Religion Clause

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

College Raises Church-State Issues By Program Offered Through A Church

Inside Higher Ed today reports on problems faced by North Carolina Central University, a part of the University of North Carolina system. The campus violated UNC rules by opening an out-of-state program housed at a Georgia megachurch, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. The program, called New L.I.F.E. College, existed for four years and awarded 25 bachelor's degrees until NCCU's accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, required the unapproved program to end. The pastor of New Birth church is NCCU alumnus, Bishop Eddie Long. Long recently donated $1 million to NCCU. Inside Higher Ed reports that it asked NCCU officials about church-state concerns involved in a public university awarding degrees "for a program that is described as the arm of a church, for courses taught in a church, for which tuition revenue goes to a church." The school responded that the question would need to be answered by its former Chancellor who is now president of Florida A&M University. However NCCU said that tuition revenue went back into a trust account to support the program.

Nigerian Prelate Blames Crime and AIDS on Ending of Religion In Schools

In Nigeria, the Prelate of the Methodist Church, Dr. Ola Makinde, is blaming most of the country's societal ills on the federal government's decision to replace Christian and Islamic religious studies in the schools with courses in social studies. The Punch reported yesterday that Makinde, speaking at the end of the church's 41st biennial conference, blamed cultsim, HIV/AIDS and crime on the change. He said: "The quality of education churned out when we missionaries ran schools in the country cannot be compared with what we have now. Government should return our schools to us so that we could bring back discipline and the fear of God."

Monday, August 11, 2008

Good News Club Wins Preliminary Injunction On Facilities Fee

In Child Evangelism Fellowship of Virginia v. Williamsburg-James City County School Board, (ED VA, Aug. 8, 2008), a Virginia federal district court granted a preliminary injunction barring the school board from charging a facilities usage fee to the Good News Club for its after-school Bible study and enrichment program. The court found that CEF suffered irreparable harm and had a high likelihood of success on the merits. School board policy grants fee waivers to various community organizations, but not to religious groups. The policy granting the superintendent authority to waive fees was, according to the court, vague and gave unfettered discretion that could be used to discriminate on the basis of viewpoint. Relying on 4th Circuit precedent, the court concluded that "a fee-waiver given arbitrarily to non-religious organizations by school administrators under the guise of enforcing a vague policy is a violation of a religious organization's First Amendment rights." Liberty Counsel, which represents plaintiff, today issued a release on the decision.

President Bush Raises Religious Freedom Issues In Beijing

The McClatchy Newspapers today report on President Bush's activities and statements yesterday nudging the Chinese on religious freedom. The President and Laura Bush, in Beijing for the Olympics, attended services at the Beijing Kuanjie Protestant Christian Church, one of China's state-approved Protestant churches. Aljazerra reports that the service, conducted mostly in Chinese, was specially translated for Bush. (See prior related posting.) The Toronto Star reports that admission to the service was limited to those who had been specifically invited, to the dismay of Liu Peiqin, a member of an unapproved "house church" who had hoped to attend. After the service, the President made brief remarks (full text), saying: "Laura and I just had the great joy and privilege of worshiping here in Beijing, China. You know, it just goes to show that God is universal, and God is love, and no state, man or woman should fear the influence of loving religion."

Later in the day, Bush met with China's president, Hu Jintao. In remarks (full text), Bush told Hu: "As you know, our relationship is constructive and it's important and it's also very candid, and I thank you for that. And once again, I had a very uplifting experience by going to a church, and I want to thank you for arranging that, as well. It was a spirit-filled, good feeling. And as you know, I feel very strongly about religion, and I am so appreciative of the chance to go to church here in your society."

In a press briefing (full text) after Bush's meeting with Hu, Dennis Wilder, Senior Director for East Asian Affairs, said:

The President raised human rights and religious freedom. He told President Hu that this is an important aspect of the U.S.-China dialogue, and that the Chinese can expect that any future American President will also make it an important aspect of our dialogue. As the President has said, candor on these kinds of issues are part of a constructive and cooperative process between the United States and China.

The President noted that he had been to church; noted that believers will strengthen China; that he sincerely believes that China will be a better place if there is more freedom of religion. And President Hu seemed to indicate that the door is opening on religious freedom in China and that in the future there will be more room for religious believers.

3 USCIRF Commissioners Are Reappointed

Three current members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom have been reappointed for additional two-year terms on the Commission, according to a USCIRF release last week. The 9-person Commission is made up of members appointed by the President, the President Pro-tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. (Sec. 201 of Intl. Relig. Freedom Act of 1998). Michael Cromartie and Leonard A. Leo were reappointed by the President. Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou was reappointed by the Speaker of the House.

Recent Prisoner Free Exercise Cases

In Washington-El v. Diguglielmo, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58304 (ED PA, July 31, 2008), a Pennsylvania federal district court denied defendants' motion to dismiss a claim by a prisoner who was a member of the Moorish American Moslem faith. Plaintiff asserted that he was refused the right to participate in Ramadan, to keep a copy of the Koran and to receive visits from clergy of his religion.

In Gooden v. Crain, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59857 (ED TX, Aug. 6, 2008), a Texas federal district court rejected a RLUIPA challenge by a Muslim prisoner to Texas prison grooming standards that prevented him from wearing a beard. The court held that while the policy imposes a substantial burden on plaintiff's exercise of religion, the state had shown a compelling interest for the restriction and that the policy is narrowly tailored in light of administrative and budgetary concerns.

Rhoades v. Alameida, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59349 (ED CA, Aug. 4, 2008), involved objections by a Native American prisoner that certain of his religious artifacts were destroyed by prison officials. The court said that there were disputed issues of fact that prevented granting the magistrate's recommended summary judgment for defendants on this claim. However the court dismissed plaintiff's equal protection claim, finding that the items he wanted to keep did not have the same religious significance as a Bible or Koran that were allowed to other inmates.

Palermo v. Wright, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60014 (D NH, July 24, 2008), a New Hampshire federal magistrate judge allowed a prisoner to move ahead with 1st Amendment and RLUIPA claims that he was denied the religious diet and ritual items required by his Wicca religion.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

University of California's Rejection of Christian School Courses Upheld

In Association of Christian Schools International v. Stearns, (CD CA, Aug. 8, 2008), a California federal district court upheld the University of California's refusal to recognized certain high school courses offered by Christian schools in making admissions decisions. In an earlier decision (see prior posting) the court rejected facial challenges to the University's policy. In this decision, the court also rejected a series of "as-applied" challenges.

On procedural and standing grounds, the court limited the as-applied challenge to rejection of literature, history, government and world religions courses offered by Calvary Chapel Christian School and one Biology course offered by another school. In rejecting plaintiffs' viewpoint discrimination challenge as to those courses, the court said: "Defendants necessarily facilitate some viewpoints over others in judging the excellence of those students applying to UC. Therefore, the decision to reject a course is constitutional as long as: (1) UC did not reject the course because of animus; and (2) UC had a rational basis for rejecting the course." The court also rejected free exercise, establishment clause and equal protection challenges.

The Californian on Friday reported on reactions from Robert Tyler, an attorney who represented Calvary Christian School in the case. Saying that they planned an appeal, Tyler remarked: "We're worried in the long term, Christian education is going to be continually watered down in order to satisfy the UC school system." University officials have approved 43 courses offered by Calvary Christian School, and test scores can be used as an alternative admissions criterion.

Air Force Chief of Chaplains Interviewed By AF Times

The Air Force Times on Friday published an interview with the Air Force's recently-appointed Chief of Chaplains, Maj. Gen. Cecil Richardson. Much of the interview focused on defining the appropriate line between sharing one's faith and proselytizing. However Richardson also spoke about changes he plans to introduce to focus more on counselling those being deployed. He said: "We’re working with individuals to build a foundation of faith to stand on when they go through the most difficult time in their whole life." [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

7th Circuit Invalidates City's Handbilling Restrictions

In Horina v. City of Granite City, Illinois, (7th Cir., Aug. 7, 2008), the U.S. 7th Circuit court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, held that a city ordinance regulating the distribution of handbills is unconstitutional. In a challenge brought by a born-again Christian who regularly placed pro-life literature and Gospel tracts on the windshields of cars parked near a women's clinic that provides abortions, the court held that the city's restrictions had not been justified as legitimate time, place and manner restrictions. Granite City had failed at trial to introduce any evidence that the ordinance was needed to combat litter, intrusion, trespass or harassment. The ordinance was not narrowly tailored and failed to leave open ample alternative channels of communication. The court however held that the trial court's award of compensatory damages to plaintiff was not justified by the record and reduced the amount of attorneys fees that the trial court had awarded.

Judge Manion dissenting in part argued that the ordinance was a valid time, place and manner regulation and that "common sense" can be used to demonstrate the City’s substantial governmental interest in enacting the ordinance. On Friday, the Thomas More Society issued a release supporting the decision.

New York's Governor Supports Synagogue's Eruv Proposal

Thursday's Forward reports that New York Governor David Patterson spoke earlier this month during services at a synagogue in Westhampton Beach (NY), supporting the congregation's proposal to build an eruv around their community in the Hamptons. An eruv is a symbolic enclosure of an area, usually by wires or strings on utility poles, that under Jewish law permits observant Jews to carry items and push strollers on the Sabbath. Long Island Power Authority and Verizon agreed to the synagogue's proposal, but objections surfaced when the synagogue sought approval from the village board. Critics say the eruv would be a violation of separation of church and state and would be a divisive force. They ran a full page newspaper ad urging residents to vote against political candidates who support the eruv. Patterson in his prepared remarks urged tolerance and understanding for the eruv proposal, and said he might attend a community forum later this week to help clear up public misconceptions.

Maldives Ratifies New Constitution; Some Concerns Over Religious Freedom Remain

Over a month after it was passed by the Constitutional Assembly, Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ratified the country's new constitution on Thursday. The new constitution which brings in democratic reforms and the country's first bill of rights and freedoms, was four years in the making. (Minivan News). The new document, however, has raised some concerns among human rights groups. Article 9, Section D of the constitution provides that "a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives." The Maldives is 100% Muslim, but the previous Constitution only reserved the right to vote, not citizenship, to Muslims. Minivan News reported yesterday that the U.S. based Institute on Religion and Public Policy says that this provision violated international human rights norms. In its statement, the IRRP also criticized other aspects of the new Constitution, saying that it "favors Sunni Islam over other forms of Islam, establishes certain aspects of Sharia law in the Maldives and limits the freedom of expression and thought to 'manners' which are 'not contrary to a tenet of Islam'." (See prior related posting.)

Protesters Force Closure of Malysian Lawyers' Conference

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday a lawyer's group, the Bar Council, had scheduled a conference on legal issues faced by families in which one of the spouses converts to Islam. Today's Straits Times reports that police forced lawyers to end the conference shortly after it started when 300 demonstrators gathered outside the conference carrying signs accusing the Bar Council of attempting to challenge Islam's position as Malaysia's official religion.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Canadian Border Guards Keep Out Westboro Baptist Church Picketers

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, famous for picketing military funerals and other events protesting supposed tolerance of homosexuality, are now attempting to extend their activities to Canada. However, according to last Thursday's National Post, Canadian border officials denied them admission as they were attempting to travel to Winnipeg to picket the Saturday funeral of a young man murdered last week on a Greyhound bus. A Winnipeg resident, using a Facebook page, was recruiting residents to surround the picketers if they did arrive. Saturday's Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Westboro picketers-- who had threatened to carry signs saying that the murder was God's response to Canadian policies permitting abortion, homosexuality and adultery-- never showed up. [Thanks to "Chimera" for the lead.]

Work of Ohio's Faith-Based Office Is Praised

Today's Cleveland Jewish News carries an article praising Ohio's version of the faith based initiative. The Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (GOFBCI) will grant $11 million to religious and community groups in fiscal year 2009, double its spending in 2008. Most of the funds come from the federally funded TANF program. GOFBCI has developed a web-based program, the Ohio Benefit Bank, that it makes available to nonprofit agencies. The agency can use it to assist clients in determining their eligibility for a variety of state benefits without the client having to visit various state offices. The GOFBCI website also makes it simple for non-profit agencies to search for available federal, state and private grants.

GOFBCI Director, Greg Landsman, says his agency insists that funded programs "be devoid of inherently religious activities." He says, "There can be religious symbols on the wall. But you can’t do anything religious during the time when public dollars are at play." Joyce Garver Keller, director of Ohio Jewish Communities, who is encouraging more Jewish groups to apply for faith-based funding, is trying to dispel the notion that the program is about "giving money to evangelical Christians to proselytize."

Volume of Calls To Prayer Becomes Controversial In Morocco

In Morocco, according to a story today from the AP, the rising decibel level of the daily calls to prayer from mosques using improved audio technology "is deepening fault lines between a government drive to modernize and a wave of rigorous political Islam." Minister for Family and Social Affairs, Nouzha Skalli, has been accused by newspapers and some imams of attempting to impose secularism because, it was rumored, at a closed cabinet session she proposed that legislation be adopted to lower the volume on muezzins' calls to worship in tourist zones. Islamists are increasingly portraying the influx of tourists to the country as a threat to Muslim values.

9th Circuit En Banc Rejects Tribes' RFRA Challenge To Snowbowl Expansion

In Navajo Nation v. United States Forest Service, (9th Cir., Aug. 8, 2008), in an 8-3 en banc decision, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not bar the Forest Service from approving the use of recycled waste water to make artificial snow at Arizona's Snowbowl ski resort, which operates on federal land. Several Indian tribes sued claiming that the plan will spiritually contaminate the San Francisco Peaks that they believe to be sacred. Rejecting the conclusion reached last year by a 3-judge panel (see prior posting), the full court used the case to clarify the 9th Circuit's interpretation of "substantial burden" under RFRA. The majority held:

RFRA’s stated purpose is to “restore the compelling interest test as set forth in Sherbert v. Verner ... and Wisconsin v. Yoder.... Under RFRA, a "substantial burden" is imposed only when individuals are forced to choose between following the tenets of their religion and receiving a governmental benefit (Sherbert) or coerced to act contrary to their religious beliefs by the threat of civil or criminal sanctions (Yoder)....
The only effect of the proposed upgrades is on the Plaintiffs’ subjective, emotional religious experience. That is, the presence of recycled wastewater ... will decrease the spiritual fulfillment they get from practicing their religion on the mountain. Nevertheless, under Supreme Court precedent, the diminishment of spiritual fulfillment—serious though it may be—is not a "substantial burden" on the free exercise of religion.

The dissenting opinion was written by Judge Fletcher, who had authored the 3-judge panel's decision: Criticizing the majority's opinion at length, he wrote:

The majority characterizes the Indians’ religious belief and exercise as merely a "subjective spiritual experience." Though I would not choose precisely those words, they come close to describing what the majority thinks it is not describing — a genuine religious belief and exercise.... [R]eligious exercise invariably, and centrally, involves a "subjective spiritual experience."

Today's Vail (CO) Daily reported on the decision. The Save the Peaks Coalition yesterday issued a statement strongly criticizing the decision. [Thanks to Robert H.Thomas for the lead.]

Friday, August 08, 2008

California Appellate Court OK's Home Schooling, Reversing Earlier Decision

In a widely-followed case, today a California Court of Appeal, on rehearing, reversed its earlier ruling (see prior posting) and held that California law permits parents to home school their children without employing a certified teacher to carry out the instruction. In Jonathan L. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, (CA Ct. App., Aug. 8, 2008), the court held that the private-school exemption in California's compulsory education law includes a parent teaching a child in the home. Finding that the language of the statute is ambiguous, the court relied on legislative history to reach its conclusion. It found t while the legislature never explicitly repealed a ban on home schooling, various of its laws dealt with home schools as if they are permitted. The court said its conclusion if further bolstered by the past administrative interpretation of California law, reliance by parents on that understanding, and by the preference to interpret statutes so as to avoid constitutional questions.

The court went on to hold that while parents have a constitutional liberty interest in directing the education of their children, the state also has a compelling interest in protecting the welfare of children. Therefore a dependency court could decide that a child's safety requires removing them from home schooling The court remanded the case for the trial court for a determination of whether such safety concerns exist. In concluding its opinion, the court urged the California legislature to provide objective criteria for the oversight of home schooling. Today's Los Angeles Times and San Jose Mercury News both report on the decision. [Thanks to Alliance Alert for the lead.]

New York Officials and Amish Continue To Clash Over Sanitary Code Requirements

Tensions between members of the Amish community and upstate New York health officials continue as the Cattaraugus County Board of Health on Wednesday approved a hearing officer's recommendation that two families each being fined $200 and $10 per day until new sewage permit applications are filed and an additional $10 per day until new septic systems are put in. Yesterday's Buffalo News reports that while the families obtained privy permits, they would not sign papers swearing there would be no gray-water discharge. A compromise design plan that the families had worked out with the county for wooden gray-water boxes was rejected by their bishop and the families then refused to move ahead with the plan. (See prior related posting.)

DC Christian Science Church Sues Over Historic Landmark Designation

Washington D.C.'s Third Church of Christ, Scientist, yesterday filed a federal lawsuit challenging a decision by the city's Historic Preservation Review Board (see prior posting) that prevents the church from tearing down its current building in order to construct a new church structure. Today's Washington Post reports the lawsuit alleges that designating the church an historic landmark violates its First Amendment free exercise rights as well as its rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Today's Washington Times reports on reactions to the lawsuit from both sides.