Q ... I was wondering if you could ... explain ... your decision to attend the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics next month. And more generally, I'm wondering what you would say to ... your friends and allies in the United States who are very concerned about religious freedom and human rights in China....
PRESIDENT BUSH: I view the Olympics as a opportunity for me to cheer on our athletes.... [E]very time I have visited with [the Chinese] ... I have talked about religious freedom and human rights. And so ... I don't need the Olympics to express my concerns. I've been doing so.... [N]ot going to the opening games would be ... an affront to the Chinese people, which may make it more difficult to ... speak frankly with the Chinese leadership.... I think it would be good for these athletes who have worked hard to see their President waving that flag....
... I have been very clear in my view that, for example, a whole society is one that honors religion, and that people shouldn't fear religious people.... China benefits from people being able to worship freely. It looks like there's some progress, at least in the talks with the Dalai Lama....
PRIME MINISTER FUKUDA: ... [H]ere for the first time, I will announce that I -- announce officially that I will attend the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics.... I don't think you really have to link Olympics to politics.... In the past ... the U.S. and others criticized Japan for certain behaviors.... So we really have to ... have humility in asking ourselves, do we have the right to make those points to China and others.... We are neighbors, after all, and it will good for Japan if our neighbors are in a sound state, as well. So with that in mind, as well, I shall attend the Opening Ceremony.
Objective coverage of church-state and religious liberty developments, with extensive links to primary sources.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Bush, Fukuda Will Both Attend Olympics Opening Despite Human Rights Concerns
Historian Says Links Between Democrats and Evangelicals Have Deep Roots
Maybe the distance between liberals and evangelicals, each eternal optimists in their way, is much smaller than we realized. In our week of national reflection, it’s worth recognizing that religious enthusiasm in America has as often as not had a reformist or even revolutionary cast to it....
We often forget how close the revolutionaries were to the Great Awakening of the 1730s and ’40s, when revival meetings were held across the colonies and apocalyptic expectation hung heavy in the air....
For most of American history, evangelicals were Democrats or their equivalents, profoundly uncomfortable near the temple of the moneychangers. Jefferson attracted huge numbers of voters simply because his running mate, Aaron Burr, was the grandson of the great evangelist Jonathan Edwards.
Canadian Human Rights Commission Dismisses Charges Against Catholic Magazine
Civil-Religious Courts Clash Again In Indonesia
UPDATE: On July 7, High Court judge Datuk Balia Yusuf Wahi rejected the family's request for an injunction and Elangesvaran's body was buried according to Muslim tradition by the Parit Buntar state religious council. Nevertheless, according to the New Straits Times, the family has filed a notice of appeal in the case.
Court Upholds Restraining Order Against Autistic Teen At Services
Friday, July 04, 2008
Alaska Court Upholds Tax Exemption For Church-Owned Teacher Housing
Press Groups Support En Banc Reivew In Eagle Case
Town Tries To Stop Catholic Radio Station After It Ends Ecumenical Programs
Rev. John Gatzak, spokesman for the archdiocese, says that the Festival of Faith programming was not of high quality, and that the archdiocese has a responsibility to use its station for Catholic evangelizing. However, Gatzak has met with Protestant and Orthodox producers from "Festival of Faith" and agreed to discuss alternative ecumenical programs. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]
British Court Says Jewish School Can Admit Students On Basis of Religion
As will become apparent, the religious issue at the heart of this controversy – though not, I emphasise, a matter for determination by me – is the answer to the question, Who is a Jew? And, as will also become apparent, that is not a matter on which all those who conscientiously believe themselves to be Jews agree.The main contention in the case by plaintiff was that JFS had engaged in racial discrimination in violation of the Race Relations Act 1976 since the determination of Jewishness was not based on belief or religious practice, but on ancestry. The court concluded, however, that
what one has here ... is at most discrimination on religious grounds between one part and another part of what the law recognises as a racial (ethnic) group, but ... not race discrimination.... [A] a policy which permitted preferences only on the basis of religious practice would prejudice religions, such as Judaism, which define membership exclusively by status and not by practice or observance.Times Online reports on the decision. (See prior related posting.)
State Petitions To Get Medical Treatment For Amish Child
On a related issue, yesterday Religion News Service published an interview with Shawn Francis Peters, author of the book, When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children and the Law. Asked to explain the theology behind various denominations' choice of prayer over medicine, Peters cited James 5:14 which reads: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up."
British Judge Says Sharia As Part of Arbitration Is OK
Social Conservatives Adopt Declaration of American Values
Belgian Court Says Patka Ban Violates Human Rights Convention
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Santeria Adherent Fined For Animal Cruelty
9th Circuit Says California Law Does Not Ban Anti-Abortion Display Near Schools
In a press release reacting to the decision, the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform said: "We are grateful to God for granting the Founding Fathers the wisdom to create appellate courts which can rectify the mistakes of trial court judges.... The First Amendment means nothing if it doesn't mean the right to show people things they don't want to see."
2nd Circuit Rejects Capital Defendant's Challenge To Evidence About His Religious Beliefs
LAPD Officer Sues Department Claiming Religious Discrimination
Some Oppose Obama's Limit On Faith-Based Hiring In Funded Programs
Get Religion yesterday focused on the same concerns. It quotes an example from the blog Spiritual Politics : "You can certainly imagine situations where ... a relatively small church wants to hire a youth pastor but can only afford one half time, so wants to be able to make that a full-time position ... by making him head of the publicly funded after-school program. That’s not allowed (unless, of course, you open the youth pastor position to people of any religious persuasion). "
UPDATE: The July 5 New York Times surveys the debate over religious-based hiring by religiously affiliated social service providers receiving federal funds. It says that Obama's position implicates "deeper questions about religious freedom that could very well seal the fate not only of any new and potentially improved partnerships between government and religious groups but also even those partnerships that, in reality, had been operating for decades."
Proposed Iranian Law Would Treat Blogs That Promote Apostasy As Capital Offense
Former Texas Science Curriculum Director Sues Over Agency Policy On Creationism
The complaint asserts that Comer's constitutional rights were violated when she was fired for violating TEA's unconstitutional policy, and that she was also denied due process when TEA operating procedures were not followed in her dismissal.By professing "neutrality," the Agency unconstitutionally credits creationism, a religious belief, as a valid scientific theory. The Agency's policy is not neutral at all, because it has the purpose or effect of inviting dispute about whether to teach creationism as science in public schools.... The Agency's "neutrality" policy violates the Establishment Clause ... because it has the purpose or effect of endorsing religion.