order. The court's decision is currently on appeal.

UPDATE: On Monday, House Speaker Pat Bauer opened the 2007 session of the Indiana General Assembly with a non-sectarian prayer whose text had been approved by state Attorney General Steve Carter. The same prayer will be read every day as the opening invocation. (Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal).

Italian Interior Minister Wants To Monitor Foreign Funds For Mosques

Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato is urging closer monitoring of foreign funding for religious buildings and mosques in Italy. BBC News and the International Herald Tribune reported last Friday on his proposal. He wants to copy the French example and set up a foundation, with government representation on the board, that would monitor funds coming in, particularly from foreign governments. Amato is concerned about foreign Islamic groups attempting to gain a foothold in Italy. He is also concerned about the teaching of radical ideas in Islamic schools, and wants to monitor them to make sure they respect national standards, particularly in selecting teachers. Italy's Islamic Council, an advisory group to the government, supports the proposals. However, Hamza Roberto Piccardo, secretary of the radical Union of Islamic Communities, opposed the proposal. He says that Italy's Constitution assures religious groups autonomy. He also said: "There are no Islamic schools in Italy. There are only Arabic schools."

Hindu Violence Against Christians In India Reported

BosNewsLife yesterday reported on a number of physical attacks against Christians by Hindus in India during New Years week. Apparently the violence was encouraged by media reports criticizing Christian missionary workers. Also, on Christmas Eve over 100 Christians re-converted to Hinduism in Chhattisgarh. The incidents are related to concern among Hindus about the conversion of low-cast Hindu Dalits to Christianity. (See prior related posting.)

Books Treat Role of Religion In U.S. History

The Associated Press last week reviewed a new college history book, Unto a Good Land: A History of the American People (Eerdmans). Focusing on social and cultural history, the book is different because of its coverage of the impact of religion on American history. The book is nonsectarian, and covers both the good and bad impact religion has had from pre-Columbian times to present in the U.S.

The same publisher-- Eerdmans-- has also recently published Geiko Muller-Fahrenholz, America's Battle for God: A European Christian Looks at Civil Religion (2006).

UPDATE: Sunday's New York Times reviews Chris Hedges, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, (Free Press). Reviewer Rick Perlstein says that Hedges "writes on this subject as a neophyte, and pads out his dispatches with ungrounded theorizing, unconvincing speculation and examples that fall far short of bearing out his thesis."

Nurse Who Refused To Administer "Plan B" Still In Court

In Lemly v. St. Tammany Parish Hospital District No. 1, (LA Dist. Ct., Dec. 15, 2006), a Louisiana state trial court denied hospital’s motion for summary judgment in a case brought by a nurse employed there who objected on religious grounds to administering the "morning after" pill to patients. She claimed (full text of complaint) that the hospital refused to make reasonable accommodation for her religious beliefs and dismissed her from her full time position because of those beliefs, in violation of the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law. A release issued yesterday by Alliance Defense Fund discusses the case.

Recent Articles On Law and Religion

From SSRN:
Qerkin Berisha, The Right to Nondiscrimination in the Context of Kosovo, (2005).

Ali L. Khan, Combating Defamation of Religions, (The American Muslim, January 1, 2007).

From SmartCILP:
Dominique Custos, Secularism in French Public Schools: Back to War? The French Statute of March 15, 2004, 54 American Journal of Comparative Law 337-399 (2006).

Richard Hardack, Bad Faith: Race, Religion and the Reformation of Welfare Law, 4 Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal 539-649 (2006)

Gidon Sapir, How Should a Court Deal With a Primary Question That the Legislature Seeks to Avoid? The Israeli Controversy Over Who Is a Jew As an Illustration, 39 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 1233-1302 (2006).

Michele Alexandre, Big Love: Is Feminist Polygamy an Oxymoron Or a True Possibility?, 18 Hastings Women's Law Journal 3-30 (2007).

Jay Michaelson, In Praise of the Pound of Flesh: Legalism, Multiculturalism, and the Problem of the Soul, 6 Journal of Law in Society 98-153 (2005).

Eighth Grader Sues School To Be Part of "Silent Solidarity"

Last week, the Alliance Defense Fund (release) filed suit on behalf of a Clifton Park, NY eighth grade student who, with several friends, was prevented from expressing pro-life views in school during the "3rd Annual Students' Day of Silent Solidarity" sponsored by the Christian youth organization Stand True. The middle school student attempted to hand out leaflets, wore a t-shirt with a pointed message on it, and wore tape over his mouth for the day with the word "Life" on the tape. The student had obtained permission from his teachers to remain silent in class that day. The students were instructed by the principal to turn their t-shirts inside out so the messages could not be read, to dispose of the fliers and to remove the tape on their mouths. Students who had already received fliers were instructed to hand them to school officials. The suit alleges violation of plaintiff's free speech rights, arguing that the principal's action constituted viewpoint discrimination and imposition of a prior restraint, and claims school regulations were unconstitutionally vague and that plaintiff was denied equal protection of the laws. (Full text of complaint.)

California Senator Rescinds Award To Islamic Activist

Democratic U.S. Senator from California, Barbara Boxer, has rescinded a certificate of achievement award that her office gave to Sacramento Islamic activist Basim Elkarra last November, according to CAIRwatch attacked the award, claiming that the group Elkarra represents -- Council on American Islamic Relations -- holds extremist views and supports international terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah. CAIR spokesman Hussam Alyoush says his group is being attacked because of its criticism of Israel. Yesterday CAIR issued a press release giving its official response, anindicatingng that Senator Boxer has indicated she is willing to meet with CAIR officials to hear their views.

Tennessee County Commission Hesitates On 10 Commandments Settlement

The Rutherford, Tennessee County Commission is balking over approving the settlement of a lawsuit filed against it in 2002 by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the county’s decision to post the Ten Commandments at the county courthouse. The Murfreesboro, TN Daily News Journal today reported on developments. In September, the federal district court issued a declaratory judgment in favor of the ACLU, and now County Mayor Ernest Burgess has recommended approval of a settlement in which the county would agree not to appeal the preliminary injunction and would pay $50,000 of the ACLU’s attorneys’ fees.

This past Thursday, the county’s Steering Committee refused to either accept or reject the proposed settlement, in part because county attorney Jim Cope was not at the meeting to answer questions. So the proposal will now go to the full County Commission for discussion. Mike Sparks, one of the Commissioners opposed to the settlement said, "This is nothing but a shakedown by the ACLU to use the taxpayers’ money to foot their agenda." But Steve Cates, a retired high school government teacher who was one of the plaintiffs said: "It's not the ACLU that has an agenda. It's various religious groups that has an agenda…. My people have been here since the early 1800s, and I don't get it. I understand the historical connection to Christian faith, but I also understand our country is composed of lots of other faiths. There's no need for the government to be using religion to be cruel to other people whether it be Christians or Muslims or whoever it is."

Georgia Governor Will Propose Elimination of "Blaine Amendment"

Southern Voice yesterday reported that Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s December 12 speech to state lawmakers outlining his 2007 legislative agenda includes a proposal to amend Georgia’s constitution (Sec. IX) to eliminate prohibitions on state funding of social services delivered by faith-based organizations. The proposed Faith and Family Services Amendment would eliminate Georgia’s prohibition on pending that directly or indirectly aids any religious denomination, and would instead impose only the same limitations that the federal constitution does. (Governor’s press release.) Larry Pelligrini, a gay rights activist and statehouse lobbyist, says that the proposal will allow social service agencies that receive state contracts to discriminate against gays and lesbians, as well as allowing them to proselytize clients who receive services from them. However Bert Brantley, speaking for the Governor’s office, said—without specifying details-- that the amendment would not foster anti-gay discrimination by religious groups. The same amendment failed to get approval of the Georgia legislature last year. (See prior posting.)

New Congress Is Religiously Diverse

The Baptist Standard today reprints a report from Religion News Service on the diverse religious make-up of the new Congress that was sworn in yesterday:

The new Congress will, for the first time, include a Muslim, two Buddhists, more Jews than Episcopalians and the highest-ranking Mormon in congressional history.

Roman Catholics remain the largest single faith group in Congress, accounting for 29 percent of all members of the House and Senate, followed by Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Jews and Episcopalians.

While Catholics in Congress are nearly 2-to-1 Democrats, the most lopsidedly Democratic groups are Jews and those not affiliated with any religion. Of the 43 Jewish members of Congress, there is only one Jewish Republican in the House and two in the Senate. The six religiously unaffiliated members of the House all are Democrats.

The most-Republican groups are the small band of Christian Scientists in the House (all five are Republican), and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (12 Republicans and three Democrats)—though the top-ranking Mormon in the history of Congress will be Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the incoming Democratic majority leader.

Spokane Diocese Files Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan

The Seattle Times reports that yesterday the Catholic Diocese of Spokane, Washington filed a reorganization plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The Diocese will pay $48 million to settle claims of sex abuse victims and other creditors. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Gregg Zive who has acted as mediator says that the plan calls for parishes to raise $10 million, insurers will pay about $20 million, and the Diocese will raise the remaining $18 million through sales of assets and contributions from other Catholic entities. In addition, the plan calls for the Diocese to post the names of all known abusers on its website, furnish victims a forum to talk about their experiences, and have Spokane Bishop William Skylstad identify abusive priests from the pulpits of the parishes in which they served. The plan also sets out procedures to deal with claims that are asserted in the future by sex abuse victims who have not yet come forward. The plan must still be confirmed by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Patricia Williams and then voted on by creditors. The Spokane Diocese will be the third diocese to emerge from a bankruptcy reorganization.

State Department Praises Ellison's Swearing-In

The State Department's USINFO website yesterday extensively covered Representative Keith Ellison being sworn in using the Quran. Ellison, a representative from Minnesota, is the first Muslim elected to Congress. In a story apparently designed to appeal to Muslims around the world, the State Department said:

The introduction of the Quran into congressional oath-taking is evidence of the growing religious diversity of the United States. The Quran used by Ellison during his January 4 ceremonial swearing-in is unique. It once belonged to Thomas Jefferson, drafter of the Declaration of Independence and third U.S. president. The Library of Congress, which obtained the book from Jefferson in 1815, loaned it to Ellison for the occasion. It is an English translation from the Arabic first published in London in 1734.

Jefferson, who gave much thought to religion, in 1802 wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association: “Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between church and State.”

Muslims first arrived in the United States in slave ships from Africa. One of these, Abdur Rahman Ibrahima ibn Sori, was brought from Guinea to Mississippi in the early 19th century. He won his freedom through the intercession of Mississippi Senator Thomas Reed and the sultan of Morocco, who successfully petitioned Secretary of State Henry Clay and President John Quincy Adams to free Sori.

Today, Muslim Americans number several million. Ellison’s election and his inclusion of the Quran in his swearing-in ceremony highlight the legacy of religious freedom enshrined in the Constitution and the contributions to American society made by people of diverse faiths.

Workday Minnesota yesterday said that at a community send-off in St. Anthony, MN, Ellison received blessings from a Baptist pastor, a Jewish rabbi, and a Muslim imam. Meanwhile on the floor of the House of Representatives, Ellison and Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode-- who had strongly criticized Ellison's use of the Koran-- shook hands and agreed to talk more at a later date. (Richmond (VA) Times Dispatch).

Iranian Musician Sentenced For Insulting Islam

Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty reported yesterday that Iranian authorities have sentenced a member of the well-known band, Shanbezadeh, to two years in prison for "insulting Islam" by playing religious music of the southern Iranian city of Bushehr during a performance in Paris last year. The court issued the judgment after watching a recording of the performance.

Suit Challenges Church's Eviction of Charter School

The Arizona Republic reports on arguments yesterday in Maricopa (AZ) County Superior Court in a lawsuit against Village of Oak Creek Community Church of the Nazarene which has evicted a state-run charter school from the church premises. Pastor Jeff Branaman said that when the church rented space to Desert Star Community School, it did not know that it would teach material that contradicted the church's beliefs. The church objects to some of the books used by the school, to fliers that used images of dragons, and to teaching of Greek mythology. Branaman said: "We take very seriously the Bible. . . . We have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ." However, Assistant Attorney General Michelle Swann representing the Sedona-area charter school argued that the church has engaged in religious discrimination. Judge Timothy Ryan has issued an order allowing the school to remain temporarily while he decides the case. A ruling is expected next Wednesday.

Park Service Still Sells Creationist Account Of Grand Canyon

The National Center for Science Education yesterday issued a release calling attention to the National Park Service's failure to carry through on its promise to review its 2003 approval for the sale at the Grand Canyon National Park Bookstore of a book that claims the Grand Canyon was created by Noah's flood instead of by geologic forces. The promise to review approval of Grand Canyon: A Different View was made to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) (Dec. 2006 press release). PEER renewed its call for review shortly after Mary Bomar took office as new director of the National Park Service.