Tuesday's Religious Events At The Democratic National Convention

Here are the religious events (full schedule) that took place on Tuesday in Denver at the Democratic National Convention. At noon, the first Faith Caucus, moderated by Rev. Jim Wallis, was held. The theme of the first panel was "Common Ground on Common Good." The official schedule listed panel members as Dr. Douglas W. Kmiec, Rabbi Jack Moline, Rev. Jennifer Kottler, Bishop Wilfredo DeJesus and Rev. John Hunter. However reports of those attending say panelists also included former U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer and Rev. Dr. Susan Thistlewaite. Christianity Today reported on the caucus. The caucus was interrupted by an anti-abortion protester who was ushered out. (Christianity Today). The second panel's topic was "How an Obama Administration will Engage People of Faith." Panel members were: Rabbi David Saperstein, Prof. John Dilulio and Rev. Otis Moss, Jr. UPDATE: The Aug. 28 Wall Street Journal has further coverage of the panel discussions.

The opening invocation (full text) was given by Dr. Cynthia Hale, Disciples of Christ, Decatur, GA. The closing benediction (full text) was given by Revs. Jin Ho Kang and Young Sook Kang, Methodist, Aurora, CO.

Meanwhile, a press release by Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry advertised that tomorrow in downtown Denver, "Catholic and Evangelical Christians will peacefully 'break the law' to protest the slaughter of the innocent by abortion, and to call on fellow Christians to reject the Obama/Biden 'Ticket of Death.'"

British Prosecutor Says Religious Flagellation Was Child Cruelty

In Manchester, England, Syed Mustafa Zaidi is on trial for child cruelty after he encouraged two young boys to flog themselves with a 'zanjeer' (bladed whip) at a Matam ceremony held in Manchester last January. The ceremony, observed by some Shi'a Muslims, involves self-flagellation as part of a mourning period in the Muslim calendar. Yesterday's Manchester Evening News reports that in closing arguments at trial, the prosecutor said that children under 16 cannot legally consent to take part in the ceremony. The prosecutor also argued against any religious freedom defense because the ceremony is voluntary and not a fundamental doctrine of the Shi'a faith.

UPDATE: Monday's London Mail reports that the jury returned a verdict of guilty in the case after two and one-half hours of deliberation. Zaidi faces up to ten years in prison.

Presidential Nominating Conventions and the Establishment Clause-- An Analysis

As the Democratic Party at its National Convention this week reaches out to religious voters, the question arises as to whether the Establishment Clause places any limits on religious activity at Presidential nominating conventions. (See Don Byrd's recent posting at Blog from the Capital.) The courts have not faced this precise issue, but a series of Supreme Court cases have focused on related concerns. At the heart of the issue is whether political parties are, at their conventions, engaged in governmental action covered by the Constitution, or whether instead they are acting as private associations which protected by the Constitution.

Early on in Smith v. Allwright (1944) and Terry v. Adams (1953), the Supreme Court struck down party primaries or pre-primaries that precluded Blacks from voting, finding that they violated the 15th Amendment's ban on states infringing the right to vote on the basis of race. However, more recently when states began to impose various sorts of limitations on party primaries, the Supreme Court has held that the associational rights of political parties are protected by the First Amendment. The court's discussion in the 2000 case of California Democratic Party v. Jones is particularly instructive. The Court struck down California's requirement that every primary voter receive a ballot listing candidates from all political parties. Justice Scalia, writing for the majority, said:

[W]e have not held ... that the processes by which political parties select their nominees are, as respondents would have it, wholly public affairs that States may regulate freely. To the contrary, we have continually stressed that when States regulate parties' internal processes they must act within limits imposed by the Constitution.... [R]espondents' reliance on Smith v. Allwright ... and Terry v. Adams ... is misplaced.... These cases held only that, when a State prescribes an election process that gives a special role to political parties, it "endorses, adopts and enforces the discrimination against Negroes" that the parties ... bring into the process--so that the parties' discriminatory action becomes state action under the Fifteenth Amendment....They do not stand for the proposition that party affairs are public affairs, free of First Amendment protections....

Justice Stevens dissent (joined by Justice Ginsburg) distinguished state primaries from the action of political parties. However as to political parties, Stevens wrote:

A political party could, if a majority of its members chose to do so, adopt a platform advocating white supremacy and opposing the election of any non-Caucasians. Indeed, it could decide to use its funds and oratorical skills to support only those candidates who were loyal to its racist views. Moreover, if a State permitted its political parties to select their candidates through conventions or caucuses, a racist party would also be free to select only candidates who would adhere to the party line.

Does this make it clear that the Establishment Clause is inapplicable to national party conventions? Can parties impose religious tests on who may be a delegate? Would imposing a religious test on who may be the party nominee violate Article VI of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits any religious test for any office under the United States?

USCIRF Issues New Report On Vietnam Religious Freedom Concerns

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom yesterday released a 32-page report on religious freedom in Vietnam (full text). The report, which includes findings from USCIRF's 2007 trip to Vietnam, concludes that "religious freedom conditions in Vietnam continue to be mixed, with improvements for some religious communities but not for others; progress in some provinces but not in others; reforms of laws at the national level that are not fully implemented or are ignored at the local level; and still too many abuses of and restrictions on religious freedom affecting most of Vietnam's diverse religious communities." The Commission calls on the State Department to re-designate Vietnam a "country of particular concern" under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act. From 2004 to November 2006, Vietnam had carried the CPC designation; however it was removed in 2006 just before President Bush visited the country for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. (See prior posting.)

6th Circuit Upholds Ohio Funeral Picketing Ban In Challenge By Church

In Phelps-Roper v. Strickland, (6th Cir., Aug. 22, 2008), the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of Ohio's Funeral Protest Provision (ORC Sec. 3767.30) which prohibits picketing or other disruptive protest activities within 300 feet of a funeral service during the service and for a one-hour window on either side of it. The lawsuit challenging the provision was brought by a leader of the Topeka, Kansas Westboro Baptist Church whose members have traveled around the country picketing funerals of veterans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other events. Their protest signs generally urge that American soldiers have been killed as God's punishment of the country for tolerating homosexuality. The court held:

Because we find that the Funeral Protest Provision is content-neutral, serves an important governmental interest, is narrowly tailored, and affords ample alternative channels of communication, we hold that it is a reasonable time, place, and manner restriction that does not violate the First Amendment.

CBS News reported on the decision last Friday. [Thanks to Volokh Conspiracy for the lead.]

Dems' Convention Begins and Ends With Christian Prayer Urging Social Justice

Former Colorado state senator Polly Baca gave the invocation opening the Democratic National Convention Monday afternoon in Denver. Her invocation (full text) asked for God's guidance and focused on commitment to "the poor, the sick, the disabled, the stranger, the immigrants." The invocation was explicitly Christian, ending with "We pray in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

Monday's closing benediction (full text) was given by Don Miller, a Portland, Oregon author and speaker on Christian spirituality. He replaced Cameron Strang who decided not to give the benediction out of concern that it could be seen as a political endorsement. (See prior posting.) Christianity Today published an interview with Miller about his planned benediction and his political views. Miller's benediction focused on social justice issues and economic opportunity, as well as on "our moral standing in the world". It ended with: "I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice. Let Him be our example."

A DNC release lists all faith leaders who will open and close convention sessions with prayer. The only non-Christian delivering an invocation is Rabbi David Saperstein of the Union for Reform Judaism. He will open Thursday's session, the evening on which Obama will accept the nomination. Faith caucuses are scheduled of early afternoon on Tuesday and Thursday. Participants in them are also listed in the DNC release.

Church-State Quiz Designed For Christian Leaders

Christianity Today's Leadership Journal has posted a "Church & Politics Quiz". It is designed to help Christian leaders plot on a graph where they stand on church-state issues:

Combining the two axis scores will place a person in one of the four political quadrants. Radical Reformers see a strong prophetic role for the church and combine this with a robust call for political engagement to seek social and political change. In contrast, Quiet Critics steer away from a direct role for the church in politics, instead emphasizing the church's purity by maintaining a separation from the state. From this perspective, the church best shares the gospel by being an alternative community that models Christian love.

Those who emphasize the link between God and nation are generally more supportive of the system and want to foster connections between church and state. As a result, Thumpin' Theocrats sound the call for renewing a Christian America by recapturing its godly heritage. Private Patriots also connect religious practice with support of the nation, but their application of faith to politics is as an outgrowth of personal piety rather than church involvement.

United Arab Emirates Law Reduces Work Hours During Ramadan

Ramadan this year begins approximately Sept. 1. Today's Kaleej Times reports that in the United Arab Emirates, under Article 65 of the Federal Labour Law, working hours are reduced to 6 hours per day (instead of the normal 8 hours) during Ramadan. The reduction applies to all workers regardless of their religion and regardless of whether or not they are fasting. However the law does allow up to 2 hours overtime per day if the employee is paid 25% more for each overtime hour in the daytime, and 50% more for each overtime hour at night.

Irish Cardinal Says EU Referendum Defeat Was Reaction To Anti-Religious Culture

Ireland's Catholic Church leader, Cardinal Sean Brady, said in a speech last Sunday that one reason Irish voters in June refused to approve the EU Lisbon Treaty is Europe's culture that tends to keep religion out of the public domain. According to yesterday's EU Observer, Brady speaking about the results of the only referendum held in Europe on the treaty criticized "a fairly widespread culture in European affairs which relegates manifestations of one's own religious convictions to the private and subjective sphere." He argued that a number of European decisions undermining Christian beliefs and institutions "have made it more difficult for committed Christians to maintain their instinctive commitment to the European project."

FLDS Members Challenge Trustee's Power Over UEP Trust Property

The Salt Lake Tribune reported yesterday that three FLDS Church members are challenging the right of a court-appointed fiduciary to sell land belonging to the FLDS United Effort Plan Trust without court approval. Bruce R. Wisan, court appointed fiduciary who is to reform the UEP Trust, says that he has a buyer who will pay $3 million for a large tract of farm land known as Berry Knoll. However FLDS members Willie Jessop, Dan Johnson and Merlin Jessop say they have "stewardship from priesthood leadership" to use the land for grazing and farming. The motion they filed with the court says that selling the land would "pose an immediate and fundamental threat to the religion's communal lifestyle and beliefs of the community because they threaten its self-sufficiency..." Wisan says the motion shows that some FLDS members refuse to recognize that the UEP Trust has been reformed to eliminate its religious purpose. (See prior related posting.)

Dems' Convention Opens With Interfaith Event and Some Controversy

Both the AP and CQ report on the first official event of the Democratic national Convention-- an interfaith service held yesterday in a theater inside the Convention Center. The event included talks and readings from Christians, Muslims, Jews and a Buddhist. According to the Dallas News, police ejected an anti-abortion protester who began to shout "Obama's a baby killer!" as the opening number by a gospel choir began. The Rocky Mountain News says three anti-abortion protesters were ejected, including Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry who, with another protester, held up a picture of an aborted fetus as they were led out of the gathering. However as part of the official program, Bishop Charles E. Blake of the Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles, spoke about his opposition to abortion, and Sister Helen Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking," spoke against the death penalty.

A protester with a bullhorn and a sign that read "Allah is not God" was not admitted to the gathering. Meanwhile, Fox News reports that controversy also arose over the Democrat's invitation to Dr. Ingrid Mattson, president of The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) to speak as part of the gathering. ISNA has been heavily involved in interfaith relations and has met with key Bush administration officials. Some critics however claim that the organization has ties to radical groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

In one additional development, AP and the Washington Post report that young evangelist Cameron Strang, editor of Relevant Magazine and a registered Republican, backed out of delivering the invocation at Monday night's convention session when he found out it would be on the main stage and broadcast nationally. He changed his mind because he feared his appearance would be interpreted as an endorsement of Obama. He will instead take part in a lower profile religious caucus later in the week.

UPDATE: Here, from the Denver Post, is a video of excerpts from the interfaith serice.

HHS Issues Proposed Rules To Protect Conscience Rights of Health Care Workers

Last Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services formally released for comment proposed regulations (full text) designed to enforce federal provisions that protect conscience rights of doctors and other health care providers participating in programs receiving HHS funding. The regulations apply to those who have moral or religious objections to providing certain medical procedures, including sterilization and abortion. An HHS press release says the new regulations would clarify that the protections apply to institutional health care providers as well as to individual employees working for federally funded recipients, and would require recipients of certain HHS funds to certify their compliance with laws protecting health care workers' rights of conscience.

Reporters at a White House press briefing on Friday (full text) raised the question of whether the proposed regulations were broad enough to cover pharmacists. The proposed rules appear to omit a controversial definition of "abortion" that appeared in an earlier draft that was circulated to members of Congress. That earlier draft included a specific definition that encompassed prescribing, dispensing or administering drugs preventing implantation of a fertilized egg as abortion. The new proposal has no definition of abortion in it. (See prior posting.)

Recent Articles and Recent Book of Interest

From SSRN:

• Raghav Sharma, Rajarshi Sen & Adarsh Ramanujan, Affirmative Action for Muslims in the Indian Jurisprudential, Social, Economical and Political Context: A Constitutional Conundrum?, (June 17, 2008).


• Brigham Daniels, Revitalizing Zion: Nineteenth-Century Mormonism and Today's Urban Sprawl, (Journal of Land, Resources & Environmental Law, Forthcoming.)

From Bepress:

• Emily Prescott Esq., Allyson Hauck Esq. & Dana Barton Esq., When Firmly Held Religious Beliefs Conflict With the Right to Wedded Bliss, California Public Employee Relations (CPER) Papers, Working Paper 25 (August 2008).

From SmartCILP:

• Thomas C. Kohler, The Kenneth M. Piper Lecture. Religion In the Workplace: Faith, Action, and the Religious Foundations of American Employment Law, 83 Chicago-Kent Law Review 975-991 (2008).


• Martha Minow, The Government Can't, May, or Must Fund Religious Schools: Three Riddles of Constitutional Change for Laurence Tribe, 42 Tulsa Law Review 911-937 (2007).

New Book:

• David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China, (Oxford Univ. Press, March 2008), reviewed by the New York Times.

Campus Poster With Suggestive Picture of Jesus Tests Harassment Rules

At Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio, members of the campus Activists for Atheism club find that they are testing the scope of the school's anti-harassment rule that includes a prohibition on illustrations that mock or ridicule race or religion. Friday's Elyira Chronicle-Telegram reports that as part of Club Awareness Week, along with many other displays advertising student-run extracurricular organizations, the atheist group put up a poster showing a topless man kissing Jesus on the neck, and displaying the caption "Jesus Christ had a homosexual relationship?" Campus security guards refused to remove the poster as requested by complaining students, but after a few hours a student took it down. Christopher Burns, secretary- treasurer of the atheist group said it was not intended to mock Christianity, but to stir debate about a passage from the Secret Gospel of Mark. [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

Church of England Issues Guides To Prevent Bogus Marriages By Immigrants

Under British law, a foreigner who marries a resident of the European Union is generally allowed to stay in Britain. Today's London Telegraph reports that bishops of the Church of England have issued confidential guidelines to try to cut down on the number of bogus marriages performed by Anglican priests at the behest of immigrants who are merely trying to obtain British residency. Traditionally, in order to prevent marriages of convenience, British law has required all foreign nationals from outside the European Union to obtain a Home Office certificate of approval to marry in a register office. However no government certificate is required for marriages performed by the Church of England. Church leaders believe that, despite warnings, many priests are being duped into performing marriages of convenience.

Meanwhile the issue was complicated last month when the House of Lords issued a decision in R (on the application of Baiai and others) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, (House of Lords, July 30, 2008) holding that the licensing rules that led to automatic denial of Home Office approval for immigrants whose visas were about to expire or who were not legally in the country are invalid. The Law Lords held that these overbroad rules violate Section 12 of the European Convention on Human rights that protects the right to marry. That decision was covered by the July 30 London Daily Mail. (See prior related posting.)

Times Features Science Teacher's Methods on Evolution

Today's New York Times carries a fascinating front page article on how Florida science teacher David Campbell teaches evolution to a skeptical science class. He captures their attention by using Walt Disney's changes over time to the Mickey Mouse character. Showing the class the different versions of the cartoon character over the years, he tells them: "Mickey evolved. And Mickey gets cuter because Walt Disney makes more money that way. That is 'selection'." The article traces at length Campbell's intriguing teaching skills and his attempts to get his students to understand the difference between science and faith.

Founder of Florida Citizens for Science, Campbell strongly backed changes in Florida's science standards adopted earlier this year that specifically mention evolution. (See prior posting.) Defending against charges that the new standards do not include alternative explanations for life's diversity, Campbell replied: "We also failed to include astrology, alchemy and the concept of the moon being made of green cheese. Because those aren't science, either."

Court Dismisses Minister's Suit Against Church Placement Agency

In Thibodeau v. American Baptist Churches of Connecticut, 2008 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1858 (CT Super. Ct., July 29, 2008), a Connecticut trial court, applying the "ministerial exception" doctrine, dismissed for lack of jurisdiction a suit by an ordained Baptist minister against American Baptist Churches of Connecticut (ABCC). ABCC recognizes ordinations and operates a clergy placement service. The lawsuit challenges ABCC's refusal to circulate plaintiff's resume to congregations after it became concerned about his fitness for the ministry. The court held that the First Amendment's free exercise guaranty precludes it from interfering in ecclesiastical matters. This deprives it of jurisdiction to decide whether ABCC should recognize plaintiff's ordination or to review whether plaintiff has been treated fairly by ABCC with respect to recognition of his ordination.

South Carolina High School Football Coaches Often Mix Religion With Coaching

Yesterday's Florence (SC) Morning News carried an article on the fine church-state line being walked by some South Carolina high school football coaches. Many pray with their teams before each game. This summer, many coaches and players attended a three day Fellowship of Christian Athletes football camp at University of South Carolina-Upstate in Spartanburg. Hemingway (SC) High School ends every practice with the Lord's Prayer, says the Lord's Prayer before and after every game, and holds a devotion every week. However assistant coach Bucky Davis said: "Everyone’s welcome to their own opinions. We don’t force anyone to do anything. The kids (convert to Christ) out of their own free will." Lamar (SC) High School coach J.R. Boyd said: "We went to church as a team one time and I found out that many of our kids had never seen the inside of a church. We went to FCA camp as well and many of my kids were saved in the process."

Kentucky County Tries To Delay Paying Attorneys Fees In 10 Commandments Case

Earlier this month, a Kentucky federal district judge made permanent the temporary injunctions against 10 Commandments displays in two Kentucky counties that had been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005. Now however McCreary County, Kentucky is attempting to delay the ability of the ACLU to recover attorneys fees in the case by preventing the judgment from becoming final. Yesterday's McCreary County Voice says the county will ask the district court to pass on a summary judgment motion that is technically still outstanding, and will attempt to appeal the judge's decision issuing the permanent injunctions before the ACLU can petition for attorneys' fees. Pulaski County officials will meet next week to consider whether to join in the appeal.

Palm Beach Neighborhood Dislikes Jewish Synagogue Meeting In Private Home

Yesterday's Palm Beach Post reports on a land use controversy in the Indian Wells neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida. An Orthodox Jewish congregation, Anshei Chesed, is holding servies each Friday evening and Saturday morning in a private home that apparently was purchased primarily for that use. Some 20 to 70 individuals walk to and from services each week end. Orthodox Jews do not drive on the Sabbath. Neighborhood spokesman Frank Cuomo, upset at the rights given by RLUIPA to religious groups, says that neighbors not want religious services to be held here, and that the Jewish group is using loopholes to be able to conduct them. The Post reports: "In the Florida suburbs, where sprawl is an indicator of opulence and debilitating heat is a year-round concern, finding a place within walking distance is tricky."