Break-Away Episcopal Churches Win On First Part of Their Case

On Thursday, in In Re: Multi-Circuit Episcopal Church Property Litigation, (VA Cir. Ct., April 3, 2008), a Fairfax County (VA) trial judge issued an 88- page "Letter Opinion on the Applicability of Va. Code § 57-9(A) " to eleven Virginia churches that broke away from the Episcopal Church USA. The court held that the churches are covered by an 1867 Virginia law that provides: "If a division has ... occurred ... in a church or religious society, to which any such congregation whose property is held by trustees is attached, the members of such congregation over 18 years of age may, by a vote of a majority ..., determine to which branch of the church ... such congregation shall thereafter belong." The court scheduled a hearing for May 28 on whether the section, interpreted in this way, violates the Free Exercise or Establishment clauses of the U.S. Constitution or the religious freedom provisions of the Virginia constitution. Yesterday Episcopal Life reported on the decision and reprinted statements issued afterwards by the Office of the Presiding Bishop and the Diocese of Virginia. Time reports on this and other cases in an article titled The Episcopal Property War.

Suit Challenges 4th of July Display Limits That Excluded Cross

In Norfolk, Virginia yesterday, the Christian Rights Ministries (CRM) filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Chesapeake over events that took place last July 4. After Chesapeake's 4th of July parade, participating groups set up booths in a local park. According to the complaint (full text), city officials demanded that CRM remove a 12-foot high white cross that CRM had set up next to its booth. A city official said it was "offensive". The lawsuit filed yesterday asks the court to rule that Chesapeake's policies and actions violated CRM's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Alliance Defense Fund issued a release announcing the filing of the legal action.

Obama's Church Sets Ground Rules For Reporters

Today's Chicago Tribune reports that leaders of Barack Obama's Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago have set new rules for media access to church services. Reporters must get permission on Thursday to attend Sunday services, they must check in, wear a badge and refrain from interviewing members on church property. They can use note pads, but may not use recording devices, cameras or BlackBerries on the church's campus. Audio and video recordings of the day's sermons will be available for purchase immediately after the services at the church's bookstores. Apparently not covered by the new rules are other controversial methods that reporters have used to locate church members to interview-- getting names from the church's list of those who are ailing and home bound, or approaching members at funerals.

Israeli Court Gives Narrow Interpretation To "Hametz Law"

As the Jewish holiday of Passover approaches later this month, an Israeli court-- the Jerusalem Municipal Affairs Court-- has quashed indictments against four private businesses that had been indicted for selling leavened products during Passover last year. In State of Israel v. Terminal 21, (Jer. Munic. Ct., Apr. 3, 2008), the court gave a narrow interpretation to Israel's Festival of Matzot (Prohibition of Leaven) Law, 5746-1986, (also known as the "Hametz Law"). The law provides that during Passover, "the owner of a business shall not publicly display any leavened product for sale or consumption." Arutz Sheva (which also quotes the full text of the law) and the Jerusalem Post report on the decision. Judge Tamar Bar-Asher Tsaban wrote:

The violation of the prohibition to the public display of hametz relates only to the display of hametz in a public place. Thus, for example, a table set up in the public commons fulfills this requirement of the law. Which cannot be said for the display of hametz, for sale or consumption, in a closed place of business.

Religious Affairs Minister Yitzchak Cohen and National Religious Party head Zevulun Orlev both called for the Attorney General to appeal the decision.

Coptic Church Head Also Opposed To Egyptian Court's Ruling On Reconversion

It looks like it is not only Muslims that are unhappy with the ruling by Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court last month that allowed 12 individuals who had converted to Islam and then back to Christianity to get new identity papers. (See prior posting.) Bos News reported yesterday that the head of Egypt's Coptic Christian Church is also concerned. Apparently some Copts who convert to Islam do so in order to obtain a divorce not permitted by Coptic Church law. Then they convert back to Christianity. Pope Shenouda III told media that the court's recent ruling has only civil, not religious authority.

Turkish Court Acquits Translator of "God Delusion"

In Istanbul, Turkey, the Sisli 2nd Penal Court on Wednesday acquitted Erol Karaaslan, owner of Kuzey Publications. The publisher had been charged criminally with "inciting the public to hatred and hostility" because of his translation and publication in Turkish of Richard Dawkins' book, "The God Delusion". Bianet today reported on the decision. Judge Hakki Yalcinkaya said that banning the book would limit freedom of thought. The complainant in the case said he would appeal.

Hilton Head Congregation Sues PCUSA Over Title To Church Property

Providence Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina filed suit in state court last Friday against the Presbyterian Church USA's regional presbytery to assure that Providence, rather that PCUSA, owns church property that the congregation plans to develop further. Island Packet reports on the lawsuit which is unusual because Providence has not at this point broken away from its parent church. However disaffiliation is under discussion. Members are unhappy with a number of policies of PCUSA. Providence's attorney says that Providence's name is on the deed for church land which it purchased from the Charleston Atlantic Presbytery for the nominal sum of $15. Jimmy Stuckey, an attorney for the Charleston presbytery, says PCUSA doctrine holds that church properties belong to the parent denomination, not the local congregation.

Malaysia's Islamic Lawyers Want Khalwat Ban Extended To Non-Muslim Partner

Reuters yesterday reported on a controversial proposal by a group of Islamic lawyers that would extend some Islamic law strictures to non-Muslims. Malaysia's Shariah court system has jurisdiction only over Muslims-- mainly in family and personal status matters. Others are subject to civil courts. Religious police monitor Muslims' compliance with Islamic law. One offense punishable by Shariah courts is "khalwat"-- close proximity, i.e. unwed Muslim couples holding hands or cuddling. At a legal seminar this week co-sponsored by the Sharia Judiciary Department, participants decided to forward to the Attorney-General a proposal that a civil law be enacted to prohibit khalwat between a non-Muslim and a Muslim. In response, Malaysia's Bar Council issued a statement saying that the proposal would violate the constitution's protection of freedom of religion.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Kaufman v. Karlen, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 6181 (7th Cir., March 20, 2008), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of appeals upheld a district court's rejection of claims by an atheist inmate who complained that he was not permitted to wear a silver circle pin which authorities found had nothing to do with religion. The court also upheld the prison library's delay in processing atheist books that had been donated to it.

In Pogue v. Woodford, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22438 (ED CA, March 21, 2008), a California federal magistrate judge recommended that prison officials be required, in response to plaintiff's interrogatories, to furnish any state-wide guidelines issued by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation regarding Muslim inmates' ability to practice Islam, as well as any information they have on why the prisons at which plaintiff has been housed have different Operational Procedures concerning how Islam is to be practiced.

In Dean v. Corrections Corporation of America, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24862 (ND MS, March 28, 2008), a Mississippi federal district court upheld the application of RLUIPA to a private company which under contract with the state provides prison facilities. It held however that a prisoner whose rights were violated by the denial of a diet meeting his religious needs is limited to recovering nominal damages.

In Daly v. Davis, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24851 (SD IL, March 28, 2008), and Illinois federal district court upheld a prison's requirement that in order for inmates to continue to qualify for the kosher food program, they may not eat, purchase or possess non-kosher food. The strict kosher diet requirement, according to the court, did not substantially burden plaintiff's religious exercise.

In Thomas v. Picio, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24828 (SD NY, March 26, 2008), a New York federal district judge found that plaintiff's assertion that she was denied kosher meals for several days was unsupported by her testimony.

Robinson v. City of New York, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25001 (SD NY, March 5, 2008), is another opinion in a series of cases brought by Muslim prisoner's at Rikers Island challenging the way in which prison personnel prepare and handle Halal meals as well as the manner of sale of food in the prison's commissary. The court concluded that plaintiffs have standing and permitted them to proceed to trial on their claim that the failure to list the non-Halal products in commissary items leads to their mistaken purchase by Muslim inmates who then place that food on the Halal trays in the dining facility, contaminating the trays for other observant users. However qualified immunity excused two correctional officers who merely worked in the commissary.

In Eberle v. Wilkinson, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25067, (SD OH, March 28, 2008), an Ohio federal magistrate judge ruled that an inmate's claim that he was denied the opportunity to freely exercise his Asatru religious beliefs should be asserted as part of a pending class action instead of in this individual lawsuit.

In Perez v. Frank, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25196 (ED WI, March 28, 2008), a Wisconsin federal district court dealt with a variety of RLUIPA and free exercise claims brought by two Sunni Muslim inmates. The court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment as to denial of the inmates' ability to participate in a religious discussion group, denial of various religious items, claims regarding Halal food, claims regarding the prison's urinalysis policy, and the food served for Eid al Fitr. However the court refused to grant summary judgment to defendants on claims regarding scheduling of the Eid al Fitr celebration and the celebration of Eid-ul-Adha. The court also rejected Establishment clause and equal protection claims.

Court Says Religious Statue In Car Is Not Ground For Suspicion of Drug Activity

In United States v. Magana, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24859 (WD TX, March 13, 2008), a Texas federal district court granted a motion to suppress evidence because the grounds for the search involved were impermissible. An officer initiated a traffic stop after observing what he believed to be a defective tire. After he found no problem with the tire, he detained the driver and searched the car, because among other things, the driver had a religious statue on his dashboard. Police say that religious symbols are often displayed in or on cars to dispel suspicion of wrongdoing and are usually indicate drug activity. The court concluded however that "because displaying a religious symbol on a vehicle constitutes symbolic speech, and is protected by the First Amendment, it is impermissible for law enforcement to use religious paraphernalia in their reasonable suspicion calculation." Last year, a Nebraska federal district court in a somewhat similar case reached an opposite conclusion. (See prior posting.)

Church Bell Exception To Sound Ordinance Does Not Create Content-Based Law

In Service Employees International Union v. City of Houston, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25639 (SD TX, March 31, 2008), the SEIU brought a broad-based constitutional challenge to the permit requirements in the City of Houston Sound Ordinance and in its Parade Ordinance and to its Parks Ordinance. In its decision, a Texas federal district court struck down the provision on required security precautions in the Parks Ordinance and the 10-day advance notice requirement in the Parade Ordinance. It upheld most other provisions; however it held that trial was necessary to determine which section of the Sound Ordinance was being applied to deny SEIU's use of a bullhorn. In upholding a portion of the Sound Ordinance, the court held that the exemption for church bells and chimes sounded for no more than 5 minutes every hour as part of a religious observance or service during the day does not render the Ordinance content-based. The court said: "This limitation demonstrates the understanding that church bells and chimes are of limited duration and therefore are 'non-intrusive . . . acceptable background noise'."

Polygamous Muslim Marriages In Europe Growing

A report yesterday from AKI says that the number of polygamous marriages among Muslim immigrants is growing in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. It is estimated that there are 15,000 to 20,000 such marriages in Italy, even though they are illegal. Some are immigrants who were legally married to more than one wife before coming to Italy. In other cases, polygamous marriages are contracted in the consulates of immigrants' home countries with just an imam present. Britain, Belgium and Germany will pay welfare benefits to multiple wives. Italy will not.

4th Circuit Holds for EEOC In Religious Discrimination Case

In EEOC v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc., (4th Cir., March 31, 2008), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's grant of summary judgment and permitted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Clinton Ingram to go to trial on charges that a Maryland company, Sunbelt Rentals, permitted a religiously hostile work environment in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Ingram was an African American who had converted to Islam. He claims he was subjected to a steady stream of anti-Muslim comments and actions by his co-workers which his employer, Sunbelt, did nothing to stop. The main issue was whether the comments and actions were sufficiently severe and pervasive to create a hostile work environment. The Court of Appeals thought that a jury might well find they were, saying: "If Americans were forced to practice their faith under the conditions to which Ingram was subject, the Free Exercise Clause and the embodiment of its values in the Title VII protections against workplace religious prejudice would ring quite hollow." Today's Maryland Daily Record reports on the decision.

Egypt Bans Demonstrations In Places of Worship

According to Reuters, Egypt's Parliament on Wednesday passed a law prohibiting holding of protests in places of worship. Inciting, participating in or organizing such a protest is punishable by a fine and up to one year in jail. Parliament members from the Muslim Brotherhood-- that often uses mosques for protests-- voted against the bill. The government says the law is intended to protect the sanctity of places of worship. Minister of Religious Endowments Mahmoud Hamdi Zakzouk, urging passage of the bill, said some people were using mosques for protests every week after Friday prayers, inviting satellite TV news to film them in order to "promote political ideas that have no connection to religion." Coptic Christians have also sometimes staged protests in churches.

Indonesia Threatens To Block YouTube Access Over "Fitna"

Indonesia's Information Minister Mohammad Nuh told a press briefing in Jakarta yesterday that he has sent a letter to YouTube demanding that Dutch Politician Geert Wilder's controversial anti-Islamic video, Fitna, be removed. (See prior posting.) According to CNS News, if YouTube does not comply within two days, Indonesia says it will block access to the popular website. Indonesia is a former Dutch colony. Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has banned Wilders from entering the country, and the country's Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has called for a boycott of Dutch goods until the Netherlands apologizes to the Islamic world.

New Macedonian Religion Law Threatens Serbian Orthodox Church

Forum 18 reported on Monday that Macedonia's new "Law on the Legal Status of a Church, Religious Community and a Religious Group," passed last September and scheduled to come into effect May 1, is designed to prevent the Serbian Orthodox Church from gaining legal status. The Serbian Orthodox Church has experienced ongoing problems in Macedonia. (See prior posting.) The new law is unclear on what unregistered churches may do. Its provisions may also adversely affect the Bektashi Muslim community, Seventh Day Adventists and various Baptist Churches. The law clearly maintains the legal status of the Macedonian Orthodox, Catholic and Methodist Churches , and of the Islamic and Jewish communities.

Pastor Settles Dispute With Feds Over Unauthorized Travel To Iraq

The AP reported yesterday that New Jersey peace activist, Rev. Frederick Boyle, has reached a settlement agreement with federal authorities. In 2003, Boyle traveled to Iraq in violation of the Iraqi Sanctions Regulations then in effect. He was assessed a fine of $6700 by the Office of Foreign Asset Control. Represented by the ACLU (press release), in 2005 Boyle filed suit (full text of complaint) challenging the OFAC's regulations as being violative of the First and Fifth Amendments, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and international law. Under this week's settlement, Boyle will pay only a small part of the assessed fine (the exact amount was not disclosed), and the government will not to file criminal charges against him in connection with his trip. Commenting on the settlement, Boyle said: "I traveled into Iraq with a Christian peacemaker team. My purpose was to go there and pray with the people. I don't feel that there should have been any prosecution at all."

Woman Indicted For Damage From Anointing UCC Church As Protest

World Net Daily reported yesterday that felony criminal mischief charges have been filed in Elmira, New York, against Holly Somers for damage she caused to a United Church of Christ building by anointing various areas of the building with cooking oil. The incident at Elmira's Park Church grew out of a protest by a group of Christians in connection with a 2007 gay pride event in Elmira's Wisner Park, located next to the church. The United Church of Christ as a denomination has an LGBT Ministry and endorses same-sex marriages. Previously four others were fined for disorderly conduct growing out of their actions at the same gay pride event.

Israel Passes Organ Donation Law; Religious Controversy Remains

According to Haaretz, Israel's Knesset last week enacted the country's first law on organ donations. Among other things, it outlaws the brokering of sales of organs. Organ donation has been controversial in Israel because many Orthodox rabbis have insisted that cardiac death, rather than the earlier brain death, defines the end of life under Jewish law. The new bill, however, has garnered support from Sephardi rabbinical leaders and those from the National Religious movement. Under the new law, a committee made up of rabbis, doctors and ethicists will be created to set guidelines and authorize doctors who will certify brain death. While Sephardi leaders (represented by the Shas Party) agree that new technology permits brain death to be used as the measure of the end of life, the Ashkenazi United Torah Judaism party led by Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv objects. YNet News reported that in ultra-Orthodox areas of Jerusalem, large posters opposing the new law charged that declaring a person dead on the basis of brain death amounts to murder. The paper says the posters reflect the views of "two of the most prominent rabbis belonging to the Lithuanian non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodox Jewish community." [Thanks to Religion and State in Israel for the lead.]

EEOC Prevails In Religious Discrimination Claim Against Aldi's

In EEOC v. Aldi, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25206 (WD PA, March 28, 2008), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought suit in a Pennsylvania federal district court against Aldi, Inc. on behalf of former employee Kimberly Bloom who was fired from her position as a cashier after she refused for religious reasons to work on Sundays. Bloom describes herself as "a Christian, Protestant, and a Born Again Christian." Aldi had offered Bloom time off to attend religious services on Sunday, but Bloom insisted that her religious beliefs included spending all of Sunday with her family. It also offered her rotation and voluntary shift swapping. The court rejected Aldi's motion to dismiss, finding that the accommodations it offered were inadequate and that Aldi's failed to establish that reasonable accommodation would have resulted in undue hardship. The court found that genuine issues of fact remain as to Bloom's claims of retaliation and claims for punitive damages.