British Registrar's Religious Discrimination Suit Heard By Tribunal

Today's London Mail reports that in Britain, a London employment tribunal yesterday heard arguments in a religious discrimination case brought by civil marriage registrar Lillian Ladele. Ladele says that the Islington council violated her rights when it insisted that in order for her to keep her position she would be required to perform civil partnership ceremonies for same-sex couples. Ladele, a Christian, claims that as a matter of religious principle she cannot perform the ceremonies. She told the hearing examiner that she was picked on and bullied on a daily basis at work.

Canada's High Court To Hear Case On Mature Minor's Relgious Rights

Canada's Supreme Court today will hear arguments in A.C. v. Director of Child and Family Services, a case raising the question of whether mature minors have the right under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms to refuse a blood transfusion on religious grounds. Today's Toronto Globe and Mail reports that the question is raised by a 14-year old Winnipeg girl who was forced to have a blood transfusion to replace blood lost through Crohn's disease even though she claimed the procedure violated her Jehovah's Witness beliefs. Manitoba's Child and Family Services Act authorized doctors to ignore the minor's objections. A summary by Canada's Supreme Court frames the issues in the case:

Whether provisions of The Child and Family Services Act, C.C.S.M. c. C80 are unconstitutional on the basis that they infringe child’s rights under ss. 2(a), 7 and 15(1) of the Charter - If so, whether infringement is justified as a reasonable limit - Should capacity or an arbitrary legislated age determine a capable patient’s Charter right to make medical treatment decisions - Does s. 1 of the Charter require the state to lead compelling evidence justifying arbitrary age legislation that overrides a capable patient’s medical treatment decisions.

UPDATE: The Canadian Press reports on Tuesday's oral arguments in which the parties sparred over the constitutionality of Manitoba's law.

New York Court Refuses Comity to Israeli Divorce Based On US Religious Decree

In Tsirlin v. Tsirlin, (NY Sup. Ct. Kings Co., May 14, 2008), a New York state trial court refused to recognize the validity of a divorce decree issued under unusual circumstances by an Israeli Rabbinical Court. The couple involved are Israeli citizens now living in New York. The Israeli decree was based on a religious divorce ("Get") issued by a rabbinical tribunal in Brooklyn. The Israeli court issued its decree after the husband's father presented the Brooklyn "Get" to the court. Neither party appeared before the Israeli tribunal. Subsequently, husband Alexander Tsirlin filed for divorce in New York, but wife Alla Tsirlin moved to dismiss on the ground that they were already divorced. The court rejected her motion, holding:

If this court were to sanction the utilization of a "Get" to circumvent the constitutional requirement that only the Supreme Court can grant a civil divorce, then a party who obtains a "Get" in New York could register it in a foreign jurisdiction and potentially, later on, rely on the"Get" to obtain a civil divorce in New York thereby rendering New York Stae's [sic.] Constitutional scheme as to a civil divorce ineffectual (New York State Constitution, Article 1 Section 9 . . . nor shall any divorce be granted otherwise by judicial proceedings). It would have the practical affect [sic.] of amending the Domestic Relations Law section 170 to provide a new grounds for divorce.

Today's New York Law Journal reports on the decision.

Hearings Begin In FLDS Custody Cases; Vague Service Plans Protested

The AP and the Salt Lake Tribune report on hearings that began yesterday in the custody proceedings for over 460 children taken from the FLDS ranch in Eldorado, Texas. Five judges are conducting the hearings which, it is expected, will run for three weeks. Nearly identical "service plans" were proposed in each case as a condition to return of children to their parents. More individualized tailoring of the plans is expected in the future. However attorneys for the parents say the service plans are vague and it is unclear exactly what parents need to do. The plans generally require parents to get counseling and vocational training, obtain psychological evaluations and attend parenting classes. Authorities hope to reunify families by next April. In the meantime, parental visits are difficult or impossible as the children have been scattered around the state, up to 650 miles apart. It is unclear under the plans whether the children will be allowed to return to the Yearning for Zion Ranch. The plans merely call for a "safe" environment for the children. It is also unclear whether parents will be able to continue home schooling their children.

UPDATE: Child welfare officials are banning any mention of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs to the children in state custody. Tuesday's Houston Chronicle reports that family members visiting children in foster care may not mention Jeffs, and children may not have copies of the Book of Mormon if they have Jeffs picture or signature in them.

Danish Government Will Ban Judges From Wearing Religious Garb or Symbols

Denmark's government, reacting to pressure from the anti-Muslim Danish People's Party, says it will ban Danish judges from wearing headscarves and other religious or political symbols in their courtrooms. The ban will also extend to crucifixes worn by Christians, skull caps worn by Jewish judges and turbans worn by Sikhs. However the ban is seen as mainly directed toward Muslims, and, according to BBC News, Danish diplomats in Muslim countries expect the decision to lead to a new wave of protests. Danish Justice Minister Lene Espersen, however, says the ban is intended to assure that judges appear neutral and impartial. (See prior related posting.)

Survey Finds 16% of High School Biology Teachers Believe In Creationism

New Scientist yesterday reported that a Pennsylvania State University professor's survey of high school biology teachers reveals that 16% of them hold young earth creationist views. Prof. Michael Berkman's research found that approximately one in eight of the 939 teachers responding to the survey say they believe human beings were created by God within the last 10,000 years. Some 25% of the biology teachers responding say they devote some class time to creationism or intelligent design. Almost half of that group teach one of these as a valid scientific alternative to evolution.

Cultural Identity Charter School Ordered To Make Two Changes In Operations

After a Minneapolis newspaper columnist charged that the Terek ibn Ziyad Academy, a cultural identity publicly-funded charter school, had breached the line between church and state (see prior posting), the Minnesota Department of Education this month conducted a review of the Inver Grove (MN) school's operations. As reported by yesterday's Minneapolis Star Tribune, and by a Department of Education press release, the school was ordered to make changes in two areas of operation.

The Department found that the school's 30-minute Friday prayer service held on school premises cut excessively into required instructional time. Permitting teachers to pray along with students at the service was also improper governmental endorsement of religion. Finally the Department said that busing schedules need to be changed. The 30% of the students who do not participate in after-school activities must be offered transportation immediately after classes end. The most popular after-school session is a religious studies course run by the Muslim American Society. The school's executive director told the Star Tribune that most significant was the fact that the state found no problems with the school's curriculum.

US Serviceman In Iraq Infuriates Muslims By Using Quran For Target Practice

CNN reports today on the furor that has been created by a U.S. staff sergeant in Iraq who earlier this month used a Quran for target practice at an Iraqi police station. Last Saturday, the U.S. commander of forces in Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond, appeared at a formal apology ceremony. Not only did he speak, but part of a letter of apology from the staff sergeant was read and another military official kissed a Quran and presented to tribal leaders at the ceremony. The offending serviceman, a leader of a sniper unit, has been relieved of duty in Iraq, reprimanded and redeployed back to the United States. However the Iraqi Islamic Party says this is not enough. Sheikh Hamadi al-Qirtani called the shooting "aggression against the entire Islamic world."

UPDATE: CNN reported on Tuesday that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office has said that President Bush has apologized for the soldier's actions. However White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said that Bush, during his regularly scheduled teleconference with al-Maliki, expressed "deep concern" but stopped short of apologizing.

Proposed Religion Classes Stir Controversy In Bosnia-Herzegovina

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, proposals to introduce optional instruction in religion into kindergarten classes in Sarajevo have created controversy. Today's Southeast European Times reports that Bosnian Muslim parents generally favor the plan, while non-religious parents opposed to the plan have begun to circulate a petition captioned "Stop Religious Segregation in Kindergarten." The OSCE says that any plan needs to create a sense of inclusiveness in the multi-ethnic country.

Franklin Graham Criticizes "Missionary-Invasion" Plans For Olympics

Evangelist Franklin Graham is concerned about the planned influx of Christian missionaries into China for the Beijing Olympics. Today's Charlotte (NC) News reports that Graham fears the illegal missionary-invasion strategy that some U.S. and foreign groups are planning could jeopardize the freedoms that have been won recently by Chinese Christians. Graham has posted the full text of China's Regulations on Religious Affairs on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website, and urges groups planning to go to China to familiarize themselves with the law. Some of the groups planning to send unauthorized missionaries to China have harshly criticized Graham's position.

Bush Tells Mid East Leaders That Democracy Does Not Threaten Islam

President Bush yesterday spoke at the World Economic Forum, meeting in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. The New York Times characterized his speech to diplomats, policy makers and business executives as one that criticized Middle East leaders. It pressed them toward economic expansion, equal rights for women and democracy. In his remarks (full text) President Bush focused in part on the relationship of democracy to religious freedom:

There are people who claim that democracy is incompatible with Islam. But the truth is that democracies, by definition, make a place for people of religious belief. America is ... one of the world's leading democracies, and we're also one of the most religious nations in the world. More than three-quarters of our citizens believe in a higher power. Millions worship every week and pray every day. And they do so without fear of reprisal from the state. In our democracy, we would never punish a person for owning a Koran. We would never issue a death sentence to someone for converting to Islam. Democracy does not threaten Islam or any religion. Democracy is the only system of government that guarantees their protection.

Recent Scholarly Articles and New Book of Interest

From SSRN:

• Teresa Stanton Collett, Advancing the Culture of Life Through Faithful Citizenship, (Journal of Religion and Society, 2008).
• Akiva Shapiro, Should the Lower Courts Save Taxpayer Standing? Interpreting Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation Narrowly Through the Lens of Judicial Spending,(Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, Vol. 10, No. 2, 2009).
• Scott A. Taylor, Spirituality and Academic Performance at a Catholic Law School: An Empirical Study, (California Western Law Review, Vol. 45, 2008).

Recent Law Review Articles:

• Erwin Chemerinsky, Why Church and State Should Be Separate, 49 William & Mary Law Review 2193 (2008).
• Gerard V. Bradley, Religion at a Public University, 49 William & Mary Law Review 2218 (2008).

New Book:

Jeff Sharlet, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, (HarperCollins, May 2008).

Fired Engineer Sues-- Claims Religious Discrimination Over Christian Beliefs

Saturday's Cedar Rapids (IA) Gazette reports on an interesting employment discrimination lawsuit filed by Thomas Meeker, a former senior systems engineer claims Rockwell Collins. Meeker, a Christian who believes that homosexuality is a sin, refused to complete Rockwell Collins' diversity training program. Meeker says that the training required employees to accept and embrace homosexuality. In July 2007, Meeker was fired for refusing to treat gay and lesbian co-workers with respect. Meeker's federal court lawsuit alleges religious discrimination, claiming that he was fired because he is a Christian.

Bahrain Prohibits Political Activities At Mosques

According to today's Kahleej Times, Bahrain's Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs has issued a ban on political discussions and political activities at mosques in order to protect their sanctity. The ministry has also increased its inspection visits to all mosques in order to prevent their politicization and promotion of disunity among Muslims. (See prior related posting.)

FLDS Parents Served By Formal Publication Notice

The state of Texas this week formally published legal notices serving process on both identified and unknown FLDS parents of children held in custody by the Department of Family and Protective Services. The "Citations By Publication/Posting" (full text) were published in this week's Eldorado Success. Today's Deseret News reports on this, as well as on an open letter (full text) to Texas Governor Rick Perry and Judge Barbara Walther from an 80-year-old FLDS Church member who strongly criticizes the actions taken by the state of Texas.

Dutch Cartoonist Arrested For Publishing Cartoons Insulting To Mulsims

Radio Netherlands reports that last Tuesday a Dutch cartoonist, drawing under the name Gregorius Nekschot was arrested for publishing cartoons that were "insulting to Muslims and to people of colour". Many were published online. The Public Prosecutors Office says that a complaint was filed against Nekschot in 2005, but because the cartoonist used a pseudonym it has taken this long to locate who he really is. Nekschot is know for cartoons that are insulting to left-wing politicians as well as for those that insult religion. This YouTube clip shows a number of the offending drawings. NIS News reported yesterday that many in the Lower House of Netherlands Parliament have sharply criticized Nekschot's arrest.

Court Rejects Challenge To Hawaii's Limits On Who Can Perform Marriages

In Woods-Bateman v. State of Hawaii, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39661 (D HI, May 13, 2008), an Hawaii federal district court rejected a constitutional challenge to HRS § 572-12. The statute limits those who can be licensed to solemnize marriages to either clergy or judges. In filling out an application to be licensed to perform marriages, plaintiff left blank the questions relating to whether he came within one of these categories. After he was denied a license, he sued claiming that his rights under the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments had been violated. The court held that Hawaii's requirements did not violate the Establishment Clause:

The requirement has the secular purpose of maintaining the integrity of marriage records.... Judicial officers and religious leaders are individuals that the State has recognized in the past and can reasonably expect will ensure, in the future, the recording of essential information.

The court also rejected plaintiff's free speech and equal protection challenges, holding that there is no fundamental right to be entitled to solemnize marriages.

Suit Threatened Over Wisconsin Village Land Sale To Preserve Cross

Last month, the Village Board of Holmen, Wisconsin reacted to a complaint about a display of a cross and a star on property it now owns by agreeing to sell the land and display to the Lions Club for $600. The Lions Club, which pledged to keep the display intact, was involved in its construction in 1960 on the land that was then privately owned. Five years ago the city bought land that includes the display for a reservoir. (See prior posting.) It turns out, however, that when the Village Board agreed to the sale to the Lions, it ignored higher bids from two other groups. The American Humanist Association (AHA press release) had bid $1000 for it and the Freedom from Religion Foundation had bid $1200. Yesterday's Holmen Courier reports that the AHA is now considering suing the village, saying that the Village Board ignored the competing bids only because it favored the cross remaining on the land. The Lions Club will fence off the display, install signs saying it is their property and will have an electric meter installed so it will pay for lighting. It will also restrict access to protect the nearby village water reservoir.

California Church Wins RLUIPA Claim Over Use Permit Process

In Grace Church of North County v. City of San Diego, (SD CA, May 9, 2008), a California federal district court concluded that the city of San Diego violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act when it granted Grace Church only a five year conditional use permit to occupy property it leased in the Rancho Bernardo Industrial Park. The court concluded that:

the mandatory CUP process established by Defendants and applied to Grace Church – with the result that Plaintiff received a CUP of only half the length Plaintiff requested, and has no reasonable expectation that Defendants will approve any extension – constituted a substantial burden on Grace Church’s exercise of religion. At various levels of Defendants’ mandatory CUP process, Grace Church experienced outright hostility to its application, decision-making that is seemingly arbitrary or pretextual, and ignorance regarding the requirements of controlling federal law regarding the application of land use laws to religious institutions.

... The facts of this case belie Defendants’ claim that they have a "compelling interest" in preserving industrial lands in the industrial park where Grace Church has secured its property.

Alliance Defense Fund last week issued a release on the decision and World Net Daily reported on the decision on Friday. (See prior related posting.)

Reactions To California Marriage Decision From Chief Justice and Religious Groups

Today's Los Angeles Times reports on its unusually candid interview with California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George about the Court's ruling last week legalizing same-sex marriage. George told the paper: "there are times when doing the right thing means not playing it safe." Meanwhile today's San Jose Mercury News reports on the divided views about the decision among religious leaders of different faiths and denominations. Before the decision came down, a group known as ProtectMarriage.com already filed with the California Secretary of State petitions containing 1.1 million signatures to get a marriage amendment to the state constitution on the November ballot. The proposed amendment provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California. The Secretary of State is expected to announce in mid-June whether there are enough valid signatures for the measure to actually be placed on the ballot. Liberty Counsel announced Friday that it would file a motion with the California Supreme Court asking it to stay the effectiveness of its ruling until after the November vote on the marriage amendment.