Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
School Affiliated Foundation Criticized For Funding Christian-Themed Program
Conservative Christian Leaders Threaten To Support Third-Party Candidate
EEOC Sues For Discrimination: Muslim Woman Fired For Wearing Headscarf
More Prisoner Free Exercise Cases Decided
In Oakden v. Bliesner, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70948 (ND CA, Sept. 21, 2007), a federal district judge rejected a First Amendment claim by a prisoner who was a member of the white-supremacist Church of the Creator. It found that plaintiff's requested raw food diet is a recommendation, but not a central requirement, for members of the Church.
In Keesh v. Smith, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71165 (ND NY, Sept. 25, 2007), a New York federal district court upheld against Free Exercise and RLUIPA challenges a Department of Corrections requirement that a religion within the prison must have an outside sponsor in order to be recognized and approved for congregate services and classes. Plaintiff Tyheem Keesh was the founder and leader of the Tulukeesh religion, and sought to require prison authorities to accommodate its requirements for a special type of vegan diet, martial arts training, specific hygiene requirements, possession of religious items and a ban on strip searches of Tulukeesh members by prison staff.
In Hardaway v. Haggerty, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71814 (ED MI, Sept. 27, 2007), a Michigan federal district judge adopted the recommendations of a federal magistrate, holding that prison officials had qualified immunity from damage claims in connection with their seizure from plaintiff of religious material from the Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE). However, plaintiff was permitted to proceed with his claim for an injunction seeking removal of the "Security Threat" designation given to NGE and challenging the taking of his NGE religious literature.
In Jaspar v. Moors, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72116 (ED CA, Sept. 27, 2007), a California federal Magistrate Judge concluded that RLUIPA is applicable to claims seeking redress for individual retaliatory conduct of a prison chaplain who, plaintiff claimed, took action against him because he is Jewish.
In Izquierdo v. Crawford, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71608 (ED MO, Sept. 26, 2007), a Missouri federal district court rejected a prisoner's claims that his rights under the First Amendment and RLUIPA were violated when the prison refused to provide religious services and programs for Shiite Muslims separate from those offered for Muslims in general that were led by a Sunni inmate.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Cert. Denied In Case On Exclusion of Worship Services From Library Room
Cert Denied In NY Case On Contraceptive Coverage For Faith-Based Groups
DC Fire Department Must Allow Beards Worn For Religious Reasons
McCain Says US Is Christian Nation; Skeptical of Muslim As President
Asked about the possibility of a Muslim candidate for President, he said:I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation. But I say that in the broadest sense. The lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn't say, "I only welcome Christians." We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here they know that they are in a nation founded on Christian principles.
After the interview, McCain called Beliefnet to clarify his response: "I would vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and defend our political values." Beliefnet will post a longer transcript of the interview today.... I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles.... personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith. But that doesn't mean that I'm sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president. I don't say that we would rule out under any circumstances someone of a different faith....
UPDATE: In New Hampshire on Sunday, McCain appeared to be having second thoughts about some of his Beliefnet statements. The AP quotes him: "... maybe I should have kept my comments to the fact that I'm a practicing Christian, I respect all religions and beliefs, and that I support the principles, the values of the Founding Fathers... rather than getting into ... a Talmudic discussion." [Thanks to Melissa Rogers for the lead.]
UPDATE 2: Beliefnet has now posted a longer version of its interview with McCain, as Jewish and Muslim groups criticize McCain's remarks. (ADL, AJCommittee, CAIR).
UAE Rules On Ramadan Work Week Apply To Non-Muslims Also
Recent Articles on Church-State, Law & Religion
From SSRN:
- Richard W. Garnett, Religion and Group Rights: Are Churches (Just) Like the Boy Scouts?, (St. John’s Journal of Legal Commentary, Vol. 22, Fall 2007).
- Muslim World Journal of Human Rights, (Special Double Issue, Vol. 4, Issues 1 & 2), The Transnational Muslim World, Human Rights, and the Rights of Women and Sexual Minorities, (2007). [Full text of 11 articles, plus notes and review.]
From University of Copenhagen Conference on Religion in the 21st Century:
- Santiago Cañamares Arribas, Religious Symbols in Spain: A Legal Perspective, (2007).
From SmartCILP:
- Stefan Braun, Second-Class Citizens: Jews, Freedom of Speech, and Intolerance on Canadian University Campuses, 12 Washington & Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice 1-50 (2006).
- James Adam Browning, Newdow v. United States Congress: Is there Any Room for God?, 34 Northern Kentucky Law Review 51-70 (2007).
- Adam S. Chodorow, Maaser Kesafim and the Development of Tax Law, 8 Florida Tax Review 153-208 (2007).
- Sarah Barringer Gordon, "Free" Religion and "Captive" Schools: Protestants, Catholics, and Education, 1945-1965, 56 DePaul Law Review 1177-1220 (2007).
- Edward C. Lyons, Reason's Freedom and the Dialectic of Ordered Liberty, 55 Clevland State Law Review 157-233 (2007).
- Frederick V. Perry, Shari'ah, Islamic Law and Arab Business Ethics, 22 Connecticut Journal of International Law 357-377 (2007).
- Nadine Strossen, Freedom and Fear Post-9/11: Are We Again Fearing Witches and Burning Women?, 31 Nova Law Review 279-314 (2007).
- Commentary: Law, Buddhism, and Social Change: A Conversation with the 14th Dalai Lama, September 20-21, 2006. Introduction by Rebecca R. French; articles by Rebecca R. French, Kenneth M. Ehrenberg, David M. Engel, R.A.L.H. Gunawardana, James L. Magavern, Kenneth Shockley, Vesna Wallace and Richard W. Whitecross; panelists: Timothy Brook, George Dreyfus, Kenneth Ehrenberg, David Engel, Rebecca French, Leslie Gunawardana, George Hezel, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, James Magavern, Elizabeth Mensch, Fernanda Pirie, Frank Reynolds, Lobsang Shastri, Kenneth Shockley, Winnifred Sullivan, Vesna Wallace and Richard Whitecross. 55 Buffalo Law Review 635-735 (2007).
Church Can Sue City for Damages, But Not Injunction, In Zoning Dispute
Courts Face Childrens' Religious Claims Regarding Treatment of Fathers' Bodies
Meanwhile, in Franklin, Tennessee, a Williamson County Chancery Court Judge has issued a temporary injunction preventing the cremation of Howard Lee Rothenstein, who died Sept. 21. Today the court will hold a hearing on the dispute between Rothstein's wife who wants his remains created, and Rothstein's son who says that his father is Jewish and should be buried according to Jewish traditions. Friday's Tennessean says that court papers filed by the son object to his stepmother's plans for the body, saying "cremation is particularly disrespectful to this decedent since he ... had relatives whose bodies were burnt by the Nazis during the Holocaust."
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Fire Company's Role In Transporting Virgin Mary Statue Criticized
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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.