Fire Company's Role In Transporting Virgin Mary Statue Criticized

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has written the Jackson Mills, New Jersey Fire Company complaining of its role in transporting a 9-foot tall statue of the Virgin Mary between area churches. AU says that the fire department's activities create an "unmistakable message" of governmental endorsement of religion, particularly of the Catholic faith. (Text of Sept. 26 Letter). The tour of the statue around New York, in commemoration of the anniversary of 9-11, is sponsored by the Ohio-based Our Lady of America Center. According to the AU Release:

In New York, the firefighters, dressed in their official uniforms, carried the statue into the Church of St. Peter and helped install it near the altar. In Howell, the firefighters transported the statue to St. Veronica’s Roman Catholic Church and used a fire truck, with lights flashing and sirens blaring, as part of a processional that culminated in the parking lot of the church.

The motorcade also included fire trucks from nearby Jackson Township and police vehicles. The firefighters then joined members of the Knights of Columbus in carrying the statue into the church, and the event concluded with a special mass.

Rastafarian High Schooler Disciplined For Violating Dress Code

In the small town of Leakey, Texas, high school student Ben Daley—a former Baptist who became a Rastafarian—is in conflict with his high school that insists he cut his hair in order to comply with the school’s dress code. Daley—who says his religious beliefs require long hair-- is being isolated from the rest of his classmates in an alternative program until he complies with the school’s demand. Internet Broadcasting reports that school superintendent Fred McNeil says he needs support from the school board before he can grant Daly an exception from the dress code for religious reasons. The Leakey Star reports that Daley and his father spoke before the school board earlier this month, asserting Ben’s constitutional rights. Board president Jerry W. Bates says no ruling will be made by the board until next month’s meeting. Meanwhile Ben was prohibited from participating in this month’s Homecoming activities. Ben’s father, John Daley, has contacted a San Antonio TV station and the ACLU for assistance.

Hawaii Supreme Court Rejects Free Exercise Defense In Marijuana Case

In State v. Sunderland, (HI Sup. Ct., Sept. 21, 2007), the Hawaii Supreme Court held that the First Amendment's Free Exercise clause is not a viable defense to a prosecution under state law for illegal possession of marijuana. The court also found that defendant Joseph Sunderland failed to preserve for appeal his argument that use of marijuana for religious purposes in his own home is protected by his right to privacy. Three justices dissented on this point, but, after reaching the merits of the privacy argument, only one of those three concluded that Sunderland's defense should prevail. (Text of dissents 1, 2, 3).

KY County Removes 10 Commandments Display After Adverse Court Decision

The AP reports that last Wednesday, Garrard County, Kentucky officials took down a Ten Commandments display from the walls of the Fiscal Court. The action follows the decision earlier this month in American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky v. Garrard County, Kentucky, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70711 (ED KY, Sept. 5, 2007) in which a federal court suggested that the display of the 10 Commandments along with other historical documents violates the Establishment Clause. It found "sufficient evidence of the county's improper religious purpose in the extended history and evolution of the ... display" to deny defendant's motion for summary judgment. Summarizing the issue in the case, the court asked: "If a county gets it wrong in displaying the Ten Commandments, what does it then take to get it 'right' such that it passes constitutional muster?" (See prior related posting.)

Facial Challenge Rejected To School's Limits On Handouts

A Texas federal district court has rejected a facial challenge to the policy of the Katy (TX) Independent School District that restricts student distribution of non-school materials on school premises. In Pounds v. Katy Independent School District, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70505 (SD TX, Sept. 24, 2007), plaintiffs claimed that teachers and the principal at Pattison Elementary School prevented children from distributing literature with a Christian message at school. The court upheld the school’s policy that requires advance approval, subject to specific content-neutral and viewpoint-neutral guidelines, for children to distribute more than ten copies of non-school material. Plaintiffs’ "as applied" challenge to the school regulations remains to be litigated

U.S. House Calls for Religious Accommodation By Mock Trial Group

Last Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H. Res. 25, a resolution calling on the Board of Directors of the National High School Mock Trial Championship to accommodate students of all religious faiths. At issue is whether the normal Friday-Saturday schedule for the competition will be modified to permit the team from Torah Academy of Bergen County of Teaneck, New Jersey to participate without violating the Jewish Sabbath. Accommodation was made for them in the 2005 competition, but organizers voted to refuse accommodations in the future. This led the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers to withdraw from participation in protest. The House resolution says "the decision of the Board of Directors … to refuse any future accommodations for students who observe their Sabbath on Friday and/or Saturday adversely and wrongly impacts observant Jewish, Muslim, and Seventh-Day Adventist students … [and] is inconsistent with the spirit of freedom of religion or equal protection."

City Street Fair Program Drawing Offends Christians

Christian groups are complaining about the drawing on the cover of the official program guide for San Francisco’s September 30th Folsom Street Fair, according to CNS News. The festival is funded in part by the city’s Grants for the Arts program. The controversial cover features a poster apparently based on Leonardo Da Vinci's painting of "The Last Supper". In this version, however, Jesus and his apostles are replaced with leather-clad men and women. On the supper table are bondage sex toys. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in whose district the festival will be held, said that the drawing was protected by the First Amendment and that she did not believe that Christianity had been harmed by the drawing.

Faith-Based Groups Get Increasing Share of Substance Abuse Voucher Funds

The Roundtable on Religion & Social Welfare Policy reported last week on the increasing participation by religious organizations in offering substance abuse treatment funded by federal government vouchers. A recent report by the Department of Health & Human Services reveals that in the Access to Recovery voucher program, 31% of clinical treatment services and 22% of recovery support services have been furnished by faith-based organizations. According to The Roundtable, critics have complained that many of the faith-based programs funded by ATR do not meet state licensing requirements, and are permitted to use religiously-based materials in treatment programs. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Senate Passes Hate Crimes Expansion Over Objections of Christian Groups

The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007, adding it as an amendment to the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. The Senate invoked cloture on the amendment by a vote of 60-39, and then passed the amendment by voice vote. The House has already passed the much-debated hate crimes bill as a stand-alone piece of legislation. Friday’s Washington Post described the bill: "the definition of a hate crime would expand to include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. Local law enforcement officials would be allowed to apply for federal grants to solve such crimes, and federal agents would be given broader authority to assist state and local police. More stringent federal sentencing guidelines would also be instituted."

Conservative Christian groups strongly criticized the Senate’s action. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said: "preserving equal justice under the law is more important than scoring points with advocates of homosexual behavior. All violent crimes are hate crimes, and every victim is equally important…. Congress should represent all Americans, not give special protections for some." (Christian Post). In the past, some Christian groups have argued that the bill interferes with their right to preach against homosexual behavior. At a press briefing following the Senate’s action, White House press secretary Dana Perino reiterated the White House’s opposition to the hate crimes bill, but stopped short of repeating previous promises by the President to veto the bill. (See prior posting.)

Court Will Decide Part of Buddhist Temple's Claim Against Parent Body

Jodo Shu Betsuin, a Buddhist Temple, was expelled from the Jodo Shu Buddhist sect by the umbrella organization that oversees the sect in North America. The expulsion resulted from an ongoing dispute over who would be the religious leaders of the Temple. After the expulsion, the umbrella organization prohibited the Temple from using its former property. The Temple sued for damages, claiming it was wrongfully evicted, seeking return of furnishings, religious objects and computers in the Temple, and seeking an order dissolving its oral partnership with the umbrella group. In Jodo Shu Betsuin v. Jodoshu North American Buddhist Missions, (Ct App. CA, Sept. 25, 2007), a California Court of Appeals permitted plaintiff to move to trial on two of its three claims.

The court held that adjudicating the eviction claim would unconstitutionally involve the court in determining an ecclesiastical issue—whether the disaffiliation pronouncement was properly reached: "The expulsion resulted from a dispute involving religious leadership. The religious leaders in question had been appointed by Jodo Shu leaders in Japan. The disaffiliation decision was confirmed at the highest levels of the hierarchical religious organization in Japan. The disaffiliation decision necessarily barred plaintiff from use of the temple property…." However the court held that the claims for conversion and partnership dissolution could probably be adjudicated without considering the propriety of the umbrella group’s disaffiliation order. Those claims, it held, created issues that should to go to trial.

Dissenting in part, Judge Mosk said: "If the lease is such that the plaintiff could not be evicted for doctrinal disputes or issues, then a court could determine that there was a wrongful eviction without addressing internal religious matters on the disaffiliation. Thus far, defendants' defense is not justification for the eviction, but rather that there was no valid lease."

Bureau of Prisons Backs Off Prison Chapel Library Project

Under pressure from religious and civil liberties groups, as well as from the American Library Association, last Wednesday the U.S. Bureau of prisons announced that it would abandon its attempt to create lists of acceptable books on religious topics for prison chapel libraries. The New York Times reported that in an e-mail, the Bureau announced that it would: "begin immediately to return to chapel libraries materials that were removed in June 2007, with the exception of any publications that have been found to be inappropriate, such as material that could be radicalizing or incite violence. The review of all materials in chapel libraries will be completed by the end of January 2008." (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Melissa Rogers for the lead.]

Prof Fired For Remarks About Bible Story and Reaction to Student Debate

An adjunct professor at Southwestern Community College in Red Oak, Iowa claims he was terminated last Thursday because of remarks he made about the Bible in class two days earlier. According to the AP, Steve Bitterman says he was fired because he told students that the Biblical story of Adam and Eve is a fairy tale and should not be interpreted literally. However students say they complained as much about his brash style. One student left class crying after Bitterman, in the heat of the debate on the Bible, told her to "pop a Prozac." That student, Kristen Fry, said: "I talked to a lawyer and was told that what he was doing was illegal. He was not allowed to be derogatory toward me for being a Christian. I told my adviser I would sue if I had to." [Thanks to Matthew Caplan for the lead.]

More Prisoner Cases-- Diets, Runestones and Prejudicial Trial Statements

In Nelson v. Miller, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69578 (SD IL, Sept. 20, 2007), a federal Magistrate Judge refused to dismiss a suit brought by a prisoner claiming that the prison chaplain would not allow him to receive a vegan diet for religious reasons, even though other prisoners could do so. Plaintiff is a Roman Catholic who also follows the Rule of St. Benedict which forbids eating the flesh of any four-legged animal.

In Keen v. Noble, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69629 (ED CA, Sept. 20, 2007), a California federal district court refused to dismiss a federal prisoner's complaint that his free exercise rights were violated when prison authorities refused to provide him with runestones for his Asatru religious practices. However the court agreed with a Magistrate's recommendation to dismiss on qualified immunity grounds plaintiff's complaint that he was denied a hof. The court also held that RFRA does not authorize the award of monetary damages.

In Shabazz v. Martin, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70342 (ED MI, Sept. 24, 2007), a Michigan federal district court denied plaintiff prisoner a new trial. Plaintiff had claimed that his defense counsel had made prejudicial comments during trial when, in questioning a witness, he referred to Plaintiff and other leaders of the Nation of Islam as "clerics" and "imams". The court rejected plaintiff's argument that this gave the jury a false impression that his religion was connected with the Sunni or Shiite doctrines in the Middle East.

In Henderson v. Virginia, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70207 (WD VA, Sept. 21, 2007),a Virginia federal district court rejected a prisoner's claim that he was denied participation in the Ramadan fast as retaliation for "a verbal altercation" he had with prison officers. The court found that plaintiff did not show intentional conduct by defendants, did not show a retaliatory motive, and that in fact he was able to fast by saving food from his other meals.

In Conyers v. Abitz, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70322 (ED WI, Sept. 21, 2007), a Muslim inmate was refused participation in the program that gave late meals during Ramadan because he missed the sign-up deadline. the court held that genuine issues of fact exist as to whether the deadline applied to this inmate, whether he had adequate notice of the deadline and whether the prison had a sufficient penological justification to impose the deadline.

Chicago Dentist Charged With Imposing Scientology On Employees

The EEOC has filed religious discrimination charges against a Chicago dentist, according to WBBM News. The suit claims that dentist James Orrington required ten employees to attend Scientology seminars and watch Scientology videos in order to retain their jobs. Before Orrington would give employees their checks, he demanded they write or recite Scientology formulas to help move them to a higher state of mind. The employees also allege sexual harassment.

Missionary's Bias Claim Dismissed Under Ministerial Exception Rule

A missionary has lost her racial and sexual discrimination suit against her former employer, Africa Inland Mission International, Inc. ("AIM"), challenging her termination in Namibia. In  its decision, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70084 (D DC, Sept. 24, 2007), the federal district court for the District of Columbia applied the "ministerial exception" rule to dismiss plaintiff's claim that AIM wanted to turn the property where her home for abused and neglected children was located into a bead and breakfast for Whites. AIM said that plaintiff had been charged with abuse of children and improper sexual behavior. The court said that "Determining whether AIM's termination of [plaintiff] fell within ... contractually-permitted parameters--or whether ... [it] was motivated by other concerns--would involve inquiring into 'a core matter of ecclesiastical self-governance not subject to interference by a state'." The court also rejected defamation, breach of trust, conversion and unjust enrichment claims by plaintiff. [Note: This posting has been modified to eliminate the name of the plaintiff at plaintiff's request.]

Israeli Zionist Rabbis Threaten Split Over Sabbatical Farming Rules

In Israel, disagreements among Orthodox rabbis on whether to recognize a legal loophole that permits Jewish farmers to continue to grow crops on their land during the current Sabbatical year threatens to split the official Chief Rabbinate. Yesterday's Jerusalem Post reports that Tzohar, a group of religious Zionist rabbis, has rebelled against the strict interpretation adopted by the Chief Rabbinate and has announced it will set up an alternative supervisory organization to certify foods grown in Israel by Jewish farmers who have technically "sold" their fields to non-Jews for the Sabbatical year. Many authorities recognize this as a way to get around the religious requirement that Jewish fields in Israel must lie fallow for the year. Recognizing the loophole-- known as heter mechira-- is necessary to prevent many farmers from financial ruin. However, Rabbi Moshe Rauchverger, a member of the Chief Rabbinate's governing council, said that Tzohar's move threatened to break the Chief Rabbinate's monopoly on furnishing religious services. He said, "If Tzohar starts providing kosher supervision, what is to stop Reform and Conservative from doing the same?" (See prior related posting.)

Sheriff Violates Establishment Clause By Inviting Christian Speakers

Yesterday in Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs Association v. Clarke, (ED WI, Sept. 25, 2007), a Wisconsin federal district court held that Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. violated the Establishment Clause when he invited the Fellowship of Christian Centurions to make presentations at the Department's leadership conference and at Department "roll calls" at the beginning of each work shift. Two deputies, a Catholic and a Muslim, who were made uncomfortable by the presentations objected and eventually filed suit seeking damages and an injunction. Federal judge Lynn Adelman wrote:

defendants invited representatives of a Christian organization to present a proselytizing Christian message to deputies at meetings held at the workplace during working hours, which deputies were required to attend, and conveyed a message of endorsement of the presentations. The effect of defendants’ actions was to promote religion and to do so coercively.

A hearing has been set for November to discuss remedies. Yesterday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on the case.

Hillary Clinton Emphasizing Liberal Religious Tradition In Her Campaign

An article in yesterday's Washington Post explores Hillary Clinton's use of religion in her campaign for the presidential nomination. It points out that Clinton's outreach to religious voters that have been alienated from the Democratic party combines moralism with her social liberalism. It comments: "In a nation obsessed by the influence of religious conservatives, it is easy to forget that liberal Protestants were once the dominant cultural influence in America."

Today Is "See You at the Pole" Event At Schools

CBN News reports that this morning around the country school students are taking part in before-school prayer at the annual See You at the Pole event. Held on the the fourth Wednesday of every September, organizers describe SYATP as "a student-initiated, student organized, and student-led event. That means this is all about students meeting at their school flagpole to pray—for their school, friends teachers, government, and their nation." The National Network of Youth Ministries coordinates the event. (SYATP website). Last year about 2 million students at over 50,000 schools participated.

Former FLDS Leader Jeffs Convicted Of Being Rape Accomplice

A Washington County, Utah state court jury today convicted Warren Jeffs, former head of the polygamist Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, of being an accomplice to the rape of a 14 year old girl who was pressured by Jeffs to enter into a marriage with her 19-year old cousin. The New York Times reports that "the verdict ... was a vindication of the prosecution’s argument — which some experts had thought might be hard to accept — that orchestrating a marriage of a young girl under duress made Mr. Jeffs culpable even though he was not present when the rape occurred." Prosecutors argued that Jeffs knew that the marriage would lead to non-consensual sexual relationships.

The Los Angeles Times last week filled out the details: "Jeffs pressured the girl into marriage, then refused to free her when she complained that her husband was touching her in ways she did not like." Jeffs' attorney, Walter F. Bugden Jr., had argued: "The state can say Warren Steed Jeffs is on trial, but it's his . . . church, his religious beliefs that is on trial here, dressed up as a crime called rape." He argued that the state should have charged Jeffs only with officiating at an unlawful marriage.