Branson, MO Council Resolution Would Support "Ozark Mountain Christmas"

Despite concerns from the City Attorney about Establishment Clause problems, the Board of Aldermen of Branson, Missouri on Tuesday met and discussed a resolution declaring the city's support for the "Ozark Mountain Christmas". The Springfield (MO) News-Leader and Branson Daily News report on the push for tourism that is at the heart of the resolution. The resolution also urges local businesses to keep the word and spirit of "Christmas" in Christmas and to foster the history and heritage of the traditional American Christmas in Branson. Finally it encourages businesses and residents to display Christmas decorations in order to help visitors experience an old-fashioned Christmas. Alderman Stephen Marshall who proposed the resolution said that some businesses were not displaying Christmas lights. He said the resolution is not a religious statement, but is an attempt to promote an event for which Branson is known. City Attorney Paul Link will review the language of the resolution further before it is presented for final passage next Monday.

UPDATE: On Monday, Branson's Board of Aldermen unanimously approved an amended version of the resolution. The Springfield (MO) News-Leader reports that, as passed, the resolution expresses the board's "support of the celebration of Ozark Mountain Christmas," but omits sections that urged local businesses and residents to display Christmas decorations and "keep the word and spirit of 'Christmas' in Christmas."

1st Circuit Hears Arguments In Challenge To Gay-Friendly Storybook In School

The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday heard arguments in a case in which parents allege that their free exercise of religion rights were infringed when a Lexington, Massachusetts school teacher read the book King and King to a first-grade class without giving prior notice to parents so they could exclude their children from hearing it. The book, designed to promote understanding of gay couples, tells the story of two princes who marry. During argument in Parker v. Lexington, according to a report in Bay Windows yesterday, the attorney for parents David and Tonia Parker and Rob and Robin Wirthlin said his clients have strong religious convictions that only heterosexual couples should be allowed to marry. Seeking a reversal of the district court's decision, attorney Robert Sinsheimer argued that the parents' free exercise rights include the right to teach their faith to their children.

Minister Resists Sen. Grassley's Call For Information

One of the six televangelists asked by Sen. Charles Grassley to explain alleged financial excesses is resisting the request. (See prior posting.) The six ministers all preach a form of "prosperity gospel"-- a belief that God wants his followers to prosper materially. The AP reported yesterday that Atlanta minister Creflo Dollar of World Changers Church International wants Grassley to either refer the matter to the IRS or at least obtain a formal subpoena. Dollar's attorney Marcus Owens wrote Grassley arguing that an IRS referral would protect Dollar's privacy and create less Establishment Clause issues. Owens wrote that if an IRS referral is not made, at least Grassley should obtain a formal subpoena to create "an appropriate legal context" for the investigation. So far, only one of the six ministries-- Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Mo.-- has furnished the information Grassley seeks. Meanwhile today's Christian Science Monitor carries an article on concerns expressed by the National Religous Broadcasters and the Baptist Joint Committee over Grassley's requests. Tomorrow is the deadline imposed by Grassley for responses.

Georgia City Hall Becomes Site for Competing Religious Events

In Macon, Georgia, City Council chambers is apparently becoming a forum for religious competition. Last month, Mayor Jack Ellis hosted a feast to mark the end of Ramadan in the Chamber. But, according to today's Macon Telegraph, when Gordon Powers, minister of the Westside Baptist Church in Warner Robins, Georgia, heard about the Ramadan feast, he decided that Christians needed to be given the same access. So he scheduled a Christmas concert there for today. Powers explained that the Muslim event "just kept eating at me". He said that it is one thing to argue for the separation of church and state, but it is something else to practice the "separation of Christ and state." Two members of City Council expressed concern over the motives of Rev. Powers. Councilman James Timley said that the church's emphasis on responding to the Islamic event does not sound very "Christmassy".

German Official Seeks Ban On Scientology

In Germany, Hamburg's Interior Minister Udo Nagel is urging interior ministers from other states to join with him to impose a nationwide ban on Scientology. Germany considers Scientology a business, not a religion. The German Office for the Protection of the Constitution has been watching the group's recruitment practices, fearing that it is a foreign organization seeking to influence political elections. Scientology claims religious discrimination. Spiegel Online and AHN both cover these developments.

UPDATE: According to BBC News on Saturday, federal and state interior ministers have asked Germany's domestic intelligence agency to determine whether the Church of Scientology's legal status as an association can be challenged.

UPDATE: Der Spiegel reported on Monday that German intelligence agencies say there is not sufficient evidence to ban the Church of Scientology, finding that while the organization operates in ways that are hostile to the Germany's constitution, Scientology has not successfully infiltrated a broader population.

Church Sues New York Under RLUIPA After City Nixes Catering Lease

Park Avenue's Third Church of Christ, Scientist, yesterday filed a RLUIPA lawsuit against the City of New York after the city said it would revoke a permit that had been granted for a catering company to use of the church's building. The city's Building Department argues that the planned use under a 20-year lease would violate zoning regulations. Today's New York Times reports that the church, suffering declining membership, entered the arrangement under which the Rose Group catering company will take out movable pews when it uses the sanctuary for catered events. Under the agreement, the Rose Group has already spent $6.5 million on building repairs. The Preservation Coalition, representing neighbors, opposes the church's arrangement, saying the church has essentially turned its building over to the caterers for commercial use. Church officials however say the building will still be used primarily for religious purposes, with 400 to 500 hours per month of religious activities. It will be used only 60 hours per month for catering. The lawsuit alleges that the church is not being treated equally with non-religious institutions that are allowed to rent out their premises for social events.

President Issues Hanukkah Message

The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah began last night. On Monday, the White House issued the President's 2007 Hanukkah Message. Saying that "Hanukkah commemorates a victory for freedom and the courage and faith that made it possible," the President continued: "We pray that those who still live in the darkness of tyranny will someday see the light of freedom...."

AU Asks IRS To Investigate Endorsement of Huckabee By Falwell

Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced yesterday that it has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate an endorsement of Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee by Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. AU says that an e-mail Liberty News Alert violated the limitations imposed on tax exempt non-profit organizations. After inviting Huckabee to speak at a Liberty University convocation, Falwell used University resources to send out the alert which said in part: "I was so impressed with the Governor’s sincerity and his positions on the issues that are important to conservative Christians that I personally endorsed Governor Huckabee before he left Lynchburg."

British Court Finds Opera Was Not Blasphemous

In Britain, two High Court judges ruled that Jerry Springer The Opera did not violate Britain's blasphemy laws. The Plymouth Herald today reports on the decision in the suit brought by the group Christian Voice. The court upheld a lower court's refusal to issue a summons against the director-general of BBC2 who permitted the opera to be shown in 2005. The High Court concluded that the play "as a whole was not and could not reasonably be regarded as aimed at, or an attack on, Christianity or what Christians held sacred." (See prior related posting.)

Preliminary Injunction Permits Menorah Lighting To Proceed

In Poughkeepsie, New York last night, a Chabad group lit a large menorah to mark the beginning of Hanukkah. Today's Poughkeepsie Journal reports that the menorah was at the same street corner where it has been placed for the last 15 years. In order to avoid church-state concerns, city officials wanted the menorah moved to a nearby municipal location where it would join holiday symbols of other religious groups. However, Rabbi Yacov Borenstein went to court and obtained a preliminary injunction ordering city workers to set up the menorah at its traditional location. Apparently the state trial court's decision was based on the city's failure to advise Chabad of the proposed move until after thousands of invitations had been sent out for the lighting at its traditional spot. The judge's decision did not deal with the broader constitutional issues. Those will be the subject of a hearing in January and will determine the menorah's location for future years. (AP).

9th Circuit Hears Arguments In Pledge and Motto Cases

Yesterday the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in two cases brought by Sacramento attorney and doctor Michael Newdow--one challenging the inclusion of the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance and the other challenging the use of the motto "In God we Trust" on coins and currency. (See prior related posting.) The AP reports that in the pledge case, Terence Cassidy, a lawyer for the school district, argued that reciting the pledge is merely a "patriotic exercise". Newdow, urging equal respect for atheists, responded that the anger people demonstrate when it is proposed that the phrase be removed demonstrates its religious significance. Becket Fund president Kevin "Seamus" Hasson, arguing on behalf of school children supporting recitation of the Pledge, argued that "under God" has been used in American history to protect "God-given rights" that are not subject to government infringement. (Becket Fund release.) In the motto case, Justice Department lawyer Lowell Sturgill Jr. argued that "In God We Trust" is just a patriotic or ceremonial message. (See prior related posting.)

8th Circuit Finds State Funding of Faith-Based Prison Program Unconstitutional

Yesterday in Americans United for Separation of Church and State v. Prison Fellowship Ministries, Inc., (8th Cir., Dec. 3, 2007), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held that a faith-based inmate rehabilitation program operated in an Iowa prison by InnerChange violates the Establishment Clause. The 3-judge panel included retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Even though inmate entry into the InnerChange program was voluntary and state funds were used only to pay for non-religious aspects of the program, the court held that direct payments to InnerChange for the years 2002-04 funded religious indoctrination in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. and Iowa constitutions. It also found an Establishment Clause problem because participation in InnerChange was available only to inmates professing Christian beliefs. In 2005-07, funding changed from cost reimbursement to a per diem payment. The court held that this did not convert the program into one of permissible indirect aid. The court also rejected defendant's reliance on Turner v. Safley, a Supreme Court case which in the court's view applies to free exercise, but not to establishment clause, challenges in prison settings.

The court however reversed the district court's order that InnerChange repay funds it received from the state for periods before the trial court found the program unconstitutional. The court also emphasized that the district court injunction it was affirming applied to InnerChange only so long as it received government funding for operating the Iowa program.

Both sides have claimed victory in the Court of Appeals. Americans United issued a release praising the ruling, saying it is a major setback for the White House's faith-based initiative. Meanwhile, InnerChange issued its own release, saying that since InnerChange now operates in Iowa without state funding, the 8th Circuit's ruling effectively permits it to continue and reverses the trial court's order for it to repay $1.5 million it previously received in state funds.Yesterday's Des Moines Register covers the decision. (See prior related postings.)

Talk Show Host Sues Muslim Group For Copyright Infringement

Conservative radio talk-show host Michael Savage yesterday filed a copyright infringement suit against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). AP reports that the suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, challenges the use of audio excerpts from one of Savage's radio shows on CAIR's website. Portions of a Savage monologue were pieced together. They include Savage calling the Qur'an a "book of hate." The excerpts were used in a campaign to get advertisers to withdraw from sponsorship of Savage's show. Savage says that, in context, he was talking about Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's radical form of Islam, and not about the religion more generally.

Cert. Denied In Removal of Cross From LA County Seal

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Vasquez v. Los Angeles County, (Docket No. 07-427) (Order List). In the case, the 9th Circuit rejected an Establishment Clause challenge to a change made to the seal of Los Angeles County. The county removed a small cross from the seal and replaced it with a picture of a historic mission. (See prior posting.) Today's Los Angeles Times reports on the Supreme Court's order in a story that carries illustrations of the old and new seal. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich says he still hopes to find enough votes on the Board of Supervisors to bring back the old seal.

Israeli Rabbinic Court Decision Increases Tension Over Civil-Religious Jurisdiction

Last week, according to Friday's Jerusalem Post, a decision by Israel's High Rabbinic Court created new tension over the respective jurisdiction of civil and religious tribunals. A divorce case in Israel can be filed in either a civil or religious court if the case also involves financial issues, and the court in which the matter is first filed has jurisdiction. In the case decided last week, the wife filed in civil court 15 minutes before her husband filed in a rabbinic court. The High Rabbinic Court ruled that the few minutes were irrelevant, and that when filings are essentially simultaneous, rabbinic courts have jurisdiction because of their special role as the prime arbiter in divorce cases. In recent years, Israel's Supreme Court has cut down the jurisdiction of rabbinic courts, holding that once the divorce proceeding is over, rabbinic courts cannot adjudicate financial issues that arise between the parties later. (See prior posting.) In last week's decision, the High Rabbinic Court ruled, however, that as to monetary issues that are part of a divorce proceeding, religious courts have primary jurisdiction. It said that civil courts have only secondary or residual jurisdiction. [Thanks to Joel Katz of the lead.]

Preliminary Injunction Protects Preacher From Disturbing-the-Peace Arrests

In Netherland v. City of Zachary, Louisiana, (MD LA, Nov. 30, 2007), a Louisiana federal district court issued a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of a city's disturbing-the- peace ordinance. The suit was brought by John Netherland, a Christian who found faith while battling alcoholism. Netherland was threatened with arrest by police for preaching loudly at local bar patrons from a public area next to the bar's parking lot. The court held that in their application of the ordinance, which bans offensive and annoying words, police were imposing a content-based restriction on speech in a traditional public forum. The court concluded that the ordinance is vague and overbroad, and infringes Netherland's right to free speech and free exercise of religion. Bar patrons' interest in being let alone did not justify the restriction on Netherland's speech. Alliance Defense Fund yesterday issued a release supporting the court's decision. (See prior related posting.)

Judge Asks For Briefs On Use of Religion In Picking Jurors

Today's New York Sun reports that a New York federal district judge has asked lawyers to submit briefs on the propriety, in an upcoming criminal trial, of either side disqualifying jurors because of their "obvious" Jewish or Arab names. Lobbyists Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, former employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, are charged with passing on classified information to journalists and Israeli officials. The U.S. Supreme Court has clearly prohibited excluding jurors on the basis of race or gender, but has not clarified whether this applies to religion as well. In another twist, defense attorneys are particularly interested in questioning potential jurors about their religion, ethnicity and political party affiliation, possibly in order to retain Jewish and evangelical Christian jurors-- individuals who are likely to be pro-Israel. Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz argues that retaining, as opposed to striking, jurors on this basis is not a problem.

Heated Controversy Over Portrait of Militant Sikh Leader Erupts In India

In the Indian state of Punjab, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Rajinder kaur Bhattal has demanded removal of a controversial portrait of a Sikh militant leader being installed in the Sikh museum of the Golden Temple in the holy city of Amristar. (Punjab News, 12/3). Today's Punjab News reports that the controversy involves a portrait of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrenwala who headed the Damdami Taksal in 1983-84, a period in which the group spearheaded terrorist attacks. In Operation Blue Star in June 1984, then Prime Minister Indra Gandhi sent the Army to flush out militants hiding the Golden Temple. Hundreds died in the resulting operation. Baba Harnam Singh Dhuma, current head Damdami Taksal, said the criticism of the installation of the portrait amounts to interference in the internal affairs of Sikhs and, if continued, would disturb the peaceful situation in Punjab.

Church Property Disputes Looming In Pennsylvania

Yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette carries an excellent background article on the legal issues that will be faced by state courts as several Episcopal and Presbyterian congregations in western Pennsylvania threaten to break away from their parent bodies. The resulting disputes over ownership of church property likely will be decided using neutral principles of property law. The controlling decision in Pennsylvania is In re: Church of St. James the Less, (PA Sup. Ct., Dec. 29, 2005) [majority opinion, concurring opinion]. It indicates that many of the cases may turn on the validity and interpretation of trust clauses in church documents.

Holiday Display Disputes Appear Muted This Year

With three weeks to go, so far this year the "Christmas wars" over municipal holiday displays seem somewhat muted. In Ft. Collins, Colorado, City Council voted 6-1 to permit colored lights and Christmas trees and wreaths on the exterior of city buildings and other city property, but only secular displays and messages inside buildings. It rejected a proposal by a broad-based task force that only white lights, bare garlands and secular symbols such as snowflakes be hung on city property beginning next year. (Tacoma, WA News Tribune, 12/1). On Saturday in Ft. Collins, about 200 people gathered to support Sheriff Jim Alderden who wants to keep religious symbols. Yesterday's Loveland (CO) Reprter-Herald says that the event focused on decorating a 10-foot tall planted Christmas tree. A small Nativity scene and a Menorah were also put on display, all paid for by donated funds. Sheriff Alderen commented: "A sheriff puts up a Christmas tree. Why is that a national news story?"

Meanwhile in Cranston, Rhode Island, backing away from past high profile controversies over religious symbols, new mayor Michael T. Napolitano has opted to merely put up 50,000 white lights and a Christmas tree in the foyer of City Hall. In past years, the City Hall display-- which led to litigation-- included a life-sized nativity scene, a menorah, an inflatable snowman, and 15 flamingos in Santa Claus hats representing the "Church of the Flamingos". (ACLU Release, 2003). (See prior related posting.) Local ACLU director, Steven Brown, said that Napolitano "is doing more to respect religion than the politicians who try to turn Christmas into a political issue."