Nigerian Coroner's Law Will Be Amended After Rising Muslim Opposition

In Nigeria, the Lagos State Executive Council yesterday sent the Coroner's Law back to the State House of Assembly for modifications after widespread protests that it prevents Muslims from promptly burying their dead as required by Islamic law. This Day reports that Governor Babatunde Fashola, bowing to increasing pressure over the law that was enacted last year, said that some people are exploiting concerns over the new law as a way of creating opposition to the government.

Catholics In Vietnam Demonstrate Over Land Rights

BBC News reports today on the two weeks of protests that have taken place in the Vietnam capital of Hanoi by Catholics who say the government took land belonging to the Thai Ha Parish and unlawfully gave it to a state-owned garment company that has now been privatized. Two weeks ago, hundreds of Catholics knocked down walls on the site to create a prayer site, and Catholics have been gathering there each evening in increasing numbers. The dispute is one of many over land rights in Vietnam, however the religious aspect of this dispute has created special problems for the government as police have clashed with demonstrators.

Italian Court Awards Damages To Woman Injured By Loud Church Bells

An Italian court has ordered the Madonna del Carmine parish near Genoa to pay a retired teacher damages of 60,000 Euros for the moral and physical damage caused to her over a 23-year period by the loud bells at the Church of Santo Stefano. M&C today reports that in the lawsuit, originally filed in 2003, the court also ordered the church to reduce the decibel level of its bells.

US, Europe Mount Opposition To Defamation of Religion Call At UN

Today's Washington Times reports that the U.S., European governments and religious rights organizations are making a new push to prevent the United Nations General Assembly this fall from adopting a renewal of the "Combating Defamation of Religion" resolution that is sponsored each year by the Organization of the Islamic Conference. In June, the European Centre for Law and Justice submitted an analysis of the Resolution to the U.N. The 16-page document (full text) criticizes the resolution, saying that it "replaces the existing objective criterion of limitations on speech where there is an intent to incite hatred or violence against religious believers with a subjective criterion that considers whether the religion or its believers feel offended by the speech." (See prior related posting.)

Buddhism Losing Out To Chistianity In South Korea

Today's Asia Sentinel says that protests by Buddhists in South Korea that the administration of President Lee Myung-bak is biased against them (see prior posting) are actually symptoms of deeper concerns about the rising influence of Christians in Korean society and government. The power and influence of the country's Buddhist community has been declining for 50 years, and there are internal splits over temple properties. Prof. Kim Yong Pyo of Dongkook Buddhist University in Seoul suggests that Koreans, especially younger ones, increasingly see Christianity as a superior progressive Western religion, while they see Buddhism as a tradition-bound folk religion.

Survey Says Majority Wants Churches Out Of Politics

Last week (Aug. 21), the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a new report titled More Americans Question Religion’s Role in Politics. It reports on the results of a survey conducted in early August. Here are some excerpts from the report's Overview:

A new survey finds a narrow majority of the public saying that churches and other houses of worship should keep out of political matters and not express their views on day-to-day social and political matters. For a decade, majorities of Americans had voiced support for religious institutions speaking out on such issues.... [M]ost of the reconsideration of the desirability of religious involvement in politics has occurred among conservatives. Four years ago, just 30% of conservatives believed that churches and other houses of worship should stay out of politics. Today, 50% of conservatives express this view.

Greek Pagan Group Is Battling Plans For New Parthenon Museum

CNN yesterday reported on recent activities by a pagan group in Greece known as Ellinais. According to a 2007 AP article, the group wants to revive worship of twelve ancient Greek gods. It has won a court battle to be recognized as an official religion. Now it is attempting to get government approval for it to perform weddings and other rituals. In Athens on Sunday the group staged an illegal ceremony on the Acropolis amid the ruins of the Parthenon, praying to Athena (the ancient goddess of wisdom) to protest plans for the building of the controversial New Acropolis Museum. The group objects to the recent removal of marble pediments from the Parthenon and the re-housing of artwork from a current small museum on the Acropolis to the newly planned Museum. High priestess Doretta Peppa said: "The new museum is a monumental eyesore, an architectural monstrosity within the most traditional and archaeologically-rich part of Athens. It is an insult to our heritage..."

Evangelical Leaders Are Supportive After Palin Says Her Unmarried Daughter Is Pregnant

Within hours after Republican vice-presidential choice Sarah Palin announced that her unmarried 17-year old daughter is pregnant and will marry the father of the child, two leading pro-life religious leaders have issued statements supporting Palin. Dr. Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, quoted by CBN News said in part:

This is the pro-life choice. The fact that people will criticize her for this shows the astounding extent to which the secular critics of the pro-life movement just don’t get it. Those who criticize the Palin family don’t understand that we don’t see babies as a punishment but as a blessing....

Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, in a statement quoted in full by ABC News said in part:

... [T]he Palins should be commended once again for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out.... Being a Christian does not mean you're perfect. Nor does it mean your children are perfect. But it does mean there is forgiveness and restoration when we confess our imperfections to the Lord.... The media are already trying to spin this as evidence Gov. Palin is a 'hypocrite,' but all it really means is that she and her family are human.

Reuters has further coverage of Palin's announcement. David Brody writing at CBN News says more broadly that the Palin developments will be a positive, not a negative, with Evangelicals. A Washington Post analysis says it is too early to definitively reach that conclusion.

British Museum Covers Paragraph Explaining Darwin

In Britain's Northampton, the Abington Park Museum operated by the Northampton Borough Council is in the midst of a controversy over a display on Darwin and fossils. The Northampton Chronicle & Echo reported last week that the museum was instructed to cover up one paragraph of an explanatory sign after a complaint by a religious fundamentalist. The Council said it was also concerned about poor syntax in the paragraph. The first two paragraphs of the sign explain that Darwin challenged the Biblical view of early geologists that fossils showed successive waves of creation. The objectionable paragraph then said: "[Darwin] used the same layers of fossils that had supported the Genesis view of evolution to show the slow changes that are taking place over the millennia of earth history, each small change enabling a species to the rigours of it's (sic) environment – the struggle for survival through natural selection leading to the survival of the fittest." [Thanks to Scott Mange for the lead.]

UPDATE: The National Secular Society reports (Sept. 1) that Northampton Council has ordered a new, corrected sign to replace the one that has been partially covered. The new wording is similar to the old, but omits reference to the Genesis view of evolution. Council head Tony Woods said the original sign was covered over by the previous administration because it was factually incorrect. [Again thanks to Scott Mange.]

Recent Scholarly Articles of Interest

From SSRN:

• Caitlin E. Borgmann, The Meaning of "Life": Belief and Reason in the Abortion Debate (August 30, 2008).


• Anthony D'Amato, Contested Morality: Judge Posner on Infanticide, Slavery, Suttee, Female Genital Mutilation, and the Holocaust , Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 08-27 (Aug. 25, 2008).


• Johnny Rex Buckles, Does the Constitutional Norm of Separation of Church and State Justify the Denial of Tax Exemption to Churches that Engage in Partisan Political Speech?, Indiana Law Journal, Vol. 84, (2009).

From SmartCILP:

• Daniel L. Dreisbach, The "Wall of Separation" Motif in Biblical Literature and Western Political and Legal Thought, 2 Liberty University Law Review 79-106 (2007).


• Martin Pritkin, The Value of Talmud Study to Modern Legal Education, 21 Temple International & Comparative Law Journal 351-386 (2007).


• Sacred Violence: Religion and Terror. Foreword by Jessie Hill and student Adam F. Kinney; articles by Louis Rene Beres, J. S. Piven, Parvez Ahmed and Gregory S. McNeal. 39 Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law 703-826 (2007-2008).

Brazilian Court Orders Withdrawal of Playboy After Priest Complains

In Brazil, a judge has ordered Playboy Brazil to recall its August issue because a photograph in it "hurts the feelings of believers". Brazzil Magazine reported Sunday that the Pela Vida Catholic youth institute and a priest filed a complaint after the recent issue of Playboy sold in the country carried a photograph of actress Carol Castro posing semi-nude with a rosary. The court also ordered Playboy to avoid using religious elements in future articles that include nudes. The magazine has not yet been withdrawn from news stands because Playboy Brazil has not yet been formally notified of the order.

Faith-Based Groups Likely To Be Important After Hurricane Gustav

The Christian Post reports today that faith-based organizations are among those preparing to move into areas that are affected by Hurricane Gustav that is threatening the Louisiana coast. World Vision has pre-positioned supplies as has the Salvation Army. Somewhat presciently, the Institute for Southern Studies just released in August a report titled Faith in the Gulf: Lessons From the Religious Response to Hurricane Katrina. The report concludes that: "More than any other nongovernmental sector—and in many cases, better than government agencies—faith organizations were able to quickly and effectively deliver the people and resources needed to help storm victims in need." The Durham (NC) Herald-Sun summarizes the report.

President Issues Ramadan Greetings To Muslims

On Friday, President Bush issued a Message (full text) sending greetings to Muslims observing Ramadan in the U.S. and around the world. The Message reads in part:

I thank the men and women of the Muslim community for their contributions to America. Your love of family, and gratitude to God have strengthened the moral fabric of our country. Our Nation is stronger and more hopeful because of the generosity, talents, and compassion of our Muslim citizens.

The observance of Ramadan begins tomorrow. Islam Online discusses the complicated determination of the starting date for Ramadan around the world. Today's Washington Post has a long article detailing the activity of one of Egypt's seven official moon sighting committees as it combines religion and science in determining the start of the month-long dawn-to-dusk fast.

FLDS Church Sues UEP Trustee

According to yesterday's Deseret News, the Fundamentalist LDS church, abandoning its stratgy of non-participation, filed suit on Friday in a Utah court to challenge a default judgment that the court awarded against its leaders in 2007. In 2005, the court took control of the United Effort Plan trust, the trust that held title to property of the FLDS church, after it was alleged that church leaders, including Warren Jeffs, had mismanaged it. The court appointed Bruce Wissan as fiduciary, and he sued the former UEP trustees for $8.8 million in damages. They failed to respond and a default judgment was entered. Now, however, the church and its leaders-- concerned that the church is facing destruction-- say the default judgment was obtained through fraudulent misrepresentation to the court of property values and transactions.

Controversy In Italy Over Museum's Exclusion of Veiled Muslim Woman

In Italy, controversy has broken out over the decision by a museum guard to deny admission to a Muslim woman who was wearing a niqab that left only her eyes visible. Friday's London Times reports that a guard at Venice's Ca Rezzonico invoked security regulations, and politicians have weighed in on both sides of the dispute. However the security firm involved says that in the future, all Venice museums will set aside a private room where female guards can check the identity of veiled Muslim women.

Rabbi In Zoning Dispute With New Jersey Township Over Services In His Home

This week's New Jersey Jewish Standard reports on a zoning dispute in Teaneck (NJ) over the use by a rabbi of his home for religious services. The house was purchased in October 2007 by Etz Chaim of Teaneck which hired Rabbi Daniel Feldman as its leader and rented the house to him. Feldman began in November to hold services in his living room. Neighbors petitioned the township, but it took no action, apparently in reliance on a 1985 New Jersey Superior Court case, Farhi v. Comm'rs of Deal [Lexis link], that held the state's constitution prohibits a municipality from using its zoning power to prohibit the free exercise of religious activity in the privacy of one's home.

On July 18, Feldman moved the services from his living room to his family room. The township's zoning ordinance requires a zoning permit where there has been a "change in use" of a piece of property. Neighbors filed a second petition saying that the July 18 move of the services-- now attended by 20 to 25 families-- was a change in use. Feldman says that the services on Friday evening and Saturday morning (as well as holidays) only total about 5 hours per week-- about 3% of the time-- too little to constitute a change in use. In a letter, however, the Teaneck zoning officer told Feldman to cease and desist from using the premises as a house of worship or place of public assembly. Feldman, who argues that this is still merely a protected private prayer group, has filed an appeal with the township zoning board.

8th Circuit Interprets Non-Curriculum Group For Purposes of Equal Access

In Straights and Gays for Equality (SAGE) v. Osseo Area Schools, (8th Cir., Aug. 29, 2008), the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals interpreted the federal Equal Access Act. The statute requires that high schools receiving federal funds must treat all non-curriculum related groups alike in granting access to school premises. Discrimination on the basis of the religious, philosophical, political or other content of speech at meetings of a student group is banned. Applying a definition of non-curriculum related groups developed by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1990 case, the 8th Circuit decided that another school group that plans school dances and events at Maple Grove (MN) High School is non-curricular, just like SAGE, a group designed to promote tolerance and respect for gays and lesbians. However the other group was given greater access to school communication channels by being improperly classified as a curricular group. The court affirmed the granting of a permanent injunction giving SAGE the same access to school facilities. Jurist reports on the case and its background, as does Friday’s Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

More On Sarah Palin, Her Religion and Her Views On Church-State Issues

Yesterday I reported on information that was initially available about Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's religious beliefs and views on church-state issues. In the last 36-hours, many additional pieces of information have been found by bloggers and reporters.

Palin's Religious Affiliation: Melissa Rogers, in her always excellent blog, reports on a number of additional items. In a 2008 Time Magazine interview, Palin said she was baptized as a Catholic, but her family attended non-denominational Christian churches. She identifies herself merely as a "Bible believing Christian". The AP yesterday, reporting that Palin has drawn strong support from Evangelical leaders, said that Palin's home church is an independent congregation, The Church on the Rock in Wasilla (just outside Anchorage). The Big Daddy Weave blog reports that this church was founded in 2000 with just 7 families, but has quickly grown. Palin sometimes also worships at the Juneau Christian Center, which is affiliated with the Pentecostal Assemblies of God. [UPDATE: Apparently Palin's current home church is Wasilla Bible Church, an independent evangelical congregation. AP says she joined this 6 years ago. Before that her home church was Church on the Rock.]

Palin’s Support for Faith Based Initiative: The Roundtable for Religion and Social Welfare Policy reports that Palin was a supporter of Alaska’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) set up by her predecessor in office. A 2007 Anchorage Daily News article reported that Palin's state budget proposed ending $1.5 million in state block grants to three cities and instead placing most of that amount in the budget of the OFBCI for it to distribute more broadly around the state.

Clarification of Palin’s Views on Teaching Creationism: Yesterday’s posting quoted an excerpt from a 2006 PBS interview in which Palin said she favored teaching both evolution and creationism in public schools. Since then, others have pointed out the Palin quickly qualified her statement through an interview with the Anchorage Daily News which reported:

Palin said she meant only to say that discussion of alternative views should be allowed to arise in Alaska classrooms: "I don't think there should be a prohibition against debate if it comes up in class. It doesn't have to be part of the curriculum." She added that, if elected, she would not push the state Board of Education to add such creation-based alternatives to the state's required curriculum.

Who Supported Palin for VP: Christianity Today says that Palin was the top pick for VP by Richard Land, policy head of the Southern Baptist Convention. In an Aug. 8 interview with CBS News, Land said that Palin would be the candidate who would most excite Southern Baptists. He explained: "she's a person of strong faith. She just had her fifth child, a Downs Syndrome child. And there's a wonderful quote that she gave about her baby, and the fact that she would never, ever consider having an abortion just because her child had Downs Syndrome. She's strongly pro-life."

Texas AG Clarifies Authorization for New Bible Courses In Schools

The Texas Attorney General this week issued a long-awaited Opinion (Opinion No. GA-0657, Aug. 28, 2008) on the state's new legislation authorizing courses on the Old and New Testaments' impact on history and literature. (See prior posting.) The question was whether or not schools are required to offer such courses every year. Focusing on two separate sections of the new law, the Opinion concludes that (1) schools are permitted but not required to offer such courses; (2) if such a course is offered but attracts fewer than 15 students, the course can be cancelled for that semester; but (3) while a full-fledged separate course is not required, schools are required to offer at least a unit of instruction on the impact of the Bible on history and literature somewhere in its required enrichment curriculum. Thursday’s Houston Chronicle reported on the AG’s opinion. [Thanks to Blog from the Capital for the lead.]

Court Says No Tax Exemption For Catholic Hospital That Gives Little Charity Care

In Provena Covenant Medical Center v. Department of Revenue of the State of Illinois, (IL Ct. App., Aug. 26, 2008), an Illinois appellate court agreed with the Illinois Department of Revenue that a Catholic Hospital in Urbana (IL) was not entitled to a property tax exemption. Covenant devoted less than 1% of its revenue to charity care. Applying six factors, the court upheld the Revenue Department's ruling that the property was not used exclusively for charitable purposes and did not belong to an institution of public charity. Alternatively the hospital claimed it was entitled to an exemption as property used primarily for religious purposes. The court also rejected this argument:

If "religious purpose" meant whatever one did in the name of religion, it would be an unlimited and amorphous concept…. "Religious purpose" within the meaning of [the statute] has to be narrower than "Christian service," or else "religious purpose" would mean everything (and, therefore, nothing)…. If the operation of the property is businesslike and more characteristic of a place of commerce than a facility used primarily for religious purposes, the property is not exempt from taxation… Covenant more resembles a business with religious overtones than property used primarily for religious purposes.

Thursday's Chicago Tribune reported on the decision. Today's Urbana News-Gazette reports that the county treasurer moved quickly after the decision to demand that the hospital return $6.1 million in property taxes and interest that the county had refunded when a trial court initially overturned the Department of Revenue's exemption denial.