Quebec Schools Will Begin Mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture Courses

Saturday's National Post outlines objections that have been raised in the Canadian province of Quebec to a new mandate by the province's Education Department as part of the move to secularize Quebec's schools. Starting next fall, both public schools and private religious schools (most of which receive some government funding) must offer a new course in Ethics and Religious Culture covering Christianity, Judaism, aboriginal spirituality, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. In public schools, the new course will replace courses in Protestant, Catholic or non-religious moral education that students now choose. Private Catholic schools are concerned that the new course, required beginning in grade 1, will leave less time for Catholic religious instruction. Orthodox Jewish schools are likely to object to a requirement that they teach about all world religions. Barry Levy, professor of religion at McGill University, says: "What's going to happen in these contexts is it's going to be totally shallow, totally meaningless. The only message is going to be [that] they are all of equal value. And the people who are genuinely committed can't buy that argument." (See prior related posting.)

Optional Flag-Folding Ceremonies Are Now Back In Military Funerals

Recently the National Cemetery Administration responded to complaints about religious references in the traditional flag-folding ceremony used at many military funerals and banned the ceremony. (See prior posting.) Negative reaction to that decision has been swift, and last Tuesday the Department of Veteran's Affairs issued a clarification:

A family may request the recitation of words to accompany the meaningful presentation of the American flag as we honor the dedication and sacrifice of their loved ones.... Volunteer honor guards are authorized to read the so-called "13-fold" flag recitation or any comparable script. Survivors of the deceased need to provide material and request it be read by the volunteer honor guards... Volunteer honor guards will accept requests for recitations that reflect any or no religious traditions, on an equal basis.

In a speech to the American Legion on Thursday (full text), Vice President Dick Cheney referred to the clarification:

As most of you know, our nation has 125 national cemeteries operated by the VA. Burials conducted in those cemeteries should honor the wishes of the families, including those that relate to religious observances. And despite the confusing order that recently came out of the federal bureaucracy, I want you to know that honor guards at military funerals will give the 13-fold recitation at any service where the family requests it.

Today's Christian Post reports that conservative Christian groups such as the American Center for Law and Justice are still unhappy because the policy now permits only volunteer honor guards, and not officials such as military chaplains, to read the recitation. Also families will no longer receive the flyer informing them of optional flag-folding ceremony. However a posting today on the ACLJ's website says it is pleased with the resolution of the matter as announced by Vice-President Cheney.

New Challenge To "Under God" In Pledge Filed By Newdow As Attorney

In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court held that atheist Michael Newdow, as a non-custodial parent, lacked standing to bring a case that challenged the inclusion of the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance recited each day in his daughter's school. Now, hoping to avoid standing issues, Newdow (who is a lawyer) has filed a suit in New Hampshire federal district court on behalf of a couple identified only as "Jan and Pat Doe," an atheist and an agnostic with three children in the Hanover, NH schools. Today's Nashua Telegraph reports that under New Hampshire law students can stand silently or remain seated instead of participating in the Pledge in school. However the suit claims that coercive peer pressure still exists. The complaint asserts that "by endorsing the religious notion that God exists, the now-religious Pledge creates a societal environment where prejudice against atheists -- and, thus, against Plaintiffs here -- is perpetuated." Plaintiffs do not object to required recitation of the pledge without the "under God" reference in it.

Court Stays Injunction Pending Appeal of Religious Displays In Postal Outlet

A Connecticut federal district court earlier this year issued an injunction requiring a contract postal unit to remove religious displays, prayer cards, advertisements, donation solicitations, and telecommunication videos that proselytize on behalf of the Full Gospel Interdenominational Church. (See prior postings 1, 2). Now in Cooper v. United States Postal Service, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80877 (D CT, Nov. 1, 2007) the court has issued a stay of the injunction while defendant's appeal of the case is pending.

Ireland's Drunk-Driving Proposals Create Problem For Catholic Churches

BBC News reported yesterday that Catholic priests in Ireland are facing an unusual problem as authorities--concerned about drunk driving-- are considering reducing the allowable blood alcohol limit for drivers to zero. The shortage of priests in Ireland means that some priests are required to recite two or three masses, at different locations, on the same day. Drinking consecrated wine is part of the ceremony. Priests who do so and then drive to their next mass would be violating the zero-alcohol requirement. Well-known Irish priest Father Brian D'Arcy says that the Vatican has ruled out using non-alcoholic wine at mass.

National Park Service Sued Over Mt. Rushmore Speech Permit Rules

Last Friday, the Alliance Defense Fund announced that it had filed suit against the National Park Service and others in federal court in the District of Columbia challenging rules governing public expression and distribution of printed matter at the Mt. Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota. The complaint (full text) alleges that Michael Boardley's free speech, free exercise, due process and equal protection rights were violated when he was informed that he would be required to obtain a permit in order to continue to hand out gospel tracts in a free speech zone in the Mt.Rushmore visitor complex. Boardley asked for a permit but never received one. The case is Boardley v. United States Department of Interior, (D DC, filed 11/2/07).

British Appeals Panel Rejects Religious Discrimination Claim of Magistrate

Last Wednesday in McClintock v. Department of Constitutional Affairs, (EAT, Oct. 31, 2007), the British Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) upheld a decision rendered last March by Sheffield's Employment Tribunal rejecting a discrimination claim by Andrew McClintock, a Justice of the Peace. (See prior posting.) McClintock, who sat on the court's Family Panel, asked to be excused from hearing cases that might raise the issue of placing children for adoption with same-sex couples. When his request was refused, he argued this amounted to discrimination against him on the basis of his Christian religious beliefs, or on the basis of his philosophical beliefs, in violation of the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003.

The Appellate Tribunal said that the denial of McClintock's request did not amount to direct discrimination because he did not make clear to the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) that he had any religious or philosophical objections to adoptions by same-sex couples, only that it was an unacceptable social experiment. That also led to the rejection of McClintock's indirect discrimination claim that others holding religious or philosophical objections to gay adoption would be disadvantaged by the DCA ruling. Finally the EAT concluded that magistrates must apply the law of the land as their oath requires, and cannot opt out of cases on moral grounds.
Inspire Magazine reports on the EAT's decision.

DoJ Says RFRA May Trump Anti-Bias Rules For Faith-Based Grantees

Carl Esbeck reports in The Hill that the Department of Justice has ruled that the Christian organization, World Vision, may retain a $1.5 million grant to fight juvenile crime in Northern Virginia, even though the organization employs religious criteria in hiring of employees. The grant was awarded under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, which is subject to provisions of the Safe Streets Act that ban religious discrimination in use of the grant funds. In a more general policy statement (full text) recently posted on its website, the Justice Department says that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act can override these anti-discrimination provisions. In order to qualify for RFRA protection, a faith-based organization must certify that it "is a religious organization that sincerely believes that providing the services in question is an expression of its religious beliefs; that employing individuals of particular religious belief is important to its religious exercise; and that having to abandon its religious hiring practice in order to receive the federal funding would substantially burden its religious exercise." [Thanks to Michael Lieberman for the lead on the Esbeck op-ed.]

More Legal Charges Pending Against Westboro Anti-Gay Funeral Picketer

Tuesday's multi-million dollar judgment against the anti-gay leaders of Westboro Baptist Church who make a practice of picketing veterans' funerals has been hailed by losing defendant Shirley Phelps-Roper. AP reports that she delightedly said: "Our message has exploded all over the world... It's given us a huge megaphone."

However, Phelps-Roper's legal battles are not over. She is to appear in a Sarpy County (NE) Court on Monday on charges of flag mutilation, negligent child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and disturbing the peace, all growing out of a funeral protest in Bellevue, Nebraska at which Phelps-Roper allowed her 10-year-old son to stand on an American flag as part of the protest.

Israeli Court In Middle of Greek Orthodox Church Dispute

In Israel, a District Court in Jerusalem finds itself in the middle of a battle between the former and the new Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church. YNet News yesterday reported on the complicated developments.

Former Patriarch Irineos I was dismissed two years ago after a scandal involving sale of church lands to Jewish groups. Patriarch Theopilus III was appointed to succeed him, but Irineos continued to live in Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox compound. So Theopilus asked an Israeli civil court to order Irineos to turn over millions of dollars worth of church icons that normally pass from one Patriarch to the next. The Israeli judge placed a temporary seizure on the items to prevent Irineos from transferring them to anyone else. The judge also instructed Hershimandit Kelidion, the judge of the Greek Orthodox religious court, to enter Irineos' residence to photograph the disputed items. When Kelidion arrived, accompanied by police, a scuffle broke out with police guarding Irineos who refused Kelidion entry. The matter remains unresolved.

Unlicensed Midwife Cannot Raise Religious Claims of Non-Party Amish

A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has at least temporarily delayed collection of the state medical board's $11,000 fine against a midwife who has been delivering babies for the Amish community for 24 years, but has never obtained a state license. Yesterday the AP reported that the judge, who called the fine unconscionable, ruled that it could not be collected until midwife Diane Goslin completes her legal challenges to it. However the court said it was unlikely that Goslin will succeed in overturning the board's cease-and-desist order barring her from continuing to practice her midwife skills. State law requires midwives to be registered nurses. The court held that while members of the Amish community may have religious reasons for using Goslin's services, they are not parties to the case and Goslin does not have standing to raise their religious claims.

Economist Publishes Special Report on Religion and Politics

This week's issue of The Economist has a lengthy series of articles on faith and politics around the world. The lead story is titled The New Wars of Religion. It concludes:

For politicians doomed to deal with religion, two lessons stand out—one principled, the other pragmatic. The principle is that church and state are best kept separate. Subsidised religion has seldom made sense for either state or church: witness Europe's empty pews....

The pragmatic lesson concerns those wars of religion. Partly because of their obsession with keeping church and state separate, Western powers (and religious leaders) have been too reluctant to look for faith-driven solutions to religious conflicts.

The magazine then features a series of articles under the caption Special Report on Religion and Public Life. Here are links to the separate portions of the Report: In God's name ; O come all ye faithful ; The power of private prayer ; The new wars of religion ; Holy depressing ; Bridging the divide ; Back to the Ottomans ; Stop in the name... ; The lesson from America .

Israeli Court Says Assassain Can Attend Son's Circumcision To Be Held In Prison

Agence France-Presse and the Jerusalem Post yesterday reported that an Israeli district court judge has given Yitzak Rabin's assassin, Yigal Amir, permission to attend his son's religious circumcision scheduled for Sunday. The court refused to permit Amir to attend the ceremony outside his prison, but ruled that the brit milah could take place in the prison, despite objections from prison authorities. Peace Now secretary-general Yariv Oppenheimer has asked the State Attorney to appeal the decision to the High Court of Justice.

Amir's son was conceived during conjugal visits with his wife, who he married in a proxy ceremony in 2004. The circumcision ceremony-- which takes place on the eighth day of a boy's life-- will coincide with the anniversary on the Gregorian calendar of Amir's 1995 shooting of then Prime-Minister Rabin.

Illinois Mayor Pushes Anti-Crime Prayer Initiative

Peoria, Illinois mayor Jim Ardis has invited religious leaders to meet with him at a local church to discuss a new initiative against crime called "Ready Set Pray". The Springfield (IL) Journal Register yesterday reported that the mayor will ask clergy to arrange for a different group to pray each day for forty days. Despite a news release that invited "pastors of all church denominations", Ardis said the program is open to members of non-Christian faiths as well. He said he is not concerned about church-state issues because the program is not sponsored or paid for by the city. It is instead a program being undertaken cooperatively with the faith community.

Scientology Gets Official Recognition In Spain

AFP reported yesterday on a victory for the Church of Scientology in Spain's High Court. The Administrative Tribunal of Madrid's High Court reversed a 2005 Justice Ministry ruling that deleted the Church of Scientology from the country's official register of religion. The High Court said the removal was "against the law."

Federal Earmarks For Religious Organizations On the Rise

The Raw Story today summarizes a study by Roll Call concluding that earmarks of federal funds for religious organizations have increased in both House and Senate appropriations bills for FY 2008. Most of the funds are directed to secular programs, but some of the recipient organizations have primarily an evangelical mission.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Platform Urges Implementation of Islamic Law

The October issue of the Arab Reform Bulletin (published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) analyzes the draft party platform of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. It urges the implementation of sharia law in Egypt. Among other things, the platform calls for senior religious scholars to have the right to veto legislation that does not conform to principles of Islamic law. It calls for creating an elected board of religious scholars with whom the president and the legislature would have to consult on pending legislation. It also would discriminate against Coptic Christians, claiming that on religious grounds only Muslims should be allowed to hold the offices of president and prime minister.

Bangladesh May Ban "Religion-Based Politics"

The head of Bangladesh's Election Commission has agreed in principle to ban "religion-based politics" in the country. ZeeNews reported on Tuesday that demands for the change came after Mohammad Mujahid, secretary general of the right wing Jamaat-e-Islami party which opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, made a statement denying the party's activities during the 1971 Liberation War. Now many in Bangladesh want to prohibit voting by anyone who opposed that War.

Cert. Filed In Massachusetts Church Closing Case

Today's Boston Globe reports that a petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court has been filed in the case of Maffei v. Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston. In May, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court dismissed a challenge to the Archdiocese's decision to close and sell off St. James Church in Wellesley, brought by heirs of the Maffei family who donated the property on which the church sits, as well as by a donor to the church. They say they were promised that the church would be maintained in honor of Waldo Maffei's father. The petition for cert. challenges the ruling of the Massachusetts high court that most of the claims in the suit raise matters of internal church governance that the First Amendment precludes civil courts from deciding. (See prior posting.) Petitioners' attorneys argue that this is a secular civil dispute that involves no religious doctrine or practice.

Indian Supreme Court Orders Registration of All Religious Marriages

Last week, according to the BBC, India's Supreme Court ruled for a second time that all marriages must be registered with the government. Currently, particularly in rural areas, most marriages are entered through a religious ceremony and not registered with civil authorities. A February 2006 ruling had already required registration, but some Indian states only mandated this for Hindu marriages. Last July, the Supreme Court granted the five states that are not in compliance a last chance to amend their law. (See prior posting.) Apparently last week's ruling ordering the registration of non-Hindu weddings as well comes after these states failed to enact their own rules. The order, however, is being opposed by leaders in the Muslim community who say they have their own system of registration in place. Today's Mauritius Times carries a long dispatch from India discussing the background of the Supreme Court's order and its impact on women's rights.